How to Prepare Your Song Before Sending It for Mixing

I have been receiving sessions from clients for over 20 years. Full albums, singles, demos — all kinds of projects from all kinds of artists. And I can tell you this with absolute certainty: the quality of your prep work directly affects the quality of your mix.

Not sometimes. Every single time.

When I open a well-organized session with clearly labeled tracks, proper gain staging, and a short note about what the artist is going for — I can get to work immediately. I am making creative decisions within the first five minutes. But when I open a folder with 53 unlabeled WAV files, half of them clipping, some at 44.1kHz and others at 48kHz, with a brick-wall limiter baked into the stereo bounce — that first hour or two is just cleanup. You are paying for that hour. And nobody enjoys it.

This guide covers everything you need to do before you hit send. Follow it, and you will save yourself money, revisions, and a lot of back-and-forth emails.

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File Formats: Get the Basics Right

This is where most problems start, and it is the easiest part to get right.

Export as WAV or AIFF — never MP3. Your mixing engineer needs the full, uncompressed audio. I still get MP3 stems at least once a month.

Bit depth: 24-bit minimum. If you recorded at 24-bit (and you should be recording at 24-bit), export at 24-bit. Do not dither down to 16-bit. That is for mastering, not for mixing.

Sample rate: match your session. If your session is at 48kHz, export at 48kHz. If it is at 44.1kHz, export at 44.1kHz. Do not let your DAW convert the sample rate on export. I have had sessions come in where the vocals sounded subtly off from the instruments because of a sample rate mismatch during export.

Start all files from the same point. Every stem needs to start from bar 1, beat 1 of your session. When I import 40 tracks, they all need to line up perfectly. If your vocal starts from the beginning of the vocal take and your drums start from bar 1, nothing will be in sync.

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Naming and Organizing Your Tracks

If I open your folder and see Audio_01 through Audio_47, I have to solo each track, listen, figure out what it is, and rename everything before I can start working.

Use Clear, Descriptive Names

• 01_Kick.wav
• 02_Snare_Top.wav
• 03_OH_L.wav
• 10_Bass_DI.wav
• 11_Bass_Amp.wav
• 20_GTR_Rhythm_L.wav
• 21_GTR_Rhythm_R.wav
• 30_Lead_Vocal.wav
• 31_BG_Vocal_High.wav

The numbering keeps things grouped when sorted alphabetically. Drums together, bass together, guitars together, vocals together.

Group by Instrument Type

If your DAW lets you export into subfolders, use that:

• /Drums/ — all drum tracks
• /Bass/ — DI and amp tracks
• /Guitars/ — rhythm, lead, clean
• /Keys/ — piano, synths, pads
• /Vocals/ — lead, backgrounds, doubles, ad-libs

One Track Per File

Do not bounce your entire drum kit to a single stereo file unless your engineer specifically asks for it. Individual tracks give the mixer full control.

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Gain Staging: Stop Clipping Your Tracks

This costs people the most in mix quality, and most producers do not even realize they are doing it wrong.

Aim for Peaks Around -6dBFS

Before you export, pull your faders down so each track peaks somewhere around -6dBFS. Anywhere between -10dBFS and -3dBFS is workable. The point is to leave headroom.

When I sum 40 tracks together, all that level adds up. If every track is pushing 0dBFS, the mix bus clips before I have touched a fader.

Solo each track and watch the meters. If anything is hitting red, fix it before you bounce. Either pull the fader down or, if the clipping happened during recording, make a note of it so your engineer knows.

Clipped audio is damaged audio. No plugin truly fixes it.

Do Not Normalize

Some DAWs have a Normalize option on export. Turn it off. Normalizing pushes the loudest peak to 0dBFS, which defeats the purpose of headroom.

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What to Include and What to Leave Off

This section alone will save you at least one revision round.

Remove All Master Bus Processing

If you have a compressor, EQ, limiter, or any other plugin on your master bus — bypass it before exporting stems. This is the number one mistake from producers who mix as they go.

Export your stems dry from each channel, not through the master bus.

• Leave on: Effects that are part of the sound design — heavy distortion on a synth, a specific delay integral to the vocal performance, amp simulation on a DI guitar.
• Leave off: Reverb, gentle compression, EQ adjustments, stereo widening — anything you added to make it sound better in the mix. That is my job now.

If you are unsure, export two versions: one dry, one with effects. Label them clearly.

Include a Rough Mix

Always send a stereo bounce of your rough mix. This is my roadmap. It tells me what you were going for, how you hear the song, and what the balance should feel like. Without it, I am mixing blind.

Include a Reference Track

If there is a released song that has the vibe, tone, or energy you want — send it or name it. It is not about copying. It is about shared vocabulary.

Note the BPM and Key

Write it down. BPM: 128, Key: G minor. It takes five seconds and helps with time-based effects and general session setup.

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Communication: Tell Your Engineer What You Want

Sending files is half the job. The other half is telling me what you actually want.

Send a Short Brief

A few sentences go a long way:

• "I want this to sound warm and wide, with the vocal sitting on top."
• "The chorus should hit hard — big drums, compressed, in your face."
• "Keep it minimal and open. Lots of space."
• "The bridge is the emotional peak of the song. Build toward it."

That is it. Four sentences and I already know where to focus.

Be honest. If the bass is muddy, say so. If the vocal recording has background noise, mention it. If you could not get the guitar tone right, tell me what you were going for. I am not here to judge your recording — I am here to make the song work.

Mixing is collaborative. Your engineer will have questions. Be available within a reasonable timeframe. The worst thing for momentum is sending files and going silent for two weeks.

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Pre-Send Checklist

Before you upload that folder, run through every item:

File Format

• All files are WAV or AIFF (no lossy formats)
• Bit depth is 24-bit or higher
• Sample rate matches your session
• All files start from the same point (bar 1, beat 1)

Naming and Organization

• Every track has a clear, descriptive name
• Tracks are numbered or grouped by type
• One instrument per file
• Folder structure is clean

Gain Staging

• Individual tracks peak around -6dBFS
• No tracks are clipping
• Normalize is turned off

Processing

• Master bus is clean — no compressors, limiters, or EQ
• Creative effects left on, mix effects turned off
• If unsure, both dry and wet versions included

Reference Material

• Rough mix included
• Reference track included or named
• BPM and key noted

Communication

• Short brief describing desired sound
• Problem areas flagged
• Contact info for follow-up questions

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It Is Not About Being Perfect

Nobody expects a flawless session from an independent artist. I have mixed tracks recorded on budget gear in untreated rooms that turned out great — because the person on the other end took the time to prepare properly.

The difference between a smooth mixing process and a frustrating one almost never comes down to expensive microphones or premium plugins. It comes down to organization, communication, and respect for the process.

And if you are not sure whether your mix is ready for a professional set of ears, that is exactly what RoastYourMix is here for. Get honest, detailed feedback on your mix before you commit to the final version.