Get your mixes ready for audio mastering
(Some tips... but don't sress if this stuff is too nerdy- I can help)
File Format
- It's best to send your audio mix as a WAV or AIFF file.
Bit Depth + Sample Rate
- Your audio mix file should use the same values as your DAW project.
Silence Please
- Leave a second or two of silence before your music starts and after it ends.
Headroom
- Aim to have your audio mix peaking somewhere between -3dB and -6dB on the mix bus.
Client Ref/ Dummy Audio Master
- If you've been listening to one of these in the run up to mastering - label it clearly and send it with your unmastered audio mix files as a reference.
Limiting/Clipping
- We'll get better results if you don't do any limiting or clipping on your mix bus. This is a pretty important one!
De-essing
- It's a good idea to do some gentle de-essing on your vocal (and vocal reverb return).
Bus Processors
- You'll get better results if you do this type of processing on your submixes rather than your 2bus.
Mix Compression
- The above comment also applies to compression on the mix bus. If mix bus compression is part of your DNA, that's cool, but maybe consider sending a reference audio mix with that processing bypassed in addition to the one with the bus comp active.
Don't "normalize" your mix
File Names
- By including Artist Name, Track Tile, and Track Number in your file name we could avoid some potential confusion in the audio mastering process.