Basic Audio Engineering & Production Principles

(special thanks to Ekam for the inspo)

Suggested instructional sequence:

  1. Overview — Layouts & Locations

  2. Routing — Inputs & Outputs

  3. Signal — Gain Staging & Volume

  4. Movement — Navigating the Session

  5. Transport — Recording, Dubbing & Playback

  6. Tracking — Muli-track Recording, Mono vs. Stereo

  7. Equalization — dB @ Hz

  8. Compression — Raised Floors & Lowered Ceilings

  9. Effects — Space, Depth, Timbre and Movement

  10. Mixdown — Approaching Unity & Bouncing Files

  11. Locations — File Management & Organization

  12. Distribution — Collaboration & Publishing



1. Overview – Layouts & Locations


Knowing your way around the DAW you’ve chosen will make your sessions run smoothly and efficiently, eliminating bottlenecks and barriers to creativity. It’s worth spending time practicing getting around a session so the movement becomes instinctive, reflexive, and automatic. This frees up more energy to focus on making music. 


When you first open up a blank song, you land on the SESSION window. This is where all of your tracks will appear vertically down the left column as you create them, and playback will move left to right as you play or record each file. 


In the bottom right corner of the session window, you’ll see 3 tabs: EDIT, MIX, and BROWSE.

EDIT - for precision-editing audio and midi information. This can include changes to time and / or pitch.

MIX - for balancing levels (volume) of individual tracks in your session, as well as groups of tracks (busses). This is also where panning (horizontal placement in a mix) takes place. Whenever you add tracks to the session window, their corresponding faders will appear here.


BROWSE - This is where your software instruments, plugins, and other files exist. 

  1. Instruments - software instruments like synths, drum pads, etc.

  2. Effects - your EQ’s, compressors, reverbs, and other mix tools.

  3. Loops - we aren’t FL studio wannabes, so we generally don’t use this. 

  4. Files - this is where your samples exist. Try to sample sounds, not songs. 

  5. Cloud, Shop, Pool - explore on your own time, if needed. 



Hotkeys can be used to quickly jump to these sections: 

F2 = EDIT, F3 = MIX, F5 = BROWSE




2. Routing – Inputs & Outputs


This is a core philosophical concept in life: inputs yield outputs. If you input effort, you will almost certainly output results. If you input processed foods and a sedentary lifestyle, you will output poor health. Input doomscrolling, output brainrot. It’s science. 


With audio engineering, you input energy into your instrument, which is outputted as signal. For vocals, that’s singing output pointed at the input of a microphone. For an instrument, we typically connect the output directly to the input of our audio interface:



Vox >> Microphone >> XLR cable >> Audio Interface ch.1 >> USB Cable >> DAW >> Speakers / Headphones


Guitar / Keys >> ¼-inch cable >> Audio Interface ch.2 >> USB Cable >> DAW >> Speakers / Headphones

Audio engineering, as with life, is just a series of corresponding inputs and outputs. Input 1 on your interface corresponds to channel 1 in your DAW, Input 2 = channel 2, etc. etc. 


Routing principles are the same whether you’re recording on a simple 2-channel audio interface or a 128-channel SSL Studio console. Sometimes there are extra pieces of gear inserted into the signal flow, but the core concept of inputs & outputs remains the same. For example:


(1) Tracking a live guitar rig:
[INPUT] Guitar >> ¼-inch cable >> Pedalboard >> ¼-inch cable >> Guitar Amp >> Microphone >> XLR >> Audio Interface >> USB Cable >> DAW >> Speakers / Headphones [FINAL OUTPUT]


(2) Tracking vox w/ outboard gear

INPUT Vocal >> Microphone >> XLR >> Preamp >> Hardware EQ >> Audio Interface >> USB Cable >> DAW >> Speakers / Headphones [FINAL OUTPUT]


(3) Monitor mix for vocals for a live band (simplified example of multiple outputs): 

INPUT Vocal >> Microphone >> XLR >> Snake channel 1 >> Mix console channel 1 >> 

>> MAIN MIX: What the audience hears

>> AUX 1: Stage left monitor output

>> AUX 2: Center monitor output

>> AUX 3: Stage right monitor output

>> AUX 4: Drum monitor output


It’s important to always consider every single component in the signal flow chain, as most of these will have their own variable GAIN that must be managed. 



3. Signal – Gain Staging & Volume

Gain: the amount of amplification applied to an incoming audio signal. (Microphone’s sensitivity)

Volume: the loudness of the signal at the output of a particular stage.

Clipping: distortion caused when a signal exceeds the maximum level a piece of equipment or software can handle.

