Tip for Electronic Music Producers – Prepping Your Track for Mastering
Before sending your mix off (or doing your own mastering), here are a few things I’ve found super helpful:
Keep the low end tight – Make sure your kick and sub aren’t fighting. Use high-pass filters on elements that don’t need bass, and sidechain if needed to let the kick punch through.
Mono the subs – Usually anything below ~110Hz should stay mono to avoid issues on club systems or vinyl. (Not a rule of thumb, let your ears decide)
Watch your stereo width – Keep the width in the mids and highs, and avoid going too crazy on widening plugins.
Label your files properly – Something like
TrackName_BPM_Key_Mix1.wavgoes a long way if you're working with mastering engineers.Test on different systems – Don’t just rely on your studio monitors. Check your mix on headphones, small speakers, even your phone, it should still hit right everywhere.