Please refer to the information below prior to uploading your mixes for mastering. If you have any questions or concerns about exporting or uploading your mixes, let us know and we’ll help out.
PRE-UPLOAD
CHECKLIST
Please send us .WAV, .AIFF, or .DSF/DFF* files at the sample rate at which they were recorded at the highest bit depth possible. These files must be ORIGINAL .WAV, .AIFF, or DSF/DFF files, not having been converted from mp3, wma, or any other compressed filetype.
Ensure that your mix files’ sampling rate is 44.1kHz or higher and that the resolution is 32-bit, 24-bit, or 16-bit.
Ensure that your mix files have at least a wee bit of headroom before clipping, meaning that the highest peaks in your stereo .WAV or . AIFF file must not exceed -0.1 dBFS.
Remove any loudness or limiting plugins from your main output unless you are 100% committed to the way that they sound. If you mix into loudness or maximization/limiting plugins, a mixbus compressor and/or EQ, leave it on. If you’re unsure, send us one mix with the processing engaged and one with it bypassed.
Listen to each mix file for its full duration in order to ensure that the audio plays back exactly as intended. If something doesn’t quite sound right, it should be addressed prior to mastering. If you have questions about how to address an issue prior to mastering, please get in in touch with us for mix assistance.
If relevant, files should be labeled in a similar manner to the guidelines provided below and if possible, should be zipped into one single file in order to provide protection against data corruption during file transfer.
All set? Upload your mixes to WeTransfer, Google Drive, Dropbox, or use our private upload portal after you book a session with us.
A well-organized and clearly-labeled stereo mix delivery for mastering.
SEQUENCING, METADATA,
& ALTERNATE MIXES
When booking a session, you will be asked for a tracklist outlining the running order and track titles as they will appear across distribution channels. If the vinyl or the CD is going to sport a different sequencing/running order than the digital release, please let us know when you book a session.
In addition, you will have the opportunity to request metadata to be embedded in your production masters. You may also opt to revise the metadata with your distributor after mastering. If requested, metadata will be embedded based on the information provided when you book a session, so double-check that your content has been entered correctly.
If you have alternate versions of your main mixes (Instrumental, Radio Edit, etc.) that require mastering, please label them according to the guidelines below and add the correct number of alternate mixes to your delivery when you book a session.
Please feel free to include a demo-mastered “reference” version of your track if you’ve been listening to a louder (maximized/limited) version of the mix — this helps us get a better idea of what you’re used to hearing.
Dolby atmos stems
A properly-organized and labeled Atmos stem delivery package.
Dolby Atmos is the standard for immersive or spatial audio (ALL...AROUND…YOU).
If you already have an Atmos mix, send me the ADM BWF and I can create the Atmos master.
If you do not have an Atmos mix already, I need either mix stems or a wet multitrack from the project’s mix engineer.
I'll build the Atmos mix from stems or a wet multitrack of the approved stereo mix so that it sits perfectly alongside the approved stereo master.
Please print your stems from the same mix revision we mastered. The goal is a set of stems that sums to that mix exactly.
Print all processing that is critical to your sound. Plugins on tracks and groups, automation, panning, and sidechaining can all remain engaged.
Turn off compression, saturation, clipping, and limiting on the mix bus. Send me a screenshot of what was there. (Yes, this is the opposite of the stereo mix prep advice. Mix bus processing reacts to the whole mix, so stems printed through it will not sum together the same way as the full mix. Using the screenshot of the mix bus processing, the same character will be recreated in the Atmos mix.) A clean, static EQ can stay on.
Send reverbs and delays as their own stems: the vocal reverb, snare room, delay throws, etc. In Atmos, effects can be placed separately from sources. Once they’re baked into a stem, I can’t separate them cleanly.
Send the lead vocal twice. One dry, with its EQ and compression, but no reverb or delay and one wet, exactly as it sits in the mix. The wet version is the reference point for feeling while the dry is what we will actually place.
Print centered mono sources as mono files (typically kick, snare, bass, and lead vocal) and everything else as stereo.
Keep compressed groups together. If parts share a compressed bus (like a drum bus), print that bus as one stem. However if you know the trick, you can instead key the bus compressor from the full bus while printing each part.
Export WAV files at 24-bit or 32-bit float at your session’s sample rate. Every stem must start and end at the same point, even if the part doesn’t come in until the bridge (print the silence too). No normalization and ensure that all peaks remain under 0.0 dBFS.
Audition before sending stems. Drop every stem into an empty session at the same starting point and play them at unity gain (all faders at 0). It should sound exactly like your mix, minus the bus processing. If something is missing, late, or doubled, you should hear it immediately. Include a print of your full mix with the mixbus processing off, labeled NO BUS. The stems should null against that print.
A good starting point for stems: 1) Kick · 2) Snare · 3) Toms · 4) Overheads · 5) Room Mics · 6) Percussion · 7) Bass · 8) Sub/808 · 9) Guitars · 10) Keys · 11) Synths · 12) Lead Vocal (Dry + Wet) · 13) Backing Vocals · 14) Vocal FX · 15) Reverb Returns · 16) Delay Returns · 17) FX.
Split further where necessary and combine stems where spatial separation is less relevant.
A perfect screenshot of mixbus processing: all plugins and parameters visible and the chain order displayed clearly.