How To Send Tracks for Mixing
By: David Streit www.davidstreit.com
Revised: 6/27/2021
Hello! I’m excited to be working with you on your project! We’re going to transform your recording into an awesome mix, tailored to your music, that will resonate with your fans and listeners. If we haven’t already spoken, send me a message and we can discuss the details of your project and the best way to proceed. Here’s how to send me your tracks as well as some additional information. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask.
~David
The Differences Between Tracks, Stems, and Versions
Not sure what these terms mean? Click here to get the scoop.
If I recorded the Tracks
If you recorded additional parts or edited some tracks, then send those. You don’t need to send the files I already have, but I’d still like to get some information about the songs and what you have in mind. Skip down to “What Files Should You Send?”
If You’re Using Pro Tools
If you’re using a different DAW (recording software), skip to the next section.
If you’ve been working on your songs in Pro Tools, you can just send me the session file and its associated audio files for mixing. Follow these steps:
Export your Pro Tools session for mixing:
1) Duplicate the song’s session file so that you have a backup in case you accidentally change something you don’t want to.
2) Rename the new session with your song title and an indication that you’re prepping the mix. Something like “Let It Be-MixPrep.”
3) Open the new “MixPrep” session
4) Go to the section below entitled Preparing Your Tracks and follow those steps.
5) If there are any MIDI or virtual instrument / sampler tracks, bounce them to audio files on new tracks and send those.
6) It’s OK to leave plugins active on the tracks you send. Note that I may not use those particular plugins unless you let me know that those specific sounds are meant to be used.
7) If your processing is vital to the sound of the track (for instance, a particular sound effect that imparts a tone that you love or a guitar amp plugin on a guitar track) then either check with me to see if I have those plugins or bounce those tracks to audio files on new tracks. If you bounce to a new track, leave the original track in the session as an inactivated track. If there are important plugins on a track that I should use, let me know in your notes to me.
8) If there is any important automation that I should use, make sure to let me know in the notes you send me. Otherwise, I will discard all automation.
9) Make sure that the only tracks left active in the session are the ones that are meant to be used and that the active playlists are the correct ones. Get rid of tracks that aren’t needed. If there are tracks that you want to send but you don’t think they’ll be used, make them inactive and hidden. If there’s an alternate track that you’d like me to see or a dry version of something like a vocal, then make it inactive but leave it visible.
10) File Export: Go to the File menu and choose Save As… Name the new version something like “Let It Be-Export.”
11) Go to the Clips menu near the top right corner of the Edit page and choose Select > Unused. (You might need to make the Clip List visible using the menu in the top right corner of the Edit page.)
12) Choose Clear…
13) Choose Remove (not Delete or Move To Trash.)
14) Go to the File menu and choose Save Copy In…
15) Check the box: Items To Copy > Audio Files and click OK.
16) Choose where to save the mix-ready version of the session and audio files.
17) It’s a good idea to open the mix-ready version and make sure everything is there.
If You’re Using A Different DAW (Recording Software)
You’ll need to export your tracks as flattened files that I can import into my DAW to mix. A flattened file is one continuous file for each mono or stereo track. The group of flattened files is the multitrack.
Exporting your tracks from a different DAW:
1) Duplicate the song / session file so that you have a backup in case you accidentally change something you don’t want to.
2) Rename the new file with your song title and an indication that you’re prepping the mix. Something like “Let It Be-MixPrep.”
3) Open the new “MixPrep” file.
4) Go to the section below entitled Preparing Your Tracks and follow those steps.
5) In general, don’t include any mix processing (compression, EQ, reverb, saturation, etc.) in the exported files.
6) Make sure the fader on your channel isn’t affecting the volume level of the exported file. If it is, set it at 0dB.
7) Turn off any automation unless it automates parameters of an effect that you’re exporting.
