Mastering & Creating Your Final Mix Like the Pros (Mastering Process).

The mastering process allows you to perform last changes after you have actually blended your multitrack recordings to two stereo tracks (we'll leave quad and 5.1 surround-sound situations for another day.) Some modifications are made to improve a particular tune's sonic quality. Others are made within the context of an album - making sure that lots of tunes strung together have a similar sonic "consistency." Typical areas of issue for a mastering engineer are: equalization (eq), compression, levels (volume) relative from one tune to the next, and spacing in between songs. Equalization: Sometimes you'll want to change the eq or compression on a mix after you have actually done the last mix. Or you may have ten songs blended by 3 various engineers in five different studios.

Each tune's eq might seem perfect by itself, however if you series them together, all of a sudden one song sounds too intense (or too dull ...). Changing the eq can even everything out. Tip # 1: remember that any eq modifications to your stereo mix impact the whole mix - if you wish to cut 3 db at 80Hz since your mix sounds muddy, remember to check how that impacts all the instruments (e.g. the vocal), not simply the bass guitar and kick drum. Suggestion # 2: if you're not sure about an eq choice during mixdown, know that it's much easier to cut lower frequencies in mastering than to increase them, and easier to enhance greater frequencies than to cut them. Compression: In mastering, this is used not simply to control a mix or to add character, however also to "print" or send as much level to the master as possible without clipping the signal. This can nearly feel like a competition for who has the loudest cd (" my record sounded excellent up until I listened on my CD carousel and Green Day was 5 db louder!"). But mastering engineers need to balance level with sonic stability. Levels: Ideally, a listener can play your record and not need to get up to change the volume. This is addressed in mastering, after the record has actually been sequenced. Only then can you actually understand how levels relate to each other as one tune ends and the next begins.

Spacing & Crossfading.

Spacing: there are different approaches as to how one need to approach the spaces put in between tunes on a record. Some feel the downbeat of one song need to fall at the start of a new bar, in the pace of the previous song (to continue the circulation.) Others think you need to avoid this like the pester, because it lessens the impact. In the end, do whatever feels. There is no standard. Cross-fade your tunes if you like, or location six seconds in between them. (2-4 seconds is common in a lot of popular, non-classical records, but it depends on you.) Last idea: you may be inclined to master the very same recordings that you mixed, whether it is for monetary factors, creative factors, or merely since you can. We highly recommend that you get somebody else to master your task. The objectivity and fresh ears they give the table usually result in a more powerful, more cohesive album.


Typical locations of issue for a mastering engineer are: equalization (eq), compression, levels (volume) relative from one song to the next, and spacing between tunes. Or you might have ten songs mixed by 3 various engineers in five different studios.

Each tune's eq might seem ideal by itself, but if you sequence them together, all of Trap Instrumentals a sudden one tune sounds too bright (or too dull ...). Suggestion # 1: keep in mind that any eq modifications to your stereo mix affect the whole mix - if you want to cut 3 db at 80Hz due to the fact that your mix sounds muddy, keep in mind to check how that affects all the instruments (e.g. the vocal), not simply the bass guitar and kick drum. Compression: In mastering, this is utilized not simply to control a mix or to add character, however likewise to "print" or send out as much level to the master as possible without clipping the signal.

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