FAQ

Q: WHAT IS MASTERING AND WHY THE HECK DO I NEED IT?

Music mastering is the final step in the music production process that involves preparing a mixed song or album for distribution. In basic terms? Mastering enhances the overall sound quality, clarity, and loudness of a recording and it ensures that your music sounds as good as possible on all types of playback systems (Airpods, car speakers, and even high end studio monitors). The primary goal of mastering is to provide a cohesive and consistent final product that represents the artist's creative vision for what their song sounds and feels like.

Mastering makes sure that your music is optimized for distribution, and it can make a significant difference in how a song or album sounds. A well-mastered recording has greater clarity, better dynamics, and a more cohesive sound, which can make it stand out! Mastering is necessary to ensure that the music you are making sounds good across a range of playback systems, which is critical in today's digital music world.

Q: Ok, but I like what my mix engineer did. do I still need mastering?

Awesome! Having a mix you’re happy with is a great feeling. But there are a few key differences between a mix engineer and a mastering engineer. A mix engineer is responsible for balancing the different elements of a recording, (like your vocals, instruments, and effects) to create a cohesive and polished mix. The mix engineer ensures that each element of the mix sounds great and that the balance between them is “just right.”

A mastering engineer takes the final mix and puts the finishing touches on it. This involves ensuring that the mix sounds good across all types of playback systems, making final EQ adjustments, and adding compression and limiting to control the dynamics and increase the overall loudness of the track or album.

So the biggest difference? A mix engineer works on the individual tracks of a recording and a mastering engineer works on the final stereo mix. The mix engineer makes changes to individual tracks, while the mastering engineer focuses on the final product as a whole.

Q: what about ai mastering? Why should i have you master it?

I will just say it: automated mastering tools have come a long way in recent years and it can produce pretty decent results! I’m not going to bash them, but here are a few thoughts.

AI mastering is limited by the algorithms that lack the consistency, intentionality, and nuance that a mastering engineer provides. They can give a you great starting point, but they are never consistent. You will never get the same sounding song twice.

A mastering engineer has the experience and knowledge to make creative decisions and tailor the mastering process to suit the specific vibe or feeling. I balance my judgment and collaboration with you to make careful decisions about EQ, compression, and other processing. My process takes into account the unique characteristics of the mix and, most importantly, your vision.

Finally, a mastering engineer will take into account the nuances of different playback systems, listening environments, and formats to ensure that the final product sounds great across all platforms. Our collaboration helps me anticipate how the music will be consumed and optimize the final product's sound for different listening scenarios.