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FAQ's

MIXING

What should be consider when recording at a pro studio?

Your Recording-Engineer know how he record best with you, trust him.

But so that (s)he knows which formats are best for me and how i prefer to work, please show him this FAQ, (s)he will know what to do.

(S)he can also contact me via whats app or email to plan your project in detail.

What should be consider when recording at home-studio or living-room ?

You can record your vocals at home, at a hotel, or at a friend’s home studio near you.

I appreciate it if you can record in a professional studio, but it is not a must to have. Your performance is more important to me than a 100% high-end recording. After I have checked your track-stems, i can tell you exactly whether i can work with it or whether you could improve something so that i can provide you with a better result.

Recording position at the microphone = behind you, as well as to the right and left of you, set up absorbers to reduce room reflections and background noise. You can find many videos on youtube on this topic that I don’t need to explain.
You can also use a microphone screen, there are now very good ones. At a hotel recording-session, the mattress can stay in the bed these days. 😉
You can adjust the input level to around -12dB, then you are on the safe side of having a clean signal for me to work on.

If you have not recorded yet and want to be on the safe side, I offer you to send me 4 to 8 bars of your vocal recording, I will then check whether I can work with it. If not, I’ll give you feedback to improve it. I charge 20€ for this service.

You will not find this service in the “start your project” form, please write me an email or whatsApp if you need it.

What file format for track stems for mixing?

You can send your files as:

wav or aif, 24bit or 32bit
in most cases it is 44.1kHz, if your project is in a higher sample rate don’t change it and send it to me that way.

Important : About .zip and .rar. The pupose of sending your folder in .zip format is only to allow the upload of your entire folder as one single file. Don’t compress your files, it will damage them.

Please name your folder as follows: artistname_songname_BPM_KEY
Please do not use “.”, “•”, or any special characters in your files or folder name.

Cut vocals clean before export?

Yes, please. Cut everything out of your track-stems that you don’t want mixed in the song.
If you don’t have the opportunity to cut the vocals yourself, you can book this service from me for 50€/per song.

How exporting track-stems for mixing?

You have your vocal-production ready and want pure mixing with the beat:

Individual audio tracks export with all plugins. Take care if tracks clipped and take them down with clipgain or in your pluginchain.

Vocal Aux-busses (reverbs, delays, FX’s) please export separately.

You have recorded your vocals and still need the right sound & mix with the beat for them or vocal-production too:

Individual audio tracks, if you used autotune or melodyne please leave it activated, you can set all other plugins to bypass. Take care if tracks clipped and take them down with clipgain.

If you would like a re-auto tuning or tuning, send me the tracks of course without autotune or melodyne. then please let me know the key you used. Remember to leave all effects enabled in the demo of the song so I can hear what you’ve created.

>>> Please remember to set the same starting point for all track-stems. <<<

How organise track-stems for mixing?

>>> For Artist who bought Beat from a producer with Full Track-Outs for mixing it, it’s enough to make your stems like “example 1” or “example 4 (just vocal example) and send me the track-out folder you have from the beatproducer. <<<

Example1:

01 stem – Beat / Instrumental
02 stem – Vocal Main
03 stem – Vocal Back1
04 stem – Vocal Back2
05 stem – Vocal Adlips1
06 stem – Vocal Adlips2

07 full demo/rough mix ( reference for mixing)

Example2:

01 stem – bass / 808 (without sidechaining!)
02 stem – kick
03 stem – snare
04 stem – HiHat
05 stem – Cymbal
06 stem – Percussion
07 stem – Synth
08 stem – Piano
09 stem – Guitar
10 stem – Pad
11 stem – FX

12 stem – Vocal Main
13 stem – Vocal Back1
14 stem – Vocal Back2
15 stem – Vocal Adlips1
16 stem – Vocal Adlips2

17 full demo/rough mix ( reference for mixing)

Example3:

04 stem – Vocal Main
05 stem – Vocal Back1
06 stem – Vocal Back2
07 stem – Vocal Adlips1
08 stem – Vocal Adlips2

