In my down moments, I’m in the midst of mixing two albums – the sixth Rockford Aces album, “Camaraderie”, and my first finished EP from GRCC Shades of Blue.*
Between the two, there are 19 multitrack sessions to be prepared for mastering. That’s much too much for me to keep in my head, so I’ve put together a little flowchart for myself. Actually, it’s a spreadsheet. from left to right, here are the columns.
A. Song Name
B. Primary Record Date
C. Solo 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (if there are more than five separate solos, good luck!) I type the names in the boxes, and bold them when they are finished recording.
D. Primary editing – put the date in the box.
E. Solo editing – put the date in the box. (Often I have multiple takes in playlists from solo sessions.
F. Primary Mixing – put the date in the box that I began mixing.
G. First Rough Mix – put the date in the box that I bounced my first rough mix.
H. Mix Review – either sending a mix to an outside listener or listening in various other locations.
I. Final mix – date the final final mix is complete.
J. Master Date – when the track is ready for release.
* I also have six years of tracks from Shades to complete for our first full album, and an entire album of Christmas music the Aces have recorded over the years. There is a lot to mix.