FAQS
WHAT IS MIXING?
Ultimately, mixing is the process of taking a song's raw constituent parts and "mixing" them together to form a (usually) stereo file (known as a "premaster"). The line between "production" and "mixing" tends to be blurry and it's pretty normal for mix engineers to take on highly creative decisions during the mixing process but this will be assessed directly with you on a project by project basis.
WHAT DOES MIXING INVOLVE?
It really depends on what you want mixed! Everything is done with your song in mind, so we won't be over tuning the vocals on that gritty rock track or adding saturation on everything just "because". Mixing is an art that takes years to hone and no two tracks are mixed the same. That being said, typically mixing will involve:
Control of dynamics
Levels and balancing
EQing
Time-based effects (reverbs, delays, etc.)
Appropriate tuning
Automation
WHAT IS MASTERING?
Mastering is the process of taking a finished mix and preparing it for commercial formats (typically these days its digital streaming services). By knowing where your music will end up, we can eke out every last drop of life within the limits of the end format. It also provides the final opportunity to shape the overall sound and ensure it stands up against similar established tracks.
WHAT DOES MASTERING INVOLVE?
Similar to mixing, it ultimately depends on what's being mastered but we will always ensure of a few things:
It sounds good to us (we have high standards 😉)
It sounds good to you!
It stands up against similar commercially successful tracks
It will sound good on the format it ends up on and conforms to accepted industry standards.
After mastering, you will be provided with the full quality lossless master which will be ready for uploading to digital streaming services.
WHY DON'T I JUST USE AN AI INSTANT MASTERING SERVICE?
Artificially intelligent mastering services are springing up all over and sure, they have their uses but they can never replace the decision making of an experienced engineer.
AI might be able to tell if your mix is muddy and "fix" it but will it be able to tell if in "fixing it" it has killed the energy in your vocal and pushed it back in your mix? Or can it tell if it has over compressed the whole mix and killed the dynamics that your mix engineer spent so long trying to ensure remained? When you consider the moving parts involved in music, AI mastering comes down to probability and luck as to whether or not you get a half decent master. In many cases, I've heard results that are actually worse than the original pre-master. In any case, even when it goes well, I'd argue you still wouldn't have got the best out of your music.
So why spend all that time and energy (and sometimes money) meticulously crafting your music only to settle for sub-optimal mastering? The answer: don't!
WHAT IF I DON'T LIKE MY MIX / MASTER?
Although this is rare, neither mixing or mastering is an exact science and it can be very subjective. Occasionally, views may differ on how a mix / master should sound, therefore I am happy to offer up to 3 free revisions based on your feedback to give you peace of mind (and this can be discussed over the phone or video call). In the very unlikely event that you still aren't happy after this, things do get trickier as I will have invested a lot of time and therefore a full refund for a subjective decision is unrealistic. If it gets this far I will be happy to discuss options.
To avoid exhausting your revisions, it's a good idea to be as descriptive as you possibly can be about what you want changed and include everything! If, for example, you ask for guitars to be brighter and I send it back to you, then you suggest a vocal needs more reverb, this will count as two revisions. If you tell me everything in one go, it counts as one.
HOW LONG WILL IT TO TAKE TO GET BACK MY MIX / MASTER?
We will ensure that your music is back as quickly as possible. Every project will be different so unlike other online mixing/mastering services we don't commit to a certain timeframe as we put quality above speed. We can give you a decent estimate once we know the details of the project.
To at least narrow this down a bit, it would be unlikely that a "standard" mix would take more than a few days.
CAN I HAVE THE PROJECT FILES FOR THE MIX / MASTER?
No, this is not something we offer. The project file and the mix produced is the intellectual property of the engineer. This service grants you permission to use the mix/master how you wish but does not give you any rights to the project.
HOW SHALL I SEND THE AUDIO?
All audio should be a lossless PCM format (wav or aiff). There should be no mix effects on already. Exceptions might be required for special "production effects" that are less to do with mix and more with the production (admittedly this line is not always straightforward so in some cases we might ask for a version with effects and one without).
Please also ensure that each audio track is exported from the start of the project so it syncs when imported. Audio that is not sync'd may be rejected as retiming a whole project can be extremely time consuming and entirely avoidable by exporting correctly in the first place.
WHAT IF I KNOW HOW I WANT IT TO SOUND?
Great! Include as much information as you can as it all helps get to the sound you want. If you have a rough mix, send it over! If you have a few specific reference tracks in mind, mention those too - it all helps.
On the flip side of that if you're not sure how it should sound, then don't worry! We'll do our thing and make it sound great 👍🏻
IS THERE A TRACK LIMIT?
Nope. It's very easy for track count to ramp up when recording and even if many tracks won't end up in the final mix, it's best to send over everything. For example, you might have a DI'd guitar signal as well as a recorded amp signal. By sending both I'll have more options.
WHAT AUDIO EDITING IS INCLUDED IN MIXING?
Anything that's necessary for the mix to sound great! This might include:
Tuning
Timing
Noise removal
Cutting unwanted sounds
Breath control
Drum replace / layering
and more
We'll obviously ensure the extend of processing is stylistically appropriate ("mistakes" can make the music after all!) and this can be discussed before commencing.
CAN I WATCH OR 'SIT IN' ON THE MIX/MASTER PROCESS?
Speaking from plenty of experience, having someone sitting 'over the shoulder' is usually a hinderance to the process and can make things take a lot longer than they otherwise would. However, I'd be happy to give a short video call/screencast detailing some of the things I have done in the project but I must stress that this would be subject to my availability and would not be an A to Z rundown of everything as this simply isn't feasible.
DO YOU MIX / MASTER WHOLE ALBUMS?
Absolutely! The best thing to do here is send a general enquiry to discuss this as ensuring consistency across an album would be paramount.