8) If your processing is vital to the sound of the track (for instance, a particular sound effect that imparts a tone that you love or a guitar amp plugin on a guitar track) then go ahead and include that. If you think that it’s an effect that might need to be changed for the mix, then also export a dry track without the effects and send that along. Make sure the dry track is labeled as an alternate version and mention it in your notes to me. There shouldn’t be too many tracks that require you to also send a dry version, but if you send effected vocals then a dry version is a good idea.
9) You may want to save as / make a duplicate of your song file (“Let It Be-Export”) at this point, just to be safe.
10) Make sure that all of the exported files start at the exact same sample-accurate point on your timeline. That way, when I import your files onto tracks in my DAW, I can align all of their start points and the tracks will play back in perfect sync. The timing of each part you played will be preserved and nothing will be out of place. Make your start point for exporting a little bit earlier than the sounds on the tracks. That way, you won’t accidentally cut off the beginning of a sound.
11) The flattened file for each track can end after the last sound on that track. It doesn’t need to go all the way to the end of the song if there’s no sound there. Make sure you don’t accidentally cut off reverb tails or the ends of sounds.
12) If the track is mono (often individual drums, bass, some guitars, and vocals, etc.) please try to export it as a mono track if at all possible. If you can’t do that, then include a note listing which stereo tracks only contain mono information.
13) Export your tracks as 24 bit WAV or Broadcast WAV (BWAV) files. Use whatever sample rate you’ve been working at.
14) Place all of your exported audio track files into a folder labeled with the song title and “multitrack.” Example: “Let It Be-multitrack.”
15) A great way to test your export is to create a new empty song file in your DAW after you export all of your tracks. Import your tracks into your empty song, line them up at their beginnings, and make sure everything plays back as it should.
16) You should save a copy of your flattened, mix-ready multitrack files for your archive.
There are many tutorials and videos online that explain how to export audio files in your particular DAW.
How To Export Tracks in Logic: Step By Step Link Video Link
Preparing Your Tracks
1) Finish comping vocals and other parts (if you have multiple takes of a part, such as a vocal or solo, decide which bits will be used and compile them into one track for each part.)
2) Go through all of your tracks and make sure all of the correct parts are there. Get rid of anything that’s not meant to be used in the mix. Generally speaking, you should have made any decisions about what parts should be in the final mix. If you send an alternate track, make sure it’s clearly labeled as such and mention it in your notes.
3) If any editing or tuning is needed, take care of that before sending the tracks (or make arrangements with me to get it done.)
4) You can edit out any noises you don’t like, but consider leaving some incidental noises in place. These can sound cool and add to the vibe, depending on the music. You may want to adjust the volume of overly loud breath noises before vocal lines, but don’t get rid of them entirely as they add a sense of realism and intimacy.
5) Double check all edits / punch-ins to make sure they sound smooth (unless an abrupt edit supports the music.) This is especially important if you will be exporting flattened tracks. Bad edits can’t be fixed after flattening. Watch out for edits in the middle of breath sounds on vocals. Add fades and cross-fades where appropriate (generally, a very short cross-fade is good anywhere there is a splice / edit between two files.)
6) Do not normalize the files, but do make sure that the individual tracks aren’t clipping. Clipping in this case means hitting the maximum signal level of 0 dBfs. The methods of fixing this will vary depending upon which DAW you use. The easiest solution is often to apply a trim or gain plugin and simply lower the volume enough to fix the problem. You could also use clip gain or its equivalent to decrease the clip / region’s level in the edit / arrange page.
7) Make sure that all tracks are labeled in a way that’s easy to understand. Track file names should be as concise as possible so that they’re easy to read within my DAW, which can only display a limited number of characters. If you’re having several songs mixed, use consistent track names for each song for similar tracks (always name the outside kick mic “Kick Out”, etc.) There’s no need to number all of the tracks. Example: 01Kick, 02Snare, 03Bass, 04Guitar, etc.