Headroom: the safety margin between the loudest part of your signal and clipping. Think of it as a cushion.

Getting a strong signal is good. Getting the strongest possible signal is not the goal. In general, stay well into the green with peaks of yellow, but NEVER RED. 

Your job is to capture a healthy signal with plenty of headroom. If your meters are repeatedly smashing into the red, you’re gonna sound like Soundcloud Rap or 100 gecs. Which, I mean, you do you bestie diva, but also knowing how NOT to do that makes you a better person.

When recording digitally at 24-bit, there is absolutely no reason to mess with clipping. Peaks somewhere around -12 to -6 dBFS are generally hella chill. This is not a sacred law; it’s just a comfortable place to start.

Remember that every step of a signal chain may affect its level:

Instrument >> Pedals >> Preamp >> Interface >> DAW >> Plugins >> Fader >> Bus >> Main Output

This is gain staging: managing signal level throughout the entire chain so that no individual stage is excessively loud, excessively quiet, distorted, or otherwise behaving like a dingus. As an example, let’s analyze a basic PA setup’s gain stage: 

Channel Gain >> Channel Volume >> Master Fader >> Speaker Gain >> Speaker Volume

The goal is to ensure that no stage of gain is ever “clipping” or excessively high relative to any other. Using arbitrary numbers on a scale of 1-10:

EX. 1 - Clean and Even Gain Staging:

Ch. Gain (5) >> Ch. Vol (5) >> Master Fader (5) >> Spkr Gain (5) >> Spkr Vol (5) = “25” final output. All stages of gain are balanced, and there should be no distortion in the signal. 



EX. 2 - Distorted, Clipped, Bad Gain Staging:

Ch. Gain (10) >> Ch. Vol (1) >> Master Fader (3) >> Spkr Gain (10) >> Spkr Vol (1) = “25” final output, but the disproportionate amount of gain staging will almost certainly produce unpleasant clipping and distortion in the signal. 



If something sounds wrong, trace the signal from beginning to end. Where does it first become wrong?

Congratulations. You are troubleshooting

4. Movement – Navigating the Session

Before worrying about plugins, mixing tricks, or which $4,000 microphone some guy on YouTube insists will finally make you talented, learn how to move around your session efficiently.

You should become comfortable with:

  1. Selecting tracks and events

  2. Moving audio and MIDI events

  3. Zooming in and out

  4. Splitting / cutting events

  5. Copying and pasting

  6. Duplicating sections

  7. Undo and redo

  8. Muting and soloing

  9. Looping a section

  10. Moving the playback cursor

  11. Using markers

  12. Navigating between EDIT, MIX, and BROWSE

Learn the keyboard shortcuts for the commands you use most frequently.

The objective is not to memorize the entire keyboard shortcut manual. The objective is to remove unnecessary barriers between having an idea and hearing that idea.

If every creative decision requires fifteen mouse clicks, eventually your brain is going to say, “actually nevermind.”

Learn to drive the car so you can enjoy the road.

5. Transport – Recording, Dubbing & Playback

The transport controls the movement of your session through time.

At minimum, know how to confidently operate:

PLAY – begins playback.

STOP – stops playback.

RECORD – records onto any properly armed track.

RETURN / REWIND – moves backward through the session.

LOOP – repeatedly plays a selected section.

METRONOME – provides a rhythmic click at the session tempo.

Before recording, confirm:

  1. The correct track is selected.

  2. The correct input is assigned.

  3. The track is record-enabled.

  4. You have healthy input signal.

  5. You can hear yourself appropriately.

  6. Your session tempo is correct, when relevant.

  7. The metronome is on or off intentionally.

Dubbing

Dubbing means recording a new performance while listening to something previously recorded.

Record drums.

Then bass.

Then guitars.

Then vocals.

Then a tambourine that everybody insisted was unnecessary until somebody finally added it and now somehow the chorus works.

That is overdubbing.

Students should practice recording, stopping, listening back, returning to the appropriate location, and recording another take until the process feels routine.

6. Tracking – Multi-Track Recording, Mono vs. Stereo

Tracking is the process of recording individual performances into your session.

Each independent source should generally receive its own track.

For example:

  1. Kick

  2. Snare

  3. Guitar

  4. Bass

  5. Lead Vocal

  6. Harmony Vocal

This allows each instrument to be edited, processed, positioned, and balanced independently later.

Mono

A mono recording uses one audio channel.

Most individual microphones produce mono signals.

One vocal microphone?

Mono track.

One microphone on a guitar amp?

Mono track.

One bass plugged directly into the interface?

