PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE UPLOADING FILES.
If you’d rather download this document, you can do so HERE.
This is a guide for preparing your session for a mix. Every engineer has different preferences when working in a session. This just happens to be my preference. I can be reached via phone or email with any questions.
Final Mixes
When you send files, please ensure that you are sending all the files of your completed song. If you haven’t finished recording, or if some parts in the song are being replaced later, or the production isn’t completely finished, your song is not ready to mix. More on this later.
Sample Rate/Bit Depth
I work in Pro Tools so if you are working in any other DAW please export WAV files at whatever sample rate and bit depth of your session. I prefer to work at 48k/24 bit. 96k 24 bit is fine, but absolutely not 16 bit! You should not be working in 16 bit as that will compromise the dynamic range and overall quality of your final mix.
If you are bouncing files out of a DAW other than Pro Tools, please send the files with the faders at 0dB.
Tempo/Key
If you're working in Pro Tools please send the Pro Tools session with main playlists only, unless you’ve done edits as listed below. Unless there is additional comping/editing to be done and this has been specifically discussed with the artist, please send the latest version of the session.
I like to know the BPM and key of each song. If working in pro tools and the song was recorded to a click, please leave the tempo set to the proper tempo of the session.
If you’re working in Pro Tools, please use the key function so it can be displayed in the session timeline. If you are working in another DAW, please consolidate any tracks to the beginning of the session so they match up with the click track I create.
Recording
I prefer to have the tracks as you usually record them. I am fine with things being recorded with EQ and compression on them!
Please check the phase on everything you record! There are no “rules” per se, but there are guidelines and having everything in phase will allow your music to have the strongest sonic impact it can have.
References
If you wish to use reference songs, please send 2 or 3 songs as a guide for what direction you would like the song to go in. This can be done by sending WAV’s or using a Spotify or Tidal playlist. Please send any notes with specific preferred effects prior to mixing.
Rough Mixes
I like to listen to the most recent rough mix of each song. I usually keep these at the bottom of my session so if you have one you can just leave it there or send it to me separately. Leave any plugins and automation so I can see what was going on and work off of it. If you had it there it must be there for a reason.
Tuning/Editing/Session Status
Songs submitted for mixing with all of the editing, comping, and tuning completed will take almost half as long to complete and will be charged a different rate than songs submitted that require a lot of editing. If you have already tuned vocals and done any editing let me know. Please only do this if you are comfortable with the editing process. If you are not comfortable with it and do it anyway, the work will essentially have to be done twice. Here are a couple of guidelines if you are editing to make the process more seamless:
If working in Pro Tools:
● If the song was not recorded to a click and you are working in Pro Tools, please tempo map the song using the Identify Beat command (Cmnd + I) or with Beat Detective’s Bar|Beat Marker Generation function before using Beat Detective’s quantize editing
functions. This will allow you to maintain the feel of the performance while making the performance tighter.
● Timing: If using Beat Detective to fix timing issues (or doing so manually), please make a duplicate playlist of the tracks beforehand.
● Tuning: If using Melodyne, please don’t commit the file and send the track(s) with Melodyne still on the insert or as an ARA. Also include the Melodyne folder in your Pro Tools session folder so I get the Melodyne files as well.
● If you have a Pro Tools session, please leave all plug-ins and automation exactly as it was from the last session you had. If you’ve gotten your session to a place you’re satisfied with, it only makes sense to start a mix from that point rather than start from square one.
If you’re not working in Pro Tools:
● A lot of DAW’s automatically bounce or export files in stereo. Please make sure to bounce or export your mono tracks as mono tracks.
● If the song was not recorded to a click, please tempo map the song, if you know how.
● Timing: If you fix timing issues, please make a duplicate playlist of the tracks beforehand.
● Tuning: If using Melodyne, please commit the file, but also send the untuned files as well, properly labelled indicating which file is which.
● If you have a done any automation, or have any plugins on tracks that you want to keep, please commit the files, but make sure you aren’t committing a file that’s too quiet or distorted. Any files you do bounce or commit should be doubled checked for this purpose.
Deliverables
Once the mixes are completed, I will send them via a link to Filepass. Filepass is a service that allows the user to stream audio directly from the site and works equally well on iOS and Android. It has a high-res lossless player built into it so the mixes can be streamed right from the site. Filepass allows you to make comments on the mix with timestamps, so you can make comments as general or specific as you like.
Filepass has a listen-only feature; if payment has not been completed for the project it will be set to listen only and the mixes will not be downloadable. Once payment is made you will be able to download. I need all email addresses the mixes should be sent to.
Once completed, the songs will be downloadable and I will deliver the songs to the mastering engineer directly, as I will have alternate mixes to send them as well.
Mix Revisions
I am always happy to do mix revisions at no additional charge. I want you to be 100% happy with your mixes! I do ask that I only get one set of revisions per round. If I receive separate notes from individuals, at different times, involved in the decision-making process (producer, band members, labels, etc.), I find that most of them are contradicting to each other so please get together as a group and come up with one list. I also ask that you sit with the mix for more than an hour or two before sending notes, take your time! Please do not text me or Facebook message me mix revisions. These get lost quickly! I use a website called Filepass to post mixes and you can comment on the file itself with timestamps.
As I stated above, when you send files, please ensure that you are sending all the files of your completed song. If you haven’t finished recording, or if some parts in the song are being replaced later, or the production isn’t completely finished, your song is not ready to mix. If I finish a mix and you want to add parts after the mix is completed, this will be at the cost of a new mix. New/replaced parts don’t just drop in to a work that’s finished. To put it another way, you don’t get a cake from a baker and ask them to put another egg in it.
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