WHAT IS MASTERING?
Simply put ‘mastering’ is the process of taking a song that has already been mixed and preparing it for distribution. Simple right? There can be a lot too it though so let’s take a look…
CONFUSION BETWEEN MIXING AND MASTERING
Often I find people are a little confused about the difference between mixing and mastering, so let’s clear that up first. Mixing is the process of taking a multitrack recording and combining all the elements within into a stereo audio file using any compression, effects, EQ, etc. deemed necessary. It’s adjusting the level and the sound of the snare, for example, turning up the guitar solo or turning down the bass solo (just kidding bassists!). Once the mix is finished and has been signed off by the band it is sent to be mastered. At this point the mastering engineer is working with a high quality stereo audio file. They have no easy way to change the level of an individual instrument for example.
SO WHAT DOES THE MASTERING ENGINEER DO?
In some ways it depends on the quality of the mix that they have been sent. Well, if it’s a single (rather than an EP or album), and the mix is a great mix, they may not actually have to do much at all. They will apply a little bit of limiting to bring up the volume of the track to a level that is suitable for the main distribution method i.e. streaming, CD, vinyl etc. but their main role is that of quality control. You can read more about limiting and loudness in our article about The Loudness Wars. The mastering engineer may feel, however, that the mix they have been sent needs a little more done to it before they send the master back to the client. They have a few tools in their toolbox that they can use to potentially improve a mix…
EQUALISATION
The ME may use EQ to subtly alter the frequency balance of the stereo audio file. They might decide for example that it lacks top end and sounds a little ‘dark’. In this case they would use an EQ to add top end. They might decide there is a build up of, let’s say 300 Hz, and might do a fairly narrow cut of -2dB at that frequency range. They may use a high pass filter to cut out everything below a certain frequency to tighten up the low end.
COMPRESSION
The mastering engineer may also use compression in a similar way to a mix engineer, to control dynamics or increase or decrease the impact of the transients in the mix. They may also use a compressor to ‘colour’ the sound in a certain way, without actually doing too much compression.
SATURATION
What is saturation? Well, it’s really just a fancy way of saying distortion. But the ME may use saturation in a subtle way to make a lifeless mix sound more exciting.
WIDENING
This is exactly what it sounds like. It is a plugin (or in rare cases, hardware) that is used to give a subtle widening effect to the track. Used judiciously it can make the the mix sound more expansive.
LIMITING
A limiter is a plugin that allows the mastering engineer to increase the loudness of the song. It essentially works by ‘chopping off’ the loudest peaks of the audio wave. It does this so fast though, that it is imperceptible to the human ear, at least when it’s not being pushed to hard. If it is pushed too hard though it will start to distort the audio and create a noticeable ‘pumping’ effect. The ME will always use a limiter to some extent to bring the loudness of the song up to a level that is appropriate for the chosen method of distribution.
These are not ‘one size fits all’ decisions and if the mastering engineer is good at their craft they will be made in the context of the genre of the song, EP or album. For example it might be appropriate for a synth-pop EP to sound much brighter than an acoustic folk EP. It might be appropriate for an EDM track to be limited much harder than a psych-rock track, and so on.
SEQUENCING
It is also the job of the mastering engineer to sequence the songs if it is a multi-song release. They will make sure that the EP or album flows from one song to the next in a natural way. This could involve making sure the right length of silence happens between two songs or sometimes, that two songs flow into each other. The ME will usually supply the final mastered files as a DDP master or as .wav files.
For the purposes of this article I have assumed that the mixing and mastering engineers are not the same person. While it can be advantageous to use a third-party mastering engineer, sometimes the artist may not have the budget. If you are looking for a third party ME, Everland Studios can recommend someone based on your budget and the genre of your music.