How It Works
Bouncing converts your entire mix — all the tracks, plugins, automation, and routing — into a single playable audio file. The term "bounce" dates back to the analog era when engineers would "bounce" multiple tape tracks down to a single track to free up space for more recording. In the digital world, it means rendering the sum of your mix engine's output to disk. The process involves the DAW calculating every sample of every track, applying every plugin in real time or faster, and writing the result to a file.
The key decisions during bouncing are format, sample rate, bit depth, and rendering mode. WAV and AIFF are the standard uncompressed formats for professional work — never export a mix as MP3 for mastering or further production. Sample rate should match your session (44.1 kHz for music, 48 kHz for video/film) unless the recipient specifically requests a conversion. Bit depth is where it gets nuanced: your DAW processes audio internally at 32-bit or 64-bit floating point, but delivery is typically at 24-bit or 16-bit, which is where dithering becomes important.
Online (real-time) bouncing plays the mix through at normal speed, capturing exactly what you hear. Offline bouncing renders faster than real time by processing as quickly as the CPU allows. Most modern plugins handle offline rendering correctly, but some time-dependent plugins, analog-modeled processors, or external hardware inserts require real-time bouncing to produce accurate results. When in doubt, bounce in real time and compare to your monitoring to verify the result matches what you expect.
Why It Matters for Your Mix
The bounce is the final handoff — it is the moment your mix leaves the creative environment and becomes a fixed audio file. Every decision you made over hours or days of mixing is baked into this single render. An incorrect bounce setting can undo all that work: the wrong sample rate introduces artifacts, missing dithering adds quantization distortion at 16-bit, and an offline bounce that does not match the real-time playback means the delivered file is literally a different mix than what you approved. Understanding the technical side of bouncing also protects you professionally. Sending a 16-bit file to a mastering engineer robs them of dynamic range. Sending an MP3 to a label is unprofessional. Forgetting to bypass your monitoring plugins (spectrum analyzers, loudness meters) before bouncing can alter the output. These are basic competency markers that every professional mixer is expected to get right, every time.
Common Mistakes
Bouncing at the wrong bit depth without dithering
When reducing bit depth (from 32-bit float to 24-bit, or from 24-bit to 16-bit), you must apply dither — a tiny amount of shaped noise that masks the quantization distortion introduced by truncating bits. Forgetting dither when going to 16-bit (CD quality) introduces audible artifacts on quiet passages and reverb tails. Apply dither only once, at the very last stage of the signal chain.
Leaving monitoring plugins active during the bounce
Spectrum analyzers, loudness meters, and reference plugins inserted on the master bus for visual feedback should be bypassed before bouncing. While most analysis plugins pass audio through unchanged, some can subtly alter the signal, and it is best practice to remove any plugin from the signal chain that is not intentionally contributing to the sound.
Not checking the bounced file against the real-time playback
Always import your bounced file back into the session and compare it to the real-time mix output. Phase-invert the bounce against the mix bus to check for null — if you hear anything, something is different. This catches rendering errors, missed automations, plugin inconsistencies, and accidental offset issues before you deliver a flawed file.
What RoastYourMix Measures
RoastYourMix reads the sample rate, bit depth and format of your uploaded file and measures its loudness and true peak. On an mp3 it notes that the encode adds peaks, so you check the WAV master too. It does not detect missing dither or sample rate conversion artifacts.
See Bouncing / Exporting in Action
Upload your mix and see its loudness, true peak, tonal balance and stereo width measured.
The quick answers
Should I bounce at 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz?
Match your session's sample rate. If you recorded at 44.1 kHz (standard for music), bounce at 44.1 kHz. If you recorded at 48 kHz (standard for video/film), bounce at 48 kHz. Avoid unnecessary sample rate conversions — they introduce subtle artifacts. If a mastering engineer needs a different rate, let them handle the conversion with professional SRC tools.
What is the difference between online and offline bouncing?
Online (real-time) bouncing processes at playback speed — a 4-minute song takes 4 minutes to bounce. Offline bouncing processes as fast as your CPU allows, often 5-50x faster. Most plugins render identically in both modes, but some analog-modeled plugins, external hardware, and certain time-based effects may produce slightly different results offline. If your mix uses any of these, bounce in real time to be safe.
When should I apply dithering?
Apply dither when reducing bit depth — specifically when going from your session's internal resolution (32-bit float) to a lower delivery format (24-bit or 16-bit). Use it only once, as the final process in your chain. If you are sending a 24-bit file to mastering, apply dither at 24-bit. If you are creating a final 16-bit master, dither to 16-bit. Never dither twice or apply it mid-chain.