Mix Sessions

Get ready for your session

Ten minutes, ideally the day before. Do this once and your booked time goes on your mix, not on setup.

First: tell us about your song

This is the part we need at least 24 hours before your session, so we can listen before we start. The setup steps further down can wait until nearer the time.

What are we working on? *

How it works

A Mix Session only works if we hear exactly what you hear and see exactly what you see — at full quality, while we talk it through. Three tools, one job each:

A phone callSo we can talk the whole time. Speakerphone is fine.
SonoBusSo we hear your mix, not a phone recording of your speakers. A free plugin that broadcasts your master bus to us at studio quality.
getscreen.meSo we can see your arrangement, plugins and meters — and point at things. A link we send at the start.

Keeping them separate is deliberate: if one hiccups, the other two keep going, and the phone is always there.

You need a computer (not a phone or tablet), your DAW, and your session open at the part you want to work on. A wired internet connection is best — Wi-Fi works, but it is the most common cause of dropouts.

Neither SonoBus nor getscreen.me needs an account.

The call

  • In the US: we call you at the number you booked with, at your start time.
  • Outside the US: we call you on WhatsApp at that number — make sure it is the number your WhatsApp uses.

Keep the phone away from your speakers, or wear headphones, or mute the phone while the track plays. Otherwise we hear your mix twice — once clean through SonoBus and once late through the phone — and it gets confusing fast.

1 · Install SonoBus

Why: SonoBus is a free, open-source plugin made for musicians playing together over the internet. Think of it as a private radio channel: you broadcast your mix into it, we tune in. It sends uncompressed audio straight from your computer to ours, so what we hear is your mix — not your room, not your phone mic.

Get it from sonobus.net. One installer puts the app and the plugins in the right places.

Mac
  1. Download the Mac version (a .dmg) from sonobus.net and open it.
  2. Double-click SonoBus Installer and follow the steps. Leave all the plugin types ticked — it installs AU, VST3 and AAX versions, so it works in any DAW.
  3. Enter your Mac password when asked (plugins install system-wide).
Windows
  1. Download the Windows version (a .exe) from sonobus.net and run it.
  2. Choose Full installation. It installs the VST3 and AAX (Pro Tools) plugins.
  3. If Windows asks whether SonoBus may use your network, click Allow.

2 · Put SonoBus on your master bus

Why the master bus: it's the one place your whole mix passes through — every track, every plugin, your levels. Put SonoBus there and it broadcasts a copy of exactly what you're hearing, while your audio carries on to your speakers untouched.

Open your session and add SonoBus as an insert effect on the master (each DAW's steps below). If it isn't in your plugin list yet, rescan or restart the DAW.

Logic Pro
  1. Open the Mixer and find the stereo output channel strip (Stereo Out).
  2. Click an empty Audio Effect slot and choose SonoBus (Audio Units → SonoBus).
  3. Not listed? Logic Pro › Settings › Plug-in Manager, select SonoBus, Reset & Rescan Selection.
Ableton Live
  1. In the browser, open Plug-Ins.
  2. Select the Main track (called Master in older versions) and double-click SonoBus, or drag it onto the Main track.
  3. Not listed? Settings › Plug-Ins: turn on Use Audio Units (Mac) / VST3 system folders, then Rescan.
FL Studio
  1. Open the Mixer and select the Master track.
  2. Click an empty FX slot's arrow › Select › SonoBus.
  3. Not listed? Options › File settings › Manage plugins › Find installed plugins.
Pro Tools
  1. If your session has no Master Fader: Track › New › Stereo › Master Fader › Create.
  2. In the Mix window, click the first empty insert on the Master Fader and choose SonoBus (it is AAX, installed by the SonoBus installer).
  3. Not listed? Quit and reopen Pro Tools.
REAPER
  1. Show the master: View › Master Track.
  2. Click the master track's FX button and add SonoBus.
  3. Not listed? Options › Preferences › Plug-ins › VST and rescan.
Studio One
  1. Open the Console (F3).
  2. On the Main Out channel, click Add Insert and choose SonoBus.
  3. Not listed? Options (Windows) or Preferences (Mac) › Locations › VST Plug-ins, then restart Studio One.
Cubase
  1. Open the MixConsole; on its toolbar click Racks and turn on Inserts.
  2. On the Main Mix output channel (Stereo Out), click an insert slot and choose SonoBus.
  3. Not listed? Studio › VST Plug-in Manager › Rescan All, or restart Cubase.
Bitwig Studio
  1. Select the Master track.
  2. In its Device Panel, click Add Device (+) and choose SonoBus (VST3).
  3. Not listed? Check Dashboard › Settings › Locations includes your VST3 folder, then restart.

