How do I get my song ready for the Mastering Engineer?

Through no fault of their own, musicians and inexperienced mixing engineers often misunderstand exactly what a mastering engineer needs to be able to deliver a quality master. For the sake of business some mastering engineers like to pretend that they can work magic with whatever you give them but the truth is that bad mixes only make their own job harder. Here are a few simple guidelines to follow when preparing your mix for mastering session:

1. Don’t Make it Loud!
It is ok to apply an L2 Maximizer and/or compressor to your track when bouncing a version for listening but doing this when sending your track in for mastering only gives the engineer less to work with. Your master fader should be hitting at about ¾ for the best results.

2. High Resolution data files are preferred (24-bit WAV).
16bit files are ideal for CD but mastering engineer need a higher resolution file to manipulate.

3. While higher bit rates are always preferred, higher sample rates aren't always required.

4. Fading tracks in and out is not commonly understood to be the mastering engineer's job among indie artists.
Make sure you have arranged your piece exactly how you want it. The mastering engineer generally will not make any mix changes during his session.

5. It is typically best to leave any stereo mix processing to the mastering studio.
Generally it is not a good idea to apply any effects to the master fader on your mix session before bouncing a file for mastering.