09 full demo/rough mix ( reference for mixing)

Example4:

04 stem – Vocal Main (send Reverb | Delay’s | FX in separate track-stem is possible)
05 stem – Vocal Back All
06 stem – Vocal Adlips All
07 stem – Reverb(s) – Main Vocal
08 stem – Delay(s) – Main Vocal
09 stem – FX(s) – Main Vocal

10 full demo/rough mix ( reference for mixing)

!!! After making your stems, open a new session in your DAW ( Digital Audio Workstation ), and import your stems.

Listen the session to assure yourself it sounds the same and all tracks are included. Don’t skip this step, it is the only way to make sure there was no exporting error. Proceed to export.

MASTERING

What file format for stems & mixes for mastering?

You can send your files as:

wav or aif, 24bit or 32bit
in most cases it is 44.1kHz, if your project is in a higher sample rate don’t change it and send it to me that way.

Please name your folder or mixfile as follows: artistname_songname_BPM_KEY
Please do not use “.”, “•”, or any special characters in your files or folder name.

How exporting a mix or stems for mastering?

STEREO-MASTERING:

Please set the last plugins (limiter, clipper or other volume booster) in the stereo bus to bypass. You can leave everything that makes up your sound in the stereo bus.

STEM-MASTERING:

Please set all plugins (especially bus-compressor, limiter, clipper or other volume booster) in the stereo bus to bypass. Let’s talk about which Soundmaker plugins you have on the stereo bus and which ones you want to keep.

If each stem has its own bus processing (big advantage for stem mastering – my meaning),
please leave it as it is! We can always discuss it if i realize that something is too much.

Please remember to set the same starting point for all stems.

How organise stems for stem-mastering?

Example1:

01 stem – Beat / Instrumental
02 stem – Vocals / Acapella

03 full mix ( reference for mastering )

Example2:

04 stem – vocals / acapella

05 full mix ( reference for mastering )

!!! After making your stems, open a new session in your DAW ( Digital Audio Workstation ), and import your stems.

Listen the session to assure yourself it sounds the same and all tracks are included. Don’t skip this step, it is the only way to make sure there was no exporting error. Proceed to export.

WORKFLOW | TURNAROUND

How is the workflow?

Select the service with which I can help you. Fill out the form and press send. i prefer www.wetransfer.com for file transfer
After i have heard your song(s) and checked the track stems, i will send you the exact price for your project.
If you agree to the price, i will send you the invoice +paypal request for payment by email.
After receipt of your payment i will start with your project.
Usually within the turnaround of the service you have booked i will send you the first version (Mix1, Master1) of your project.
After 1 to 2 days it would be nice to have feedback from you, whether everything sounds as you imagine it. If you have any change requests, please send them to me in keywords and times. I will prepare and send you a revision as soon as possible. 2x revision is included, after Mix3 / Master3 I charge for each additional revision. Don’t worry, if a change has been forgotten, I will of course not charge for this revision. >>> Please no voicemails for change requests, only for single special sound descriptions that are difficult to describe in writing.
As soon as you are satisfied with your sound, i will finalize your project and send you your mix or master package with all additionally booked versions.

How much time take the turnaround ?

After receipt of your payment i will start with your project as soon as possible. Then you can expect the following processing times, depending on the order situation, these can be a little longer. If it could take longer than usually, i will discuss this with you before you pay.
Full Mix & Master: 5-7 business days
Mixing: 5-7 business days
Mastering: 2-3 business days
Of course it takes longer for EPs and albums.
if you’re really in a hurry, you can also book express and I’ll even work through the night for you if i have to. For this service, i have to charge you +30% on your total price.

How credit you in descriptions?

MIX | MASTER by Sebastian Metzken @sarreside-studios

PAYMENT

How to pay your service?

I will send you a payment request for the agreed price of my service via PayPal to your email.
If you live in europe, bank transfer is also possible, just let me know.