• Examples of good track names (they don’t have to be exactly like this): Kick, Kick Out (2nd kick mic placed in front of the drum), Snare, Snare Bot (this would be a bottom mic on a snare), Hat, Tom1 (usually the highest tom farthest to the drummer’s left), Tom2, Tom3 (usually farthest to the right), Rack (another tom name), Floor, OH (overhead-this could be a mono or stereo track), Room L (left side of the room), Room R, Bass, Gtr1, Gtr1 DBL (DBL stands for double), Gtr2, SoloGtr, AcoGtr (acoustic guitar), Keys1, Keys1 Dry (alternate version without the delay effect, etc.), Keys Verse, Keys Bridge, B3, BGV (background vocal), Vox (lead vocal), Vox DBL
• More examples: Vox FX, Perc, Tambo, Shaker, 12String, Bjo (banjo), Mando (mandolin), Rhodes, Moog, Tpt (trumpet), Bone (trombone), Sax, Bari (bari sax), Vln (violin), Vln Room, Vla (viola), Clo M-S (cello track in mid-side format), BGV Hi, BGV Lo, etc.
What Files Should You Send?
1) A brief note that has any details that you think I need to know:
A) Include anything that you think is important and might help. For instance, you might say that Gtr3 is meant to be low in the mix during verses, but prominent during choruses. Or, you might have an idea for a specific effect you’d like to have on a particular track, or an overall direction for the type of drum sound you have in mind.
B) If you have specific ideas that are important to you or thoughts on what might sound good, include them. If you don’t have specific ideas that’s OK too. I’ll use techniques and sounds that work best with the music in your tracks.
C) If there’s a drum kit, some additional information will help me to mix it in the best way. Let me know if the kit is recorded in drummer’s perspective (usually hat on the left) or audience perspective (hat on the right.) This is relevant for stereo tracks like overheads and rooms. If it’s a left-handed drummer who puts the hat on their right and / or puts the highest toms on their right and lowest toms on the left, let me know. If there’s anything unusual / not obvious about the physical setup of the kit (like tom1 or tom4 or snare2 is to the left of the hat) then, you guessed it, let me know.
D) Details of any unusual tracking techniques that might affect the mix.
E) Song key and tempo are useful to know.
F) Sample rate you’re using for recording your audio. Example: 44.1 kHz
G) Write a sentence or two explaining what the song is about and / or the emotion(s) of the song.
H) Let me know if you need particular stems or versions along with the main mix if there’s anything different than what we’ve already discussed.
I) Make sure I know of any special deadlines, etc.
2) The folder(s) containing the multitrack files or Pro Tools session and audio
3) A separate document with song lyrics is useful if you have that available.
4) If there’s a rough mix you’ve been listening to, send that as well. If there are things you particularly like or don’t like about the rough, let me know.
5) Make sure I can easily tell which rough mixes, lyrics, and notes go with which songs. It’s OK to have the notes for all of the songs or all of the lyrics in one document as long as you divide it into sections with song titles so I can tell what’s what.
Sending Your Files Online
I often use WeTransfer to send files.
It’s free and works well. You can send several text documents as well as a folder of audio files all in one batch. There is a 2GB limit to each batch of files you send, but you can send an unlimited number of batches.
If one of your songs is larger than 2GB, then create multiple multitrack audio folders (“Let It Be-Multitrack 1”, “Let It Be-Multitrack 2”, etc.) and divide the audio files into manageable chunks. For Pro Tools, it would be “Let It Be” (the session folder), “Let It Be-Audio Files 2”, etc. If you do send several batches, send me a note letting me know how many batches to expect so that I don’t miss anything.
Zip (data compress) folders and files before you send them. This helps prevent file corruption. How to Zip a folder is explained here.
If you prefer to send files a different way, that’s fine too. Zipping your folders is always recommended when sending files online. You can also bring me your files on a drive.
In Conclusion
Following all of these steps will insure a smooth mixing process with the best possible results. I’ll send you a message when the mixes are ready for you to hear. If you have any questions please get in touch.