So You Need Pro To Mix Your Music

How To Set Up Your Sessions To Send Out For Mixing

I once had a studio session with a new client. He busted out with a hard drive rather than an audio cd with beats on it. “This guy knows what he’s doing” I thought to myself. He navigates me through his hard drive which appeared to be fairly organized and directed me to a folder that had the file he wanted to work on. I open the folder only to find that it was a session file for a DAW that was not Pro Tools, Logic, Garageband, or Ableton. I even had an old PC with Cubase, Acid Pro, and Cool Edit but I could not get that file opened. There was however, an audio folder with 134 wav files of vocals and bits and pieces of a beat. I could have asked him for a reference track and attempted to reverse engineer the beat but that would be a waste of everyone’s time. I convinced him that it would be more efficient to load up a 2-track of the instrumental which he had on his android phone, and he recorded the vocals over again. Within 15 min we reassembled the song and I had a session that I could mix for him. We were both fortunate that I had a space where we could meet up and record on the spot. But in this day and age, transactions take place over the web between collaborators who can be many miles apart. So how do we avoid confusion and making a mess of session files? What are the best practices for sending files to be mixed? Here are a few guidelines that at least help me with my collaborations and clients:

1. Communicate and figure out what programs your engineer or collaborator is working with. It is just as important to find out what version of the program they are using. When I first started working at a rap studio, we had a professional Pro Tools HD rig running PT5 on a G4 Mac tower. Sounds cool but at the time Pro Tools was on version 7 and the G series was defunct and Apple’s newest flagship machines were the Mac Pro’s. The studio had two rooms and one room finally got the upgrade to 6, so we had a bunch of client files that were saved in PT6. If they ended up with studio time in the room with PT5, I had to interrupt the session next door and politely ask the engineer to close out his client’s session and convert my file to version 5. It sucked but, you need to keep in mind that some people have older versions.
2. If sending out a pro tools session name all tracks, regions, and file names.
   

   Label tracks, files, groups, and markers with appropriate names

   Not only will naming files and tracks help the mix engineer navigate through your session, but labeling will help you stay organized thus saving you time when you produce beats. I have had to do quite a bit of detective work and translating when receiving Pro Tools files from clients. Make sure you label everything as well as creating markers for verses and hooks. The session you hand of should be a road map of your recorded song. Another thing to note, not everyone has the same plugins. So try not to send out a session full of plugins. Send a reference track so the engineer will know what you are going for.

3. In the case where your engineer is using a different program you must send stems. If sending stems only, make sure you note the BPM in each file name and track out each layer from the same starting point. I prefer each file to start out at the same beginning so I do not have to spend too much time checking the reference track to reassemble the song. It does save space to just send over WAV files of each loop however, to avoid any confusion or mistakes I make sure I make it as easy as possible to piece the song together.
4. Turn off the limiter on the master. For beat layers make sure you put a light mix on it and track it out at its intended level. The mix engineer will import all the layers and leave every level at 0 and use that as a starting point. As for vocals make sure they are recorded at a good level and not clipping.
5. Export vocal mono tracks unprocessed without effects. Important: export each layer from the beginning of the song. Save the engineer some time. Yes, some clients have sent me the raw vocal files and a reference track, but do the engineer a favor. If you don’t want to create long files you can always start the file a bar before it starts so it snaps to the grid on time. However, if you must have an effect on the vocal, export the vocal layer with the desired effect. Send the dry vocal as well.
6. Record and send WAV files at 48 khz sampling rate at 24 bit. Everyone has different preferences and capabilities. This is not necessarily a standard that is set in stone. It is a setting that most engineers I know work with. At times you will have higher rates such as 96 khz 32bit that is more common for more complex recordings such as an orchestra symphony.
7. Zip it and send via email or through a file share site. (link to how to) I use a free program for mac called Yemuzip. PC’s with Windows have Winzip for zipping and unzipping. Google drive allows you to upload into a folder and the link to it will deliver a zip file to its recipient. Dropbox is also a popular site for file sharing.
8. Send a reference track of the rough draft. This helps with the assembly of the song. I like to refer back to the rough draft to make sure the timing of each layer is correct. There are times when every track stem and vocal don’t exactly line up for some reason.
9. Send a reference track of a song or songs that you would like your song to sound like. Be sure to be realistic with your expectations. A good engineer will let you know what is possible and might even be able to replace some sounds in your mix to get your desired result. In some cases, I will recommend that the song be recorded over again if I do not think I could rescue the vocal quality.
10. Attach a note. Make sure you communicate all of your requests and concerns. I used to mix songs for my rap group and everyone had different vocal styles and preferences. One rapper liked all his vocals doubled, another one didn’t. One rappers vocals always came out too low in most mixes. These are the types of concerns that will be helpful for the mix engineer. If you have a session file that already has a rough mix that you already like, please relay that to the engineer. For example, a client brought in a song that he liked the placement and level of the vocals but wanted the bass of the overall track to be louder. I understood that I should leave the vocals at the level where they are at. On the other hand, if you trust the engineer or flat out hate your own rough mix, be sure to let him or her know that the entire song will require a full on mix. The more dialogue you have with each other, the more the engineer will understand what you are going for. Lastly, be sure to note how many different versions are required for the song such as a clean version (no cuss words), instrumental version, and a showmix (instrumental with background vocals, adlibs, and/or choruses).

Now get your files together and get your songs mixed. There are few aspects of the process that are more exciting than finally hearing your tracks with a professional mix on it. Follow this guide and enjoy the process.