Ever wondered what goes into mixing a full worship song from start to finish? Today, I'm pulling back the curtain completely and showing you my entire mixing process for "He Is Alive" by Cornerstone Worship Collective - their very first single release.

This isn't just another tutorial focusing on one technique. This is a complete, unfiltered look at how I approach an entire worship mix, including the challenges, creative decisions, and even the "funny things" that happened during the recording process.

👉 WATCH THE FULL MIX WALKTHROUGH HERE

Why This Mix Was Special (And Challenging)

Cornerstone Worship Collective is a church out of Davenport, Florida, and "He Is Alive" was their debut single. Working with them was an honor, but like many live worship recordings, this one came with its unique challenges.

Without spoiling too much, there were some recording issues that required creative problem-solving - the kind of real-world challenges every worship producer faces but rarely talks about publicly. In the video, I show you exactly how I addressed these issues and the workarounds that saved the mix.

What You'll Learn in This Complete Walkthrough

This isn't your typical "here's how to EQ vocals" tutorial. Instead, you'll see:

My Entire Mix Bus Chain

Around the 3:15 mark, I walk through my complete mix bus processing, including:

• Gulfoss for automatic resonance control
• Slate Digital VTM for tape saturation
• Ozone Imager for strategic stereo widening
• Why I sometimes remove the Pultec EQ (and when to keep it)

The Three-Bus Mixing Strategy

I show you how I organize every mix into three main buses:

• All Instruments Bus
• All Vocals Bus
• Drums Bus

This approach creates incredible control and cohesion throughout the entire mix.

The Lead Vocal Challenge That Required Creative Thinking

Here's where things get interesting. The lead vocal presented a unique challenge because they overdubbed it, but I also needed to keep certain live moments. Around the 55:00 mark, I demonstrate the creative editing and automation I used to make this work seamlessly.

SEE HOW I SOLVED THE VOCAL CHALLENGE

Detailed Drum Processing From Individual Mics to Bus

I take you through every single drum element:

• Individual kick, snare, and tom processing
• Overhead and cymbal treatment
• My two-stage parallel compression approach
• The "drum crush" automation that changes throughout the song

The Flute That Changed Everything

Yes, you read that right - there's a flute in this worship mix! Around the 51:00 mark, I show how I transformed this live flute recording into something that fits perfectly with the modern worship arrangement using some creative processing techniques.

The Mixing Philosophy Behind Every Decision

What I love about this walkthrough is that it's not just about the technical aspects. Throughout the video, I explain the why behind every decision:

• Why I cut the bass out in certain sections (and how to communicate this with video teams)
• How I used room mics as "choral choir gang vocals" instead of traditional ambience
• The spiritual dimension of our work: "God is speaking something through all of us and it's special and it needs to be out there because people need to hear it"

Behind-the-Scenes Insights You Won't Get Anywhere Else

This walkthrough includes insights that only come from real mixing experience:

The Reality of Live Worship Recording

I discuss the recording challenges honestly, including how we addressed them in subsequent sessions. This transparency helps you understand that even professional recordings aren't perfect - it's about making the best of what you have.

Arrangement Choices in Mixing

I show how mixing engineers often need to make arrangement decisions, like when I strategically removed acoustic guitars in certain sections to serve the song better.

The Balance Between Technical and Spiritual

Perhaps most importantly, I discuss how our technical excellence should serve the worship experience: "How can we get that out to the world because God is speaking through these people?"

Watch the Complete 1-Hour Breakdown

This isn't a quick tips video - it's a comprehensive, hour-long journey through an entire worship mix. You'll see every plugin, every setting, every automation move, and every creative decision that went into creating this final product.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FULL WALKTHROUGH

Whether you're just starting out in worship production or you're looking to refine your approach, this walkthrough will give you insights you can apply immediately to your own mixes.

And don't forget - I've included the link to stream "He Is Alive" so you can hear the final result and support Cornerstone Worship Collective!

Let me know in the comments what you found most helpful. Are there other complete mix walkthroughs you'd like to see?

Mixing for the Kingdom, Lucas