Keep It Simple: The Key to a Professional Mix

When working on a mix, one of the most important things I tell people is to keep it as simple as possible. With the overwhelming number of plugins available and the constant wave of new releases, it’s easy to get caught up in the next best thing. I’ve been there.

But after years of mixing, I’ve found that it still comes down to just a few essential tools. Fancy plugins like Soothe 2 offer great solutions to mixing problems that were once much harder to fix, but the core of a great mix still relies on just a few fundamental plugins.

If you want a professional-sounding mix, you don’t need a huge collection of plugins. You just need to master a small set and understand how they shape your sound.

The 5 Essential Plugins for Mixing

These five core plugins can take a mix from rough to polished and professional:

🎚 EQ – Shapes the sound and cleans up frequencies

🎚 Compressor – Controls dynamics and density

🎚 Limiter – Keeps rogue peaks in check

🎚 Saturator – Adds tone, warmth, and helps with dynamics

🎚 Mid/Side Processor – Controls stereo width and space

These five plugins per channel, along with the same types on the master bus, can get your mix to a professional level.

These are the basics. There are many additional tools you can use—tape emulation, gates, clippers, multi-band compression, different compressor types, EQ types, and reverb types. But the key is to start simple: find a general-purpose EQ, compressor, and reverb that works for you, develop your sound, and add to it as you grow.

How to Use These Plugins in Your Mix

🎚 EQ: Shape & Clean the Sound

• Use EQ to carve space for each element in the mix.

• If frequencies clash, either dip or boost to let sounds cut through.

• Apply high-pass and low-pass filters to remove unnecessary frequencies.

👉 Tip: Reference professional mixes to understand how elements sit in the frequency range.

🎛 Compressor: Control Dynamics

• A compressor controls volume fluctuations, shaping how much of a sound pokes through in the mix.

• Adjust attack and release & Gain Reduction settings to control the density and impact of a sound.

👉 Tip: Try a slow attack and fast release on drums for punch, and a fast attack on vocals for clarity.

🔊 Limiter: Tame Peaks

• The limiter ensures that sudden peaks don’t jump out in the mix.

• It works alongside the compressor to keep the mix smooth and balanced.

👉 Tip: Use it sparingly—too much limiting can kill dynamics.

🎼 Saturator: Add Harmonics & Warmth

• Saturation can add body, tone, and subtle compression to a sound.

• Some saturators can even replace compressors in the mix by naturally controlling peaks.

👉 Tip: Saturation can add presence, character and help anchor the sound in the mix.

🎧 Mid/Side Processing: Fine-Tune the Stereo Image

• This plugin gives you control over the centre and sides of the mix.

• When A/B’ing with reference tracks, you’ll hear how elements are distributed across the stereo field.

👉 Tip: Keep low-end elements (bass, kick) in the centre and spread pads, synths, and effects wider.

Reverb: The Secret to Depth & Space

Reverb is essential for blending elements together. Use two reverbs on AUX/BUS channels:

🌊 Short Reverb – Creates a sense of space and cohesion.

🌊 Long Reverb – Adds depth and atmosphere to select sounds.

A Simple Reverb Trick:

🎛 Send everything in your mix to the short reverb at 0db → Back off the bass and kick → Lower the reverb fader to zero and slowly bring it up until you hear the space working.

This technique helps the sounds sit naturally in the mix.

Master Bus: The Final Touches

On the master bus, use:

🔥 Saturation – A touch of subtle saturation can help glue the mix together, adding warmth, depth, and harmonic richness. It smooths out transients and enhances cohesion, much like analog processing.

🎚 High-Pass & Low-Pass EQ – Applying a high-pass filter anywhere from 20Hz to 50Hz can clean up unnecessary low-end rumble, helping to tighten the mix. Similarly, a low-pass filter around 17,500Hz can smooth out excessive top-end energy, reducing harshness and making the mix sound more refined.

🎛 Glue Compressor – (SSL Bus Compressor) with 3ms attack, Auto release, and light gain reduction. This further binds the mix, ensuring everything sits together smoothly.

🎚 Limiter – Brings up the overall level to be competitive with commercial tracks while controlling peaks.

These four tools work together to finalise the mix, ensuring a cohesive, polished result with a controlled frequency range and a professional sound.

Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple

🔹 All of these plugins come standard in most DAWs—you don’t need third-party plugins to achieve a great mix.

🔹 Learn a small set of plugins inside out before adding more.

🔹 A well-balanced mix doesn’t need endless processing—just careful, intentional adjustments.

Find a solid compressor, EQ, and reverb, get to know them inside out, and then build from there as your sound evolves.

With EQ, compression, limiting, saturation, and mid/side control, you have everything you need to create professional-sounding mixes.

Once you’ve mastered these basics, you can start experimenting with additional tools—but keeping it simple is always the best foundation. 🎛🚀

5 basic plugins