Mix Prep Guide
ready to hand over your song files for mixing?
We get many mixing requests and want to get down to business with your project quickly and efficiently. To ensure we return your project back to you radio-ready and correct the first time, we recommend you work through the following 10 steps.
STEP ONE
Ensure your song/s are completely finished and do not need further production or recorded parts added to them.¹
STEP TWO
Remove multiple vocal/instrument takes and include only edited or composite final takes.¹
STEP THREE
Ensure all audio files are complete from start to finish, including enough lead-in time and instruments ring-out completely with no awkward edits or fade ins/outs. Ensure there are no pops or clicks.
STEP FOUR
Each song in your project contains it’s own sub-folder and is checked for the correct spelling, presented in the following format — [Song Title]_[Tempo]_[Key].
Example song folder title: “Billy Jean_117_F#minor”
STEP FIVE
Each song folder contains consolidated *.wav files (please do not send *.mp3) that share the same start location. It’s OK if one or several instruments have a long lead-in of silence before they enter the song, The most important consideration is that they enter the song at the moment they’re meant to.
STEP SIX
Each recorded track is stripped of all plugin processing — with the exception of virtual instruments. If you really love the way an instrument sounds and you think it may be difficult to reproduce, then by all means include it as a separate file with the same name and track number – see Step 8 below – with the “_Pr” extension added to the name.
For example: “07 Gtr1” being the unprocessed version; “07 Gtr1-Pr” being the processed version.
STEP SEVEN
Number each track in sequence from 01—99, followed by a short recognizable instrument name. If applicable, include a letter for the song section it belongs to after a dash — V=Verse / Ch=Chorus / Br=Bridge, etc. Please avoid using people’s names or microphones as track names.
If a track number is missing from the sequence we will let you know immediately.
STEP EIGHT
Include a text document inside each song folder listing the final track-count in each song and any specific mixing notes you may have.
STEP NINE
We highly recommend you include a rough mix. This can be either *.mp3 or *.wav format. The rough mix helps us understand the general aesthetic of your song, what you were aiming for, and helps us quickly determine if files may be missing.
STEP TEN
Finally, save your entire project into a folder using the *.zip file compression format
¹Project delivery may delay and extra charges will apply if files require extensive editing or are added after mixing has already commenced
