If you have questions about mixing, they should be answered here. If you’re not sure whether I should mix for you, let’s try one track—That’s the best way to find out. Contact me for current rates and any other questions.
Billing OPTIONs
Per Day
Full Day or Half Day
Per Song
Flat Rate Including Four Revisions
Contract
Negotiated on a per-project basis for multiple tracks and/or full productions.
Additional Tweaks & Auxiliary Services
Hourly
Contact me for current rates.
Which option is right for you?
Your mix time will depend on:
•the quality of your recordings
•the organization of your sessions or stems
•the complexity of your music and productions
•your expectations
Mixes require setup, typically less time for shared Pro Tools sessions than for exported stems. Simple sessions can be up and running in a few minutes. Complex sessions can take up to a couple hours to set up.
Straightforward, well-organized sessions with good audio can often be mixed in a few hours, especially if your recording captures the sound you want.
Complex or disorganized sessions, and especially those that need help like arrangement tweaks, tuning, editing, sound replacements, additional production, or lots of effects, can take a few days to yield a great mix.
The more closely your expectations match your recording, the easier (and better) your mix will be. The same goes for open-mindedness. I love challenges and experimentation, and I’ll get as creative as you want, or keep pushing for perfection—but those mixes tend to require more work, and so cost more.
Below you’ll find guidelines for the most common mixing considerations. Don’t worry if you don’t understand everything or you get stuck—We’ll figure it out. Contact me if you need help.
Mixing Guidelines
Sharing Files
To share your files with me remotely, please use either DropBox or WeTransfer. For long-term collaborations, I’ll set up a shared DropBox folder that we can use throughout your project. When sharing stems, please follow the “Stem Guidelines” and “What To Send Me” instructions below:
Stem Guidelines
•make sure all your stems line up at the same starting point
•export Mono tracks as Mono files and Stereo tracks as Stereo files
•export at the same resolution as your session (e.g. 44.1kHz/24-bit), or:
•export at the resolution we’ve agreed for the mix sessions
•disable all plugins to remove processing before exporting, or:
•export with plugins active to send me processed audio
•don’t export tracks so loud that they’re digitally distorted or clipped
•make sure your audio edits have proper crossfades to avoid “pops”
•name the tracks/stems simply and accurately
What To Send Me
•your Pro Tools sessions or exported stems
• the BPM of each session in its folder name (“Name_110 BPM”)
•your rough mix, if you like it (if not, leave it out)
•notes about what you want, like, don’t want, don’t like, etc.
•any mixes from other artists/projects you want yours to sound like
•if you have markers in your Logic session, export your MIDI files separately as described in this video:
Should You Send Me Raw Or Processed Stems?
It depends. If you send me processed stems, the audio will sound how you’ve already shaped it, and your mix should arrive pretty much how you left it with all channels zeroed in my session. If this sounds good, it saves me a lot of work and time and I can build on your results; if not, it may take me more time to fix things than if I had started fresh. If you send me raw audio, I have to rebuild the mix and process your tracks from scratch, which takes time, but this may be better for your sound in the long run if your original work wasn’t optimal.
Sharing Stems From Pro Tools
The only reason to share stems with me from Pro Tools is to preserve audio or processing from plugins I don’t have. In that case, please consider the stem guidelines above when exporting, and let me know if you need help. Otherwise just send me your entire Pro Tools session(s) and I’ll work from those.
Sharing Stems From Logic
Below is a useful video on exporting from Logic. If you need help sharing stems with me from other platforms, consult your user guide or search online for instructional videos. Users of other platforms can learn from this video about options to look for:
Mix Notes
Please send me consolidated notes from a single source via email or text. If multiple bandmates or creative partners are contributing to the notes, kindly sort them among your team before sending me the final decisions. Conflicting notes (“Zoë says the kazoo should come up, but I thought it was too loud.”) will self-cancel and be ignored. If you want to discuss the notes in addition to sending them, call me.
The First Mix
Don’t panic if the first mix I send you isn’t perfect. Art is subjective, mixing especially so. Choices that seem obvious to you might never occur to another person. The first mix is my way of saying, “Where do we go from here?” Occasionally it’s right on, but it always tells us what to do next.
Revisions
Mix tweaks are normal and expected. I’m happy to keep improving a mix as long as it takes. If you’re paying by time (full day, half day, etc.), I’ll always bill the lowest amount (hour, half day, etc.) required for the adjustment. If you’re paying per mix, your rate will include a certain number of revisions, after which we’ll revert to a time basis.
There are famous industry stories about people mixing tracks hundreds of times before settling on a version to release. If we’re not able to nail it within about five versions (first mix + four revisions), something’s wrong—either we’re not communicating properly, the production isn’t working, or the goal isn’t clear. Let’s pause and reevaluate before we keep grinding. One of my clients always reminds me to have fun when I start a new mix. I love that advice. Success is important, and perfectionism and obsession are sometimes unavoidable, but fun is crucial for great art, happiness, and healthy living.
The Final Mix
Let me know if you want your mix exported at a particular resolution, otherwise I’ll choose. Your mastering engineer will set the final resolution for the appropriate industrial context (44.1kHz/16-bit for most applications, 48kHz/24-bit for sync/video, etc.). I won’t run your mix through a limiter or artificially turn it up. This gives your mastering engineer more flexibility. (I’m happy to run off a separate copy gained up with a limiter, but that’s not a master, nor should it be sent for mastering.) This means your mix will be quieter when compared to mastered releases. For proper comparisons, match levels first. If you want to hear your mix louder, turn it up.
My Mix Process
I work in Pro Tools and often mix inboard with an analog SSL G Series Bus Compressor and API 5500 EQ inserted on the master bus. Sometimes I process sub-mixes or certain tracks through other analog gear. Occasionally I’ll sum sub-mixes outboard with various hardware inserted, which has its own great feeling—this approach makes recalls slower, but it can be fun and worthwhile for the right projects. I often print reverbs and delays from my external units so I can treat ambience and echoes as part of the recording rather than effects dumps. If you have technical preferences or requests, let me know. I’m happy to work however you want.
Mastering
Read about mastering here.