Mix & Mastering (Prep Guide)

Essentials for Audio Services

• All channels should be provided in a high quality audio format such as wav or aiff.
• A minimum of 44.1k (sample—rate) & 24-bit (bit-depth) is recommended.
• A rough Demo Mix of the full arrangement should be included.

Stem Mastering

• Separate all elements of your track into stems
• Don’t leave anything out by accident; when all channels are combined, this should be your full-arrangement on playback.
• It's advised to group similar sounds together.

Example Grouping, an 8-channel project could include:

Kick - Snares/Claps - Percussion - Bass - Guitar - Synths - Vocals (Lead / Harmony)

Mix and Mastering

• Export all channels in your project to individual audio channels.
• All channels should combine to form your full-arrangement on playback.

Effects & Processing

Ideally, we would receive your project Dry (without and processing), all creative FX such as Reverb, Delay etc. should be included on a separate send channel.

Remove all ‘non-essential’ dynamic, frequency and placement process. This may include compression, eq, stereo-width etc... These are the main tools we'll be using to mix the song and often can't be reversed if they've already been applied.

Reverb will often be used as part of the mixing process; this is usually applied in a subtle way and never in an obvious 'creative' manner. This effect is usually applied post-processing to the Dry channel. If a channel we received has reverb or any other effect present, we'll never add any additional effects on top unless specifically requested.

If you feel that the processing is essential for the sound that you're aiming for, the process has probably been used in a 'creative' capacity. You can always send two versions of any given channel (dry/wet) at no extra charge - we can then decide which is best to use during mixing. (It's great to have options!)

When effects have been used on a 'send' channel, feel free to export and include this channel along with the dry version (labelling appropriately) — please note that there is no extra charge for 'sends'.

In short: We'll only apply an effect if it's required for mixing purposes or if it has been specifically requested. If a processing/effect isn't on the channel when you send it over, it probably won't be on that channel after we've mixed it!

Exporting

Individual levels can be left as they are in the mix, if NOT clipping 0db.

• Panning & Automation (i.e. levels changes, frequency sweeps etc...) leave in-place.
• Please label all channels appropriately (e.g. Kick, Bass etc.).

Final Checklist

Please ensure the following are checked carefully before uploading your order:

• Include a rough demo mix of the song. This helps us to understand what you've envisaged for the arrangement of elements within the mix. (Without this we're just using our best judgement.)

• Include references when possible. This is by far the easiest way for us to understand the final sound, levels and balance that you're looking for. (Without this we're relying on our best judgement.)

• Ensure everything is labelled clearly (For Example: 'Artist - Song - Channel')

• All files should be in either wav or aiff audio format, minimum 24-bit 44.1k (not dithered) and nothing clipping 0db (at least 3db headroom is recommended).

• ALL the channels you wish are included in the project.

• Everything sounds exactly as it should when you combine the project channels starting together (no glitches, blank channels, out of sync audio etc...)