How to Prepare an Ableton Live Session for a Mix Engineer
Here are some quick and easy steps to prepare an Ableton Live session for a mix engineer.
SCENARIO 1: If the Mix Engineer Will Accept an Ableton Live Session File:
- Save the session with a new name like “Artist – Song Title – ready for mix”. Use the “Save Live Set As” command from the File menu to save the set into a new location that is NOT in an existing Project or the Library. This will create a new Project folder for the Set.
- Remove any tracks from the session you are no longer using.
- Clean up all the remaining tracks. This means fade in beginnings, erase any unwanted clicks, pops, breaths, hums, glitches etc. so that the track to hand to your mix engineer has only the information you want in your mix.
- Name all your tracks in a way that is descriptive and logical. (Kick, Snare, Bass, ect.)
- Double check all the timing of rhythm based instruments and sounds. Quantize and fix anything that is out of time, or slightly off.
- Make an audio version of any software midi instrument that you are using. The mix engineer may not have the same software instruments as you. You can preserve the midi tracks for the mix engineer which may provide some editing options for them if necessary and if they happen to have the same instrument.
- After these steps do a “Collect all and Save” from the File menu to copy the audio files used by the set into the new project folder. This will ensure that the mix engineer gets all of the audio files associated with the project.
SCENARIO 2: If the Mix Engineer Does Not Have Ableton Live or They Mix in Another DAW:
- Bounce your current rough mix and name this file “Song Title Reference Mix YYMMDD”. Include this rough mix with your track outs but clearly labeled as described.
- Make note of the bit depth, sample rate, song tempo (bpm) and include this information with your notes for your mix engineer.
- Save the session with a new name like “Artist – Song Title – ready for mix”. Use the “Save Live Set As” command from the File menu to save the set into a new location that is NOT in an existing Project or the Library. This will create a new Project folder for the Set.
- Remove any tracks from the session you are no longer using.
- Clean up all the remaining tracks. This means fade in beginnings, erase any unwanted clicks, pops, breaths, hums, glitches etc. so that the track to hand to your mix engineer has only the information you want in your mix.
- Name all your tracks in a way that is descriptive and logical. (Kick, Snare, Bass, ect.)
- Double check all the timing of rhythm based instruments and sounds. Quantize and fix anything that is out of time, or slightly off.
- Make an audio version of any software midi instrument that you are using.
- After these steps do a “Collect all and Save” from the File menu to copy the audio files used by the set into the new project folder. This keeps all the audio files of your project in one place for future archiving.
- Go to the File menu and select “Export Audio” or “Cmd shift R”. Select “All Tracks” from the “Rendered Track” option drop down. This will render an individual audio file for each track in your session. Save these audio files in a folder titled “Artist – Song Title – Track Outs”. Note the song tempo, bit depth, and sample rate, and give this information to your mix engineer with the files.
Now technically if you complete those above seven steps, a mix engineer can take it from there, but if you want to save yourself some money, file size, and headache for the mix engineer, you might want to run all the exported tracks and stems through a tool called StereoMonoizer from a company called “Soundizer”. What this tool does is analyze all the files in one batch and determine if any of the “stereo” files that Ableton exported are actually mono (Unfortunately Ableton Live exports everything as a stereo file no matter what). StereoMonoizer will then go through and convert the files that don’t actually contain stereo content to mono almost instantly, saving the mix engineer tons of time, and thus you money if they bill by the hour for editing.
If you are looking for the clarity, depth and width of a professional mix, contact me with your project details to get a price quote.
If you have any questions or comments on preparing your Ableton Live session leave them below, and I will be happy to respond.
