Mastering with my favorite, iZotope OZONE 7
Do you need to get your tracks mastered? Should you avoid automated mastering services? Is it possible to master your tracks yourself?
I get a lot of questions about this topic.
So, let’s talk about the 3 best ways to get your tracks mastered. I’ll also share my thoughts on when to use each approach.
But first, what is mastering?
Well, there are several goals of the mastering process:
Make all the songs on an EP or album sound like they belong together
Bring up the volume to an acceptable commercial level
Ensure that each track will translate well onto various speaker systems (and generally make everything sound better)
It’s that simple. Now let’s talk about your options.
The 3 types of mastering
There are 3 common ways to get your tracks mastered:
Home mastering
Automated mastering
Professional mastering
There are pros and cons to each of these methods.
Let’s start with home mastering.
First of all, it’s free. Great! You can just do it yourself when you’re done mixing.
Problem solved, right?
Hate to be that guy...
But I actually have some issues with this approach.
Mastering your own tracks means you lose out on the benefits of using a professional mastering engineer. Those benefits are:
Having somebody else listen to your track in a different room.
On a different set of speakers.
With a different pair of ears.
Why are these things so important?
Because your room is lying to you.
It's true.
If you’ve ever mixed a track that sounded great in your room but sucked in your car… you’ll know what I mean.
The acoustics of your room (and the speakers you are using) will make your mix sound different in your room to the real world.
Somebody else - like a professional mastering engineer - will be able to hear all the issues that you missed and fix them.
But, there’s an obvious downside to professional mastering... the cost.
So, what about automated mastering?
These services use complex algorithms (like LANDR) or analog equipment (like Aria Mastering) to automatically master your tracks for you.
Sometimes these services are incredible. Other times they suck. It’s hit or miss.
Upload your track and see how it sounds. If you’re lucky it will sound great. But don’t bet on it.
How to master your tracks
So… which approach should you use?
Here’s my humble opinion:
If you’re releasing an important single, EP or album - pay for a professional mastering engineer. It will cost less than you think and the upsides are huge.
If you can’t afford a pro, use an automated service.
If you can’t afford that, do it yourself.
What about demos and smaller projects? If you can afford automated mastering, do it. Otherwise, just master them yourself.
Mix it to sound mastered
I don’t use this process, but I’ve been Mastering songs for 5 years now… But this may be a good “fix” for you!
Step 1) Get the best sound you can while mixing. Use plugins (like EQ, compression and tape emulation) on your mix buss/stereo output as needed.
Then add a limiter as the final plugin on your mix buss/stereo output. Apply 2-5dB of gain reduction with the limiter and set the output/ceiling to -0.5dB.
Step 2) Have a long break (24 hours or more) then come back to the mix and listen back with a notebook to hand. Write down any issues. Fix those issues.
Repeat this process one more time after another long break.
Step 3) Now listen to your mix on several different sound systems. Your car, Apple headphones, your phone. Write down any huge issues and fix them.
You will have to make some compromises - your mix can’t sound perfect everywhere.
That’s it. You're done.
This way there’s no need to “master” the track yourself (in the traditional sense).
If you do the absolute best job you can during the mixing process, what would you do differently if you mastered the track too?
Just mix it to the best of your ability. Then use a limiter to bring the volume up. That’s all there is to it.
The missing piece
If you take just one thing away from this, let it be this…
There are huge benefits to getting your tracks mastered by a professional. If you can afford it, do it. Equally, there are many downsides to mastering your tracks yourself. Avoid it when possible.
Some people might disagree, but this is just my personal opinion.
So, that’s it for mastering!
Here’s the kicker:
It’s how you tie all of these things together that matters.
If you are in the market for MIXING and/or MASTERING, please consider us, at TAKEOFF TERMINAL STUDIOS!
Please click on our “Previous Works” tab for some recent MIXIG/MASTERING samples!
