Preparing Your Multitracks for Mixing
Getting your files ready for mixing is mostly about avoiding preventable problems. This checklist covers best practice for exporting multitracks so everything imports cleanly and stays perfectly aligned.
Introduction:
Getting your files ready for mixing is mostly about making sure everything imports cleanly, lines up properly and gives me the flexibility I need to work on the mix. There are a few general best practices, but there are also plenty of exceptions depending on how your track has been produced.
This guide covers the main things to check before exporting your multitracks. If you’re not quite sure whether you have multitracks, stems or something else, have a read of Stems Vs Multitracks: What’s The Difference?
For finished stereo mixes being sent for mastering, see the guide on Preparing Your Mix for Mastering.
If you have any questions at all, please do get in touch.
Clip Editing:
Ensure all production and vocal takes have been consolidated into a final comp track; make sure all edit sections within these tracks are properly crossfaded.
Mute any unwanted audio such as guitar amp hum or coughs between a singer’s lines, this ensures the mix engineer doesn’t accidentally keep in something you did not want in the mix.
Finalise all timing edits before export unless you have chosen to have these done during mixing.
Effects Processing:
Finalize all pitch correction before export unless you have chosen to have this done during mixing.
Remove processing that isn’t essential to the character of the sound. For example, if you have heavy compression on a snare simply to make it louder in the rough mix, I would normally leave that off. If an effect is an important part of the sound, such as an amp sim creating the actual guitar tone or a deliberate distorted vocal effect, leave it in.
If you’re unsure, send both versions and label them clearly as Wet and Dry. I’ve covered the different situations in much more detail in Should I Leave Effects On When Exporting Multitracks for Mixing?
Make sure none of your tracks are clipping when they are exported. There is no need to make every file peak at a particular level, just leave sensible room and make sure the exports are clean and unclipped.
Disable master bus processing when exporting the individual multitracks. You can leave your normal master bus processing on the rough mix you send alongside them, though, as that gives me a useful reference for the sound and balance you were hearing in your session.
Export Settings
Ensure all tracks are the same length, encompassing the entire song from start to finish. Even if a track consists solely of a triangle hit at the very end, make sure the file length is that of the entire song.
Export your multitracks as WAV or AIFF files rather than MP3s wherever possible. Use 24-bit or 32-bit float where your DAW allows it, and keep the files at the same sample rate as your project rather than converting them unnecessarily. Make sure the export settings are consistent across all of the tracks.
If your DAW has a Normalize or Normalise option when exporting, leave this switched off.
Please label all tracks clearly, for example ‘08 Electric Gtr DI’ and ‘12 Synth Pad Layer 1’.
References
Please include a rough mix which will serve as a guide during mixing and indicate the sound and feel you are going for. For example, while you may have removed processing such as a hall reverb on the drums for your bounce down, including it in your rough mix will let the engineer know that you are leaning towards a hall reverb drum sound.
Additionally, include the artist name, track title and BPM, along with any useful notes about the multitracks or the direction you want the mix to take. If you’re not sure what to include, I’ve written a separate guide to what notes you should send to your mixing engineer.
You’re also welcome to send links to professionally released tracks that capture a sound, balance or feel you like, but reference tracks aren’t essential. If you do send one, a quick note explaining what you like about it makes it much more useful. I’ve covered this in more detail in Should I Send a Reference Track to My Mixing or Mastering Engineer?.
Need mastering instead? Read: Preparing Your Mix for Mastering