Mix Prep Checklist: 8 Things to Check Before Mastering Your Beat

"Mastering can't fix a bad mix." These 8 checks cover the most common issues that make mastering harder than it needs to be.

1. Headroom: Is Your Mix Peaking at -6 dBFS or Lower?

Play through the loudest section. Peak should not exceed -6 dBFS. If hitting -3 dBFS or higher, reduce your master fader.

Why: The mastering limiter needs this headroom to increase loudness without distortion.

2. Mono Check: Does Your Bass Disappear in Mono?

Press the mono button. Does your 808 or bass disappear or go thin? If yes, phase cancellation — fix before mastering by collapsing everything below 100 Hz to mono.

3. Subsonic Check: Energy Below 30 Hz?

Check with a spectrum analyzer. Subsonic content is inaudible but wastes 2–4 dB of limiter headroom. High-pass at 30–35 Hz.

4. Clip Check: Is Anything Clipping?

Check every channel for clipping. Saturated 808s, distorted synths, overloaded samples are common culprits. Digital clipping in the mix gets amplified in mastering.

5. Kick-808 Relationship: Do They Fight?

Do kick and 808 feel distinct, or is the low end an undefined mass? Fix with sidechain compression, frequency EQ to carve space, or ensure they're not at the same fundamental.

6. Width Check: Wide Elements Stable in Mono?

Stereo chorus on a synth lead, stereo delay on hi-hats, and excessive reverb returns can cause phase artifacts in mono.

7. Frequency Balance: Does It Sound Dark, Thin, or Harsh Without Mastering?

A well-mixed beat should sound close to finished before mastering — just quieter. Severe tonal imbalances are mix problems, not mastering problems.

8. Export Format: 24-Bit or Higher

Use 24-bit, not 16-bit. Keep the same sample rate as your project.

Pre-Mastering Bounce Checklist

• Mix peaks at -6 dBFS or lower
• Bass survives mono check
• No subsonic content below 30 Hz
• No clipping on individual channels
• Kick and 808 feel distinct
• Wide elements are mono-stable
• Tonal balance is roughly correct
• Bounced at 24-bit