Maria Elisa Ayerbe (Mary J Blige, Ricky Martin, JLo)

Miami-based Maria Elisa Ayerbe is a Latin Grammy winner (in 2021 for Mixing Engineer) and a multiple Latin Grammy-nominated producer, engineer, and composer. She has been involved in music production for artists like Mary J Blige, Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, JLo, New Kids on the Block, and Kronos Quartet. In 2019, Maria Elisa was recognized by the Latin Recording Academy with the Leading Ladies of Entertainment honor for her work inspiring the next generation of female leaders.

What's your typical process for doing a mix?

I usually begin by organizing the session and multitrack in Pro Tools. This helps me understand the arrangement and production of the song. Sometimes I will begin mixing the song right away, or I will import tracks from some basic effects and buss templates I have created, which vary depending on the song genre and instrumentation. From then on I will create a static mix with levels, panning, and basic EQ. What happens after will vary depending on the song and arrangement. Sometimes I will move on to the vocals, sometimes I mix the beat before everything else. I usually don't follow the same process as I feel the song should inform me what to do next.

Do you have any tips for getting vocals to sit nicely in a mix?

Gain clip your vocals. This will ease out the compressor's job, avoiding over-compression and enhancement of unwanted resonances. EQ before and after the compressor. I love using dynamic EQs for resonances in the voice or room tones that can infiltrate in the mic. Parallel compression is great to make the vocal cut through the mix and make it feel upfront, but natural.

What advice do you have for young female mixers and producers looking to get their big break in the music industry?

For any mixer engineer looking to get their big break: be patient, always be a student, and stay humble.