Help with Mix Directive.

A song is enough

You can start with a finished song and headphones or speakers. You do not need separate parts or extra effects to use the Library.

What are stems?

Stems are separate audio files for parts of a song, such as vocals, drums, bass, and instruments. They let you adjust those parts separately in Studio.

When you want to mix

Click the song’s status icon and choose Manual mix in Studio… to adjust its parts. You can come back to this later; organising and listening are useful on their own.

Your original files

Adding a folder lets the Library find your music in that location. Keep that drive connected when you want to play or work on its songs.

ZIP downloads

A ZIP can hold a song, separate parts, artwork, and song details. A new song may appear before all its parts are ready; allow the scan and preparation to finish.

Finding a version

Use a note or tag such as “quieter vocal” to remember what changed. Saved mix projects and exported audio are different things: one keeps your work, the other is a file you can listen to outside the app.

A missing file

First reconnect the drive or finish downloading the file from cloud storage. If you moved it outside the app, check its location before importing it again.

Song details

Title, artist, tempo, key, and other information about a song are sometimes called metadata. You can correct information that came with a download.

Artwork and lyrics

Keep a cover image and lyrics with the song so you can find them again when sharing or preparing a release.

Tags and mood

Use your own tags, such as “favourite” or “needs vocals”. Mood describes the feel of the music, such as its energy.

Useful notes

Write a reminder you can act on, such as “lower the vocal in verse two”. Notes also help you tell saved versions apart.

Playback controls

The app sometimes calls the playback controls the transport. They let you play, pause, and move through a song. Looping repeats a section while you work.

Listening to one part

Solo lets you hear a part on its own. Mute switches a part off. Turn Solo off when you want to hear how the parts work together again.

Visualizers

Right-click a visualizer to choose a style or open its settings. A waveform shows how the sound level changes over time. Other displays show bass and treble, or the difference between left and right.

Volume, pan, mute and solo

The volume slider (fader) makes a part louder or quieter. Pan moves it towards the left or right speaker. Mute switches it off; Solo lets you hear it by itself.

Trying Auto-Mix

Mix → Auto-Mix All Stems… analyses the loaded parts, builds effects for them, and balances the mix. Save a version first, then listen to the result. Mix → Show Last Auto-Mix Breakdown explains its changes.

Compare with another song

A reference is a song whose sound you like. Compare it at a similar listening volume so the louder song does not automatically seem better.

Save a project or export audio?

Save Mix keeps a .mdmix project for further work. Quick Save Version keeps another snapshot without changing the file your next Save writes to. Export creates audio to play or share outside the app.

Save revisions using the same filename

A revision is a saved point in the history of your mix. After choosing a .mdmix filename on the first save, use Save Mix or Cmd+S on macOS to save changes to that same file. Earlier revisions are retained internally; you do not need filenames such as song-v1, song-v2, and song-v3.

• •If a revision-note dialog appears, describe what changed or choose Save Without Note.
• •Saving when nothing has changed does not create another revision.
• •The current .mdmix file and the retained revision history are separate. Deleting the file in Finder or a file manager does not automatically erase its history.

Go back to an earlier revision

In Studio, open File → Open Recent → Manage Versions… and select the Revision History tab. Select the revision you want, then use Open in Studio from its context menu to load the mix state saved at that point.

• •Save any current work you want to keep before opening an earlier revision.
• •Make changes and save to create a new revision. Later revisions already in the history remain available.
• •To develop an alternative from that earlier state, open it first and then choose New Version….

New Version: a separate history for another idea

Choose New Version… in Manage Versions… and give the alternative a name, such as Acoustic Mix. It starts its own revision history at revision 1, like a new branch, while keeping the original version and its history.

• •Choose an unused filename for the new version. The app suggests one using the version name and will not overwrite an existing file for this action.
• •After that first save, ordinary saves reuse the new version’s filename and continue its own revision numbering.
• •Quick Save Version makes an extra snapshot without changing the file your next Save writes to. Use New Version… when you want to keep developing an alternative with its own history.

Manage missing files and delete versions

Manage Versions… lists saved files and their availability. If you moved or deleted a .mdmix file outside the app, its retained history can still appear. Missing files do not cause history to be erased automatically.

