Good tips Ron. For this forum I don't do any tuning/timing issues. I don't normalise either. Sometimes I will pick out the tempo from the drums but I only use this for note value delays, so I rarely bother. These are my stages:

1. Import tracks (I might import a reference into my DAW at this stage also)
2. create buses (around 6 for delays, reverbs, parallel compression, distortion etc.) so every track has sends set up but with audio being sent yet.
3. group tracks in to sub- groups e.g. drums, bass, guitars, syths bvs etc. Some of the key tracks may be stand alone e.g. lead vocal.
4. Levels and panning ( i might check phase at this stage if needed)
5. EQ (I do tracks on first pass then groups, then master bus. later on)
6. Dynamics. Sometimes I do the groups before it do the tracks) e.g. I might not compress every BV but do them as a group.
7. Sends to reverb buses and any others I have set up. I often have a parallel compression on the drums.
8. Add effects

I go over the track several times revisiting stages 4-8 as needed)

9. Automation of levels for anything that is still an issue. e.g. sibiliance, extra lift for choruses, dipping parts behind vocals etc.) or spot effects.

10. Mix bus processing, I might mix into some effects but mostly I add this after my initial mix. typical things to add are: Clipper, Saturation, EQ, compression, Multiband compression, limiting. Sometimes I do some imaging separatley or do it through some mid side EQ and/or compression.

I think the most important things are the relative levels of the individual tracks and EQ. I spend most of my time on EQ.

Hi @Ron Allen , great of you to share these insights. I have a question, what do you mean here by normalizing tracks? @John, you too thanks for sharing!

I start my mix with a simple self made template that has mix busses for each group of instruments: drums, bass, guitar, guitar 2, piano, keys, synths, ambiance, instruments. Names can be altered and busses can be reassigned depending on what is there. There are also three busses with one holding a delay, and two, each holding a different reverb, preceded by an EQ.
- I import the multitrack, rearrange the order to my standard order, and route each track to a bus.
- I start listening to each track individually and decide whether I need to make sub busses for individual parts of the drums, for instance when there are three or more tracks for kick, snare, overhead and/or room, I send those to dedicated sub busses, that in turn go to the drum bus.
In case of a mix that has more than 20 tracks for the drums alone (like man in the box!), I make a separate project for the drums, divide them into subgroups, mix them and bounce them to stems, for kick, snare, cymbals, toms, OH and room. Those stems go then to the multitrack project, replacing the initial drum tracks.
- Then I listen to each instrument track deciding whether they are singles or in pairs.
- I decide whether preamp, EQ and compression and other treatments need to be placed in individual tracks or in the group bus.
- I apply those treatments on all of the tracks, and/or their group busses one by one.
- At this stage I start making sends to reverb and/or delay busses.
- Next round is to balance the levels and panning of the tracks.
- revisit EQ and compression, now relative to the mix. And revisit levels. These steps are to be repeated until the mix is finished.
- On the master bus I have an EQ, a true peak limiter with 1dB headroom, followed by Izotope Insight to monitor the LUFS levels.

From this point on I can't recall what I am doing, and that has to do with the fact that the multitrack dictates what to do next, so it's different every time.
I don't pull in reference tracks until I am quite satisfied with the mix. I don't use reference tracks to copy from scratch, but rather to check how far off I am from the targeted sound. Ideally I hit the target without the use of a reference.

I am sure I must have forgotten some important steps, but as I said, I know what needs to be done when I get to that point. For instance, automation, when necessary, is applied some time close to finishing.

@Ron Allen seems to have a top down approach whereas @Aart DB looks to be more of a bottom up approach. Personally, I've tried top down but always end up working more bottom up in an additive fashion where each new element must be assessed for it's contribution to the mix and also how it impacts other elements already in place. In reality things usually end up a combination of techniques as some things are can obviously be bussed together and treated the same and other things need more individual treatment.

If you haven't already stumbled into it, Izotope had a great series on Youtube that describes this additive approach:

If I had to outline my rough workflow it would be something like this.

1. Session Prep: Import tracks, organize into folders, colorize, rename. I normally normalize tracks to peaks of around -14 dbfs (pun intended). Set up instrument group bussing: (for example, Kick mics -- Kick Bus -- Drum Bus -- Instrument Bus -- Mix Bus). Listen to and try to identify what roll each track may play especially if part of a multi mic setup such as drums or things that might be double tracked, etc.)

