All tools Quality Checks

Quality-check tools before you bounce

The last 20% of a mixdown is the part that catches the mistakes hour-six ears miss. These three tools run those last sanity checks: is your mix balanced, is your monitoring level safe, and how does your final checklist actually score against the things that matter for translation across systems.

Balance

Stem Energy Share

Enter the approximate dBFS of each stem (kick / bass / lead / vocal / fx). The tool renders a stacked horizontal bar showing each stem's percentage of total energy — and that's not the same as "level", because energy is weighted by perceived loudness. Flags "kick-dominated" mixes (<35% balance) and "vocal-masked" masters (>50% mid energy).

Unique: suggests target balance tables per genre, so an EDM track and a folk track have different "right answers".

SPL

Monitor Distance & SPL Helper

Enter speaker sensitivity (dB/W/m), amp power and listening distance. The tool draws an SPL-vs-distance curve and recommends a safe mixing level (around 85 dB SPL continuous) — the level the industry settled on as ear-fatigue-safe for long sessions. Warns if your typical mix level exceeds 100 dB SPL.

Unique: inverse-square calculation that works for both near-field and midfield setups; gives you the maths so you can sanity-check your monitor controller's calibration.

Score

Mix Checklist Scorer

12–15 yes/no or 1-to-5 slider items covering balance, low-end, dynamics, stereo image, references and translation. Each item is weighted and rolls up into per-area scores (Low-End / Dynamics / Space / Translation). Generates a plain-English summary — "Your mix is solid on dynamics but your low-end balance is suspect" — and a printable export.

Unique: the summary is the output, not just a score number. The tool tells you which area needs work in human-readable language.

A typical final-check workflow

1. Run Stem Energy Share on your rough balance mixdown — does it match your genre's target balance?
2. Calibrate your monitors via Monitor SPL Helper — pick a safe listening level.
3. Score the final mix in Mix Checklist — read the plain-English summary before exporting.
4. Then jump to Mastering for the final loudness / chain decisions.

FAQ

What is "perceived loudness" and why does the Stem Energy tool use it?

Perceived loudness weights frequencies by how our ears hear them — mids (1–4 kHz) feel louder than sub-bass at the same dBFS. The Energy Share tool uses a simplified A-weighted energy model so a stem with 6 dB less peak than another can still be the dominant element. That's why vocal sits at a lower peak than the kick but ends up owning more of the perceived energy.

Is 85 dB SPL really the right mixing level?

It's the consensus target. Below ~80 dB your ears become less sensitive to low frequencies, so you overcompensate the low end. Above ~95 dB you risk ear fatigue and over-compensation in the opposite direction. 83–86 dB SPL continuous is the sweet spot most engineers converge on.

My mix scores 80/100 on every check but still sounds amateur. Why?

The checklist measures mechanics, not aesthetic. A technically clean mix can still lack arrangement choices, hook placement or harmonic interest. Pair the Checklist with the Creative category tools to make sure the song itself is built before you polish the mix.

Should I run the checklist before or after mastering?

Before. Mastering cannot fix balance problems — it can only sonically enhance what's already there. Run the checklist on the pre-master bounce, then send the result to mastering.