Mixshow Guidelines

ACiD877 sets the absolute standard for PREMIUM HD audio. Our listeners demand the highest quality and it’s our mission to deliver the best listener experience possible. For quality purposes, please follow these guidelines so your mixes sound SUPERIOR on ACiD877.

1. 1. Before you get started, please make sure your mixer and editor are in STEREO mode (yes, this happens a lot — MONO is NO BUENO). Just because you have audio in BOTH channels, does NOT mean it’s STEREO. Listen in headphones for stereo separation (see below for comparison).

   2. Watch your levels — NO RED LINES, NO EXCEPTIONS — easy to overlook when you’re in “the zone.” Clipping and distortion are permanent and cannot be undone or “fixed” in post-prod.

   3. DO NOT add any processing (Compression / EQ / Limiting / etc) of any kind. It will sound over-processed when it hits our final on-air processing chain. Keep your mix DRY.

   4. DO NOT SAVE YOUR FINAL MIX AS AN MP3… ALL MIXES MUST BE RECORDED AND SAVED IN UNCOMPRESSED .WAV (or .AIF) FORMAT… NO EXCEPTIONS. MP3 MIXES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. ALSO, DO NOT CONVERT mixes from MP3 back to .wav — it DEFEATS the purpose.

      Why not? For example: some of the songs in your mix are probably already MP3s (that’s one layer of data compression). Then you record your mix and save it as an MP3 (that’s a 2nd layer of data compression). Then, it’s encoded for our on-air stream (that’s a 3rd layer of data compression). By the time it hits the air, it sounds crunchy, thin, brittle and metallic. When shows get archived on SoundCloud, they transcode EVERYTHING down to 128k — that adds ANOTHER layer of data compression). Most stations don’t set minimum audio standards — and you can hear it on the air (garbage in… garbage out).

• If you use MP3 songs in your mix, they must be 320kbps minimum (.WAV or .AIF FILES ALWAYS PREFERRED).

• Mixes should be 60-64 minutes in length (for editing purposes).

• Use this LINK to UPLOAD your mix, promo photo, and send us your BIO / SOCIAL info.

PLEASE NOTE:

Not every mix gets on the air. Selected mixes are QC’d before they air. If yours doesn’t meet these requirements, we’ll let you know and you’ll need to record a NEW mix. Please don’t be offended, we’re anal like that. 

If you follow these standards, we guarantee you’ll sound like a SUPERSTAR on the air! 

Thank you for listening to ACiD877 and submitting your mix.

We 🫶🏽 U!