How to Prepare Your Mix for Mastering: The Complete Checklist

1. Clean Up Your Mix Before Mastering

Before exporting, make sure your mix is fully finished:

Remove clicks, pops, and unwanted background noise

Fix any timing or pitch issues

Balance levels so nothing is fighting for space

2. Leave the Right Amount of Headroom

Export your mix with headroom for mastering, rather than pushing levels as loud as possible:

Confirm there's no clipping on your on your master bus and aim for -6dB to -3dB peak headroom

This means the loudest peaks of the song (usually in the last chorus) don’t get a red indicator saying they have gone over digital zero (full volume)

Avoid limiters or maximisers on the final mix export - doing multiple rounds of this can leave a song feeling flat, often best to leave to the expert!

If your mix is peaking or clipping (getting those red indicators just use the output fader to turn it down or a gain or volume plugin instead of your limiter to reduce the volume

This gives your mastering engineer room to work without introducing distortion they will be able to make it louder again later

3. Export at the Correct Technical Specs

Most mastering engineers and distributors expect:

WAV format (not MP3) for the highest quality

24-bit depth at minimum

Sample rate matching your session, commonly 44.1kHz or 48kHz. If you are working at a higher resolution like 88kHz or 96kHz don’t down sample, keep it high resolution.

If you are working at a lower sample rate there is no benefit to exporting at a higher sample rate.

Check your track start and end at high volumes. This way you can make sure you don’t have any unwanted noises.

It’s really common to use EQ, Compression, Saturation and Limiting on your master bus these days. If you are unsure about your process just ask your mastering engineer. They will be more than happy to help you decide what to keep and what to leave. If in doubt supply multiple versions so they can choose themselves.

4. Understand Streaming Loudness Targets

Streaming platforms normalise loudness, which affects how your master will actually be heard:

Most platforms target around -14 LUFS integrated

Louder masters get turned down automatically but the truth is it might still sound louder than your track.

The real answer here is all about ‘perceived loudness’, standardised loudness targets are completely ignored by successful engineers making music in every genre.

A mastering engineer can help you hit the right balance of loudness and dynamics for your genre

5. Run a Translation Test

Check how your mix holds up across different playback systems before sending it off:

Phone speaker

Earbuds/headphones

Car audio system

A mono playback check

If your mix falls apart on small speakers or in mono, address it before mastering rather than after.

A mix will usually sound different in mono and the trick is not to panic.

If the instruments at the side of your mix (e.g. guitars, synths, backing vocals etc) sound quieter in mono that is totally normal and okay.

Only fix issues if your key central instruments are affected, such as; kick, snare, bass and lead vocal etc.

6. Prepare Your Metadata and Artwork

Have the following ready ahead of release:

Song credits (writers, producers, performers)

ISRC code (or confirm your distributor will assign one). Most modern digital distributors like Distrokid do this automatically for you on upload.

Final cover artwork meeting your distributor's size and format requirements

Any licensing details required for cover songs or samples

7. Get a Second Opinion Before Finalising

A final check from someone other than yourself; a peer, a trusted collaborator, or a professional mixing/mastering engineer can help catch issues you're too close to the track to hear.

But! Make sure you ask them for specific checks or feedback, a friend saying “it’s good” doesn’t help!

You can ask questions like:

“Does this sound too heavy on the bass?”

“Is there any harshness in the vocals?”

“Can you hear any clicks or pops in the song?”

Quick Reference: Mastering Prep Checklist

• Mix is fully finished and balanced

• No clipping or distortion

• -6dB to -3dB headroom left on the master bus

• Exported as 24-bit WAV

• No limiter/maximizer on final mix bus

• Reference and mono checks completed

• Metadata and artwork finalised

• Second opinion obtained

Ready to Master Your Track?

If you'd like a professional mixing or mastering engineer to review your track before release, Mixing Hertz works with independent artists both in-studio in Leeds and remotely.