(Remember, our software and hardware mastering tools are specialized tools designed for mastering quality, and your music will always sound better if we use our tools to do these things during the mastering process.) DO NOT USE DITHER OR CHANGE THE BIT DEPTH BETWEEN 24 AND 16!.DO NOT add any compression Limiting or Normalization to the Final Mix.(44.1, 48, 88.2, 96 are all popular and can all produce great results.) (On many popular DAW workstations this would be the "bounce to disc" option.) Select 24 bit stereo interleave, and use the same sample rate that the original tracks were recorded at. When you are satisfied with the mix, record or render your mix as 24 bit. THEN, WHEN YOUR MIX IS PERFECTED, WHAT’S NEXT? Your mix should be sonicaly similar to the good recordings you like to listen to. Listen to the stereo imaging and panning of the instruments. Pay attention to how the drums and instruments interact. If you decide to re-mix, work with it until it averages sounding good across a variety of playback systems.Ĭompare your mixes to your favorite commercially mixed CD of the same genre. Your music should sound as good as possible on all of these systems. Listen on your main stereo at home, in your car, on your favorite earphones, and on a small boombox. Listen to your mix on different stereo systems. It can be quite a surprise how different things sound after you take some time off. When you feel your song is mixed as well as it can be, give your ears a break for a day or two and then listen again. Remember, the mastering process will make it plenty loud enough for you. Never go into the red as this means that it has already clipped and will be distorted. On typical digital meters, your average RMS levels should register minus 16 - 20 DBFS, and the hottest peak should not be over -5 DBFS. Your mastered music will have the tone and “feel” of a polished final product, and will capture the essense of your musical style and content.ĭO NOT mix it “hot”! The levels of your mix will depend on what type of metering you are using. Mastering will make your music rich, punchy, and plenty loud. We will use a combination of the world’s best analog and digital gear to polish your mix to sound the way you intend it to sound.
That is part of the mastering process, and your mastering engineer has just the right tools and experience to do it correctly. Don't use all the outboard gear and pluggins just because you have them.ĭO NOT compress or limit the MASTER channel to boost the master track’s volume.ĭO NOT try to make your mixes as loud as a commercially released CD. The less extra stuff you do to the mix, the better. Many playback systems will accidentally have speakers out of phase, or actually be playing back in mono. Listen to the stereo mix, and also check it in mono to be sure it sounds good in mono. (less is more!) Make sure that kick drums and any crash cymbals are not overpowering. During the mix, many audio engineers prefer to appropriately compress the vocal tracks to help the vocal stay “in front” throughout the song. Instruments should be well balanced with the vocals and primary instruments “in front” of the mix. Get the mix perfect, and the mastering process will massage it to make it just the right overall volume, format, and dynamics for your playback medium. Your music should be exactly the way you want it. Here are some guidelines you can follow to help make sure you have a mix that is ready to be mastered. Then read the rest of this page)įIRST, SOME TIPS FOR MAKING A MIX THAT IS READY FOR MASTERING. It explains the what, why, and how of mastering. (Before we begin, be sure that you have read OUR MASTERING WEBPAGE.
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How to prepare your mix and audio files for mastering.PREPARE MIX MASTERING