Upload a track
Which audio files work for online mastering (WAV, MP3, FLAC and more), how big they can be, and how to prepare your mix so the master sounds its best.
Select Master my track on any page to open a new project, then drop your mix onto the record or select it to choose a file. You don’t need an account to upload or to hear the first preview.
Files you can upload
- Formats: WAV, MP3, FLAC, AIFF, M4A or OGG.
- Size: up to 1.5 GB per file.
- Length: up to 22 minutes 30 seconds.
If a file is the wrong type or too large, the upload box tells you straight away and nothing is uploaded.
Prepare your mix
Mastering works best on a finished stereo mix. Before you export it from your DAW:
- Leave some headroom. Peaks around -6 to -3 dBFS are plenty. The master gets its loudness at the end of the chain, not from your mix bus.
- Remove the limiter from your master bus if you added one to make the mix sound loud. Keep any bus compression or EQ that is part of your sound.
- Export at the session’s sample rate and bit depth, ideally WAV or AIFF at 24-bit. An MP3 works, but a lossless file gives the master more to work with.
- Listen to the start and the end. Clicks, cut-off reverb tails or a long silence will still be there after mastering.
Not sure the mix is finished? Mixing vs mastering has a short checklist.
What happens next
After the upload, MasteringKit measures the loudness and tone of the track and masters a 30-second section of it. The preview is usually ready in about a minute. How the preview works explains what you hear and why it is only 30 seconds.