Qualities of a Good Mix and Production

[masteringhouse]

I will be teaching an audio production course at a local college and wanted to get some feedback here on what people felt are a good set of criteria for evaluating a good mix/production. Things that I would include are:

- Overall audio quality
- A good performance
- Depth and space in the mix
- A good balance in frequency and levels between tracks
- Appropriate use of effects

Also feedback on what you think the qualities of a good engineer or producer are, i.e. the ability to get sounds and work quickly, Getting a good performance from the talent (playing shrink), etc.


Thanks!

 

[Track Rat]

Seems like you've named the most important elements. I feel the MOST important element on your list is Good Performance. I've heard great songs performed well with stinky recordings but the tune still sold well. If the song rocks, the recording is secondary (still VERY important but secondary non the less). As far as the engineer/producer goes, aside from his/her prerequisite technical knowledge of recording, their ability to coax a great performance from a performer and keep a session happy and flowing would seem to me most important (keeping everything on budget and keeping the A&R guy at bay seems important too).