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PREP FOR
VOCAL MIX + MASTER.
Vocal mix + master is for artists who bought an instrumental and need the vocal to sit professionally on top. The instrumental is whatever it is — already mixed, already mastered, sometimes a beat from a YouTube purchase. My job is to make your performance feel like it belongs in that production at major-label level.
01 / Why this matters
FIVE MINUTES NOW.
SAVES HOURS LATER.
The fastest way to kill a vocal mix is to print the dry stems with effects already baked in. If your reverb, autotune, or doubles processing is in the printed stem, I cannot undo it — I can only add more on top. Print the dry takes. Send the effects as references or notes, not as printed audio.
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 every vocal track separately: lead, doubles, harmonies, ad-libs, backing vocals
- 02
24-bit WAV, 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz
- 03
Each vocal stem from sample 0 — line them up exactly in a DAW
- 04
Leave 6 dB of headroom per vocal — no peak above -6 dBFS
- 05
Include the FINAL instrumental as a stereo bounce (mastered or unmastered — let me know which)
- 06
Mark which vocal take is the lead if you have multiple options
- 07
Reference tracks (1–3 commercial songs with the vocal energy + sound you want)
03 / Common mistakes
DON'T DO
THESE.
The patterns that show up across every revision-heavy session.
Mistake 01
Sending the vocal already pitch-corrected with effects
Send the raw lead vocal dry. If you have a specific tune effect you love (T-Pain style hard tune, subtle melodyne polish), describe it or send a reference clip — do not print it into the stems. I will recreate the effect cleanly during the mix.
Mistake 02
Lead, doubles, harmonies, and ad-libs printed as one stem
Each of these needs its own placement and processing. A single 'vocals' stem with everything bounced together is unmixable. Print: lead, doubles (L and R), harmonies (per stack), ad-libs — each as its own stereo file.
Mistake 03
Missing instrumental
Send both the instrumental bounce and your vocal stems. The instrumental is the reference — I need to mix the vocal INTO it, which means I need it sitting next to the stems in my session.
Mistake 04
Inconsistent stem start times
Same rule as stem mastering: every vocal stem starts at the exact same timestamp, even if the harmony only enters at the chorus. Silence at the start is correct.
Mistake 05
Unedited stems with breaths, pops, and bad takes
Comp your takes before sending. If take 3 has the best phrasing and take 5 has the best high note, paste them together so the printed stem is the version you actually want me to mix. I am not going to comp 47 takes for you — that is performance editing, not mixing.
04 / File format
THE SPEC.
- Format: WAV or AIFF
- Bit depth: 24-bit
- Sample rate: matches the instrumental
- Lead vocal: stereo interleaved (or mono if recorded mono)
- Doubles: stereo pair (one file per L/R, or stereo interleaved)
- Harmonies: per stack, separate stems
- Ad-libs: separate stem(s)
- Instrumental: full stereo bounce of the beat
05 / Naming convention
NAME IT
LIKE A PRO.
Folder named `ArtistName_TrackTitle_VocalSession_v01/`, with stems inside named `01_Instrumental.wav`, `02_Lead.wav`, `03_DoublesL.wav`, `04_DoublesR.wav`, `05_HarmoniesChorus.wav`, `06_Adlibs.wav`. Number prefix keeps order, content is obvious at a glance.
06 / Reference tracks
SEND
REFERENCES.
1–3 references — but for vocal mixing, send references with the same vocal style as yours. If you are mixing a rap vocal, do not reference a pop ballad. Specifically flag what to match: vocal placement (forward vs sitting in the mix), reverb / delay treatment, doubling style, presence at the top end.
07 / Final check
BEFORE
YOU SEND.
Solo each printed stem and listen on headphones for at least 10 seconds. Anything you would not want in the final mix — breath pops, mic bumps, accidental claps, plosives — fix or remove before sending. The cleaner the print, the better the mix.
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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