Before sending your songs to get mixed, clean up your tracks, make sure they’re in tune and in time, and create a reference mix. Properly preparing your songs beforehand can save time, money and even improve the final mix.
Starting the process of getting a song mixed can be exciting, but it’s important to take a few steps before sending your tracks to a mixing engineer. There are a few things you can do to ensure the success of the mixing process and make things easier on the engineer.
These include cleaning up your tracks, checking for timing and pitch issues, and creating a reference mix. By following these steps, you can save time and money, and ultimately end up with a better sounding mix. We will go into more detail about each step, and provide some tips to help you prepare your tracks for mixing.
Prepare Your Audio Tracks
Preparing your audio tracks before sending them for mixing is key to ensure that you end up with the sound you desire. If you send your tracks without taking these essential steps, you might not get the desired outcome, which can be disappointing and frustrating. This blog post outlines three things you need to do before sending your songs to get mixed, and this section will focus on the first: preparing your audio tracks.
Organize Your Tracks
When mixing audio tracks, the engineer needs to know what each track contains. Therefore, it is essential to label your tracks correctly and organize them properly. For instance, if you record a drum set, each part of the set should be placed in different tracks for easy mixing. Label the tracks according to the part of the set to help the engineer easily identify each track. This way, you save time and ensure that the final product is up to your expectations.
Clean Up Your Tracks
Before sending your tracks to get mixed, it is critical to remove any unwanted noise or distortion. These sounds can be distracting and lower the quality of your tracks. Ensure that you go through each track and remove any unwanted noises or room sounds. You can also tune individual instruments and vocals to ensure they are in key. This way, you save time and minimize the amount of work that the mixing engineer has to do to achieve your desired outcome.
Consolidate Your Tracks
Consolidating your tracks involves merging several tracks into one track to save on space. This step is crucial if you are sending your tracks to get mixed by someone else. To consolidate your tracks, select the range of each track, and merge them into a new track. This way, you minimize the number of files you send and make it easy for the mixing engineer to work on your tracks. Consolidating your tracks also ensures that all the effects and automation on each track are included in the final mix.
Following these steps before sending your audio tracks to get mixed is necessary to save time, minimize costs, and ensure that the final product is up to your expectations. Remember to label your tracks correctly, remove any unwanted noises, and consolidate your tracks to make the mixing engineer’s job more manageable.
Take Time To Do Some Rough Mixes
Before sending your songs to get mixed, take some time to create rough mixes. This will help you identify any issues with your tracks and make necessary adjustments before handing them over to a professional mixer. It can also improve the overall sound quality and ensure you get the desired end result.
Before sending your songs for mixing, it is essential to spend some time doing rough mixes. Rough mixes serve as reference points for the mix engineer, helping them understand your vision for the song. Here are some steps to follow when creating your rough mixes.
Understand The Role Of Each Track
It is vital to identify the critical elements of your song and assign roles to each track. Understanding the role of each track helps to balance levels and apply the right EQ and compression. Here is an overview of the primary tracks of a song.
| Track | Role |
| Drums | Provide rhythm and groove |
| Bass | Provides foundation and low-end frequency |
| Guitars/Keys | Provides melody, harmony, and texture |
| Vocals | Carries the song’s message and creates emotion |
Balance The Levels
Balancing the levels means adjusting the relative loudness of each track to create an overall balanced mix. You can use the faders in your DAW to adjust the volume levels. Start with the drums, then add bass, guitars, and vocals. Ensure that no track is overpowering another and that everything is audible.
Use Basic Eq And Compression
Basic EQ and compression help to refine your rough mixes and create a foundation for the final mix. EQ removes unwanted frequencies and enhances the essential elements of each track, while compression helps to control the dynamics of each track. Apply EQ and compression sparingly, aiming for a subtle effect that supports the track.
Create Sampling Rough Mixes
Finally, it is a good idea to create sampling rough mixes to get feedback from others. Share your mixes with others and ask for feedback on the song’s overall sound, including the levels, EQ, and compression. Use their feedback to refine your rough mixes and ensure that your vision for the song is clear. In conclusion, taking the time to do some rough mixes before sending your songs for mixing can make a significant difference in the outcome. Understanding the role of each track, balancing the levels, and using basic EQ and compression are essential steps that can help you achieve the perfect mix.
Communicate Clearly With Your Mixing Engineer
Before sending your songs to be mixed, it’s important to communicate clearly with your mixing engineer. First, provide them with a reference track for the desired sound. Second, organize and label your files properly. Third, give the engineer specific instructions for what you want to hear in the mix.
Before sending your songs for mixing it is important to communicate clearly with your mixing engineer. This will help in achieving the desired sound and save time and efforts for both, you and your mixing engineer.
Prepare A Brief Of What You Want
The first thing to do is to prepare a brief of what you want. It can be a written document, a voice note, or a detailed conversation with your mixing engineer. Be specific about what you want; it can be about the overall sound, level of detail, or specific instruments’ placement. Provide all the necessary details to your mixing engineer so you can both be on the same page.
Tell Your Mixing Engineer What You Don’t Want
Just like knowing what you want is important, it’s equally important to tell your mixing engineer what you don’t want. If you have any specific dislikes or things you want to avoid, ensure to voice it out. This will save time and help achieve the desired outcome. It’s always better to give as much information as possible than to have surprises later.
Explain What’s Important To You
It’s also valuable to explain what’s important to you. Discuss the main aim and goal of your song and the important elements that you believe should stand out. This will help your mixing engineer know what to focus on while blending and mixing your tracks.
Provide Audio References
Providing audio references is always helpful for your mixing engineer. Share with them tracks or songs whose sound you like and want to replicate. This can give your mixing engineer a clear vision of what you desire and work accordingly. Also, avoid sending too many songs, and label the sections that you want to replicate or stand out. Before sending your songs for mixing, clearly communicate with your mixing engineer using the above points and ensure that they understand what you require. This will help in achieving the desired sound and attaining your goal.
Credit: mixandmastermysong.com
Frequently Asked Questions On Three Things To Do Before Sending Your Songs To Get Mixed
What To Do Before Mixing A Song?
Before mixing a song, make sure to organize your tracks, clean up any unwanted noise, adjust the levels of each track, tune your instruments or vocals, and edit any timing issues. This will ensure a smoother and more efficient mixing process, leading to a better end result.
How Do You Send A Song To A Mix?
To send a song to a mix, you need to export or bounce the audio file for your song from your digital audio workstation (DAW) software. Save the file in a lossless audio format such as WAV or AIFF, and then upload the file to the mix session on the shared platform or to the mixer directly.
Make sure to label the file with the correct track name and mix version.
How Do You Get Songs To Mix?
To get songs to mix, you need to start by selecting the tracks you want to mix. Then, you’ll need to ensure the tempo, key, and timing of each track is compatible before using a mixing software or DJ equipment to blend them together.
Practice and experimentation are key to achieving a seamless and enjoyable mix.
What Makes A Song Well Mixed?
A well-mixed song has balanced levels of all instruments and vocals. The dynamics, or the difference between the soft and loud parts of the song, should also be controlled. The frequencies of each instrument should be distributed across the frequency spectrum without clashing with each other.
Reverb and other effects should be used appropriately to enhance the overall sound. Finally, the mix should be consistent throughout the entire song.
Conclusion
Ensuring your song is ready for mixing is crucial for achieving the quality sound you desire. By taking the time to prep your tracks, organize your files, and communicate effectively with your mixing engineer, you can increase your chances of a successful mixing process.
Remember, the more effort you put in before sending your songs to be mixed, the better the end result will be. Happy mixing!