ABSTRACT

A B-side of a commercial release can be mixed in as little as three hours. An album’s lead single might take six days. Generally, for a standard release it would not be abnormal to spend a day or two per song, and albums are very often mixed within about three weeks. Nirvana’s Nevermind, took about 14 days to mix. The complexity of the track is an obvious factor – a 24-track production that has a simple structure, involving a five-piece rock band should take substantially less time than a 72-track production with many varying sections. The recording quality also plays a part – poor recordings mean that the mixing engineer spends lots of time fixing the recordings rather than creatively crafting the mix.