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Mastering is all about working with a post mixed song and matching/improving the tone, timbre and generally increasing the overall volume to a desired level. The main tools used in this process are equalizers, compressors, saturators and a limiter. This process is by no means aimed at changing the composers original vision. The main goal in mastering is always to enhance the sound bringing out the full potential of a song in the most sonically beneficial way. Please bear in mind that some errors in the mix cannot be corrected, so the basis for a perfect mastering is always a good mix/premaster. At Studio Sonido we offer high-quality audio mastering for producers, labels, musicians, studios, and bands. An experienced mastering engineer, using sophisticated tools is able to make a track sound musically richer, more defined, warmer, more transparent and exciting while maintaining an appropriate energy level.

The basic criteria to be met by the stem divided mix (before the stem mastering process) are:

• Make sure that before you export a music file the mix has no effects on the Master Bus. If you don’t want to get rid of your chosen plug-ins send me two versions – one with no effects and the other with the chosen effect applied (please describing what processor has been used).
• Preferred file format is WAV or AIFF files in 24 bit 44.1 kHz (16bit is also acceptable, MP3 is not acceptable).
• Make sure that when you export your file there is no active dither option. Dither off.
• Don’t normalize tracks.
• Make sure that the peak level does not exceed -3dBFS (best quality when set at -9dBFS to -4dBS). The sound engineer will have enough headroom to work with.
• Before exporting the mix set at least 1 bar of silence before the start of the track, and a few bars, after the track end.
• Use the correct (full) file names. Compress the tracks/files into ZIP/RAR format before uploading. (example: artist_name_title.zip).

• If you are looking for a specific sound heard in someone else’s music/production please attach the song/file, or write the title, so that your mastering engineer will have a reference.

More information about mixing can be found in the FAQ section.

This process is similar to stereo mastering, but with one big difference. Instead of having one stereo track we have a number of individually exported tracks (such as drums, synths, pads, bass, vocals). This approach gives the mastering engineer greater insight allowing for a deeper and more precise control over the track.

The basic criteria to be met by the stem divided mix before the process of stem mastering are:

• Make sure that before you export the stems has no effects on the Master Bus. If you don’t want to get rid of your chosen plug-ins send me two versions – one with no effects and the other with the chosen effect applied (please describing what effect has been used).
• Preferred file formats are WAV or AIFF files in 24 bit 44.1 kHz (16bit is also acceptable, MP3 is not acceptable).
• Make sure that when you export there is no active dither option. Dither off.
• Don’t normalize tracks.
• Make sure that the peak level does not exceed -3dBFS and it’s best to be ranging from -9dBFS to -4dBS. The sound engineer will have enough headroom to work with.
• Before exporting the mix set at least 1 bar of silence before the start of the track, and a few bars, after the track ends.
• Use the correct (full) file names. Compress the tracks/files into ZIP/RAR format before uploading. (example: artist_name_title.zip).
• Export not more than 8 stems.

• If you’re looking for a specific sound heard in someone else’s song/production, please attach a sample (or write the title) so that your mastering engineer can hear it. This song should be in a similar style as yours.

More information about mixing can be found in the FAQ section.

This process is all about connecting individual tracks into one multi-track recording (a stereo file). The next step is mastering the audio file. If you haven’t yet mastered the secrets of mixing audio files and want your song to sound professional – this option is for you.

The basic criteria to be met by individual tracks before the process of full mixdown are:

• Make sure that before you export the individual tracks there are no effects on the Master Bus. If you don’t want to get rid of your chosen plug-ins send me two versions – one with no effects and the other with the chosen effect applied (please describing what effect has been used).
• Preferred file formats are WAV or AIFF files in 24 bit 44.1 kHz (16bit is also acceptable, MP3 is not acceptable).
• Make sure that when you export there is no active dither option. Dither off.
• Don’t normalize tracks..
• Make sure that the peak level does not exceed -3dBFS and it’s best to be ranging from -9dBFS to -4dBS. The sound engineer will have enough headroom to work with.
• Before exporting the tracks set at least 1 bar of silence before the start of the track, and a few bars, after the track ends.
• Use the correct (full) file names. Compress the tracks/files into ZIP/RAR format before uploading. (example: artist_name_title.zip).
• Remeber to set a consistant time frame for the entire project.

More information about mixing can be found in the FAQ section.