Send Two Mix Prints to Mastering: Clean vs Glued — Exact Exports That Get Faster, Better Masters

Horia Stan is music producer and sound engineer at The One Records, Bucharest.

Why I always send two mixes

I learned the hard way that a single stereo file lies. One mix hides choices I made for my own taste. Another file shows the idea I want the master to keep. I send both.

I export a clean technical mix and a glued artistic mix. The clean mix gives the mastering engineer headroom and phase clarity. The glued mix shows my intended energy and bus processing. Both make mastering faster and reduce back-and-forth.

What each mix is for

Clean technical mix

This is the insurance policy. It is the version that tells the mastering engineer: here is the balance, the phase, the dynamics, untouched by my creative bus tricks. I mean "untouched" in a strict sense. No parallel compression. No multi-band bus compression. No tape emulation on the master bus.

I export this as 24-bit, 48 kHz WAV. I leave at least -6 dBFS of true-peak headroom on peaks. Integrated LUFS sits around -12 LUFS for singles. That gives the mastering engineer space for glue, limiting, and inter-sample peak control.

Technical checklist for the clean mix:

• DAW: Logic Pro, full mix print. No master-bus saturation or limiting. No final bus metering that inserts gain. If I used Pro-Q3 cuts on the master I remove them. Cuts on individual tracks are fine.
• Plugins to avoid on master bus: Waves SSL G-Master Buss Compressor, Waves J37 Tape, FabFilter Pro-L on the final bus. Those live in the glued mix only.
• Low-end cleanup: single steep high-pass at 25-30 Hz on non-bass tracks using FabFilter Pro-Q3 in linear phase mode.
• Export format: WAV 24-bit/48 kHz. No dithering. Interleaved stereo. File name: Track_Clean_v01_24bit_48k.wav
• Headroom: peaks no higher than -6.0 dBFS true peak measured with Youlean Loudness Meter 3 or iZotope Insight.
• Note file: short TXT with reference tracks and timestamps for problem spots.

Glued artistic mix

This is my production idea printed. It keeps bus compression, tape, transient shaping, and any subtle saturation I want the master to honor. I do not over-commit. I delegate final loudness to mastering.

Glued mix settings and rules:

• Buss processing: SSL bus compressor emulation with settings around 2:1 ratio, 10 ms attack, 0.1 s release, gain reduction 1.5-3 dB. I often use Waves SSL G-Master Buss Compressor.
• Saturation: Waves J37 Tape or Soundtoys Decapitator at subtle drive. Trim to taste.
• Final limiter: FabFilter Pro-L2 set conservatively to leave -1.0 dBTP true peak maximum. Integrated LUFS around -8 to -9 for pop singles. I do not brick-wall to retail loudness.
• Export format: WAV 24-bit/48 kHz. File name: Track_Glued_v01_24bit_48k.wav

I send this so the mastering engineer knows what I expect in terms of vibe. They can use it as a reference or as a starting point.

Exact stems and probe files I include

I never send only two stereo files. I add a compact stem pack and short probe files. This is the part that speeds decisions.

Stem groups I export (both for clean and glued when necessary): Drums, Bass, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Keys/Guitars, FX/Ambience, Percussion, Misc. Eight stems covers 95% of modern productions.

Stem export rules:

• 24-bit/48 kHz WAV. Stereo stems, unless a stem is mono (kick, bass DI). Start time at bar 1, no pre-roll.
• Mute automation on master bus for clean stems. For glued stems, print the bus glue only on the summed bus, not on individual stems.
• Name stems: Track_Stem-Drums_v01_24-48.wav. Keep version numbers.
• Phase check: verify summed stems match the clean stereo mix within 0.2 dB on a fast RMS meter. Use Voxengo Correlometer or Logic's Multimeter.

Probe files:

• I export 10-second probe files for three elements: Vocals-only, Drums-only, Bass-only. These are short WAV files starting at a part I pick that best exposes issues (usually the chorus at 0:48). Reasons: fast audition by mastering engineer, quick checks for sibilance, transient energy, and low-end balance.
• Probe export: 24-bit/48 kHz WAV, normalized to the same loudness as the stems but not clipped. Name: Track_Probe-Vocals_00-10s.wav

How I label and deliver files

Naming and packaging matter. I use a folder structure and a README.

Folder layout example:

• TrackName_MASTER_DELIVERY_v01/
  • Track_Clean_v01_24-48.wav
  • Track_Glued_v01_24-48.wav
  • Stems/
    • Track_Stem-Drums_v01_24-48.wav
    • Track_Stem-Bass_v01_24-48.wav
    • ...
  • Probes/
    • Track_Probe-Vocals_00-10s.wav
  • README.txt

README content (short and specific):

• DAW: Logic Pro 11 session printed to WAV.
• Monitoring chain: Audient iD14 MkII, Yamaha HS8 (or reference), calibration at 85 dB SPL.
• Clean mix headroom: -6 dBTP. Glued mix LUFS: -8 to -9. Glued mix ceiling: -1 dBTP.
• Reference tracks: Artist - Song (timestamp) for tonal target.
• Problem notes: vocal sibilance 0:38, snare harshness 1:12, low-mid build-up 0:24.

Plugin specifics I include in notes

I list exact plugins and presets. Be precise. I write: "Master bus on glued mix: Waves SSL G-Master (2:1, 10 ms attack), Waves J37 Tape (30 ips, bias +1), FabFilter Pro-L2 (Brickwall, Transparent, -1 dBTP). Individual vocal chain: FabFilter Pro-Q3 cut 300 Hz -3 dB, Waves DeEsser set 5.8 kHz 6 dB reduction at sibilant peaks." That level of detail eliminates guesswork.

Why this reduces revisions

Two versions answer two questions at once. The clean mix answers: did you fix phase, balance, and problem frequencies? The glued mix answers: what vibe and energy should the master preserve? Stems and probes let the mastering engineer solve mix issues quickly without asking for the original session.

This workflow removes the "did you want more glue?" email. It avoids loudness fights. It matches modern distribution: streaming codecs and DSPs react differently to bus saturation and aggressive sidechain. If I hand both versions, the mastering engineer can choose the right starting point for DSP targets like Spotify or Apple Music.

Final rules I never break

• Always 24-bit/48 kHz WAV for everything. No MP3s.
• Clean mix headroom -6 dBTP. Glued mix ceiling -1 dBTP. Explain why in the README.
• Export probes for quick checks. They get listened to first.
• Use exact plugin names and settings in the notes.

Pulling this together takes 20-40 minutes when you have a standard session template. It saves days of email back-and-forth and often one mastering revision.

Concrete takeaway: deliver a clean technical mix plus a glued artistic mix, eight stems and three 10-second probes, all 24-bit/48 kHz WAV, labeled and versioned, with a short README listing exact plugin settings and headroom numbers. That package gets masters done faster and closer to what you want.