Preparing your track for mastering
Deliver a stereo WAV at the project's original resolution, with 3 to 6 dB of headroom and no limiter on the main bus. Add the versions you will need (instrumental, a cappella) and your ISRC codes if you already have them.
Headroom and the output bus
Leave the mix peaking around -6 dBFS, and remove the output limiter. That headroom gives the engineer room to work the dynamics. A mix delivered already crushed arrives with its transients destroyed, and nothing brings them back.
If you mixed while listening through a limiter, that is fair enough: keep that setting as a listening reference, but export the version without it. Send both and say which one is the reference.
Delivery format
WAV or AIFF, 24-bit minimum, at the project's sample rate. No MP3, no prior conversion, no dithering on your side: it comes at the very end of the chain.
Name the file with artist, title and version: Artist_Title_MixV3.wav. On an EP, clear numbering avoids sequencing mistakes at delivery.
Versions to plan for
Plan for the uses: an instrumental for sync and live, an a cappella for remixes, a radio edit if the track runs long. Producing them at mix time costs minutes; asking six months later costs a whole session.
Finally, state your destination: streaming, vinyl or CD pressing. Vinyl brings its own phase and sibilance constraints, and is prepared differently. Details on our mastering page.
Frequently asked
Should I provide the separate tracks?
Not for standard mastering: a stereo file is enough. They only become useful if the mix needs a revision, in which case we will tell you before processing.
How long does mastering take?
A few days for a single depending on studio load, longer for an EP or album where sequencing needs perspective. The quote sets a realistic schedule.
Tell us about your project.
We take on a limited number of projects each season, and we read every application.