Professional Mixing in Stereo & Atmos: Grammy-Winning Mixer Andrew Scheps on Workflow, Impostor Syndrome & Industry Insights (Part 2)

Description

In this podcast episode Ashea is joined by Andrew Scheps, a three-time Grammy Award-winning mixer and producer, for Part 2 of their in-depth conversation about professional mixing in the era of immersive audio. Building on the discussions from Part 1, Andrew delves deeper into practical techniques for mixing in Atmos and spatial audio formats, with particular focus on the unique challenges of mixing for headphone playback, binaural rendering, and maintaining mix translation across different monitoring environments.

In this episode, Andrew answers listener questions while providing concrete, actionable advice on EQ and panning techniques in immersive formats, the differences between phantom center and actual center speakers in spatial mixes, reverb strategies for Atmos, and insights into where the music production industry is heading. Whether you're a professional mixer looking to expand into immersive audio, a producer curious about Atmos workflows, or an audio engineer wanting to understand the future of spatial mixing, this conversation provides both technical knowledge and strategic industry perspective from one of the world's most respected mixing engineers.

In This Episode:

• Mixing in Atmos with Headphone Monitoring - Practical techniques for creating mixes in Atmos that translate accurately on headphones, including the challenges of binaural rendering and headphone-specific mixing considerations
• Panning and Spatial Placement Techniques - How phantom center differs from actual center speakers in immersive mixes, and strategies for placing elements in three-dimensional space effectively
• EQ and Equalization in Immersive Formats - How equalization approaches change in Atmos compared to stereo, maintaining balance in surround configurations, and frequency management across spatial channels
• Reverb and Spatial Effects in Atmos - Advanced reverb techniques specifically designed for immersive mixing, creating depth and space in three-dimensional mixes, and psychological acoustic principles
• Binaural Rendering and Headphone Playback - Understanding how binaural rendering works, the challenges of creating convincing spatial imaging through headphones, and translation between different listening formats
• Practical Real-World Mixing Tips and Tricks - Actionable advice from decades of professional mixing experience, workflow optimization, and techniques that immediately improve mixing results
• Industry Direction and Future of Mixing Technology - Andrew's perspective on where the music production industry is headed, emerging technologies in spatial audio, and how mixers should prepare for future formats
• Listener Questions and Career Advice - Andrew addresses questions from podcast listeners about mixing, professional development, and navigating the modern music production landscape

About Our Guest:

Andrew Scheps:
Andrew Scheps is a three-time Grammy Award-winning mixer and producer with an extensive discography that includes work with some of the world's most influential artists. Known for his meticulous attention to detail, innovative mixing techniques, and expertise in both traditional stereo and immersive audio formats like Atmos, Scheps has established himself as one of the most sought-after mixers in the music industry. His technical knowledge combined with artistic sensibility has made him a mentor figure to many aspiring audio engineers and producers.

About Our Host:

Ashea is a platinum-selling songwriter, music producer, and audio engineer from the UK. With credits spanning notable artists, major labels, and prestigious broadcasters, Ashea brings authentic conversations between industry professionals to the Production Expert Podcast. Credits & Placements Include… Alan Walker, Holy Goof, TS7, Billy Da Kid (Kiss FM), Steve Smart (Kiss FM), The Wideboys, MER, Sony Music, 2Tone Records, BBC, SVT1 (Sweden).

Resources & Links Mentioned

• Andrew Scheps - Three-time Grammy Award-winning mixer and producer
• Atmos and Spatial Audio - Apple Music, Amazon Music, and other platforms offering immersive audio mixes
• Genelec UNIO Monitoring Ecosystem - Professional audio monitoring solution providing seamless bridge between loudspeaker and headphone monitoring for consistent mix translation. Visit: genelec.com/unio

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Sponsorship

This episode is brought to you by Genelec. If you've ever been disappointed with the way your mixes sound on other playback systems, check out Genelec's UNIO monitoring ecosystem. By providing a seamless bridge between loudspeaker and headphone monitoring, UNIO allows you to quickly create great sounding mixes that translate consistently wherever you choose to work. No more guesswork, no more surprises — just truthful, accurate audio monitoring from stereo to immersive. Visit genelec.com/unio to learn more.

Note: This is Part 2 of a two-part episode. Be sure to listen to Part 1 for the beginning of the conversation with Andrew Scheps on mixing fundamentals, impostor syndrome, and career insights.