How do you decide when a mix is 'done' and ready to be sent off for mastering, especially when perfectionism kicks in?

Deciding when a mix is "done" is like knowing when to stop adding spices to a dish—you could keep going, but at some point, you’ve got to trust your taste buds. When it sounds good, feels right, and you’re not obsessing over tiny details only you will notice, it's probably time. Plus, there's always the mastering engineer to sprinkle on the final magic. So, when you feel like you're 95% there and just nitpicking, hit send!

You know a good meal when you eat it, and you can recognize a well-seasoned burger as soon as you taste it. The same goes for mixing. When you listen to a well-crafted track and lay down all the ideas, you get that sense of release, that feeling of "Oh man, that’s great. Anyway, NEXT!" When there's nothing left to add, it's time to move on. Lingering on the same track after you've given it your all is a surefire way to burn out and potentially ruin a track. Most of my Version 1s are what I keep in my portfolio—anything after Version 1 just doesn’t have the same impact. My Director's Cut and the first mix pass are the winners every time, at least in my eyes.

There is a saying that mixes are not finished, they are abandoned.....
Personally, I must feel satisfied when I listen to it and not feel that something is missing, that's why many times, at the time I reopen the project and listen to everything again, if I feel that I'm happy, it's a mix that is ready to be mastered. 

Deciding when a mix is ‘done’ involves trusting your instincts and always trying to revisit it with a fresh pair of ears as others mention.

It’s helpful to listen on various systems and get feedback from others to ensure the mix is well-rounded and translates effectively.

A fresh set of ears is the key to a good workflow. Once you are happy with your mix for the day stop the session, no good is going to come from mixing past this point.

Come back to your mix after a few hours or days and make an effort to just listen to it in its entirety without making any adjustments. Feel free to have a notebook and pen on hand to write down any areas that distract you from the mix, if nothing comes up you're good to send off for mastering. 

Note: If you are making use of a traditional mastering engineer (not AI), you'll be able to riff off your mastering engineer who will be a great set of ears on the project, hearing things you have potentially become blind to. 

If all else fails, a mixing consultation or some mixing advice can be your best friend for an in-depth analysis and review!

When I'm unsure, I like to start with the bass and drums solo'd. Do they sound great together. Then I'll bring in the vocals. Are they in the right place in the mix (ie the front). Then I'll slowly bring in the rest of the instruments making any volume changes as I go.

I won't spend more than 5 minutes doing this (unless I notice something glaringly bad that I've forgotten to do.

Then I walk away and do something else, preferable in 'the real world' to give my self a break and reset my ears. If theres a problem with your mix you can't work out, popping to the shop might give your brain the space it needs to realise you've not side chained the kick to the bass.

When youre back, a final listen before sending it off, either to the client or a trusted friend. Either will be able to tell you if its good.

 

Establish a "sign off" routine. 

ITs close to impossible for a single person to sign off on a song, if they're the only person working on it (write the song, record, play, sing, mix master etc) - music gets to the finish line a lot easier if you have a band mate or a client or a mentor that will tell you "yeah its good enough". 

When you're on your own self doubt kicks in and you start chasing imaginary tails. Get someone who will do your sign offs with you. 

I'm a true believer that there's no such thing as a "perfect mix". Here's an experiment: try opening any song on Spotify and imagine what you'd do differently in that mix. Trust me, you'll find at least 2-3 things to change  

I always finish the mix when it sounds good to me. A client will correct the rest during the revision process.