Should Your Producer Mix Your Record?
Who should mix your music?
Should your producer do it? Should you outsource it? Should you send it to a famous mixer overseas? Or should you do it yourself?
In Episode 2 of KNOBS, Simon Moro and Terry Hart unpack one of the music industry’s most persistent debates: whether keeping your mix in-house helps preserve artistic vision, or whether fresh ears are worth the extra cost.
The answer? It depends. But probably not for the reasons you think.
What We Cover In This Episode
- Why mixing matters far more than most artists realise
- When producers should mix their own projects
- When outsourcing to a dedicated mix engineer makes sense
- Why a bad mix can break an incredible production
- The hidden risks of hiring cheap mixers
- How famous mixers can sometimes disappoint
- The importance of emotional connection during mixing
- Why static balances reveal production quality
- The changing role of mastering engineers
- Why the mix is often the product, and mastering is the packaging
- How budgets shape creative decisions
- Why finding the right team matters more than following rules
The Big Question
One of the biggest myths in music production is that there’s a universal answer.
There isn’t.
If your producer is an exceptional mixer who deeply understands your project, keeping it in-house might be the best option.
If your producer specialises in writing, arrangement, sound design or performance but mixing isn’t their strongest skillset, bringing in another expert could dramatically improve the result.
The real question isn’t:
“Should I hire a mix engineer?”
It’s:
“Who is best equipped to make this song connect emotionally with listeners?”
Because sometimes saving a few hundred dollars costs you the thing that matters most: connection.
Listen now and decide which side you’re on.
