Recently, I had one of my tracks mixed by professional engineer GI Holm — and instead of just sending me the finished mix, he actually walked me through his entire session. What I expected was a fairly standard breakdown. What I got instead was a completely different way of thinking about mixing. In this post, I’ll share some of the key takeaways from that session — including a really unique approach to controlling drum bleed that shows you really can mix drums without a gate!
Watch the Full Breakdown
1. Mixing Is Mostly Balance (Not Plugins)
One of the first things that stood out was how simple the initial approach was.
Instead of diving straight into plugins, GI starts by:
- Pulling all faders down
- Bringing everything up gradually
- Setting levels and panning
- Seeing how far he can get with just balance
This might sound obvious, but it’s something a lot of us overlook.
Mixing isn’t about stacking plugins — it’s about getting the balance right first.
Only once that foundation is in place does he start adding processing.
2. A True Top-Down Mixing Workflow
GI uses a top-down mixing approach, meaning:
- Tracks are routed into buses (drums, guitars, vocals, etc.)
- Those buses feed into a master mix bus
- Key processing happens at the bus level first, not the individual tracks
This includes:
- Subtle EQ shaping
- Light compression (often just 1–2 dB of gain reduction)
- Gentle saturation / “glue”
The goal isn’t to heavily process — it’s to shape the overall sound early and make everything feel cohesive.
3. Can you mix drums without a gate?
This was one of the biggest mindset shifts for me.
Instead of relying heavily on gates, especially on drums, GI avoids them where possible.
Why?
Because drums are highly dynamic — and traditional gates can:
- Open at the wrong time (e.g. triggered by cymbals)
- Cut off natural decay
- Sound unnatural or abrupt
In some cases, he even prefers manually editing audio (like tom hits) rather than using a gate.
4. How to mix drums without a gate
This was the moment that really stood out.
Rather than using a standard gate, GI uses a parallel processing approach to control bleed while keeping the natural feel of the drum.
Without getting overly technical here, the key idea is:
- The signal is split
- One path is processed dynamically
- The result is a much more transparent “gating” effect
The outcome?
- Less bleed from other elements
- More control over the drum
- Crucially… no loss of natural dynamics
This is one of those techniques that makes you rethink how “standard” tools like gates are actually being used.
5. Subtle Compression = Better Results
Another big takeaway was how restrained the processing is.
Across the mix, compression is used very lightly:
- Often just 1–2 dB of gain reduction
- Focused on “glue” rather than control
- Designed to make things feel cohesive, not squashed
This applies to:
- Mix bus compression
- Drum bus compression
- Individual elements
It’s a great reminder that:
Small moves, in the right place, add up to a professional sound.
6. Treat Drums as One Instrument
Instead of obsessing over each drum in isolation, GI approaches drums as a single instrument.
That means:
- Getting the overall balance first
- Applying bus processing to shape the kit as a whole
- Only then making small adjustments to individual elements
This avoids the common mistake of:
Over-processing individual parts that don’t actually need it in context.
7. Arrangement Still Matters (Even in Mixing)
One final insight that came up was how often mix engineers end up doing arrangement work.
If too many elements are competing:
- No amount of EQ or compression will fix it
- The mix will feel crowded and unclear
That’s why:
A clean, intentional arrangement is just as important as the mix itself.
Would you mix drums without a gate?
Working through this session was a great reminder that:
- Mixing doesn’t have to be complicated
- Balance and decisions matter more than plugins
- And sometimes the “standard” tools aren’t the best solution
That one moment — where GI said “I’m not actually using a gate…” — really stuck with me.
It’s a small shift in approach, but it opens the door to thinking more creatively about how we solve problems in a mix.
Want to Improve Your Own Mixes?
If you’re serious about improving your productions, I highly recommend working with real musicians and engineers where possible.
I’ve been using Musiversal to collaborate with session players and professionals, and it’s made a noticeable difference to the quality of my tracks.
👉 https://musiversal.com/partners/jon-chapman
Explore My Sounds
If you’re producing your own music, you might also find these useful:
👉 Sample packs & virtual instruments:
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Final Thought
If there’s one takeaway from this session, it’s this:
Don’t just follow the rules — understand why they exist… and when to break them.
ABOUT GI HOLM
GI Holm is a professional mixing engineer with extensive experience in modern music production: https://www.mixedbygi.com/
Video Tutorial: How to mix drums without a gate
👉 Go Straight to the “Not a Gate” trick in the Video Tutorial
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