Let me Mix and Master your song!
Specialising in helping home-recording musicians sound better
How does it work?
- Contact me via the form below with details about your project.
- I’ll get back to you with a quote and an indication of when I am available.
- Upload your multitrack files via the cloud. (see FAQ for instructions)
- I’ll get started and send you a draft mp3 mix to review.
- Send me your feedback. I’ll make those changes.
- I’ll send you the final master files.
What do I get?
Mixed and Mastered by Josh Whalan
I am an audio engineer from Wollongong, NSW, Australia with over 15 years of mixing experience. I am passionate about providing resources and services to help musicians, churches and home-recording artists achieve better sound (that’s why I founded Audio Alpha). I am a graduate of the School of Audio Engineering (SAE), Sydney.
Sample Replacement
Tight punchy drums.
I will enhance lacklustre drum sounds with tight and punchy kick, snare and tom samples. Phase aligned and blended back in with the acoustic tracks for a better sound.
Pitch Correction
Make good singers great and great singers perfect!
Using the industry-standard ‘Autotune’ pitch correction, I can smooth out pitchy vocals to help them sit better in the track. Your mix will sound more professional and polished, and sound better!
Hybrid Analog & Digital Workflow
The best of both worlds!
The clarity and accuracy of digital. The character of analog! I have an extensive library (over 1000) of industry-standard plug-ins, as well as a range of analog outboard processing gear. All fully recallable!
100% Satisfaction Guarantee
No risk to you!
I will provide you with an initial mix, and if that doesn’t nail it for you, I allow several revision stages. If you decide I am not the mix engineer for you, no hard feelings…keep your mp3 draft FREE!
Hi-Res Masters
Final Master Files I send to you:
- A CD-quality WAV file of the Final Master suitable for uploading to streaming services with a competitive volume level and dynamics retention.
- If the submitted multi tracks allow, a high-res Master version.
Mixing & Mastering by
Hire me on
Frequently Asked Questions
Depends on the work required.
However, a “standard” mix with around 20-30 individual tracks and with minimal editing and cleanup work required usually costs between $120-$180 AUD.
I am willing to provide a solution to fit your budget.
True. And I say go for it! Mixing is super fun. But…
Listen to my work and judge for yourself whether it’s worth getting me to mix your song or whether you would rather do it yourself. I pride myself in professional sounding mixes that can compete with commercially produced songs for radio. I am passionate about helping home-based recording artists #soundbetter.
Sorry. For workflow, space and covid-safe reasons, I do not offer attended sessions. You will have lots of opportunities to give feedback and input into the mix stage via online communications.
At the ordering stage, I ask for mix notes, reference tracks plus a rough mix so I have a clear understanding of your vision for the song.
I also offer at least two reviews for all my mixing services to ensure you receive a mix you are 100% happy with.
I generally ask for the raw audio files (.WAV or .AIFF). They need to be exported in the same bit rate and sample rate that they were recorded in. You will need to export them from you DAW. See the next question for instructions on how to do this.
There are a few things to consider when exporting your tracks:
- Make sure all tracks start from the same place on your timeline. This ensures that they all play together in perfect sync when imported into the ProTools Session.
- Any specific effects (FX) that you wish to keep in the mix need to be rendered as a separate audio file.
- Any instrument tracks (ie: MIDI) also need to be rendered to an audio file.
- Label each audio file with a clear descriptive file name. (eg: KickIn.wav, Lead Vox.wav, etc)
- Double check each track has exported correctly and that there are no corrupt files and no clipping or (unintended) distortion.
Every DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) handles exporting multiple tracks differently. A quick Google search will be your friend. Here are some helpful videos I found on YouTube.
Yes.
I accept ProTools, Studio One or Logic Pro X session files, along with the relevant audio tracks.
Alternately, you can send me just the raw audio files as mentioned above.
The multitrack audio files in a session are generally quite large. I recommend uploading them via a free cloud transfer service (Dropbox, Google Drive, One Drive, etc).
Things you should do before uploading your recordings:
- Double-check that you are happy with the arrangement, performance, and all recorded elements of your song. I generally don’t accept arrangement changes after receiving the files.
- Are all the edits clean?
- Export a “rough mix” of your song and upload it with the other files. I can use this as a quick reference for your vision for the song.
After uploading your files, generally allow 2-3 working days for you to receive the first draft of your mix.
After this, I will take into account any feedback or mix alteration requests you may have and then send you the next version of the mix a few days later.
Yes.
I allow several opportunities throughout the process for you to submit your feedback and offer input into the mix. I want you to be 100% happy with your mix and master.
NOTE: I generally don’t accept changes to the arrangement or newly recorded tracks after initial submission.
Only one.
But the guitarist has to show him how to do it first…
I want you to be 100% happy with your mix. I will work hard to make this so.
Payment is generally due after listening to the mp3 of your first draft mix. If you aren’t happy with where it is going and want to bail out, no hard feelings.
Keep whatever files I have sent you up to that point for free.
Maybe I am not the right mix engineer for you. Mixing is very subjective and one person’s ‘sound’ may be different to another’s.
Short answer is both…
I mix as a freelance engineer but also run a website providing resources and services (including mixing and mastering) to musicians, churches and anyone wanting to sound better.
The mixing and mastering service is the same regardless of which brand identity you choose.
It’s not what you have but how you use it.
But, who doesn’t love audio gear? My exact arsenal is always evolving. You can check out my latest gear here:
Both! The best of both worlds.
This is called “Hybrid Mixing”.
The Analog vs Digital debate rages on, but in my opinion, just use whatever tools you prefer working with. They both sound great! My workflow is primarily ITB (“in the box”) for recallability and to utilise the latest plugins, whilst supplementing sounds with analog outboard hardware for character and flavour.
Yes!!
Most of my work is with home-based musicians who have produced their own single song.
However, I would be more than happy to take on mixing your album! I can tailor a custom mix and master package for you with substantial discounts.
I also have several clients where I master radio and TV ads to be compliant with the Australian broadcasting standards.
No, sorry I do not provide this service.
I recommend using Distrokid as an easy way for you to upload your music to Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon, YouTube Music, TikTok, and other streaming services.
No, sorry I do not provide this service.
I can provide you with a single physical master disk with the Redbook standard or DDP file. You will have to organise replication yourself.
Yes.
You as the artist are the copyright owner of the song. I do not hold the copyright to these songs.
I do ask that I am able to feature your finished mix on my website if I wish 🙂
How do you know a singer is at your front door?
They have lost the key and don’t know when to come in.
Here are some of my favourite actually funny NON-dad jokes.
0403 740 763
Text me or leave a voice message.