Ideally record at high sample rates and bit-depth. For example: 88,2 khz and 24 or 32 bit float.
Please provide several version of your mix, e.g.: vocals +/- 1dB.
Sometimes mastering causes certain frequency ranges to stand out in the mix.
That way I can compensate for this fact. Your mix should have a headroom of -2 dB to -4dB before hitting digital zero.

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Dithering must be the last step in the Mastering Process.
It usually is needed when reducing bit-depth
For example: from 24 bit used in the mixing process to 16 bit CD standard.
Choosing the right type of dither for a special program material is a very complex task
and it demands some experience. Please do not use dithering in your mix
I will do this for you during CD Authoring.
When in doubt I recommend contacting me to talk about exceptional dithering situations.

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Dynamic range means the difference between low and high levels in your mix.
It is very helpful to leave a maximum of dynamic range before sending your track to the mastering studio.
Please do not use compressors, maximizers or similar effects on your master mixbus.
Instead leave a headroom of about 2-4dB before hitting digital zero.

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Stem mastering is based on stereo mixdowns of several instrumental groups of your session.
For example: 1 stereo mixdown of all drums, 1stereo mixdown of all vocals, guitars, keyboards…etc.
This gives me the chance to edit and process all the individual groups separately
and thus not interfering with each other.

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Please always have an eye on the correlation of your mix.
Specially when preparing for vinyl, the bass prior to all other frequencies needs to be “in phase”.
There are plenty of correlation metering tools available in the market.
Most DAWs offer onboard correlation metering tools.

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Please always deliver High-Resolution Files. Don’t use MP3, AAC,WMV nor any other compressed formats for Mastering !

your sound files/tracks should have names that include no more than 25 characters and can be labeled as follows:
track number/name of the piece/suffixes such as : .WAV. / BWF (broadcasting wave file) / .AIFF / .AIF /.AIFC. At the beginning and at the end of each track allow 5 seconds of pre / post roll (already in the DAW while arranging the song).

The reason is that transients (peak levels) of the pieces will not be trunctated. This also applies to the end of a track, so reverberation tails of your songs will not be cut off.

Record and mix down all tracks at the highest sample rate and bit depth. For example: 96 khz and 32 bit – floating point.

Even if you´ve recorded / mixed at only 44.1 or 48 khz and 16-bit, you can set the bounce dialog to 96 khz and 32 or 24-bit (depending on your audio software/DAW) and then bounce to that high resolution for mastering.

Please don´t edit the bounced tracks any more. Don´t use any Normalizing plugins/software and don´t perform Fade-Ins/Fade-Outs. I´ll do this for you with high-end analog and digital equipment.

You can send your files on media or upload them to my secure FTP – Server.
Please contact me in order to be provided with a free client‘s account.

This post is also available in german.