Should I pay someone to mix and master?

Professional mixing and mastering engineers like myself have a lot of experience with all sorts of music and recordings. We know the usual issues people face in getting their sound to a professional level. This is the talent and expertise we provide. If you are looking to step up to the next level and are serious about having a great sounding final product then I believe it is necessary to hire professional audio engineers. They have the tools and the education to bring your sound to a place that is worth the investment.

Can mastering improve a mix?

Of course, but you can’t fix a doomed mix with mastering alone. The music mastering services I provide will definitely add an element of professional quality, color, and loudness that is necessary for a competitive and finalized piece of audio. I work hard to reduce conflict frequencies in your mix. I find the proper balance and compression across the full spectrum of audio. And most importantly I make your songs work in the larger landscape of your album and your genre. You won’t have any issues when you play your music up against your favorite artist.

How much do you charge? / what are you prices?

Mixing (per song): $300
(31-40 stems, less stems = lower price, discounts for multiple songs)

Mastering (per song): $50
(discounts for multiple songs: $45 for 3 or more)

Podcast / Audio Repair / Post Sound: $40 per hour (discounts for larger projects)

Do you offer discounts for mixing or mastering?

Yes, I offer a discount up front for artists who have never used my services before. I also offer discounts for multiple songs or albums. These prices always depend on the initial estimate I give but are usually some of the best deals you can get for high quality mixing and mastering.

Should you mix and master your own music?

The short answer is, yes, if you want to, if you love it, and if you are getting the results you are aiming for. That being said, it is always valuable to have a second set of ears on your music. Especially well-trained, experienced ears that know the usual issues with lower-quality recordings. I have seen all types of projects come through my studio and understand how to get the most out of anything. I know where to look for trouble spots and I know how to fix them. I also add fresh creativity that can be invaluable and unexpected.

Some musicians come to me to elevate their music in a way that they couldn’t have thought up themselves. Some artists love the control of mixing their own song. I love mixing artists that have a great demo mix and a specific vision. I can add on that extra bit of magic that they may not have thought of yet. I also enjoy mastering artists that prefer to mix their own music. Some musicians only need that final polish on the music because they have the skills and vision for mixing. Whatever situation you feel you are in, reach out and I can help. Whether it’s a quick mix consultation, a full mixing job, mastering, editing or even stem mastering, I can lend my years of expertise in music production.

How much does vocal mixing cost?

If you just need vocals mixed with an instrumental, I don’t charge as much as a full mixing job. It is very common in hip-hop music for artists to purchase a pre-mixed beat and just have lead vocals, ad-libs, or a hook to throw on top. For music mixing, I charge by the amount of stems (separate audio tracks) so if you have under 10 stems you’ll get my most affordable mixing package. Click my “CONTACT” button above to get a fast quote. Don’t forget to ask about mastering as well if you need your mix finalized and ready for distribution to Spotify, Apple Music and the rest.

Do you provide online (remote) mixing and mastering services?

Yes, most of the artists I work with use email as the main form of communication. I do some jobs locally here in Los Angeles as well. Online mixing has come a long way. It’s my preferred way of working since it is so much faster. Clients send me their audio stems through a web host of their choice (such as dropbox or google drive). While they are preparing those files, I send a set of pre-mix questions to help us get on the same page stylistically. This is the best time for artists to let me know their vision for their project. Some musicians don’t have a specific vision and just want me to do my thing. That’s great too!

Once we work out the strategy and approach for the mix, and I receive the audio files, I will start mixing. There is always exceptions but I usually mix a song in a day. After the artist hears the first mix they are free to contact me with any changes they would like me to make. This is usually done over email but I am available on the phone or video chat as well. I always offer plenty of time for revisions so clients don’t feel rushed. I want them to end up with a finished production that they are really proud of. If this process sounds good to you, feel free to get in touch. You can also listen to my recent work and read reviews from artists I’ve worked with using the links above.

How much is vocal tuning or auto-tune?

I usually charge by the hour for vocal tuning or audio editing. The amount of time it takes depends on a lot of things: how much tuning needs to be done, how many vocal tracks need to be tuned, etc. This is why I use an hourly rate. Sometimes I can get this done in less than an hour and other songs need a few hours. Get in touch to get a quick quote.

How much should you pay for mixing?

You should pay whatever you think is fair for the work. There is a wide range of pricing and quality out there from audio engineers of various skill levels. You may see freelance sites charging a ridiculously low amount. You are free to try those services but you will get what you pay for. My pricing is in the mid-range for indie musicians. This means that I keep my rates more affordable than most studios because I have lower overhead. I run a home studio and don’t have to pay employees or extra rent for a building. I have plenty of high quality gear and most importantly, a lot of experience, creativity, and technique in music production. The quality of my work can be heard in my portfolio. You can also see all my happy clients in the “REVIEWS” section of this site. I am very confident in my ability to provide high quality music mixing and mastering services.

