Hi, I’m Dan. I’m an audio engineer specialising in mixing, mastering and production.
I work mainly in rock and metal, but good music is good music, and I’m comfortable working across
genres. My job is
simple: take your music and make it hit the way it should: clear, cohesive and intentional.
Technical where it needs to be. Musical where it matters.
I’ve spent over a decade working across studio and live sound environments. I hold a BA degree
in Audio and Music Production and an MA degree in Digital Music and Sound Art. I’m also an
Avid-certified Pro Tools user and hold a Dante Level 2 Certification.
Collaboration
Some artists want to be involved in every detail. Others prefer to hand things over and trust the
process. I’m comfortable with both, and I offer live mix sessions over Zoom or Teams if you want
to be in the room while we shape it.
Approach
There’s no fixed formula. Every track needs something slightly different. The goal isn’t just to
“finish” it, it’s to make it feel right.
When you send your files, please include clear mix notes and any reference tracks that show the direction
you want to go. Files should be WAV at 44.1, 48, 88.2 or 96 kHz, all starting at the same point and the
same length so everything lines up properly.
I mix in Pro Tools, so please export your multitracks as clean audio without processing. If any effects
are essential to the sound, include both the processed version and a clearly labelled dry version. Please
also include DI tracks for guitars and bass where possible.
Make sure normalisation is turned off when exporting.
I include three revisions free of charge per song. If more are needed, we can discuss options before
continuing.
How to Export Multitracks From Your DAW
These steps create individual, full-length multitracks for mixing rather than grouped stems. Menu wording
can vary slightly between versions, but the signal path and delivery settings below stay the same. The
DAW-specific instructions and official references were checked in July 2026.
Use these settings in every DAW
Save a new project version first. Finish comping, edits, tuning and timing work before export.
Use one shared range. Start every file at project zero or bar 1 beat 1, and end two to four bars after the final audible tail. Do not trim files individually.
Export WAV at the project's current sample rate. Use 24-bit integer or 32-bit float. Do not convert the sample rate, normalise, limit or dither.
Send clean tracks by default. Keep approved edits, clip gain, tuning and sound-design printed, but bypass channel and master-bus processing that is not essential to the part.
Send both dry and wet when an effect is part of the sound. Label the files clearly, keep their start and end identical, and export shared reverbs or delays as separate returns where possible.
Preserve the source format. Keep mono sources mono and true stereo sources stereo. Stereo-only exports from Ableton Live or FL Studio are acceptable.
Include a rough mix and check the files. Re-import the WAVs into an empty project at the same start point, confirm they line up, and compare the result with your rough mix before sending.
Route: Edit > Consolidate Clip, then Clips List menu > Export Clips as Files
Duplicate the session, finish edits and commit or record any virtual instruments or external hardware. Make non-essential inserts inactive. If processing is essential, duplicate and commit a clearly labelled wet version as well.
Select every deliverable audio track and the exact shared timeline range. Choose Edit > Consolidate Clip (Shift-Option-3 on Mac or Shift-Alt-3 on Windows). This creates one continuous clip per track, including silence, so every file has the same start and length.
Rename the consolidated clips clearly. With those clips selected, choose Export Clips as Files from the Clips List menu (Command-Shift-K on Mac or Control-Shift-K on Windows).
Choose WAV, Interleaved so stereo clips remain single stereo files, 24-bit or 32-bit float, and the session sample rate. Select a new delivery folder and export.
Important: Export Clips as Files does not print mixer inserts, fader, pan or track automation. Commit any essential processed version before consolidating; otherwise the exported clip is the clean handoff.
Route: File > Export > selected Tracks as Audio Files
Save a new project version. Set a cycle from the shared start through the agreed tail and select only the tracks you need to deliver.
Choose File > Export and the command for the selected track or tracks. The wording may show the number of selected tracks. Use All Tracks as Audio Files only if every project track belongs in the delivery.
Choose WAV and 24-bit or 32-bit float. Set Range to the cycle range, switch Bypass Effect Plug-ins on, switch Include Volume/Pan Automation off, set Normalize to Off, and leave Include Audio Tail off because the shared cycle already contains the tail.
For a multi-output instrument, choose One File per Channel Strip when separate outputs such as individual drum pieces are required; otherwise choose one file per track. Set a clear naming pattern and export.
Wet versions: Run a second labelled export with the required plug-ins active. Essential aux returns are not guaranteed to appear as their own files in a normal track export, so route, solo and bounce them separately for the same cycle range.
Work from Arrangement View, make sure the Arrangement is the version playing, and select the full shared time range. Capture external hardware first. Rename tracks and bypass non-essential devices.
Set deliverable track faders to unity and pan controls to centre because Live's individual-track render is post-fader. Choose File > Export Audio/Video.
Set Rendered Track to All Individual Tracks, or select the required tracks before opening the dialog and use Selected Tracks Only. Confirm Render Start and Render Length match the Arrangement selection.
Turn Include Return and Main Effects, Render as Loop, Convert to Mono and Normalize off. Enable PCM, choose WAV, 24-bit or 32-bit, the project sample rate and no dither, then export.
