Mixing & mastering · Toronto or remote
Mixing & Mastering Services in Toronto
Your song is recorded and it still does not sound like a record. Send us the stems — from Toronto or from anywhere — and get back a mix and a master that hold up next to whatever you play them after.
- You do not have to record here
- Send stems or a rough mix from anywhere
- Hourly rate, estimate up front
- Typically 3-5 business days
- UAD, Waves, FabFilter, Soundtoys, Melodyne
- Mastered for streaming, vinyl or CD
The process
How a mix gets done
- 1
Send the material
Stems, a rough mix, or a raw multitrack. Attach the files to a booking request (audio, video, text or PDF, up to 25 MB per file and 250 MB in total) or email them to dvlce@thebasement416.com. Tell us the tempo, the key if you know it, and a reference track that sounds like where you want to end up.
- 2
You get an estimate before anything starts
Mixing and mastering are billed by the hour, the same as studio time — but tell us how many tracks there are and what the song needs and you get an estimate of the hours and the cost up front. Charging by the hour is the fairer way round: a sparse song that mixes quickly costs you less, instead of being averaged up into one flat per-track price.
- 3
We mix
Balance, EQ, compression, saturation, automation and effects — every element shaped against the reference, then checked on KRK Rokit 7 and Kali LP-8 monitors and again on headphones so it still holds up in earbuds and a car.
- 4
We master
The finished mix is levelled, tonally balanced and stereo-checked into a release-ready master for streaming, vinyl or CD, so the record holds together track to track.
- 5
Delivery, then your notes
Turnaround is typically 3-5 business days from the point the files land. Listen on your own speakers, then come back with notes: every hour you book includes up to 10 minutes of additional mixing or editing afterwards, and exporting stems counts against that time too. Revisions happen after the session rather than during it, and land within 3-5 business days of being asked for — asking on the day does not guarantee same-day, because the room may already be booked.
None of that requires you to be in Toronto. The only thing that genuinely helps is a reference track — one song that sounds like what you are aiming at. It replaces about an hour of guessing.
What you need to know
Mixing and mastering, plainly
You do not have to record here
This is a standalone service. Plenty of the material that gets mixed in this room was tracked somewhere else, or at home.
What we mix on
Pro Tools and FL Studio, with UAD Suite, Waves Complete, FabFilter Pro Bundle, Soundtoys, Antares Auto-Tune Suite and Celemony Melodyne.
What we listen on
KRK Rokit 7 and Kali LP-8 monitors — a reference the engineer knows inside out, so translation to phones, earbuds and cars is predictable instead of a surprise.
Turnaround
Typically 3-5 business days from the point the files land, depending on scope. If you are on a deadline, say so when you send the material.
How to send stems
Consolidated from bar one, one file per element, no master-bus processing unless you want it kept. Name them plainly. If your session is a mess, send it anyway and say so.
Prefer to be in the room
Book studio time and sit in while it happens. Some artists want to hear every decision; most would rather get the mix back and give notes.
You can hear real before-and-after pairs — raw stems against the finished mix, and an unmastered mix against the master — in the audio players on the homepage. They are actual sessions from this room, not demo reels.
Rates
What it costs
Studio rate
$65 / hour
Engineer included. Your first session is 25% off, and paying in full 24 hours ahead takes another 10% off.
Book more hours, pay less per hour
$60 / hr
4+ hours
$55 / hr
15+ hours
$50 / hr
30+ hours
That is up to 23% off the standard rate at 30 hours ($50 an hour). Bulk hours are prepaid and used whenever you like — a single booking cannot run long enough to reach the top tiers on its own.
A 25% deposit holds the room (minimum $30) and the balance is due at the session. Deposits go through Stripe or PayPal; e-transfer is fine too.
Mixing and mastering are billed at that same hourly rate — start a booking, choose Mixing & Mastering, attach the files, and you will get an estimate of the hours and the cost before any work begins. Pricing by the hour instead of a flat per-track fee means a song that mixes quickly genuinely costs you less. Prefer to sit in while it happens? Book studio time and work in the room.
Questions
Before you send anything
Can you mix a song I recorded at home?
Yes — that is most of this work. Send the stems and we will tell you honestly whether the source recording will hold up, before you pay for anything.
What is the difference between mixing and mastering?
Mixing is the balance between the parts of one song — levels, EQ, compression, effects, automation. Mastering is the final pass on the finished mix: level, tone and stereo image, so it sits properly next to other records and across the rest of your release.
Do you offer mastering on its own?
Yes. Send the final mix and we will quote mastering alone.
What format should I send?
WAV or AIFF stems, consolidated from bar one at the session sample rate, one file per element. An MP3 is fine as a reference but not as source material. If you are not sure how to export stems, send the project file and tell us which DAW it came from — Pro Tools, FL Studio and Ableton Live all open here.
How much does it cost?
It is the hourly studio rate, $50–$65/hr depending on how many hours you book. Send the material first and you get an estimate — the hours it should take and what that comes to — before any work starts. Billing by the hour rather than a flat per-track fee is the fairer way round: a song that mixes quickly genuinely costs you less.
How many revisions do I get?
Every hour you book includes up to 10 minutes of additional mixing or editing afterwards — exporting stems counts against that too. It is done after the session, not during it, and lands within 3-5 business days of being requested. Requesting on the day does not guarantee same-day: if the room is booked, it waits its turn.
Send us the song
Start a booking, pick Mixing & Mastering, and attach the stems. You will get a quote for the real job — not a menu price that has nothing to do with your record.
Open 12 PM to 2 AM every day except Wednesday · 23 Alexis Blvd, North York, Toronto, ON M3H 2P2
Other things we do
Music Recording Studio
Book the room by the hour and track vocals or instruments with an engineer on the desk. Mics, headphones and pop filters are provided and patched before you arrive.
Podcast Studio
A treated room, a mic per voice and every voice on its own track, so one person coughing does not cost you the whole take.
Voice-Over & ADR
Commercial reads, narration, e-learning and ADR to picture. Bring or send the script and the video and we cut to it.
Music Production & Beats
Original production built from scratch — beats, arrangement, live keys, guitar and bass, and backing tracks for your live set.