How to Prepare Stems For Mixing
By Noah Cronin · Sea Major Seven Studio · Honolulu, Hawaii
You've recorded something you're proud of. Now it's time to send it to a mix engineer. How you deliver your session can make a real difference in the quality of the final product — and in how smoothly the process goes. Here's what I look for when a project lands in my inbox, and what separates a session that's ready to work with from one that adds hours of unnecessary cleanup.
Export at the correct sample rate and bit depth
Export your stems at the same sample rate you recorded at — usually 44.1kHz or 48kHz. Don't upsample or downsample before sending. For bit depth, 24-bit is the standard for mixing sessions. Avoid converting to MP3 or any lossy format — always send WAV or AIFF files.
If your session is at 48kHz, your stems should be at 48kHz. Simple as that. Mismatched sample rates cause subtle timing issues that take time to diagnose and fix.
Turn off all master bus processing
This is the most common mistake I see, even from experienced artists. If you've got a limiter, compressor, or EQ sitting on your master bus — bypass it before you export. That processing is baked into the stems and can't be undone. It ties the mix engineer's hands before the session even starts.
Keep your individual channel processing — mostly
Unlike the master bus, processing on individual tracks is usually fine to keep. If you've got a specific vocal reverb or a bass tone you love, leave it on. Just flag it in your notes so I know what's intentional and what's placeholder. If you're unsure whether something should stay, a good rule of thumb: keep it if it defines the sound, bypass it if it was just a rough guide.
Label everything clearly
You'd be surprised how many sessions arrive with tracks named "Audio 1," "Audio 2," "New Track 5." Take 10 minutes before you export and rename everything properly. Lead Vox, Harmony Vox, Kick, Snare, Hi Hat, Bass, Guitar 1, Synth Lead — whatever accurately describes what's on the track.
Clear labeling means less back-and-forth, faster turnaround, and a mix engineer who can focus on making your music sound great instead of figuring out what's what.
Start all stems at the same point
Every stem should start from bar 1, beat 1 — even if there's silence at the beginning of some tracks. This ensures everything lines up perfectly when I import your session. If stems start at different points, there's a real chance something gets misaligned and we end up chasing a sync issue that shouldn't exist.
Clean up before you send
This one gets overlooked more than anything else. Before you export, do a final pass through your session and take care of the things that are yours to handle:
Timing and edits — make sure everything lines up correctly. What sounds fine in your session can reveal alignment issues when imported fresh into a new one. Listen through once with fresh ears specifically for timing before you export.
Noise, pops, and clicks — clean up your edit points. Every clip should have a fade or crossfade so entrances and exits are smooth — especially punch ins and connected clips. No abrupt cuts, pops, or clicks at the edit points.
Vocals — tune them before sending. Pitch correction is part of the production process and ideally happens before the mix stage. Sending untuned vocals and expecting it to be handled in the mix adds time, cost, and affects how every other element gets balanced around the vocal.
A clean, edited, tuned session tells me you're serious about the project. It also means we spend the session making it sound great instead of cleaning up things that could have been handled beforehand.
Include a rough mix
Always send a reference mix — even a rough one. It tells me what you're hearing in your head and what direction you want to go. I'm not trying to copy your rough mix, but it gives me a starting point for understanding your vision: where the vocals sit, how prominent the bass is, what the general vibe is. Without it, I'm working in the dark.
Send notes
A few sentences goes a long way. Let me know if there's a part that's intentionally lo-fi, a vocal take that has a specific feel you want preserved, or a reference track that captures the energy you're going for. The more context you give me, the better I can serve your vision — not just make it sound technically correct, but make it sound like you.
Stem prep checklist — before you hit send
WAV or AIFF files only — no MP3s
Sample rate matches your recording session (44.1k or 48k)
24-bit depth
Master bus processing bypassed before export
All tracks clearly labeled
All stems start from bar 1, beat 1
Timing checked and edit points cleaned up
Vocals tuned
Rough mix included as a separate file
Notes included — vision, references, anything intentional
Ready to mix? Send your project through the booking page and include your stems, rough mix, and any notes. Based at Sea Major Seven Studio in Honolulu, Hawaii — working with artists worldwide.