Understanding the console is essential. Understanding the mix is something else.
If you’ve read much of my work, you’ve probably seen me advocate for church audio teams to establish a Mix Philosophy. I wrote about that in 2023, and the idea was simple. Define and document what “good” sounds like in your environment, then mix toward it consistently. In reality, most churches still don’t have one. And even when they do, it’s often not enforced.
Some churches never address the concept at all, not because they don’t care, but because they don’t need to. Long before I ever used the phrase “mix philosophy,” I mixed for a number of churches where the term was never spoken. In hindsight, I think that’s because my style of mixing already aligned with what they wanted, even if none of us could articulate it at the time.
That wasn’t because there weren’t other capable engineers available. In a market like Atlanta, there is no shortage of knowledgeable and experienced audio professionals. Many of them were, and still are, more technically skilled than I am.
Technical proficiency keeps things working. Musical judgment makes them meaningful.
What I seemed to bring was something harder to define. An instinctive way of mixing that simply worked for them.
I don’t say that to boast. In fact, I’ve always hesitated to even call myself an engineer. I don’t have an engineering degree. No paper. Not even the cool hat. In conversation with my peers, I usually refer to myself as a mixer. FOH mixer. Broadcast mixer. Studio mixer. I reserve “engineer” for the people who actually earned the title.
For clarity in writing, I do use the term audio engineer at times. Mostly to distinguish the person from the tool they’re using. But personally, I’ve always been more comfortable with mixer.
We used to describe good mixers in simple terms. He’s got good ears. Good instincts at the console. He just brings a good mix.
Today, with so many graduates from UOYT, (University of YouTube), natural talent often gets overshadowed by technical proficiency. To be clear, there is a minimum level of knowledge required to operate a modern digital console in a large auditorium or broadcast environment. You have to know what you’re doing.
But when the countdown hits zero, you want someone behind the console who can make decisions instinctively and musically. Some of the best mixers I’ve heard (title, not gear) are much more intuitive than technical.
A great mix rarely comes from using every feature available.
It took me a long time to stop worrying about all the newest things I didn’t know and lean into what I did know. The things I seemed to hear naturally.
The console is powerful, but it can’t make decisions for you.
If you ever played Little League baseball, you remember the coaching. Batting stance. Grip. Feet square in the box. Then you watch Major League Baseball and realize the best hitters, the elite of the elite, look nothing like you were taught. Did they have coaches? Of course they did. But they also had something innate that coaching alone doesn’t produce.
That’s the question I’m really asking here. Can the talent it takes to be a great mixer be taught, or is it embedded in the DNA?
From a very early age, in elementary school, working in the homemade studio my dad helped me assemble, I could innately make things sound pretty good. Not perfect. Not polished. But musical and balanced. Like taste buds, everyone’s ears are unique and we all hear things differently. That’s not good or bad. But it’s worth asking whether some people possess a natural ability to put sounds together in a way that appeals to the vast majority of listeners.
In professional audio, we often equate knowledge with ability, especially in churches where the budget requires one “engineer,” not an engineer and a mixer. And those two things are not the same.
Taste can’t be downloaded.
I’ve worked with extremely knowledgeable audio engineers who can configure systems, understand signal flow, and patch faster than I ever could. People who absolutely should be trusted with system configuration and deployment. I wouldn’t trust some of them to mix a bag of concrete. That may sound harsh, but it’s true.
Patching, routing, and knowing what every submenu and button does are not my strengths. I’m not the fastest operator at the desk. That’s why I rely heavily on rehearsal time, virtual soundcheck, ample preparation, and using scenes. I do the in-depth work offline so that on game day, I can focus on what I do best. Mix.
All of the fundamentals can be taught. Console setup. Routing. Dynamics. EQ. Signal flow. If you want to be successful, you have to learn those things. But there is a difference between understanding the science and executing the art.
I once sat in with one of my favorite FOH mixers during a show. Everything sounded great. His mix, like his demeanor, was somehow tight and loose at the same time. I noticed one channel was peaking. Nothing sounded wrong, but the meters were pinned. I pointed it out. He glanced over, shrugged, smiled, waved it off, and went back to enjoying the mix.
So are great mixers born or made?
I think in many cases, they’re born with something. And if they’re wise, they develop the other skills needed to survive and thrive in professional audio environments.
One of the nicest compliments I ever received came from a peer who said, “You know, he doesn’t actually do a whole lot, but whatever it is he’s doing just works.”
The console is a tool. Listening is the craft.
There are many talented technicians working as audio engineers who are far better suited to be system techs than mixers. I can admit that I mix better than I patch. I think some engineers need to admit that they patch better than they mix.
There’s also a lot to be said for simply being easy to work with. Whether you consider yourself more technical or more artistic in your approach to audio, if you’re kind, humble, adaptable, and easy to work with, you will be in high demand.
Great audio teams are built when people lean into what they’re naturally good at while still putting in the work to be competent where they’re not. Talent alone isn’t enough, and neither is technical knowledge. The best results come when both are respected, developed, and used wisely.
Whether your mix is driven by making sure everything is technically correct from input to output, or you’re mixing from your gut, always remember this.
Don’t forget to listen.