Using something else? Any DAW that loads VST3, AU or AAX plugins works — put SonoBus on whatever carries your full mix.

3 · Connect SonoBus

How it works: SonoBus connects people through a private group — our channel. We open it on our side; you join it from the plugin on your master bus. Once you're in, your mix is broadcasting and we're tuned in. Everyone in a group hears everyone, which is why you mute what comes back (step 4) and why each session gets its own password.

At your start time we email you the group name and that session's password — in the same email as your getscreen.me link (step 4).

  1. Open the SonoBus plugin window in your DAW.
  2. Type any name for yourself, click Connect…, choose the Private Group tab.
  3. Enter the group name and password we sent and click Connect to Group. Leave the server as it is.
  4. Mute what comes back: click the speaker button at the bottom of the SonoBus window. We talk on the phone, so you don't need to hear anything through SonoBus.

Don't press the microphone button at the bottom-left — that stops SonoBus sending your mix to us.

You don't need to change any quality settings — we set the audio quality from our end.

4 · getscreen.me, at the start of the session

Why: so we can see what you see — the arrangement, the plugin settings, the meters — instead of you describing them. It's view-only unless you choose otherwise.

Nothing to install in advance. At your start time we email you a getscreen.me invitation link.

Open that email on your studio computer — the one running your DAW, not your phone. The link downloads a small file that has to run on the computer we're going to see. Make sure you can get to your email on that computer before the session.

  1. Open the link in the email and download the small file it gives you.
  2. Run it. The connection starts, and we can see your screen.
  3. When the session ends, the file removes itself.

Can't get to your email on that computer? Go to go.getscreen.me in its browser and type the invitation number we read you over the phone.

Mac: allow screen sharing (first time only)

macOS will ask for permission. Open System Settings › Privacy & Security and switch on getscreen.me under:

  • Screen Recording (or Screen & System Audio Recording) — so we can see your screen.
  • Accessibility — only needed if you want us to be able to point or click for you.

You run your session. If you choose, you can invite us to take control of your screen and faders — usually to show you something faster than we can explain it. You can take it back, or end the connection, at any time.

Test it

  1. Play your session — the SonoBus meters should move.
  2. Check you can open your email on the studio computer — that's where the start-time email with your links arrives.

Setup usually takes 5–15 minutes and happens inside your booked time, so the more of this you've done beforehand, the more time goes on your mix.

Troubleshooting

SonoBus doesn't show up in my DAW

Rescan or restart your DAW — each DAW's steps are in section 2. Logic only loads AU, Pro Tools only AAX, Cubase and Bitwig only VST; the SonoBus installer includes all of them if you left the plugin types ticked. If you unticked some, run the installer again.

We can't hear your mix
  • Is SonoBus on the channel that carries the whole mix (the master), not a single track?
  • Is the microphone button at the bottom-left of SonoBus switched off (muted)? Switch it back on.
  • Does SonoBus show you connected to the group? If not, click Disconnect, then connect again.
  • Is the session actually playing?
I hear an echo, or my mix twice

Mute SonoBus's output with the speaker button, and move your phone away from your speakers (or mute it while the track plays). Headphones fix it completely.

SonoBus won't connect
  1. Click Disconnect, then connect again — this fixes most cases.
  2. Plug into your router with an Ethernet cable if you can.
  3. Work, school and some hotel networks block this kind of connection. Try from home.

Still stuck? We'll switch to plan B (below) — the session isn't wasted.

The audio drops out or crackles

Almost always Wi-Fi. Use a cable if you can, and close anything else using your internet (video calls, uploads, streaming). We can also add a safety buffer from our end.

We can't see your screen (Mac)

Check System Settings › Privacy & Security › Screen Recording and switch on getscreen.me.

Can you take over my computer?

No. You run your session. If you choose, you can invite us to take control — usually to show you something faster than we can explain it — and you can take it back or end the connection whenever you want.

Do I need an account for any of this?

No. SonoBus and the getscreen.me invitation both work without one.

Do I need to keep these installed afterwards?

The getscreen.me invitation file removes itself when the session ends. SonoBus you can keep — it's free and handy — or uninstall it like any other app.

Plan B — what if nothing connects?

Send us a bounce of the mix and we'll spend the session listening to it and talking you through the notes on the phone. Studio troubleshooting isn't what the session is for — but the session is never wasted.

Something else? Get in touch.