Mono track.

Stereo

A stereo recording contains separate left and right channels.

Stereo is useful when the source itself contains meaningful stereo information, such as:

  • Stereo keyboard outputs

  • Stereo drum machines

  • Stereo room microphones

  • Certain stereo effects

  • Two microphones intentionally arranged as a stereo pair

Using two microphones does not automatically mean stereo. Sometimes you simply have two mono microphones recording the same instrument.

When learning to track, your first priorities are refreshingly boring:

Does it sound reasonably good?

Is the correct input selected?

Is the signal clean?

Is it clipping?

Is there unwanted noise?

Did you actually hit record?

Mic placement absolutely matters, but beginners do not need to lose sleep over whether moving a microphone 2cm to the left would produce 0.7% more sparkle.

Get a clean signal. Listen. Move the microphone if necessary. Record some music.

7. Equalization – dB @ Hz

Equalization, or EQ, allows us to increase or decrease selected frequencies within a sound.

Frequency is measured in Hertz (Hz).

Level changes are measured in decibels (dB).

Therefore, EQ can loosely be understood as:

± dB @ Hz

For example:

+3 dB @ 5 kHz

means we are increasing the level around 5,000 Hz.

-4 dB @ 250 Hz

means we are reducing the level around 250 Hz.

Very broadly:

Low frequencies = bass, rumble, weight

Mid frequencies = much of the fundamental character and intelligibility of instruments

High frequencies = brightness, attack, air, fizz, sparkle

These descriptions are intentionally vague. Frequency perception is contextual, and EQ is a gigantic rabbit hole containing several smaller rabbit holes wearing tiny engineering helmets.

For now, practice:

  1. Selecting an EQ band

  2. Changing its frequency

  3. Boosting and cutting

  4. Changing the width / Q of the band

  5. Using a high-pass filter

  6. Listening to what changes

There is no universal “correct EQ” for a vocal, guitar, snare, or anything else.

EQ exists to solve a problem or achieve an intention.

Before touching it, ask:

What am I trying to change?

If you cannot answer that question yet, you may not need EQ.

8. Compression – Raised Floors & Lowered Ceilings

Audio performances naturally contain changes in volume.

A singer may whisper one phrase and belt the next. A bass player may hit one note much harder than another. A snare drum may occasionally leap out of the mix and slap everyone in the forehead.

A compressor reduces the dynamic range between louder and quieter parts of a signal.

Imagine a room with a floor and ceiling.

Compression can help prevent the loudest moments from smashing through the ceiling. Once the loudest moments are controlled, the overall signal can often be raised, effectively bringing quieter information closer to the listener.

The basic controls include:

THRESHOLD – the level at which compression begins.

RATIO – how strongly audio above the threshold is reduced.

ATTACK – how quickly compression reacts.

RELEASE – how quickly compression stops reacting.

MAKEUP GAIN – volume added after compression to compensate for the reduction in level.

For now, do not obsess over mastering every parameter.

Turn the threshold down until you can clearly hear the compressor working.

Experiment with the ratio.

Move the attack and release.

Listen.

Then back everything off until the result sounds useful instead of completely annihilated.

Compression is fundamentally about controlling movement in volume.

Everything beyond that can become tomorrow’s problem.

9. Effects – Space, Depth, Timbre & Movement

Effects change the character, location, size, texture, or movement of a sound.

Some common categories include:

Reverb

Creates the sound of an acoustic space.

Small room.

Large hall.

Church.

Bathroom.

Infinite cosmic nightmare cathedral.

Different reverbs create different perceptions of space and distance.

Delay

Creates repetitions of the original signal.

A delay may produce one audible echo or an entire sequence of repeating sounds.

Saturation / Distortion

Adds harmonic content and changes the timbre of a sound.

This can range from subtle warmth to “the guitar amplifier is currently being eaten by a dragon.”

Modulation

Effects such as chorus, flanger, and phaser create movement by altering timing, pitch, or phase relationships.

Inserts vs. Sends

An insert processes the individual track directly.

A send routes some of the signal somewhere else, usually to a shared effect such as reverb or delay.

For example:

Lead Vocal >> Vocal Channel >> Main Mix

while simultaneously:

Lead Vocal >> Send >> Reverb Bus >> Main Mix

Using sends allows multiple tracks to share the same effect and gives you independent control over how much of each track enters that effect.

Effects should generally have a purpose.

Create space.

Create excitement.

Create movement.

Create texture.

Create absolute sonic nonsense because it sounds cool.

All valid reasons.

