This is a short but sweet explanation of the targets you should aim for when preparing a track to be sent for mastering. Before you even think about mastering, you need a solid mixdown in place. If you're sending your mix to an engineer as separate parts, read my guide to bouncing a track into stems first.
These guidelines are written with Ableton Live in mind, but the principles stay the same whatever your DAW of choice.
Before bouncing
- Mix down the levels of your track so they are balanced and panned how you want them, leaving plenty of headroom on the master channel.
- Make sure the project has enough headroom. When you listen back, the master channel should be peaking around -6dB with the fader at 0dB. Don't worry about the occasional small peak over -6dB.
- Make sure there are no active effects or devices on the master channel. If you've put devices on the master, turn them off before bouncing.
- Leave at least 1 second of silence at the start and end of the track, so no initial transients or reverb tails are cut off on export.
Exporting the project
Once you're happy with your mix, bounce the project down with these settings:
| File type | WAV |
|---|---|
| Sample rate | 44100 (48000 also fine) |
| Bit depth | 24 (32 also fine) |
| Dithering | Off. Dithering is only needed if sample rate conversion is taking place. If it is, use Triangle or POW-r 1. |
Then send the file to your mastering engineer using a service like WeTransfer, so nothing gets compressed on the way.
Want to get your mixes there yourself?
A good master starts with a good mix, and mixing in Ableton Live is something I teach in one to one lessons, from gain staging and EQ to getting your low end under control. Have a look at my online Ableton Live lessons, or book a free taster session.