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PREP FOR
FULL MIX + MASTER.
Full mix + master starts from your raw multitracks — every instrument, every MIDI bounce, every vocal take, every FX bus — and rebuilds the mix from zero before mastering. This is the most flexible option in the catalog and the one that requires the most prep on your end. A clean session export is the difference between a 5-day turnaround and a 12-day one.
01 / Why this matters
FIVE MINUTES NOW.
SAVES HOURS LATER.
If your session is messy — tracks named 'audio 47', no labeling, no consistent start time, doubled regions you forgot to clean up — the first three hours of the session are forensic work, not mixing. That is time I am charging you for that produces nothing. Prep the session properly and the entire session goes into the actual creative work.
02 / Pre-flight checklist
THE CHECKLIST.
Run through this before you hit bounce. Every item here is something I have seen go wrong on a real session.
- 01
Bounce stems at 24-bit WAV, 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz — every individual track separately
- 02
Each stem starts at sample 0 — line them up perfectly in a DAW
- 03
Leave 6 dB of headroom per stem — peak no higher than -6 dBFS
- 04
Include EVERY layer: kick, snare, hats, percussion, bass layers, synth layers, vocal layers, ad-libs, FX, transitions
- 05
Optionally: dry vocal stems (no effects) AND processed vocal stems (with reverb / delay you want kept)
- 06
Reference tracks (3–5 commercial songs in the target sound) + project notes
- 07
If you have rough mix decisions you love, send a stereo bounce of your rough mix as reference
03 / Common mistakes
DON'T DO
THESE.
The patterns that show up across every revision-heavy session.
Mistake 01
Tracks named 'Audio 1', 'Audio 2', 'Audio 3'
Name every track. Kick. Snare. Lead vocal. Bass guitar. If I have to listen to each track to figure out what it is, you are paying for that detective work. Two minutes of renaming saves two hours of solo'ing.
Mistake 02
Inconsistent start times across tracks
Every track must start at the exact same timestamp (bar 1 / 0:00:00). If a track does not enter until bar 32, leave the silence — do not trim it to start at bar 32. Aligning shifted tracks manually is the most tedious part of session import.
Mistake 03
MIDI tracks instead of audio bounces
I cannot mix MIDI directly — I need the audio. Bounce every MIDI track to audio using the exact instrument and patches you wrote with. If a sample changes between bounce and my session, the part sounds different.
Mistake 04
Sending the session file (.als, .logicx, .ptx)
I work cross-DAW. Do not send the project file. Send audio bounces only. If you also want me to have your MIDI for reference, export MIDI files separately — but the mix is built from audio.
Mistake 05
Missing reference tracks AND a brief
On full mix you are giving up significantly more creative control to me than on mastering. Without references and a written brief, I will mix to my taste — which may or may not be your taste. Specificity prevents revision rounds.
04 / File format
THE SPEC.
- Format: WAV or AIFF
- Bit depth: 24-bit minimum (32-bit float is fine and preferred)
- Sample rate: 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz, consistent across all tracks
- Every track: bounced to audio (no MIDI)
- Every track: starts at bar 1 / 0:00:00, silence kept intact
- Every track: labeled clearly with instrument + position (e.g., 'Lead Vocal', 'Bass DI', 'Kick Sample')
- Bus / FX returns: bounce these if they are part of your sound (reverb tails, delay throws). Otherwise send dry and I will recreate.
05 / Naming convention
NAME IT
LIKE A PRO.
Folder named `ArtistName_TrackTitle_Session_v01/`. Tracks inside named `01_Kick.wav`, `02_Snare.wav`, `03_Hihats.wav`, `04_Bass.wav`, `05_LeadVocal.wav`, etc. Numbered prefix keeps stems grouped by section (drums, bass, music, vox, FX). Add a `README.txt` if any track needs special context.
06 / Reference tracks
SEND
REFERENCES.
Send 2–3 references with detailed notes on what to match per reference. For full mix, also write a short brief: genre, vibe, the emotional weight of the track, what the lyric is about (helps me make vocal-vs-instrument balance decisions). The brief lives in the intake form — answer the creative questions carefully.
07 / Final check
BEFORE
YOU SEND.
Import every printed stem into a fresh empty session and play it back. If any stem starts late, sounds wrong, or is missing, fix and re-bounce before sending. This 10-minute check has saved every full-mix client I have worked with at least one revision round.
Ready to book
PREP DONE.
LET'S WORK.
Pre-flight clean? Bounce ready? Send it through and lock the brief on the onboarding call.
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