Important: Live creates equal-length files for audio tracks, instrument tracks and return tracks. Leaving Include Return and Main Effects off prevents the same shared return or master processing being folded into every track and counted repeatedly when the files are summed.
Set the left and right locators to the exact shared range, including the tail. Name and select the audio-related channels you need to deliver.
Choose File > Export > Audio Mixdown. In Channel Selection choose Multiple, optionally use Sync Selection to Channel/Track Selection, and tick the required audio, instrument, group or FX channels.
Set Export Range to Locators. Choose WAV, 24-bit or 32-bit float, the project sample rate and Interleaved. Under Effects choose Disabled (DRY). Cubase then exports each channel pre-panner, keeps mono channels mono and creates one file per selected channel.
Set the naming scheme and destination folder, add the job to the queue if required, and choose Export Audio or Start Queue Export.
Important: MIDI channels are not directly available in Audio Mixdown; select the connected VST instrument channel instead. Every source also needs a valid output route or it can render as silence. Use Real Time Export for external instruments or effects. For a wet copy, use Inserts and Strip or the required Complete Signal Path mode, and still include the dry export.
Set the Song Start and End markers, or the loop, to the common range including the full tail. Rename tracks, save a new version and disable non-essential inserts and sends so the dry result is unambiguous in every Studio One version.
Choose Song > Export Stems. For clean source tracks use the Tracks tab and select each required track. Use the Channels tab for a separate wet pass that deliberately prints the Console channel and its effects chain.
Choose the matching range - Between Song Start/End Marker or Between Loop - then select WAV, 24-bit or 32-bit float and the Song sample rate.
Enable Preserve Mono Tracks if that option appears in your version, leave normalisation off, choose a delivery folder and export. Current versions may preserve the channel format automatically.
Check: Studio One's stem behaviour has changed across versions. The Tracks tab is intended for the raw track export in current PreSonus guidance, while Channels prints the effects chain. Keeping inserts and sends disabled for the dry pass, then re-importing one test file, removes any ambiguity.
Route: File > Export > WAV, then Split Mixer Tracks
Route every sound that needs its own file to a unique Mixer insert and name every used insert clearly. This is essential because FL Studio splits Mixer tracks, not Playlist lanes. Rename multi-output plug-in inserts from the default Insert number so FL Studio recognises them as used.
In the Playlist, select the shared range from the start through the tail, or place a final time marker beyond the last audio. Make sure the project is in Song mode and no required Mixer track is muted.
Choose File > Export > WAV. Select 24-bit integer or 32-bit float, Stereo, the project sample rate from Audio Settings, and Leave remainder for Tail.
Enable Split Mixer Tracks and Trim PDC Silence. For the clean pass, turn Enable Insert Effects, Enable Master Effects and Dithering off, then start the render.
Important: Multiple sources routed to one Mixer insert will be combined into one file. Split Mixer Tracks normally creates stereo WAVs and bypasses Master effects; this is acceptable. For a wet pass, enable the required insert effects, but keep the clean pass as well.
Route: File > Render, then Stems (selected tracks)
Create the common time selection, including the tail, and select only the individual tracks you want to deliver in the Track Control Panel. Bypass non-essential track FX and avoid selecting a folder parent unless you deliberately want one grouped stem.
Choose File > Render. Set Source to Stems (selected tracks), Bounds to Time selection, choose the delivery directory and use $track in the file-name pattern.
Enable Use project sample rate for mixing and FX/synth processing. Choose WAV and 24-bit or 32-bit float. Set the render tail to zero because the selected range already contains the required tail.
Enable Render stems pre-fader and Tracks with only mono media to mono files. Turn Normalize/Limit/Fade and dither/noise shaping off, then choose Render Files.
Important: REAPER stem renders include active track FX and receives, so bypass them for the dry pass and check complex folder or sidechain routing. For a wet copy, restore the required FX and render to a separately labelled folder.
Where possible, please make sure all tracks and files are clearly labelled and numbered. Use a leading
zero on tracks 01 to 09 so that everything stays in the correct order when imported. This is a guideline
to help the mix process run smoothly, so do not worry if your project does not match it perfectly.
Preferred Track Order
Drums:
Kick
Snare
Toms (01, 02, 03 etc)
Hi Hats
Any Other Cymbal Close Mics
Overheads (Left and Right)
Room Mics
Percussion
Bass
Guitars:
Main Rhythm Guitars
Layer Rhythm Guitars
Lead Guitars
Acoustic and Clean Guitars
Any Additional Auxiliary Guitars
Keys and Synths
Orchestral Elements:
Percussion
Strings
Brass
Woodwinds
Production Elements
Risers, SFX, Impacts and similar sounds
Lead Vocals - usually a single unique part per track
Backing Vocals - harmonies, doubles, triples, gang vocals, choirs and similar parts
Example File Naming
Here’s a full-session before/after showing how a messy handoff could be renamed and ordered so everything
drops into the session cleanly.
