Frequency analysers and mastering
Sometimes frequency analysers can be used in mastering. Of course your ears should be the ultimate decision maker, but an analyser can be useful as a ‘second opinion’. It can help sway you one way or...
View ArticleMastering doesn’t make your song sound good
That’s right. Mastering will not save your mix. It certainly won’t save your song. Forget it. But you knew that already. Common wisdom is that mastering will only make a good mix better. Well, it...
View ArticleThe difference between mixing and mastering
Are you still confused about the difference between mixing and mastering? Do you think you’re mastering when you use a limiter on your mix bus? Do you avoid the term ‘mastering’ because you’re doing it...
View ArticleHierarchy of production, and why mastering is overrated
Mastering is the least influential part of making a recording. It has the least effect on the effectiveness of your creative expression – your ‘sound’. It might sound obvious, but if you want a...
View ArticleWhy mastering is so delicate
Mastering is no playground. Of the entire production workflow, mastering is the most critical and fragile stage. It’s also the easiest to screw up. I don’t mean that to discourage you or put you off,...
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What level should your mix be at before you send it to mastering?
I’m surprised there’s still so much confusion about this question. You’re starting a mix, and you need to know how to set up your gain staging so that your mix hits the ‘right’ peak or RMS level when...
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Don’t rush mastering!
Don’t rush mastering! I know sometimes it’s boring and tedious and not very creative. And you’re probably excited to get your song or EP or album released and out in the world. But mastering is...
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What mastering feels like
Mastering’s a dangerous thing. Not just for the reasons I’ve written about in the past. It’s dangerous because it’s misunderstood by artists. They’re the people who are ultimately represented by the...
View ArticleHow To Know If You’re Doing A Good Job Mastering
Mastering is often seen as a dark and mysterious art. This is particularly true among junior producers and engineers who want to learn how do do it themselves. There’s a lot of different advice...
View ArticleMastering for loudness. Don’t do it. Or if you have to, try this…
While mixing is the process of making sure the sounds in a mix are clear and well- balanced, mastering is the process of making sure each song on a release is clear and well-balanced with the other...
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