Organize tracks, build a level balance, audition dynamics and verify a mix across playback systems with measured peak and delivery checks.
Import the complete tracks at their intended sample rate and alignment. Name and group sources, confirm polarity-sensitive pairs and identify the musical or narrative priority. Keep an untouched session copy and choose relevant reference material at matched playback loudness.
Set a comfortable monitoring level and establish relative faders and pan positions before adding processors. Listen to the whole arrangement, then solo only to diagnose a specific problem. Check the actual mix-bus peak against your chosen ceiling; do not add individual dBFS peaks with an acoustic SPL calculator.
Use source placement, editing or equalization to resolve a defined masking or resonant problem. Compare each change in context and at matched level. Check mono compatibility when combining spaced microphones, stereo effects or wide panning, and retain the version that preserves the intended source relationships.
Use clip gain or automation for individual phrases before deciding what a compressor should handle. Inspect a proposed hard-knee threshold, ratio and makeup in the calculator, then listen to the actual processor’s transient response, pumping and noise. Measure crest factor or RMS differences only under consistent meter conventions.
Listen to the mix on headphones and a second representative playback system, including quiet sections and busy transitions. Measure integrated loudness and true peak with audio software against the destination brief. Test a proposed constant gain change and remeasure after any limiting or encoding.
Export the requested master and alternate versions, reopen each file and check alignment, duration, channel layout, fades and peaks. Save the mix notes, reference identity, processor versions and revision number with the source session. Record unresolved artistic choices for the next review.
Write and download the task brief, measured results and handoff decisions as Markdown.
Compare the measured sample or true peak with an explicit ceiling; keep crest factor separate.
Inspect the static hard-knee curve with explicit makeup gain before auditioning the real processor.
Compare two compatible measured RMS levels on an explicitly chosen digital or acoustic scale.
Compare a constant loudness adjustment with the measured true peak and an explicit delivery ceiling.
Estimate byte-aligned PCM payload and entered overhead for the planned recording inventory.
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The documented compressor controls include behavior that a threshold-ratio calculation alone cannot predict.
Apple’s audio guidance is an example of a destination-specific delivery brief; other music or broadcast destinations can differ.
Keep the following evidence with the actual version used for this task.
| Record | Include | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Balance | Reference, monitoring conditions and key changes | Compare at matched level |
| Dynamics | Meter convention, gain changes and processor settings | Listen to attacks and tails |
| Export | Version, layout, loudness and peak readings | Reopen the actual delivery file |
A louder revision can sound preferable before it is actually clearer.
A single loud phrase may need an edit rather than stronger compression on the entire program.