Raw Files: What You Get, When, and in What Format
Raw Files: What You Get, When, and in What Format
Most artists who record here also have me mix and master. But if you’ve got an engineer you already work with, or just want the option, raw files are always available. Here’s what “raw files” actually means, when you get them, and what format they come in.
What a Raw File Actually Is
A raw file is the unprocessed recording straight off the session, before any producing effects or mixing and mastering touches it. Whatever EQ and compression happened live through the board during tracking is on there, that’s part of the recording itself, but nothing gets added or changed after the fact: no further EQ moves, no additional compression, no producing effects. If you recorded vocals over an instrumental, you get the vocal track and the instrumental as separate files, not blended into a final mix. If you tracked a full band, you get each instrument as its own file.
That’s different from a produced rough draft, a mix, or a master. A rough draft has the producing decisions applied, distortion, reverb, effects, but hasn’t been mixed yet. A mix is the raw tracks blended together with EQ, compression, and balance decisions applied. A master is the final polish pass on top of the mix. Raw files are what exists before any of those steps happen.
Format
Every session is captured at 44.1kHz/24-bit. Raw files get delivered the same way, at 24-bit, not dithered down. That matters if you’re taking the files to another engineer to mix, since 24-bit gives them more headroom to work with than a finished 16-bit master would. If you specifically need a different format or sample rate, say so before the session, not after.
When You Get Them
Raw files need to be requested during the session, not after. If you decide later you want them and didn’t ask at the time, retrieving them costs a $50 minimum. Asking while you’re here costs nothing extra, it’s built into the session.
Storage
Everything gets sent to you through Google Drive after each session. From there, all you need to do is save it to your own Google Drive or hard drive. Files don’t stay on the studio’s end forever, everything gets deleted 3 months after your last session, so don’t treat the studio as long-term backup. If you come back 4 months later expecting the raw tracks from a session that’s already outside that window, they’re gone.
Why This Matters
Owning your raw files means you’re never locked into finishing a project with any one engineer. If a mix isn’t working out, or you want a second opinion, or you just want the option, the raw tracks are already you. That’s not a policy I built reluctantly. The performance is yours, and so is everything captured of it
The tradeoff is that raw files aren’t a finished product. A raw vocal track sitting next to an unmixed instrumental doesn’t sound like a song yet, it sounds like the pieces of one. If you’re expecting something release-ready, that’s what the mix and master are for.
One Condition
If you take your raw files to another engineer, or mix and master the project yourself, you’ve got two options. If you want “recorded at Untold Stories Recordings” on the release, I want to hear the final master first and sign off on it. If you’d rather skip that step, that’s fine too, just leave the studio’s name off it. That’s not about control over your project, it’s about reputation. The studio’s name is tied to a specific standard of quality, and I only attach it to work I’ve actually heard.
If you’re weighing recording only against a full record/mix/master package, the calculator on this site breaks down the cost difference by session length.
