Guidelines on how to prepare your mix for mastering
Files Format
Audio files can be submitted in stereo (interleaved) .WAV or .AIFF formats.
Files Bit Rate
32-bit float audio files are strongly preferred, 16-bit files are OK only when 32-bit float (or 24-bit) files are absolutely unavailable.
Files Sample Rate
Submit files at the original recording and/or mix session is at. E.g. 44.1khz, 48khz, etc.
Mix's Peak Level
Please be sure that the mix is not clipping or hitting 0dBFS on the master channel.
Mix's Master Bus/Channel Processing
You can leave the processors on the master channel as long as it is not hitting or exceeding 0dBFS. However please remove the Limiter or anything else preventing the levels from exceeding 0dBFS or just in the chain for adding loudness.
Step by step guide
How to export your tracks for mastering from your preferred DAW
Please don’t send mix files that have already been “pre-mastered”, normalized, or made extremely loud using digital processors like Limiters, Clippers, Maximisers etc. It’s understood that in some cases, certain plug-ins on the master channel can be very important to the "sound" of the mix. If this is the case, please submit both version, one with limiter on and one without.
- Don’t convert mp3s to WAV for mastering. Use true WAV files.
Mixing Advice and Tips
Eliminate noise in the mix
As you go through your mix, eliminate any noise or pops that may be in each track. Use fades as necessary to cut out any spots that may just contain recorded noise. Cleaning up individual tracks when they’re not in use within your mixing sessions can help prevent the buildup or exaggeration of unwanted noise after mastering. If this is done in the mix stage, it will keep the overall noise level down when the mastering engineer begins to equalise and compress the mix.
If you’d like any equipment noise or hiss to be removed or reduced during intros, outros, or other quiet parts where any hiss/noise is usually more noticeable, please be sure to include a sample (at least 1 second) of ONLY the hiss/noise (with no music or other sounds) before or after the song.
It is strongly recommended to very carefully triple check the final mixes for any stray noises, pops, and clicks that may become more noticeable after mastering.
Keep your mix clean and dynamic
Overusing processors especially dynamic processors (compressors) on the master bus can destroy a mix and make it difficult, if not impossible for the mastering engineer to make a great master. Unless there’s a specific sound of a master bus processor desired for the mix, it’s best to keep the master bus free of outboard processing or plugins. If master bus processing is used, make sure to notify the mastering engineer of its type and settings.
Mix Loudness/Final Level
The loudest part in a mix should peak at no more than -3db on the master bus. you’ll want to remove any pre-mastering processing from the master bus, such as a limiter or stereo enhancer. the overall volume should sound low. we’ll raise it during the mastering process. this allows me to create the proper dynamic level for radio play, cd, or mp3 duplication.
