What's a raw mix???

This is the point where the session has been recorded and the engineer has quickly set the levels, but the album still needs to be "worked on" and processed.  

Typically, raw mixes sound VERY different from the final product, so much to the extent that most CDs are kind of "fantasies".  You listen and imagine that you're hearing a band "jamming" in the studio.  

In reality, what you may be hearing is a consortium of punch-ins and edits that CREATE the illusion of a live performance.   

At first, this sounds like cheating, but actually, many legendary sessions are edited in this manner, and the more experience you have doing production work, the more you can tell, though with a good engineer it can be quite difficult.

To note... here's how a punch-in works...

The take is going FANTASTICO, and just when its heading to the tail, someone fucks up BIG TIME...
Rather than trashing the take, the producer and engineer call for a punch-in...  So the engineer plays back the recording, maybe from a section before and asks the musicians to start playing along.  When the time comes, the screwed up part has been cut and the band just continues playing.

There are other post-recording edits... solos can be redone (if mics were properly isolated), and out of key notes and flubs can be brought in or out or even digitally edited. 

In the case of my own CDs, my tunes are as live as possible... but like any professionally done recording, considerable post production and even in-production work is done. 

Learning that POST PRODUCTION is equal to the session itself and learning what tools are available to take the recording to the next level is the secret to really having a great polished final product to offer to your listening public... and eventually even you come to believe, "Yeah, that's how we actually sounded in the studio!"

Thank you Mr. Engineer!!!