DJ mix mastering
DJ mix mastering - master the whole set, not just the loudest track.
Drop a full mix - an hour, two hours, live recording. Acetate finds the transitions, masters the set as a sequence of handoffs, and shows you every move before you export. No upload. Nothing leaves your machine.
macOS + Windows - one free master, no signup
Why your mix sounds quiet next to everyone else's.
SoundCloud doesn't turn anything up for you. It plays your file as-is, next to tracks that went through a full mastering chain. A mix bounced at -14 LUFS lands several dB under fully mastered releases - and reads as amateur before anyone hears a transition. Read more about why your mix sounds quiet on SoundCloud.
The obvious fixes both fail:
- Master it like a track and one limiter setting has to survive sixty minutes of different records. The quiet sections get crushed or the loud ones stay quiet - true peak clipping at transitions is common.
- Normalize per track and every handoff lurches - the next tune jumps out or disappears.
The problem isn't loudness. It's that a mix is a sequence, and most tools treat it as one long file.
Four steps from rough set to finished master.
Drop the full set.
WAV, AIFF, FLAC, or MP3. Long files - full-length sets, extended mixes, live recordings - are handled automatically. No splitting required.
Read the transitions.
Acetate segments the mix and lays the sections out on the waveform. You see where each handoff sits before anything gets processed.
Master the sequence.
Each segment gets its own EQ, compression, and limiting while level and tonal shape stay consistent across the whole set. Transition ramps are editable.
Keep the final say.
Use Recommended Draft takes the suggested moves as a starting point, not a verdict. Every change is visible and editable. Audition each handoff A/B, sample-aligned, before you export. WAV, AIFF, MP3, or FLAC - or publish straight to SoundCloud from the Done screen.
$63 once. Not a subscription.
Most mastering services charge per export or per month. Acetate is a one-time $63, lifetime, with free updates within v1. The download includes one free master - no signup, no account - so you can hear it on your own mix before paying anything. If it doesn't work for your material, email hello@acetate.lol within 14 days for a refund, no questions.
Your set never leaves your machine. Unless you post it.
All analysis and processing runs locally. Acetate goes online to activate your license (once), check for updates, and - only when you hit publish - to send the finished master to your own SoundCloud account. An unreleased set stays unreleased until you say otherwise.
Common questions.
Can Acetate master a full-length DJ mix?
Yes. Long files - DJ mixes, extended sets, live recordings - are handled automatically with progress tracking during the render. It was built for exactly this case.
Why does my mix sound quiet on SoundCloud?
SoundCloud doesn't apply loudness normalization between uploads. Your file plays at the level you bounced, next to fully mastered releases. Mastering the mix to a consistent loudness target is the fix - that's what Acetate does. Learn more about loudness on SoundCloud and the right LUFS target.
Will mastering flatten my transitions?
No. Acetate treats the mix as a sequence of segments, not one long file, and watches level and low-end shape across each handoff so transitions don't lurch. Every move is shown with its reason, and you can edit any of it - or audition the exact handoff before you export.
How long a mix can it handle?
Acetate is built for full-length sets. If you run into a limit with an extremely long file, split the mix and master each half.
Does my mix get uploaded anywhere?
Not by default. All audio processing runs on your machine. The one exception is publishing: if you use the Done screen's publish flow, the finished master goes to your own SoundCloud account - and nowhere else.
Can I post the mastered mix to SoundCloud from the app?
Yes. A two-step wizard on the Done screen: pick a format, fill in the title, genre, tags, and description, and publish directly to your SoundCloud account. No exporting to a folder, no browser upload. Read how it works in the 1.3.3 release.
What does it cost?
One free master per install, no signup. After that, a one-time $63 lifetime license - no subscription, free updates within v1, 14-day refund.
Master your next mix
Free to try. No signup. No upload.
Download Acetate