Mastering

What is Mastering?

Once a mix is complete, the song is generally not ready for distribution because the mix only focuses on the overall balance of each instrument, and their role in the song(s). The mixing will create the environment, where mastering is the final balance and cohesion to present that environment. A good master will accentuate a good mix or even a bad mix! On the contrary, a bad master will ruin even the best sounding mix. It can be a delicate process!

Mastering focuses on the overall harmonic balance of the song, its frequency response, and its "loudness". The goal of mastering is to boost the volume of the song in a musical way, so that playback sounds as intended on all playback devices without having to adjust the playback device. How mastering is accomplished widely varies, and it depends greatly on the need(s) of the specific song(s) being mastered. Some mixes may need very little processing, and some may need a tremendous amount. "Do no harm", is the first goal for our mastering studio, while the second and third would be to preserve the feel and enhance the essense.

Why does it have to be loud?


All distributed songs are victim the LUFS (Loudness Units relative to Full Scale) and RMS (Root Means Square) standards set by the distributors of the music industry. Different platforms prefer different standards, so mastering a song to a said standards is important, so your song has a similar volume as the others on whatever listening platform is being used. If industry technical standards are ignored while mastering, your song may be too loud, too quiet, or possibly distorted on some devices.

Because mastering is the final step to completing a song before its release, the quality of the mastering is hugely important to the overall sound and potentially the success of any project. Many mixing engineers prefer NOT to master their own mixes, as a mastering engineer focuses solely on mastering is often better equipped to compliment the engineer's mix and the artist's song.

Book some mastering!

 








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