Mix Trick or Trash? 20 Top Mix Tips Rated by Chris Galland

Dec 23, 2025 | 84,716 Views

Everyone’s got a mix tip. Few agree on which ones really matter, and why.

In this new Waves series, Chris Galland (Lady Gaga, Post Malone, Rihanna) rates 20 common mixing philosophies out of ten. No deep dives. No theory lectures. Just instinct, experience and straight answers from someone who’s spent decades behind the console.

Mix Trick or Trash is where industry experts cut through the noise. Watch Episode 1 to see which mix tips hold up against Chris Galland’s seasoned studio experience.

Mix Tips rated by Chris:

  • High-pass everything
  • Always mix with a reference track
  • Mixing in mono
  • Sidechain compression
  • Checking your mix in the car
  • EQ’ing to the key and scale of the song
  • Tune every vocal
  • Mixing through your master chain as early as possible
  • Hard-panning guitars left and right
  • Never boost EQ, only cut
  • Only using one reverb for the whole mix
  • If the mix sounds good on AirPods, it sounds good on anything
  • Stereo imaging plugins are essential
  • Parallel compression
  • Always mix at low volumes
  • Color-coding every track before starting a mix
  • How important is gain staging?
  • Volume automation on vocals
  • Starting every mix with the kick drum
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