Preparing Your Mix Export

Before you hit "export" on your final mix, make sure it's properly prepared for mastering. Follow this simple checklist to avoid common export errors.

Why Mix Preparation Matters

Mastering enhances a mix, but it cannot undo mistakes made during export. Taking two minutes to check your settings guarantees your mastering stage goes smoothly.

The Basic Pre-Master Checklist

1. Check Headroom: Ensure your master channel peaks around -6 dB to -3 dB (and never hits red/0 dB) before starting the master.
2. Remove Master Bus Limiters: Turn off any heavy limiters on your master channel that were used just to make the rough mix loud.
3. Trim Silence Carefully: Leave a tiny bit of space (1/2 second) at the beginning so the very first transient note isn't chopped off.
4. Let Reverb Fade: Ensure the end of the song allows natural reverb and delay tails to fade out completely to silence.
5. Export High Quality: Always export as an uncompressed 24-bit WAV or AIFF file at your session's native sample rate (e.g., 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz). Never use MP3 for mastering!