Here's the download link to an example of how your files should be delivered for mixing. The files in this folder follow general best practice. Please download and review these files so you can see the standard to follow.
Q: What do you need from me?
A: First, if your song has any tempo changes, I need a midi file in order to extract these from your song. You should be able to create a blank midi track in your song and then export a midi file including tempo markers from within your DAW.
Audio
In general, I need one wav file per audio track. The wav file should be the full length of the song and all the wav files / tracks should be exported / bounced from the same starting location. This way, when I import the audio tracks, everything will be lined up properly as you have it in your arrangement. The idea is that there are never any overlapping sounds (two guitar parts at the same time) within the same wav file. The obvious exception would be drum overheads where cymbals and drums are overlapping, or electronic drum breaks or complex textures. I'm just trying to avoid having things like multiple vocal harmonies or multiple guitar parts played in the same wav file because they are impossible for us to separate and mix separately in those situations.
Please make sure stereo files are exported as stereo files, and any mono files are exported as mono files. Anything recorded with 1 mic/channel is generally mono, such as bass and vocals.
Please include all audio files in one folder. Specifically, please do not have separate folders for dry/wet files, or different instruments. Everything in one place, labelled correctly as per the example further down this page.
Edits
Make sure all edits (crossfades etc….) and auto tuning are consolidated in the wav files.
Please make sure you have 'top and tailed' your files correctly. Make sure all unnecessary silence is stripped and faded to be clean and tight.
Drums
For drums you can either send audio, midi, or both.
If you are sending recorded drums but want samples, please include a dynamics and phase accurate midi file for each drum. These can be created in all major DAW's.
If you would like to get the most from your recorded toms, please 'strip silence' from these. I find edits work best when made on the beat. If you took samples of your kit, try editing in the clean tails of your samples over any toms that have nasty bleed ruining their tails.
I prefer to have the most raw form of your drums as well as any drum tones you achieved while recording. This way if I like how your snare sound turned out for example, I can use it in some way. If we don't like how it sounds, I can still start from scratch.
Drum Midi Labeling
If you are providing drums in midi format, please make a separate midi track for each articulation (kick, snare, tom, cymbal hit, cymbal choke, hi hat open, hi hat closed) and label it as such. This way, it will not matter what midi note is used and I can re-arrange your drums to best suit my workflow.
Bass & Guitar
I prefer a DI signal from the bass here, as well as midi and amps or DIRECT signal you might have recorded. Any combinations of these are welcome. I can generate a realistic sounding bass from midi only, if that's all you have.
Vocals
Please do your best to ensure files are consolidated and labeled as clearly as possible! Vocals can get messy when there are lots of layers!
Keys
If you have keys, please include an audio track for each part, not just midi. I need to have a reference for the musical intention of any keys parts.
References
Last but not least, I like to have a reference mix to listen to, so I can get a rough idea of what you were going for and how the sound should sound "in general". If you are providing reference tracks, please make sure they are in the same sample/bit rate as your multitracks!
Q: Can I add stuff to my songs?
A: This is intended to be a mixing-and-mastering-only service. This service does not generally include post-production. That said, I can still add a few things to your song at a charge of $60 per hour. A lot can normally be added in one hour!
Q: Should I include reverb and delay?
A: I ask that you include 2 files here: a 'dry' version of the sound in question (usually mono), along with a 'wet' version (usually stereo) that I can use as a reference. I will refer to the reference track to understand the intended effect you desire when I go to mix the 'dry' version from scratch. I may also just use the 'wet' version if appropriate.
Q: How should I label my files?
A: Please include a number ordering system at the start of each of your files. For example:
01 Kick 02 Snare 03 Overheads 04 Bass DI 05 Guitar Dist L 06 Guitar Dist R 07 Vocals Main (wet) 08 Vocals Main (dry)
Q: What format should my files be in?
A: Your files should be in whichever bit/sample rate they were recorded in. 24/48 is increasingly the most ubiquitous format, however 16/44 is a perfectly fine format.
A: If you are bouncing from ProTools, please make sure your stereo pairs are Interleaved!
A: Please do NOT send a session file. Please send wav stems and supplementary midi files only.
Q: How should I send you my files?
A: Please send a download link to your files. This must be one link which includes all your files, clearly organised. Google Drive often gives problems for large file transfers so I prefer to stay away from if for audio file delivery.
Important
If the files are not sent in the way I've laid out above, there may be additional charges added to your remaining balance.