Do you have a recording studio for my band to do a tracking session in Los Angeles?

I do not own a traditional recording studio but I am open to being your bands engineer and helping you find and rent studio time in Los Angeles. I know a lot of studios in town that have affordable rates for indie musicians.

My home studio has professional mixing and mastering capabilities but is limited in it’s recording abilities for full bands. I do have a great setup for vocal and synth recording. I have many analog synths, a solid collection of guitar pedals to run almost any sound through, drum machines, guitars, and bass. I am located in Northeast Los Angeles near Eagle Rock, Highland Park and Glassell Park. If you would like to talk about using my home studio for your production or having me engineer your recording sessions, feel free to reach out using the links above.

Do you do sound mixing and editing for film, video or podcasts?

Yes! I have a lot of experience doing post-production audio and podcast editing. I really enjoy working with video and podcast producers. I also do original music composition for visual media. You can see my composition work using the link above. If you’d like to see some of my post-production or podcast work please get in touch.

Do mixing engineers get royalties?

Most of the time, no. I personally never ask for any royalties as an audio engineer. Royalties and publishing go to the songwriters and producers. Engineers only get a one-time fee for the portion of mixing or mastering they did on the project. 99% of the time this is true and if you work with me I will never ask for residual income after my job is done. Royalties are for songwriters.

How do you price mixing services?

All of my mixing prices are based on how big your song is. In other words, how many stems (separate audio files) your song has. The number of recorded tracks in a song is directly tied to how much work I will be doing. I like to use this pricing style because it allows me to have a lower price for musicians and producers who need a simpler job done. Since it takes less time for me to mix, it should take less financial investment from the artist.

How do you price mastering services?

I charge a flat fee per song for mastering. It is the same for every artist I work with. I do have bundled fees for EPs and full albums which can help lower the price.

How do you want my audio files to be prepared for a mixing session?

I prefer stems to be exported and sent to me in a zip file as 24bit/48khz WAV files. I wrote a whole article on this here.

What happens if you don’t master a song?

When your song is mastered, it is compressed using a limiter to bring it to a level of loudness that allows it to sound great next to other songs in it’s genre without any distortion or clipping. The key issue is that you can’t just turn up your song without it clipping at zero db. So a mastering engineer uses a limiter which limits the peaks that would normally go over the zero db mark.

If you don’t have your song mastered, you will either end up with a quiet song or a distorted song (if you turned it up yourself with no limiter).

Besides loudness, mastering engineers also provide a valuable second set of professionally trained ears to your mix. We use EQ and other tools to enhance the richness and clear up any conflicting frequencies. We also find the right loudness and coloration to match the other songs on your album and compete with other artists in your genre. When you don’t have your song mastered you end up with a much weaker, inconsistent final product.

How loud should your mix be before mastering?

A good rule is to have your master channel hitting between -12 and -6 db and not going over -6. This keeps your audio clear from peaking at zero db but loud enough to use the full range of digital bit depth for optimal sound quality. To properly export, play the song from front to back and watch the master channel meter the whole time. Make sure it is staying above -12 on average and only touching -6 occasionally. You can adjust volume using the master channel or by selecting ALL your tracks at once and changing their volume simultaneously.

How loud should you master for Spotify (ideal loudness)?

Spotify wants mastering engineers to hit -14 LUFS according to the ITU 1770 (International Telecommunication Union) standard. This is actually a bit quieter than popular music has been in the last couple decades, but that’s a GOOD thing. We are now in an era where we don’t have to smash the dynamic range of songs for them to sound good on streaming.

If you upload something that is louder or softer than that, Spotify will adjust the volume of your song to hit -14 LUFS. Important to note: they adjust your WHOLE ALBUM so the difference in loudness between songs that you’ve already committed to will stay in tact. They DO adjust your individual tracks’ loudness when played outside of the album format (during shuffling or a playlist with other artists).

How long does it take to mix and master a song?

The amount of time it takes to mix a song depends on the amount of work that is needed. This is usually determined by the amount of stems (separate audio tracks) an artist sends me. For the most part, I can mix a song in one day.

The length of time mastering takes is about one hour per song but again, can depend on the amount of work that is needed.  These times can vary depending on the experience of the engineer and the amount of creative choices you’ve asked them to explore.

How many hours does it take to mix a song?

As I mentioned above, I can usually mix a song in one day, unless it has a lot of instruments (over 40 stems usually takes two days). The amount of time it takes is somewhere between four and eight hours. The more experienced the engineer is, the less time it will take.