2. Quick rough balance starting with the group track faders and then moving to individual track faders and panners as necessary. Not looking for anything near perfection here, just hoping to get it sounding like a song. Start thinking about what elements are most important to the vibe of the song and also about how the song structure can be served by the mix.

3. After deciding on a starting point for the song, solo that track or bus and process it as necessary to achieve desired sound/vibe. Most often EQ first, sometimes dynamic processing, etc. Focus must remain on how the part will fit into the whole, so I keep my eye on frequency distribution for each track as I go along.

4. Effects sends are added as needed. I tend not to rely on any fixed set of effects as others have mentions and just plop in whatever I feel might work for a part. I'm fortunate to have a robust computer, so I can be pretty careless in this regard. As reverb and delay choices have tonal impacts, I like to start roughing these in early in the process so they can be treated as part of the mixing process and not just something to sprinkle on at the end.

5. Add the next most important element and repeat steps 3 & 4. This will sometimes mean going back to steps 3 & 4 for the tracks that have already been tweaked. Everything effects everything else. (I use this same additive process when working with multi mic setups such as drums as well. Start with overheads usually and then carefully bring in each element dealing with problems and balance as they present themselves).

6. Eventually the mix becomes the mix and I'll usually add some master bus processing. A touch of compression, usually some analog-style saturation, and a limiter so I can bounce out my mixes for evaluation closer to a master level for listening away from my studio.

7. Automation and endless tinkering: Volume automation to serve the experience of the song from start to finish. This means something different every time. Different parts of the song are going to need different track balances. I think of automation a way to direct and (hopefully) keep the listener's attention. Bring up important elements and ear candy in detailed moments and also keep an eye on making the track dramatic from start to finish. Equal density throughout equals boring to me, so I like to find ways to add a touch of drama if possible.

8. Mastering: Really just an extension of what I've got going on on the master bus. If I'm serious about a project I'll bounce it out without any master bus processing and start a new mastering project, but for these practice mixes I usually just make a few quick adjustments and dial in my limiter settings to hit between -14 and -13 LUFS. I'll often add a touch of EQ to correct whatever global tonal mistakes I've likely made and perhaps a bit of widening or some Gullfoss to sweeting things up a bit.

The caveat to all this is that I rarely follow this very faithfully. Mixing is a circular process and I'm more and more aware of my drifting objectivity as time passes behind the speakers or under the headphones. (I'm sure I would be wise to start refreshing my point of view with some references as I mix) I find much value in coming back to a mix several times with fresh ears and just adjusting whatever stands out to me as distracting or below average sounding. For each of these sessions I will make a new copy of the project so I can reference back to the previous state and know that I'm actually improving things.

Another thing that I happen to do is to often work on the project first with headphones and then switch to speakers around the time the mix has come together. I tend to make more technical decisions and adjustments in that headphone period and more creative decisions once I move to speakers. We could probably do a whole other discussion on monitoring!

I'm sorry this is so long winded so I'm adding this additional sentence to apologize, LOL!

@Aart dB - by normalizing, i mean either manually or automatically reigning in tracks that are either way too loud or way too dynamic. I use dbSmooth frequently on vocals because it is super transparent. I also find myself breaking out of my workflow and looping as needed similar to @Tyson Arp. I mix my drums almost exactly the same by starting with the overheads. I think if I mixed a few different songs a day and had about 3 hours per song, I would be looking for ways to optimize and work faster. Working fast has its advantages by maybe keeping your objectivity a little fresher and forcing you to commit and move on.

Using the approach of bringing in reverb earlier in the process didn't work for me so I created more of a spatial array with front, middle, back, and room that makes it fairly quick to get stuff sitting where I want. I have also tried to mix binaurally, but not in atmos yet. That seems like a re-think.

@Branic Howard - LOL - don't read it. just do it!

Thanks guys for sharing your workflow! Really interesting to know your approach!

I don't have a predefined structure/template and as @John Hope-Crossley said, for the mixes here on Soundgym I tend to skip the pitch correction part most of the time.. What I usually do is:
- import the tracks
- organize them visually (drum kit at the top and vocal at the bottom of my session)
- color code
- put some plug-ins on the master bus (just to check phase, mono compatibility..)
after those steps I listen to the track and start adjusting the volume and then I proceed according to the song's needs

P.S. sometimes I add reverbs, delays and other effects at the end of the mix sometimes in the middle of the mixing process (especially with the efx on the guitars and vocals)

P.P.S. I don't do any mastering here 😅😝