Getting your track mixed and mastered remotely: the guide

Mixing or mastering: what is the difference?

• Mixing balances all the tracks against each other: levels, panning, EQ, compression, effects. It gives the song its character.
• Mastering turns the mix into one final file: loudness, consistency with other tracks, translation on every playback system, ready for streaming platforms.

The files to send the sound engineer

• For a mix: separate stems (one track per instrument or voice), as WAV, all exported from the start of the song so they line up on their own.
• No printed effects on the tracks, except those that are part of the intended sound: tell the engineer.
• The BPM, the key and a rough mix: your working version, to show the balance you have in mind.
• For mastering: the final mix as WAV, with no limiter on the output and some headroom below 0 dB.
• One or two references: tracks whose sound you like.

How it works

• You explain your project and send your files.
• The engineer sends back a first version.
• You listen on several systems (headphones, speakers, phone, car) and give precise feedback, at the exact moment in the song.
• They revise, within the number of revisions in their offer, until the final version.

What changes the price

• The number of tracks and the length of the song.
• The number of included revisions.
• The engineer's experience and the references they have already mixed.
• What is delivered: instrumental version, a cappella, grouped stems.

On Spencer, every engineer shows their rate, included revisions and tracks to listen to. You compare before you ask, and you pay nothing until you accept their proposal.