I prefer 24-bit .wav or AIFF files at a sample rate of 44.1 KHz, but I also support 16-bit and 32-bit files at all sample rates, audio CD-Rs, and DAT. Mp3 files are not suitable for mastering.


Preparation is really quite simple:

1. Remove ALL plugins on the master bus (EQ, compression, limiting, tape or tube emulation, etc).
2. Set the master fader so that the mix peaks around -3 dB.
3. Render your mix at the same sample rate you tracked at, as a single stereo 24-bit or higher .wav or AIFF file.
4. You're done! Please don't alter the rendered file in any way.

If you have access to an audio editor, such as Sound Forge or WaveLab, please check each track to make sure that it never reaches 0 dB. If it does, your file is clipped, which means it was mixed down at too high a volume. Please lower the master fader and render your mix again.

Please render your files as 24 or 32-bit, even if you recorded at 16. Mastering a 24-bit source yields a much better result than a 16-bit source possibly can. Modern DAWs operate at 32-bits or higher internally, which means a 16-bit file is missing at least half of the data generated by the software. If there is absolutely no way to provide 24-bit files, your 16-bit source needs to be properly dithered. If you need help, just let me know and I'll walk you through each step.

Do not EQ, compress, limit, or normalize your mixes. This only refers to the 2-track stereo mixdown! Feel free to EQ and compress individual tracks or groups to taste, but once you mix those elements together into a single stereo file, please leave it alone.

Note any fades you would like, and exactly when you want them to start and end relative to the beginning of the track (for example, "start fade out at 3:52 - end track at 4:07"). If you do the fade yourself, the sound of the track will change through the course of the fade as my compressor and limiter responds to the change in volume. That's why fades are ideally done after all other processing.

In order to understand your artistic vision, it would help me to hear a commercial CD with the overall sound and loudness you are looking for. I can make your release as loud as anything out there, at the cost of dynamic range. Dynamics are a necessary part of music, and without them, the ears tire quickly. The choice is up to you, but for what it's worth, I like to err on the side of more dynamic range.

Click here to upload your files, or e-mail me for the mailing address. For more advice on mixing, check out my mix tips articles.


Q: Why can't I compress the master bus? The mix sounds wimpy when I take it off.

A: I strongly recommend against mixing through a compressor, limiter, or any sort of tape/tube emulation. Sure, it may sound more "like a record," but I guarantee that it won't sound as good in the end as it could have.

First off, the order of operations is wrong. EQ is almost always performed before compression. If there's too much energy in the low bass (which is the case in about half the mixes I receive), the compressor will be driven primarily by those frequencies. That phenomenon even has a fancy name: intermodulation distortion. Adjusting the bass before compression allows me to get the proper punch and density out of your mix.

Furthermore, compressing the master bus permanently imprints your compressor's attack/release characteristics on the mix. Adding more compression on my end means superimposing the attack/release characteristics of my compressor on top of yours, which seldom produces the desired punch. It's best done once, with a mastering grade unit.

By my definition at least, mastering is any processing done on the entire mix. Compression is the one essential process that distinguishes a mastered track from an unmastered track, and it's the hardest to get right. That's why you're hiring me to do it.

If you've already mixed your album through a compressor and/or limiter (tisk tisk), and removing them ruins the mix, please send me both versions: a processed one and a clean one. In most cases, the processed version will serve as a reference as I master the clean version.