10. Mixdown – Approaching Unity & Bouncing Files

Once your tracks are recorded, edited, and processed, they must be combined into a final mix.

This process is called mixdown.

A mix primarily involves balancing:

LEVEL – how loud is it?

PAN – where is it horizontally?

FREQUENCY – what sonic space does it occupy?

DYNAMICS – how much does its level move?

DEPTH / EFFECTS – how close, distant, dry, wet, intimate, or gigantic does it feel?

Unity Gain

A fader at 0 dB is at unity gain.

This means the fader is neither increasing nor decreasing the signal passing through it.

It does not mean every fader should end up at 0 dB.

If something is too loud, turn it down.

This incredibly advanced technique has won several Grammys.

When starting a basic mix, establish a sensible balance before reaching for plugins. Volume and panning alone can solve an astonishing number of problems.

Always keep an eye on your main output.

Your individual tracks may look perfectly healthy while their combined signal overloads the master bus.

Leave yourself headroom.

Bouncing / Exporting

When the mix is finished, the DAW combines the session into a new audio file.

This may be called:

BOUNCE

EXPORT

MIXDOWN

RENDER

They are all variations of the same basic concept.

For general high-quality audio, WAV is usually the preferred working format.

MP3 and other compressed formats are useful when smaller file sizes are needed for casual listening, sharing, or certain online applications.

Always listen to the bounced file before sending it anywhere.

“I assumed it exported correctly” has generated many exciting learning opportunities throughout human history.

11. Locations – File Management & Organization

Your recording does not exist because you can see it inside the DAW.

It exists because a file is stored somewhere on a computer.

Know where.

Every time.

A basic project may contain:

SONG / SESSION FILE

AUDIO FILES

MIDI DATA

SAMPLES

BOUNCES / EXPORTS

ALTERNATE MIXES

Losing files is not a mysterious computer problem if you saved everything into twelve unrelated folders called:

New Folder

New Folder (2)

asdf

FINAL

FINAL REAL

FINAL REAL 2

USE THIS ONE

Develop good habits immediately.

A basic project structure might look like:

Artist Name

Song Name

  • Session

  • Audio

  • Samples

  • Mixes

  • Stems

  • Reference

Use clear file names.

For example:

Artist_Song_Mix01.wav

then:

Artist_Song_Mix02.wav

then:

Artist_Song_Mix03.wav

Versions should generally move forward, not sideways into increasingly desperate adjectives.

Backup

Important work should exist in more than one location.

Your computer is not immortal.

Hard drives die.

Laptops get stolen.

Drinks achieve flight.

Cloud storage, external drives, and other backup systems exist because someday something stupid will happen.

Prepare for stupid.

12. Distribution – Collaboration & Publishing

Eventually, recorded music needs to leave your computer.

Before sending anything, determine what the other person actually needs.

Stereo Mix

A single completed stereo file containing the entire song.

Useful for:

  • Listening

  • Feedback

  • Mastering

  • Publishing

  • General sharing

Stems

Groups of related tracks exported together.

For example:

DRUMS

BASS

GUITARS

KEYS

LEAD VOX

BACKGROUND VOX

Stems allow another engineer, producer, performer, or collaborator to work with major components of the arrangement without receiving every individual track.

Multitracks

Every individual recorded track exported separately.

This provides maximum flexibility for another engineer or producer.

When sharing stems or multitracks, they should generally:

  1. Begin at the same starting point

  2. Be clearly labeled

  3. Use the same sample rate

  4. Use the same bit depth

  5. Be exported without accidental clipping

  6. Open correctly before you send them

If every file begins at the same location, the recipient can drag all of them into a blank session and everything should line up automatically.

Collaboration

Communicate clearly.

Instead of:

“The vocal sounds weird.”

Try:

“The lead vocal feels slightly too loud during the second chorus.”

Instead of:

“Make it sound better.”

Try literally anything else.

Learning to communicate about sound is part of learning audio engineering.

Publishing

Before publicly releasing music, confirm that:

  • The mix is actually finished.

  • Everyone agrees it is finished.

  • The correct version is being uploaded.

  • Song and artist names are spelled correctly.

  • Credits are accurate.

  • Nobody accidentally uploaded FINAL_REAL_USE_THIS_7.mp3 instead of the master.

Audio engineering is ultimately the art of moving energy from one location to another without destroying it along the way.

A musician creates an idea.

A microphone captures it.

A cable carries it.

An interface converts it.

A DAW stores it.

An engineer shapes it.

A speaker reproduces it.

And eventually, another human being hears it.

Learn the fundamentals well enough that the technology disappears into the background.

Then make something worth listening to.