How Should I Export My Mix for Mastering?

Exporting your mix for mastering can be a daunting task, but with the right knowledge and techniques, you can ensure that your mix is ready for mastering and will sound its best. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to export your mix for mastering:

Step 1: Make sure your mix is final and complete

• Ensure that you have made all necessary adjustments and tweaks to your mix.
• Make sure that your mix sounds the way you want it to before exporting.

Step 2: Choose the right format and settings

• Use a WAV file with a sample rate of at least 44.1kHz and a bit depth of at least 16-bits.
• This ensures a high-quality sound and compatibility with most mastering software.

Step 3: Maintain the correct headroom

• Headroom refers to the amount of space between the highest peak in your mix and 0 dB.
• A good rule of thumb is to have at least -6dB of headroom in your mix. You can adjust this by turning down the master channel volume.

Step 4: Turn off any processing or effects on the master channel

• This includes EQ, compression, and limiters that you've added to the master channel. Note: you can keep plugins and effects on the individual tracks :).
• This is important for the mastering engineer to have a clean and unprocessed mix to work with.

Step 5: Export your mix as a stereo file

• Export your mix as two separate channels, left and right, rather than a mono file.
• This ensures a wide stereo field and will sound its best when played back on a stereo system.

Step 6: Label your files correctly

• Add the name of the artist, song, and the date of the mix.
• This is important for the mastering engineer to keep track of all the different versions of the mix and to ensure that they are working with the correct file.

Follow these tips and guidelines to ensure that your mix is ready for mastering and will sound its best. Remember to use the correct format and settings, maintain the correct headroom, turn off any processing or effects on the master channel, export your mix as a stereo file, and label your files correctly. This is how you can get the most potential out of your mix and mastering.