Check that your song is in wav format. Convert the file to wav format if it is in another format. Load the completed song into your mixing software.
Clean up the vocals if necessary, such as removing unwanted background noise. Add subtle gain for louder, clearer vocals.
Set your faders for each track. Set the kick drum to 0db, the bass at -10db, the percussion at -20db and the lead vocals at 0db. You can adjust the levels slightly to fit your needs, but you should not exceed 0db if using mixing software.
Center-pan the bass and kick drum without reverb. Pan the high hat hard to the left or right. Imagine listening to someone playing the drums live to help with panning the tracks.
Pan the other instruments according to your specifications. Imagine listening to a live orchestra to get an idea of whether to pan instruments to the left or right.
Add effects to the tracks. Add reverb to your vocals and other instruments sparingly. Using too much reverb can distort the sound quality of your song.
Save your completed mixed down track in wav format.
Import your mixed down track into your mastering software. Check your sound levels in your mastering software by playing your song at the loudest point. Listen for any distortion. This is to check that your software can handle the mastering process. Clipped sounds are usually not an issue in mastering software.
Compress all of your mixed down tracks with the compressor plugin within your software. Compressing your song makes all of the individual tracks sound as one.
Add the necessary level of EQ to your tracks. A certain portion of your track shouldn’t require a significant amount of EQ more than other portions.
Apply a multi-brand compressor if you feel certain parts of your song are too low or too high. Add a light stereo enhancement. Spread the upper level frequencies of your mix using a stereo processor.