Mixing as you go versus starting from scratch

Here is where we come to a very subjective topic. I will give you my views, but others will disagree, and they are not necessarily right or wrong.

I started at a time when the common practice was for an engineer to set levels for players while they were tracking their parts, and then when it came time to mix, the engineer would pull all the faders down and start from scratch, by balancing and panning the drums, or maybe the vocals.

People working with samples and software instruments mostly mix as they go, and I do too.

When time permits, however, I prefer to do the following:

• Create a new Project Alternative.
• Bounce and replace all my software instrument tracks so that now I am only dealing with audio.
• Pull down the faders and start from scratch.

Why do I prefer doing this? Well, because I am a composer who learned to mix, rather than an engineer who learned to compose, I think differently. This way, I...