FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The initial mix is turned around in roughly 5 working days from receiving your order. Mix revisions are performed ASAP. Once your mix is confirmed as ready for mastering, mastering will be performed in the next available mastering slot. Turnaround time greatly depends on the efficiency of the client and how quickly we receive the mix revision and confirmation that the mix is ready for mastering.

If you add + Fast Turnaround your order is pushed to the front of the queue and is turned around ASAP. Usually next working day. The turnaround time is still greatly dependant on how quickly the client replies with revisions.

Mixing is the stage in which each individual stem from your song is carefully summed together to create a finished stereo mix. Using EQ, compression, reverb, delay and other processing we are able to process and position each stem to achieve a mix that is correctly balanced and ready for mastering.

Once your mix is confirmed as complete and ready for mastering, we will move on to the mastering process. Mastering is an essential process that finalises your song ready for distribution. Processing is applied to the master bus in order to achieve a sound that is glued together and sounding the best it possibly can. Processing includes EQ, compression, limiting, saturation, stereo widening, de-essing and other processing. Mastering in the hands of a professional engineer will achieve a wider, more detailed and controlled sound. Mastering ensures playback of your song is correct across all devices.

Dolby Atmos mixing is similar to stereo mixing with the added benefit of mixing in a fully immersive 3D space instead of a standard stereo field. With stereo mixing you are limited to only being able to pan left and right. With Dolby Atmos mixing we are able to pan left, right, front, back, near, far, up and down. By doing so we are able to create a mix that has more space and sounds more natural to the ear. Music comes to life, much like how sound comes to life when you watch a movie in Dolby Atmos.

By adding + Dolby Atmos Master to your mixing order, we will deliver back to you the Dolby Atmos ADM master and surround sound re-renders. This ADM file can then be used to distribute your music in Dolby Atmos on streaming platforms such as Apple Music, Tidal and Amazon Music.

All songs are mixed in Dolby Atmos, which means we can benefit from printing a binaural stereo mix from the Dolby Atmos mix, rather than a standard stereo mix. What this means is that the binaural stereo mix retains the immersive and 3D qualities of Dolby Atmos but is able to be heard and played back using stereo speakers or headphones. The major benefit of this is that the binaural stereo mix when compared to a standard stereo mix has more detail, depth and clarity. This also means you can release your music on platforms such as Spotify in a far superior binaural stereo format compared to standard stereo.

By adding + Apple Digital Master to your order, you will receive back both the stereo master as well as the Apple Digital Master. This master can then be released on Apple Music as an official Apple Digital Master that is optimised specifically for Apple Music. All Apple Digital Masters are rendered at 96k giving them Hi Res Apple Digital Master badge on Apple Music.

By adding + Alternate Mixes to your order, you will receive back the mixes for any of the following additional file types in stereo or Dolby Atmos depending on your section.

• Instrumental
• Acapella (all vocal buses)
• Performance Mix (version with lead vocal removed if requested)
• Radio Edit (additional stems must be supplied)
• Extended Edit (additional stems must be supplied)

By adding + Mixed Stems to your order, you will receive back all stems as they are mixed in the session. Mixed stems will included all mixed buses as well as any reverb and delay sends. Playback of the mixed stems will playback as the finished stereo mix does. Mixed stems can be used for remix purposes and further production.

Orders/payment must be made before work on your song begins. This ensures our engineers, take the necessary time and care required to return you the very best mix and master.

Your stems can be uploaded safely and securely via our upload form here. Bypass any compression / limiting you may have on your master bus. All sound design processing should be left active on each stem, any processing that is 100% part of your song and sound design must be left active. Do not normalize stems or change their volume. Playback of your stems should be exactly as your rough mix plays back.

File Type: Wav / Aiff
Bitrate: 16/24/32bit
Sample Rate: 44,1kHz - 96kHz
Headroom: -3db / -6db

All mixing packages include 3 revisions. Mix revisions give you the peace of mind that the end result is going to be exactly as you want it. On the rare occasion you exceed 3 revisions, you can always purchase more via our revisions and re-runs page here.

100% yes, this is essential when working with an online mix engineer. The rough mix or demo mix will be used to establish that the stems you have sent playback correctly as well as include all automation and necessary processing. The rough mix is also used to correctly establish the balance you intend for each stem in the mix. By listening to the rough mix we can establish at what volume you intend a certain sound to be and where you intend it to be positioned in the mix.

Technically nothing. The two formats are the same. Spatial Audio is just what Apple call it on Apple Music. The same ADM file is delivered to Apple Music as is delivered to any other streaming platforms. The main difference is the codec that is used to deliver the ADM back to the listener in Dolby Atmos.

The Dolby Atmos ADM and stereo master can be given to your desired distributor to release on platforms such as Apple Music, Tidal and Amazon Music. The Dolby Atmos and stereo masters sit alongside each other and depending on which format the listener has their device set to will determine which version they hear. It is highly important that the Dolby Atmos and stereo versions perfectly sync with each other. If they do not sync perfectly your masters will be rejected.

Get in contact with us via email and we can simply replace the files. Please be sure to get in contact with us ASAP to ensure we have the correct files to mix before work commences. If work has already started on your mix and the entire mix requires new stems, charges will apply.

A good mix engineer will be able to work with all genres of music not just one. At Audio Animals we pride ourselves on the fact that we work with all genres of music from every corner of the globe. Being an online mixing and mastering studio working worldwide there is not a genre of music we have not worked with.

Stereo Binaural Mix
Stereo Binaural Master
Dolby Atmos Master (optional extra)
Mixed Stems (optional extra)
Alternate Mixes (optional extra)

If you have set your panning how you intend it to be, then you can by all means print your stems with your panning active. Alternatively leave your panning off and send us panning mix notes along with your stems. In the notes include stem names and pan position. Such as "Lead Guitar 75 Left" and "Rhythm Guitar 30 Right."

100% yes, automation should always be active. Automation is part of your production and sound design and if removed results in an unfinished production. All automation including volume, modulation, EQ, reverb or delay automation should be kept active.

Reverb can be left active if you 100% want the reverb you have added in your song. We will always add reverb where we see fit but any specific reverb you want 100% exactly the same as you have it in your mix, should be printed to the stems or sent as a 100% wet stem. Any creative reverb that is specific to a particular stem should be left active. Any reverb that is part of your sound design or essential to your sound must be left active.

Yes. Delay is something that can have a million different outcomes. If you have added delay that is specific to your taste and how you want delay to sound, this delay would be considered as part of your production. To remove this delay would be to remove an essential part of your sound. We always recommend leaving delay active if you want it in your track. We will not add delay as standard as this is a creative effect that is specific to the production and not the mix. If delay is required from a mix perspective we will by all means add it how we see fit to get the best results.

No. Vocals should be organised and comped ready to be mix. Unwanted clicks, pops and breathes should be removed. All vocals should be tuned and ready to be mixed. You should never send a raw unedited vocal for mixing.

We can add Autotune to vocals to ensure they are kept in tune. This is included in the price. Detailed tuning of vocals using Melodyne is not included in the price and can be ordered and discussed as an additional service.