- things to consider before sending stuff over!
Recording and pre-prep before sending to mix
When recording to digital, always keep your recorded signals in a safe zone - avoid hitting the red parts of those DAW meters at all costs to keep your project free from unwanted digital distortion. Sure, we all like distortion, but this is the bad, glitchy and mojo-less kind, ok?
If possible, record at 24 bit. At this bit depth, noise floor becomes a non-issue, which means you can keep the peaks (the loudest parts) of the in-going signals at very moderate levels, with no degradation in audio quality. And by keeping those signals low and controlled, you won't have to deal with that digital distortion stuff mentioned in the paragraph above.
Trying to repair the damage done by a bad cut or fade is often very time-consuming, so only edit your audio files if you know what you're doing. Otherwise, leave everything as you recorded it and let me deal with the editing part. Include instructions if you have specific wishes regarding the editing process. Keep in mind that string noise, room sounds and breathing between vocal takes often help to bring ambience and an organic feel to the track, so don't edit too hard unless that's the direction you're sure you want to go.
Bounce/mix down every single channel from your recording session individually, completely raw and unaltered; i.e. no high- or low-pass filtering, no post-recording compression or EQ, and no additional reverb or other effects.
Make sure every channel is exported from the same starting point in the project, so everything lines up fine when imported at my end.
Send your audio files in ZIP or RAR archives in WAV or AIFF format , 44.1 up to 192 kHz, and anything in between. Keep everything properly named in folders and subfolders, e.g. Song1_176bpm -> Drums -> Snare_Top.wav; Song 1 -> Guitars -> Rectifier_SM57.wav and so on. You get the picture. Proper file management saves a lot of time.
Include details in a brief text file or through email, listing possible problem areas and specific instructions to certain parts of the song. Always feel free to name reference tracks early on in the process, if you have any. It really helps getting a general idea of where you want the project to go, increasing the mix' potential.
On this note, you're also more than welcome to include a rough mix you've made yourselves, to illustrate what kind of soundscape you're going for.
Communicate.
If you have any questions, get in touch!
When recording to digital, always keep your recorded signals in a safe zone - avoid hitting the red parts of those DAW meters at all costs to keep your project free from unwanted digital distortion. Sure, we all like distortion, but this is the bad, glitchy and mojo-less kind, ok?
If possible, record at 24 bit. At this bit depth, noise floor becomes a non-issue, which means you can keep the peaks (the loudest parts) of the in-going signals at very moderate levels, with no degradation in audio quality. And by keeping those signals low and controlled, you won't have to deal with that digital distortion stuff mentioned in the paragraph above.
Trying to repair the damage done by a bad cut or fade is often very time-consuming, so only edit your audio files if you know what you're doing. Otherwise, leave everything as you recorded it and let me deal with the editing part. Include instructions if you have specific wishes regarding the editing process. Keep in mind that string noise, room sounds and breathing between vocal takes often help to bring ambience and an organic feel to the track, so don't edit too hard unless that's the direction you're sure you want to go.
Bounce/mix down every single channel from your recording session individually, completely raw and unaltered; i.e. no high- or low-pass filtering, no post-recording compression or EQ, and no additional reverb or other effects.
Make sure every channel is exported from the same starting point in the project, so everything lines up fine when imported at my end.
Send your audio files in ZIP or RAR archives in WAV or AIFF format , 44.1 up to 192 kHz, and anything in between. Keep everything properly named in folders and subfolders, e.g. Song1_176bpm -> Drums -> Snare_Top.wav; Song 1 -> Guitars -> Rectifier_SM57.wav and so on. You get the picture. Proper file management saves a lot of time.
Include details in a brief text file or through email, listing possible problem areas and specific instructions to certain parts of the song. Always feel free to name reference tracks early on in the process, if you have any. It really helps getting a general idea of where you want the project to go, increasing the mix' potential.
On this note, you're also more than welcome to include a rough mix you've made yourselves, to illustrate what kind of soundscape you're going for.
Communicate.
If you have any questions, get in touch!
Mixing and pre-prep before sending to master
First and foremost, avoid slamming your mixes through a limiter before sending 'em over, and only use two-bus compression if it's for style, color & pizazz, not for volume level - that's part of my job. By leaving some headroom in there, we might just end up getting results which both retain dynamics and goes fairly loud.
16 or 24 bit, the Lab does 'em both but recommends the latter. If you do all your DAW work at 32 bit float, you can send that too, but mixing everything down to 24 bit is recommended and won't degrade your audio. It will, however, make smaller, easier-to-handle files. If you recorded at 16 bit, leave it at 16 bit.
Send WAV or AIFF files, 44.1 up to 192 KHz, in ZIP or RAR archives.
Name the files you send so they are easily identifiable. If you have decided on a track sequence, please include the number as the very first part of the file name, e.g. 01_Artist_Song_VocUp.WAV.
If possible, leave any fade-ins and/or fade-outs for mastering, with added instructions on where you need the fades applied.
Should you have specific requests regarding track sequence gaps and fade ins/outs, feel free to create and send your own montage for use as a template track. This can be sent as a low resolution MP3.
Always include a text file briefly detailing any special preferences, suggestions and reference tracks. It's always better to find out sooner rather than later and will help get the creative process going, ultimately getting you the result you're hoping for.
Communicate.
If you have any questions, get in touch!
First and foremost, avoid slamming your mixes through a limiter before sending 'em over, and only use two-bus compression if it's for style, color & pizazz, not for volume level - that's part of my job. By leaving some headroom in there, we might just end up getting results which both retain dynamics and goes fairly loud.
16 or 24 bit, the Lab does 'em both but recommends the latter. If you do all your DAW work at 32 bit float, you can send that too, but mixing everything down to 24 bit is recommended and won't degrade your audio. It will, however, make smaller, easier-to-handle files. If you recorded at 16 bit, leave it at 16 bit.
Send WAV or AIFF files, 44.1 up to 192 KHz, in ZIP or RAR archives.
Name the files you send so they are easily identifiable. If you have decided on a track sequence, please include the number as the very first part of the file name, e.g. 01_Artist_Song_VocUp.WAV.
If possible, leave any fade-ins and/or fade-outs for mastering, with added instructions on where you need the fades applied.
Should you have specific requests regarding track sequence gaps and fade ins/outs, feel free to create and send your own montage for use as a template track. This can be sent as a low resolution MP3.
Always include a text file briefly detailing any special preferences, suggestions and reference tracks. It's always better to find out sooner rather than later and will help get the creative process going, ultimately getting you the result you're hoping for.
Communicate.
If you have any questions, get in touch!