Mixing: From Multitrack Session to Finished Mix

A recording only becomes a record once every track knows its place: the vocal sits in front of the band, kick and bass agree on who owns the low end, guitars and keys spread across the stereo field, and the chorus opens up against the verse. That work – balance, depth, dynamics and automation – is what mixing is. You bring the multitrack; we return a mix that translates across playback systems rather than only sounding right in one room.

We mix in Control Room 1, our 34 m² listening room at Burggasse 95. Theresa Hofbauer works hybrid there: summing, compression and tonal colour run through analogue hardware, while editing, automation and recall stay in the digital session. You get the grip of analogue signal paths together with the certainty that any version can be called up again exactly – which matters when an instrumental is needed after the second revision round.

How it works

1. Step 1

   Enquiry and review

   Send us your multitrack session or a link to it, tell us the track and song count and name two or three reference productions. We reply within 1 working day with a quote and a start date.

2. Step 2

   Preparation and rough mix

   Once the 30 % deposit has arrived we check your files for completeness, sample rate and start point, tidy the session and build a first rough balance.

3. Step 3

   Mix and listening session

   The mix takes shape in Control Room 1: tone, dynamics, space, automation. You receive an MP3 and a WAV listening copy; if you like, we listen together in the room.

4. Step 4

   Revisions and delivery

   Two revision rounds are included. We then export the main mix, plus stems and alternate versions if ordered, and archive the session for 12 months.

Who our mixing is for

Mixing at Klangnest is for musicians who already have their recording in hand – whether it was tracked in our 68 m² live room, at another studio or in a bedroom. The projects we see most:

• Bands and duos: live-tracked sessions with 20 to 60 tracks where drums, bass and guitars need to become one body.
• Singer-songwriters: sparse arrangements where every decision is audible.
• Producers: electronic and hip-hop productions that are fully arranged and need an outside ear on balance, low end and vocal.
• Labels and publishers: EPs and albums with a release date, a consistent sound across several songs and stems for sync licensing.

If your project still needs recording, start with vocal recording or band recording; if a finished mix only needs loudness and format preparation, that is a job for mastering.

How a mix comes together in Control Room 1

Every mix starts with listening. We play your rough mix and your references on the main monitors and on small nearfields and note what carries the song and what gets in its way. Only then do we touch anything, usually in this order:

1. Session hygiene: naming tracks, trimming silence, checking the phase relationship of drum and bass microphones, removing noise.
2. Static balance and panning – the mix should already work before a single effect is added.
3. Tone shaping per instrument group: equalisation, compression and saturation through the analogue chain.
4. Depth: reverbs, delays and short early reflections to place voice and instruments front to back.
5. Automation of level, effect sends and filters so that verse, bridge and chorus feel different in size.
6. Checking on three listening set-ups, comparing with the references at matched loudness, exporting the listening copy.

A listening session in the control room is included with every mix; a phone call does the same job if you are not in Vienna.

What to prepare: session hygiene before hand-over

A tidy multitrack saves time that then goes into the mix instead of into housekeeping:

• Individual tracks as WAV: every track consolidated from bar 1, at the sample rate and bit depth of the original session, with nothing on the master bus.
• Effects wet and dry: tone-defining effects such as guitar amps or vocal delays as separate tracks in addition to the dry signal.
• Naming: short labels like “Kick In”, “Vox Lead”, “Gtr L” rather than “Audio 14_bounce_final2”.
• Tempo and key: a text file with BPM, key, tempo changes and the alternate versions you want.
• References: two or three released productions with a sentence on what you like about each.
• Rough mix: your own working mix as a guide, even if it is unfinished.

Export routes from common software are covered step by step in our guide File formats and delivery. If anything is missing we tell you before the mix starts, not halfway through.

What you receive and in which formats

After approval we export at the resolution of your session plus a listening copy. The main mix is delivered with headroom and without a limiter on the master bus so that mastering has room to work:

Delivery is by download link and the files stay in our archive for 12 months. If you book mastering with us as well, we hand over internally without an intermediate export.

Turnaround: 7 working days per 5 tracks

We allow 7 working days per 5 tracks, counted from the day all files are complete and the deposit has arrived. A single song rarely needs the full week; a 12-track album needs correspondingly longer. The revision rounds are included in that window as long as your feedback reaches us within a few working days. Saturdays do not count as working days even though the studio is open.

• Day 1: review and session hygiene, questions about missing tracks.
• Days 2 to 4: mixing the five songs, first listening copies.
• Days 5 and 6: your feedback, both revision rounds, listening session.
• Day 7: export of main mixes, listening copies, stems and versions.

If you have a release date, tell us when you enquire; we will say plainly whether mix and mastering together can meet it.

Two revision rounds – and how to get the most from them

The mix price includes two revision rounds per track, as set out in article 7 of our terms. A round means you gather every note on a song, we implement them together and deliver a new listening copy. To make each round count:

• Listen on headphones and on speakers before you send feedback.
• Describe with timestamps: “at 1:42 the guitar covers the vocal” helps more than “the middle sounds odd”.
• Give direction and amount: a touch more, clearly less, gone entirely.
• Collect notes from everyone in the band into one list.

Changes beyond the agreed scope – a new arrangement, tracks recorded after the fact, a character different from the references we discussed – count as a new job and are quoted by the hour. After the second round the mix is deemed approved if we hear nothing from you within 5 working days.

What the mix price does not cover

To keep the invoice free of surprises we draw a clear line between mixing and the work that comes before it. Not included are recording and overdubs, vocal comping and pitch correction from many takes (see vocal recording), drum editing with sample replacement, mastering, and extra versions beyond the options listed above. Repairing damaged or incomplete files is charged separately when it takes more than a quick question. Anything we recommend on top is discussed before we begin and written into the quote.

Further reading: formats guide, terms and contact

Which files to export, how, and how stems differ from multitracks is explained in our guide File formats and delivery: from multitrack to finished master. The contractual rules are in the terms: article 5 on cancellation and rescheduling, article 6 on prices, deposit and payment, article 7 on revisions and approval, and article 8 on the rights to mix and master, which pass to you once payment is complete. Questions about file sizes and uploads are answered on the FAQ page. For a quote, use the contact form or call +43 1 890 46 27.

Scope of the service

Rates

All prices in euros. Consumer prices include 20 % Austrian VAT; for businesses VAT is shown separately on the invoice.

The mix price depends on the track count per song: up to 32 tracks €290, 33 to 64 tracks €390, each per song and incl. 20 % VAT. Five songs with up to 32 tracks each are bundled in the EP package at €1,290 incl. 20 % VAT. A 30 % deposit is invoiced with the order confirmation; the balance falls due on approval of the mix – within 7 days for private clients and within 14 days of invoicing for businesses. Rights to the mix pass to you once payment is complete (terms, article 8).

Questions about this service

Multitrack ready?

Send us a link to your session and two references – you will have a quote with a start date within 1 working day.

Request a session