How to Prepare Your Mix for Mastering

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[@bjornschluter4624]

Great video! As a mastering engineer, I have two additions: - leave space before and after the signal (~200ms) - don't create fades (fade in / fade out), leave that to the mastering engineer after the process

[@sageaudio]

Hey Björn! Thanks for the additions and for leaving a comment. SageAudio.com

[@big_m_beats]

@Björn Schlüter Hi Bjorn, what do you exactly mean for leaving space before and after the signal? Thanks.

[@bjornschluter4624]

BIG M make sure there are at least 200ms space before the first audio signal and after the last audible thing.

[@big_m_beats]

@@bjornschluter4624 Thanks again. That's a good pro tip. If it doesn't bother you, can I ask you why?

[@bjornschluter4624]

BIG M you‘re welcome! In the beginning to prevent clicks or destroyed first samples and in the end to make sure you don’t cut any reverb tails or something similar

[@GeneoVanEngers]

Great tutorial very clean smooth and straight o the point. love the channel would love to see some full mix break down videos.

[@conanliquid]

A Valuable video that I wish all my clients watched before sending me their premasters. I will be sharing haha. Thanks dude.

[@sageaudio]

Haha awesome! Thanks for watching! SageAudio.com

[@lalit31]

Really informative and clear video 👍

[@fondusportfolio]

Fantastic information!

[@djmohit4u]

Bro u guys r the best....it's really impressive the way u explain

[@sageaudio]

Thank you Mohit! Glad you enjoyed the video! SageAudio.com

[@JR-up3tz]

thanks for that, i was struggling with pre-Mix for weeks on the master till i found this video

[@daafitrecords8686]

Great work

[@sageaudio]

Thank you for watching! SageAudio.com

[@salid_music]

i would like to see a video about how to mix a song to get the best master like the dynamic range for vocal, drums and other instruments.

[@TheTonyTitan]

Thanks

[@BrofUJu]

Is that you on guitar?! Killing it

[@ptbempire]

So I should master in Stereo!? Wow now it makes so much more sense I was mastering at my mix stage then mastering that render ty for all your help!

[@DavidFedele]

Brilliant tutorial - easy, and to the point. I'm curious ..... what about other processing such as Mid-Side Compression ..... is this considered part of the "mixing" stage, or mastering?

[@marshallmuze]

3 questions. 1. Who is the guy behind the voice. I wanna be his friend. Calm teacher. 2. Considering Gain Staging, don't you think that limiting is useful to tame the peak? 3. Is using a clipper a better alternative to limiting? Thank you so much for your awesome teaching.

[@big_m_beats]

Great job again. What values would you recommend for Drumcode/1605 techno mixes?

[@sageaudio]

Hey Big M! The same levels we discussed in this video would apply for that genre! SageAudio.com

[@Latiniron]

Question; Do the Master ING. Normeliz a Mix Wav, befor he start with Mastering? Thank u

[@lc1715]

Why doesn't changing the volume of the master stereo out affect the True Peak? Also, since that doesn't affect the True Peak and we shouldn't use compression/limiter for the premaster mix, how do I change the stereo out decibel levels other than going through each individual track?

[@dndk-labs]

great video. But can you elaborate more on the avoid plugin processing on the master bus? can I say if I need to put the "bus plugins" just put the plugins on the mix bus then leave the master bus empty with plugins? thanks

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching! We're referring to any processing on the stereo output. So if you have some processing on a guitar bus, or drum bus that's fine, but typically processing on the stereo output for the full mix should be avoided. SageAudio.com

[@vickykaushik8764]

That Guitar Song is very lovely, where can I listen it ?????!!! Pls respond.

[@Obvious1214]

I was having problems on the lufs and tp it is already have a headroom but when i send it to my engineer the LUFS and TP is peaking

[@theclosetquilterelliemiria198]

I'm a total newbie at recording / I'm a singer songwriter working on a bluegrass trio-ish mix of my song TRAIN utitlizing REAL TRACKS by Band in a Box for the instruments and recorded 3 vocal tracks low-med-hi harmonies and a lead vocal on the verses. I have a mic emulator plug in called MIC ROOM on all vocals . Question #1 is when I send it over for mastering, should i send it with MIC ROOM? the original vocals were recorded on a SM57 MIC. The mic I chose in Mic Room is the Condenser 87 which emulates of coarse the Neumann U87. ( I also put 2 different mic simulations on each acoustic guitar ) I checked each track to give at least 3db ( there are places that came out 2db) head room . So I don't know what it would sound like w/o the plug in... is that even a consideration?. I actually got it to avoid having to eq and use alot of stuff. I just let my voice do what sounds good ( with no clipping of coarse ) ... like I said it just made it easier for me not really knowing how to mix/master- Any info would be appreciated :)

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for reaching out! If you enjoy the sound of it, and it's not clipping, I say whatever plugins you have are fine. Mic Room if fine to keep on any instruments or vocals if you enjoy the sound of it. So long as your stereo output has some headroom, it can be mastered.

[@thegamingzone5963]

also do u export a mix into mp3 format or wave format ?

[@travis1317]

Export as a WAV

[@thegamingzone5963]

@@travis1317 ok

[@musicallyill]

Which software u use?

[@sageaudio]

Logic Pro X for these videos. Thanks for watching! SageAudio.com

[@ohabianrecords1150]

Yo sageaudio i have one question that really bother me about this topic. Why mix engineers should keep the loudest peak of the mix bus between -6 dbtp and -3dbtp? Can't the master engineer just increase the gain of the clip when it has peak below -6dbtp or decrease them when it has peak above -3dbtp??? Thanks before! Please answer this. I really confused ... Btw im sharing this videos to my fellow producers because this is so helping!

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for commenting on and sharing the video Oky! Very true, an engineer could use clip gain to increase or decrease the clip. It's mainly just helpful if that isn't needed. Also, -3dBTP to -6dBTP is a good level to cover the noise floor while still offering enough headroom for additional processing. SageAudio.com

[@yinpo_music]

Why did you choose a big room house music as a BGM for a tutorial video duuuuuuude!

[@shahnewazmanto4798]

Do not use background music, it distracts.