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How long does it take to mix one song
It depends on the song and current workload, but you can expect a listening mix around three to five days after the files have been received and verified.
When mixing several songs, the process is more efficient. A whole album is usually mixed in about 10 days (although, again, you’ll receive the first listening mixes of some of the songs in about three days).
If you are in a hurry, please let me know in advance. Depending on workload, I’ll try to accommodate your schedule.
How many revisions are included
There's no limit to the number of revisions available, and the first revision is always free.
Once you’ve received your listening mix, take your time to listen to it in your trusted places (studio, car, iPod, etc.), and make sure the mix is everything you envisioned for the song.
If you feel some aspects need to be changed, just send the details, and you’ll receive a second listening mix soon after.
Subsequent revisions use a convenient half-hour fraction fee that maintains the costs to a minimum.
We'll keep fine tuning each mix until it sounds exactly as you envisioned!
How much time do I have to listen to the mix during each revision
Each revision includes a comfortable five working days time slot, which is a huge advantage of the online mixing service.
Instead of having to make quick decisions while in the studio, you have ample time to check the mix in all your trusted places (personal studio, car, headphones, etc.).
A great mix is not the one that sounds perfect in the expensive studio monitors, but one that sounds awesome in a variety of playback systems.
Can I send the changes before this five days period
Of course, you don’t have to wait five days to send the changes; you can do so as soon as you’ve reviewed the mix.
However, take into account that all changes in a revision must be sent together.
What is a revision (and what it is not)
A mix revision includes changes and tweaks to the mix that usually involve modifying instrument levels or EQ, amount of ambience, FX, etc.
In general, a revision includes anything that fits in a sentence similar to “[turn up/down] this [instrument/FX] in this [part of the song]”.
A mix revision does not include adding new tracks, replacing the original audio files with new ones, changing the song structure, or any other major changes to the song.
Are other versions of the mix included (TV, A Capella, etc.)
Not everyone needs these, so they are not included by default.
The regular mixing fee provides you with a stereo mix of the song, but of course, there’s no problem in creating other variations.
If you need extra versions of the mix, please let me know in advance (a small extra fee may apply).
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Audio files accepted
I work with either Wav or Aiff files, preferably at 24 bits resolution and the higher sampling rate at which they were recorded.
How to prepare the files
All audio files must be consolidated, I'll send you a small doc with all the details on how to prepare the files for mixing.
Rough mixes & References
If you have one or more rough mixes of the song, please include them.
Also, if you have a certain sound in mind, it is useful to indicate some commercial tracks as an example (as in "I love the punchiness of the drums of song XXX, the overall tone of YYY and the crazy ambience of ZZZ").
Secure file transfer
If you want to send your files using a private system, just let me know and I’ll send you the details to send your files via SFTP to my private servers.
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Is the mastering included
Yes.
You'll receive both mastered and unmastered versions of each final mix. The mastered version can be used for worldwide distribution, right away.
As an alternative, I also offer –at no extra cost– the service of sending the mixes to any online mastering service, and discussing with the mastering engineer the sound we’ve crafted together and the results we are looking for.
If you don’t know of any mastering engineer for your project, I regularly work with many amazing MEs (see next question). We can discuss which one would be the most appropriate for your project.
Please note that each mastering engineer will have his or her own rates, with their own payment methods. These fees and its payments are not included in the mixing service.
Mixing and mastering are two completely different tasks, which demand completely different skillsets.
I encourage you to hire the services of a dedicated mastering engineer (in the same fashion that you are hiring the services of a specialized mixing engineer).Which mastering studios do you usually work with
I've had the pleasure to work with many great mastering engineers.
These include Ted Jensen (Coldplay, Muse, Pat Metheny), Mike Couzzi (Santana, Christina Aguilera, Gloria Estefan), Greg Galbi (Bruce Springsteen, Lenny Kravitz, John Lennon), UE Nastasy (Bebel Gilberto, Biohazard, Yngwie Malmsteen), and Justin Shturtz (Paramore, Slipknot, Ray Charles).
I am of course open to working with other talented mastering engineers of your choice!
What is the Mastered For iTunes (MFiT) program
A long story short:
When iTunes opened in 2003, the audio files sold were 128 kbps AAC files, many of them encoded from the original CD. With the introduction of iTunes Plus in 2007, the catalog was upgraded to 256 kbps AAC (VBR).
With the Mastered For iTunes program, Apple is now accepting higher quality masters (with certain technical specifications), which they use to create the current audio encodes, and may also be used in the future to create better versions of the files sold in the iTunes Store.
Does this mean your song will sound better today? An advantage of using MFiT is that the mastering engineer can check how the master will sound when the encoding is carried out at iTunes, and act accordingly.
In addition, if the specifications of the audio files sold on iTunes do change in the future (as they probably will), Apple will already have a hi-res master of your songs to create new audio files.
Of course, this is only possible if both mixing and mastering are done using the audio files with the higher SR and bit depth available.
If you want to take advantage of the MFiT program, I will create the mix using the higher sample rate used in your recording (at no extra cost), and many of the mastering engineers I regularly work with offer MFiT masters (some at an extra fee, please ask).
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Rates
In order to offer the best possible rates, the exact mixing fee is tailored to the number of tracks/stems each song contains.
Please use this form to get a personalized quote for your project.
Secure payments with PayPal
Online payments are carried out through PayPal. It is the most accessible payment processor, and you can even use it without having to create an account.
Is it possible to pay with a credit card
Yes, you can pay with any major credit card.