Delivery Formats Guide

Understand the technical requirements for audio delivery formats. Learn the crucial differences between stems, multitracks, bit depths, and sample rates to ensure a seamless collaboration with our engineers at Bivinylfiora Madrid.

Technical Prerequisites for Mixing & Mastering

Delivering your audio files correctly is the most critical technical step before the mixing and mastering phase begins. Improperly exported files can lead to phase issues, digital clipping, loss of fidelity, and ultimately, a delay in your project's completion. At Bivinylfiora, our Sound Engineer, Sofia Navarro, and Mastering Specialist, Diego Ramos, utilize high-end analog gear including an SSL Console and Neve preamps. To get the most out of this equipment, your source audio must be pristine and formatted correctly.

This guide outlines our exact specifications for file delivery, ensuring your project translates flawlessly from your DAW to our studio environment.

1. Supported Formats & Resolution

We require lossless, uncompressed audio files. Do not send MP3s, M4As, or AACs for mixing or mastering.

Format: WAV or AIFF
Bit Depth: 24-bit (preferred) or 32-bit float. Please do not downsample to 16-bit.
Sample Rate: 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, or 96kHz. Export at the native sample rate of your project. Do not upsample during export.

2. Headroom and Clipping

When exporting for a mix or master, ensure your tracks are not clipping. Digital distortion cannot be undone.

Mixing: Individual tracks should peak between -18dBFS and -6dBFS.
Mastering: The stereo mixdown should peak no higher than -3dBFS to -6dBFS, leaving adequate headroom for analog processing and limiting.

Multitracks vs. Stems

These terms are often used interchangeably, but they mean very different things. Understanding the distinction is vital for requesting the right service.

Multitracks

Multitracks are the individual, raw recorded elements of a song. (e.g., Kick In, Kick Out, Snare Top, Snare Bottom, Lead Vocal, Backing Vocal 1). A typical pop or rock song might have 30 to 80 multitracks.

When to send: For full Mixing services. This gives our engineer complete control over the balance, EQ, and dynamics of every single element.

Stems

Stems are pre-mixed groups or sub-mixes of tracks. (e.g., All Drums, All Bass, All Guitars, All Vocals). A song usually consists of 4 to 8 stems.

When to send: For Stem Mastering or targeted mix adjustments. Stems are useful when you are mostly happy with your mix but want Bivinylfiora to sum them through our SSL Console and apply broad analog warmth and final polish.

Exporting Checklist (Bouncing Process)

Bypass Master Bus Processing: Turn off all limiters, compressors, and EQs on your master channel before bouncing.
Commit Creative Effects: If a specific delay or reverb is integral to the sound (e.g., a huge vocal throw), print it on a separate track or leave it on. If it's just a generic room reverb, turn it off—we have premium reverbs at the studio.
Zero the Timeline: All exported tracks must start at exactly the same time (Bar 1, Beat 1), even if the instrument doesn't play until minute two. This ensures all files line up perfectly when imported into our Pro Tools system.
Check for Tails: Ensure your export range extends long enough to capture the final decay of the last cymbal crash or vocal reverb tail. Do not cut off the end of the song abruptly.
Naming Convention: Name files logically without special characters. Include the track number and instrument. (e.g., "01_Kick.wav", "12_LeadVocal.wav").

How to Send Your Files

Once your files are exported, organized into a folder, and clearly labeled with the song tempo (BPM) and key, compress the folder into a single .ZIP file.

Upload the .ZIP file to a reliable cloud storage service (WeTransfer, Google Drive, Dropbox) and send the download link to [email protected]. Please ensure the link does not expire within 7 days to give our team ample time to download and review the session.

Data Retention Policy

Please note that Bivinylfiora retains project archives on our local servers for 6 months after project completion. We strongly advise you to keep permanent backups of both your raw multitracks and the final masters delivered by our studio.