Preparing and Exporting Your DAW Tracks For Mixing

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October 24, 2023

Introduction

Exporting individual tracks (or channels) for mixing is a crucial step that ensures the mixing engineer has all the necessary components to create a polished and balanced mix. Follow these guide to properly prepare and export your tracks:

Finalize the Arrangement

Ensure that the arrangement of the track is complete and that all the audio recordings are edited and cleaned up. Remove any unwanted noise, clicks, or pops.

Consistent Naming

Label each track clearly and consistently. This helps the mixing engineer to quickly identify and navigate through the tracks.

Export a Rough Mix and Prepare a Notes File

Export a rough mix of the track and write in text file any notes or specific instructions for the mixing engineer

Remove Processing

Bypass or remove any EQ, compression, reverb, or other effects from the individual tracks. The mixing engineer will apply their own processing. However, if a specific effect is integral to the sound (e.g., a particular reverb on a snare drum), communicate this to the engineer and consider printing the effect on the track.

Check Levels

Ensure that none of the individual tracks are clipping or too loud. Aim for peaks around -6dB to give the mixing engineer plenty of headroom to work with.

Include MIDI and Virtual Instruments (If Applicable)

If your session includes MIDI tracks or virtual instruments, bounce them to audio tracks. Ensure that any effects integral to the sound are printed on the track.

Export with the Same Settings

• Format: WAV or AIFF
• Bit Depth: 24-bit (32-bit recommended)
• Sample Rate: Use the session’s sample rate (commonly 44.1kHz or 48kHz) Mono or Stereo: Export mono tracks for single sources (e.g., vocals, bass) and stereo for stereo sources (e.g., keyboards, stereo overheads).

Export from the Same Start Point

Ensure all tracks start at the same point in time, even if there is silence at the beginning of some tracks. This ensures everything lines up correctly when imported into a new session.

Organizing and Zipping

1. Place all the exported tracks into a folder, named clearly with the song title and artist/band name
2. Include a rough mix and Notes
3. Compress the folder into a ZIP file.
4. Send it to the mastering engineer a reliable file transfer service or by using our Studio file delivery system

By following these steps, you ensure the mixing engineer has everything they need to work efficiently and effectively, ultimately contributing to a better final mix.

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