Exporting, also called bouncing or rendering, is the step that turns your finished project into a single audio file you can share, release or send on. For most music that means an uncompressed WAV or AIFF at your project's sample rate, 24 bit for a master and 16 bit with dither for final delivery, with the range set long enough to catch the reverb tail and a little headroom left below 0 dBFS so nothing clips.
The exact menu names differ from one program to another, so this is the plain version of what the settings mean and which to pick, rather than a click by click for any single tool. Treat the numbers as sensible defaults, not hard rules.
Exporting is the step that renders your whole project down into one finished audio file. The same action is called bouncing or rendering depending on the program, but it is the same idea: your arrangement, with all its tracks, plugins and automation, is played through and written out as a single file you can hand to someone or upload.
While you work, your project is a live set of parts the computer mixes together every time you press play, and that version only exists inside your session and your software. Exporting freezes it into a flat audio file, a WAV, AIFF, MP3 or similar, that sounds the same everywhere and needs none of your plugins to open. That file is what you send to a listener, a mastering engineer, a video editor or a streaming service.
Because the export is a real pass through your mix, the settings you choose decide what the finished file sounds like and how it can be used. The rest of this guide walks through those settings: the file format, the sample rate and bit depth, the range you capture, the headroom you leave, and whether the bounce runs in real time or faster.
For a master or anything going to mastering, export an uncompressed WAV or AIFF. For casual sharing, a compressed MP3 or AAC is fine. Match the sample rate to your project, which for delivery usually means 44.1 kHz for music or 48 kHz for video, at 24 bit for a master and 16 bit with dither for a final file.
The file format is the first choice. WAV and AIFF are uncompressed, meaning they keep every bit of the audio, so they are what you use for a master or for sending to a mastering engineer, where the quality has to stay intact. MP3 and AAC are compressed, which throws some data away to make a much smaller file, and that is a fair trade for casual sharing like emailing a rough mix or sending a quick demo. As a rule, keep uncompressed for anything that will be worked on further, and use compressed only for convenience at the very end.
The sample rate and bit depth follow your project. Set the sample rate to match your session so the export does not have to convert, and for delivery that is 44.1 kHz for music or 48 kHz for video. The bit depth works the same way it does while you mix: 24 bit holds more detail and headroom for a master, and 16 bit is the standard for a final delivery file, where you switch on dither as you drop from 24 bit down to 16 bit. Both of these are explained in more depth in what sample rate and bit depth are.
| Where it is going | Format and settings |
|---|---|
| A master, or a file for mastering | Uncompressed WAV or AIFF, 24 bit, at your project's sample rate |
| A finished file to release | WAV or AIFF, 16 bit with dither applied, 44.1 kHz for music |
| Audio going into video | WAV or AIFF, 48 kHz, the standard rate for picture |
| Casual sharing or a quick demo | Compressed MP3 or AAC, a small file to email or message |
Uncompressed WAV or AIFF for a master, compressed MP3 or AAC for casual sharing. Match the sample rate to your project, 44.1 kHz for music or 48 kHz for video. Use 24 bit for a master and 16 bit with dither for the final delivery file.
Set the export range to cover the whole song plus the reverb and delay tail so the end is not chopped off, leave a little headroom so your peaks sit below 0 dBFS and nothing clips, and turn off any normalize option unless you actually want it to change your level.
Give the tail room. Most programs export whatever range you tell them to, either a region you select or a loop range. If that range stops exactly at the last note, the reverb and delay tails ringing out after it get cut off, and the file ends with an abrupt chop. Run the range a little past the end of the music so the tail can fade out naturally. It costs you a second or two of silence at the end, which is easy to trim and far better than a clipped ending.
Leave headroom so nothing clips. Clipping happens when the level goes past the digital ceiling of 0 dBFS, and it sounds like harsh distortion that cannot be undone once it is in the file. Leave a little headroom so your loudest peaks land below 0 dBFS, for example around -1 dB, rather than pushed right up to the top. This is only about avoiding distortion in the export; how loud the finished master should actually be is a separate question, and the streaming targets are covered in how loud should my master be.
Turn off normalize unless you want it. Normalize is an option that automatically raises the whole file so its loudest peak hits a set level. It overrides the level you set by hand, so if you have already balanced your mix and left your headroom on purpose, leave normalize off. Switch it on only when you actually want the software to set the level for you, for instance to bring a batch of clips to a consistent loudness.
Run the export range a beat or two past the last sound so the tail rings out, keep your peaks below 0 dBFS so nothing clips, and leave normalize off unless you want it. Then listen back to the very end and to the loudest part of the exported file before you send it anywhere.
An offline bounce renders the file as fast as the computer can process it, while a real-time bounce plays the project through at normal speed. Offline is quicker and fine for most work, but some plugins and any external hardware need a real-time bounce to be captured correctly.
Offline is the fast default. An offline bounce lets the computer render the audio as fast as it can, often much quicker than the song plays. For a project made entirely of software instruments and plugins, this is usually accurate and saves time, which is why it is the default in most programs.
Real time plays it through. A real-time bounce plays the whole project from start to finish at normal speed, so a four minute song takes four minutes to export. You need it whenever something in the signal has to run in actual time. That includes external hardware, like an outboard synth or an effects unit routed through your session, which can only be recorded as it plays, and it can also include certain plugins that do not render correctly when sped up. If an offline bounce sounds wrong or different from playback, switch to a real-time bounce and compare.
Use an offline bounce for speed when your project is all software, since it is accurate for most plugins. Switch to a real-time bounce when you are recording external gear or when a plugin does not sound right offline. When in doubt, bounce in real time and listen back against playback.
Everything on this page is the last step, and once your settings are sensible it takes only a moment. The music you are exporting is the part that took the work, and it is where your attention is better spent than on menu names.
Our instruments make their sound inside the computer, so when you export they behave like any other track. They run cleanly at whatever sample rate and bit depth your project is set to, and they render the same way in an offline bounce as in a real-time one, so nothing about them complicates the bounce or asks for a special step.
When you want them in a project, The Collection ships as AU, VST3, AAX and a standalone app on macOS, signed and notarized, and a VST3 on Windows, so it loads into whatever session and settings you already have.
Free to hear in the browser, no signup. However you export, they follow your project's format and settings either way.
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