• •Use Locate… to reconnect a moved file, or Restore File… to write a retained revision to an unused filename.
• •Use Delete… to review the affected file and history. Move File to Trash; Keep History removes the working file while retaining revisions you can restore.
• •Delete File and History removes the file and the listed history. If the file is already missing, Delete History removes the retained entries. Deleting history is permanent; check the confirmation carefully.
• •In Revision History, Delete selected revisions removes only the selected history entries; it does not delete the working .mdmix file.
• •Reconnect an offline drive before treating its files as missing.

Tone and volume

EQ changes the balance of bass, middle, and treble. A compressor can make uneven levels steadier. Try small changes while the full song plays.

Reverb and delay

Reverb adds a sense of a room or space. Delay adds repeats, like an echo. Too much can make words harder to hear.

Sound repair

Noise reduction can reduce background noise; a de-esser can soften sharp “s” sounds. Use only as much as you need, because strong repairs can also change wanted sound.

Automation

Automation changes a setting as the song plays. For example, it can raise a vocal during the chorus and return it to its earlier level afterwards.

Editing audio pieces

A clip is a piece of audio on the timeline. Split divides it; trim shortens its edges. A fade gradually brings sound in or out to soften an edge.

What mastering does

Mastering works on the combined song. It can adjust its overall tone and loudness. If one instrument is too loud, return to its own volume control in the mix.

Guided tools

Easy Master offers a starting point. Listen to its choices and adjust them to suit your music.

Loudness and peaks

LUFS is a loudness measurement. True peak estimates the highest level during playback conversion. They help you check a finished file, but you do not need to make every song reach the same number.

Listening on one speaker

A mono check combines left and right. Listen for an important part becoming much quieter or disappearing. This can reveal a problem that is less obvious on headphones.

Pass, Review, Fail, or Incomplete

Pass means the checks that ran found no problem that requires a fix. Review asks you to listen to something. Fail means a required check found a problem. Incomplete means the app could not finish checking the file.

What to listen for

Check for unwanted distortion, clicks, gaps, or a cut-off ending. A warning can also describe something intentional, such as a silent break. A pass still needs a listening check.

Compare the original and master

The original-versus-master view helps you compare what changed. Listen as well as looking at the displays; a visible difference does not tell you which version sounds better.

WAV and MP3

WAV is useful for further editing or delivery to a distributor. FLAC and AIFF are also full quality. MP3 makes a smaller file for everyday sharing; it needs FFmpeg, which is installed separately from Mix Directive. Keep your best original audio; converting an MP3 to WAV does not bring back detail already lost.

For a music release

Follow your distributor’s file requirements. Keep the original sample rate unless a different one is requested. Changing a quality setting does not improve a poor source recording.

What the checklist helps with

Release Readiness brings song information and check results together. It helps you spot missing pieces before you prepare a release.

Warnings

A warning asks you to review something. Open it to see the next action. The app’s checks do not replace your distributor’s current requirements.

Sending your music

Preparing a release package gathers files and supporting information. You still need to submit them through your chosen distributor or sharing service.

Playlists

Use a playlist for favourites, ideas to revisit, or songs to play together. A smart playlist follows rules, such as a tag, and updates as songs change.

Albums

An album groups songs for a release with a shared title, artwork, and track order. You can use playlists while deciding which songs belong on it.

Artist profiles

The app calls an artist profile a persona. It keeps an artist name, biography, artwork, and other details together, which helps if you make music under more than one name.

Trash contains files

Library file operations can move actual song files and folders into Trash. Treat it as storage for removed work, not just a list of hidden songs.

Restoring

Restore Selected returns items to their recorded locations. If a destination is unavailable or already occupied, read the restore message before choosing another location.

Empty Trash is permanent

Empty Trash permanently deletes its contents and app-managed project files for those songs. Projects saved to custom locations are not deleted by that cleanup. Read the confirmation carefully.

Keep a complete backup

Back up your music folders and saved mix projects as well as the Mix Directive data folder, which holds Library information. Keep another copy on a different drive or backup service. Trash and autosave are not separate backups.

Where the sound goes

The output device is your speakers, headphones, or audio interface. Check whether sound is being sent to a Bluetooth device you are no longer using.

Help with a control

Hover over a control for a short explanation. The in-app Help and glossary explain more terms. Change one setting at a time so you can tell whether it helped.

Reporting a problem

Email mixdirective@gmail.com. Include the app version and operating system, the steps you took, and whether it happens again. A screenshot can help; leave private details out.