Riddle me this…?  What is the difference between a song being…”that was nice…” and “THATS MY SH!T SON!!!!!!!!”

Mastering!

Mastering is that final stage before the music is officially released.  It is the mix of the stereo track(s).  Basically its sole purpose is to fine tune your music and add that last piece of professional shine to the music!

Mastering Engineers have a totally different set of ears in comparison to the mix engineer.  THe mix engieern job is…well mixing, making sure everything is balance, the proper effects are used, things are in phase.

The master engineer will take the given product, which should be at least a 24bit 48khz .wav file, and mix the “overall” track to perfection.

They utilize a total different series of outboard gear, super calibrated studio monitors, and specialized small rooms to mix.  They are listening for very specific frequencies to cut and boost, as well as raising the overall volume of the mix. They will also ensure that each song as the album plays sonically sounds the same as far as volume.

When I work with artist from both the production and recording/mix engineer hats…I always encourage them to budget in an extra $250-1000 to get their projects mastered by an actual Mastering Engineer.

But lets say you really can afford to get your music professional mastered..then what?

1. Mix your ASS off- Or at least know somebody that can.  If you can get the right mix on each song you might can pull off a nice project. Again your mix has to be great. And to be honest a poor mix, even if mastered, will turn out to be a poor mix.
2. Build Yourself The Proper Mastering Chain- Lets say you don’t own a mastering program like iZotope’s OZONE 5…How can you build your own mastering chain? If you have a DAW of some type your mastering chain should be as follows:

•  EQ (Hi-Pass Shelf)- Cut off any rumble below about 30Hz
• Multiband EQ- You want to look for overall frequencies that are clashing in the stereo track and cut them. Usually you are looking for “mud” which is around 500Hz and sibilance, around 12kHz.  You shouldn’t have to cut a lot because these frequencies should be cut from the actual mix during the mixing stage.  So just a little finest should do.
• Compression- First stage of slightly boosting your track as well as controlling the dynamics.  I use a 4:1 ratio and like the compressor to just barley be hitting.
• Multiband EQ- This time you will be boosting certain frequencies…especially in the highs and lows.  Again just a little touch should do
• Compression- Second stage of compression…this is acting as the overall “Glue” of the track.  This compression stage is making your stereo track sound like one piece of music as well as boosting the sound.  3:1 ratio with a fast attack and slow release.
• Limiter- Here is where you raise the volume overall…Get that radio sound or CD quality sound.  You want to set your ceiling to about -0.1 or -0.3, this way you can turn up the threshold (making it louder) without clipping the audio (digital distortion is not sexy)
• Reference Track-  Whenever I mix and/or master I Always use a reference track to compare my work to.  This cuts out a lot of guess work with knowing if your music sonically competes with stuff already released or at the mainstream level.  FInd a song that you really like and/or something within the styling of the mix you are working on to refer to.

This guy has put a nice video together…his process is very similar to mine, but he goes into further detail.  Take the time and watch it.

As always…