Stop Guessing If Your Mix Is Ready for Mastering
You exported your mix. You think it sounds good. But do you know it's ready for mastering?
Most producers send their mix to mastering (or run it through LANDR) without checking if the mix itself is actually good. That's like painting a house before fixing the foundation.
Here's what I check before sending anything to mastering:
1. LUFS (Integrated Loudness)
Your mix should sit around -14 to -18 LUFS integrated. If you're already at -8 LUFS before mastering, you've over-compressed. The mastering engineer has nothing left to work with.
I built a free tool that checks this automatically: MixDiagnose. Upload your file, get instant LUFS, true peak, and dynamic range readings — no signup.
Streaming platform targets:
- Spotify: -14 LUFS
- YouTube: -13 LUFS
- Apple Music: -16 LUFS
- Tidal: -14 LUFS
If your mix is at -10 LUFS, Spotify will turn it down by 4dB. You lose punch and clarity. Better to mix quieter and let the platform normalize.
2. Frequency Balance
The #1 issue I see in amateur mixes: too much energy in the 200-500Hz range. This is the "mud zone." Your ears are less sensitive to this range, so it builds up without you noticing.
The fix: sweep a bell filter around 200-500Hz with 2-3dB of reduction. You'll be shocked how much clearer your mix gets.
The second most common issue: nothing above 10kHz. Your mix sounds dull on earbuds. Add a high shelf at 10kHz, +1-2dB.
3. Mono Compatibility
60% of listening happens on mono sources — phone speakers, Bluetooth speakers, laptop speakers. If your mix falls apart in mono, you have a phase problem.
Check this by summing to mono. If elements disappear, you have phase cancellation. Fix it with EQ or re-record the problematic layer.
4. Dynamic Range
Your crest factor (difference between peak and RMS) should be 8-14dB. Below 6dB means you're over-compressing. The mix sounds flat, lifeless, and fatiguing.
Get All This In 30 Seconds
Instead of checking each of these manually, I built MixDiagnose to do it automatically. Upload any audio file and get:
- A Mix Score (0-100) so you know where you stand
- Specific issue titles ("Nearly Mono", "Not Enough Highs", "Tight DR")
- Exact frequency band levels in dB
- LUFS, true peak, crest factor
- Stereo width and correlation
- A downloadable report card (1080×1080 PNG, Instagram-ready)
3 free analyses per month, no signup required. 3 more if you share your report.
Fix your mix before you master it. Don't pay for mastering until your mix is actually ready.
Try it free at mixdiagnose.com
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