{"id":28273,"date":"2024-05-03T15:53:28","date_gmt":"2024-05-03T19:53:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/?p=28273"},"modified":"2024-05-21T13:08:35","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T17:08:35","slug":"how-to-prepare-your-mix-for-mastering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-prepare-your-mix-for-mastering\/","title":{"rendered":"How to prepare your mix for mastering: 5 essential tips"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Illustration:<\/strong> Franco \u00c9galit\u00e9<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it\u2019s easier than ever for artists to mix and master their own music, mastering is still an important and highly intricate part of music creation.<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s because mastering engineers perform key services for artists and producers, including checking the mix with a fresh set of ears, fixing any unintentional mistakes, achieving genre-appropriate loudness, and preparing the final file for distribution.<\/a> In this article, we\u2019ll take a look at five essential tips that will help you prepare your mix for mastering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

1. Make sure the mix isn\u2019t clipping<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rule number one is very simple\u2014if your mix is clipping, turn it down before exporting.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the world of digital audio, dBTP<\/strong> means \u201cdecibels (True Peak).” Think of digital audio like a container; when you put more into it than it can hold, it spills out, causing a mess. If your mix is too loud, the audio will clip, causing unpleasant distortion,<\/a> and unless you\u2019re playing a harsh noise set in a basement in Bushwick, you probably don\u2019t want your audio to distort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, it\u2019s very easy to tell if your mix is clipping. A wise audio engineer once told me, \u201cThey didn\u2019t make the lights red because they ran out of green ones.\u201d You’ll likely be able to simply hear if your mix is distorting, but most DAWs also have visual aids to assist.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"A<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

This looks okay!<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"A<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

This could use some work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

2. Leave some headroom<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Headroom doesn\u2019t have anything to do with your hat size. Rather, headroom<\/strong> refers to how much space there is between the loudest peaks of your mix and the limit of how loud the mix can possibly be (0 dBTP, as we discussed above).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a mastering engineer is working on your track, they’ll likely be applying processing that will make the track louder, but if your loudest peaks are already hitting 0 dBTP, they’ll be unable to apply that processing. That\u2019s why it\u2019s good to leave some headroom!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is easy to do. First, remove any limiters you may be using for loudness\u2014mastering engineers will limit your audio, and they\u2019ll possibly use some fancy outboard gear to do it in a way that sounds great. Then, simply move your channel or bus faders down to the desired level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I usually do this in Ableton by clicking on a group header, pressing cmd + A to select all group buses, and moving the fader down by a few decibles. This should adjust all of your groups, ensuring that your mix balance doesn\u2019t change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How much headroom should I leave for mastering?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There’s no real consensus when it comes to exactly how much headroom is necessary when preparing a mix for mastering. Different engineers ask for different levels: some want -6 db, some want -10 dB, and some don\u2019t really care as long as the mix isn\u2019t clipping. Use a loudness meter like Youlean<\/a> to analyze your audio and ensure that you deliver the mix with the appropriate amount of headroom as requested by your engineer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

3. Check your mix in mono<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Stereo issues like phasing can be really tricky. Certain production techniques that employ time-based effects can create phase issues, so it can be worthwhile to check your mix in mono. I use the Utility audio effect in Ableton to do this, but pretty much any DAW should have a way to listen in mono instead of stereo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you listen to your mono mix, make sure you can hear everything\u2014although it will definitely sound different in mono vs. stereo, nothing should be completely<\/em> canceling out. If your mix is missing entire elements when playing back in mono, that\u2019s a telltale sign of phase issues. Check the channel that’s missing, and adjust any time-based effects until the cancellation in mono is gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

4. Export a lossless file<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This might be a no-brainer for the more experienced producers reading this, but it bears reinforcing: Give your mastering engineer a lossless file. Typically, that\u2019s going to mean .wav, .flac, or .aiff, although other lossless file formats do exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t<\/em> send your mix as an .mp3 or .m4a! These formats are \u201clossy,\u201d<\/a> meaning that they have reduced quality in exchange for decreased file size. That\u2019s not really a problem if you\u2019re just listening to tunes, but if you\u2019re sending a mix off to be mastered, using a lossy file will lead to significantly inferior results. Your mastering engineer will (should) reject the file and ask you for a lossless version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the way, if you\u2019re sending files to your engineer using Messages for MacOS, don\u2019t just drag-and-drop your file in the message box and send it! Messages automatically compresses audio files to .m4a, even if the original file is lossless. Instead, send a link to download the file using Dropbox, Hightail, WeTransfer, or another file transfer service to guarantee that your engineer receives your mix in the lossless quality it deserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

5. Don’t dither<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When exporting your track from your DAW, you may have seen an option called “dither.” Dithering<\/strong> is a process that preserves the quality of digital media, including audio files. For an in-depth explanation on dithering, check out our blog post below that’s dedicated to the topic, but for our purposes here, it\u2019s enough to know that dither works by adding some random noise to the end of a truncated digital file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
What is dithering in audio? When to dither and how it works<\/a><\/blockquote>