Why does a Song need to be mastered?
In this blog, you'll learn why mastering is such an important step in the production process, and how you can use mastering to make sure your music always sounds as good as possible.
What Is Mastering?
Mastering is the final step of the production process. After a song has been recorded and mixed, the mastering engineer balances the sonic elements and optimizes the track for playback on a variety of systems and formats. This final version of the track is known as the "master recording" and is what's uploaded to streaming services and used to create physical media such as CDs or vinyl.
Mastering is equal parts technical and creative. Mastering engineers use tools like EQ, compression and effects to enhance the sound of the track. It's also the mastering engineer's job to make sure your track sounds good no matter what system it's being played on-from tiny speakers in laptops and cellphones to massive sound systems in clubs and venues.
Mastering is also the final stage of quality control for your music. It's the last chance to make sure there are no errors or technical issues with your track before releasing it to the world. That's why mastering is such a crucial step in the production process.
What's the Difference Between Mixing and Mastering?
Mixing and mastering are both stages in the production process, and even share some of the same techniques and tools-but there is one key difference.
Mixing focuses on enhancing each of the individual tracks in a session and combining them into one cohesive mix. Each of the elements should be clearly audible, and work together with the other elements to create a balanced sound.
Mastering focuses on enhancing the final mix and preparing it for distribution. Instead of working with multiple tracks, you work with the final "two-track" mix to add the finishing touches and make it sound as good as possible-kind of like a coat of polish after a good cleaning.
Now that you understand the difference between mixing and mastering, let's talk about why it's so important to master your tracks.
The Importance Of Mastering
Mastering is one of the most important steps in the production process, as it ensures that your music will sound its best on different streaming platforms, media formats and devices.
In addition to making sure all of the files are in the appropriate formats, mastering engineers are also typically responsible for sequencing and spacing the songs on an album, meaning they make sure all of the songs play back in the right order and have a natural, consistent flow.
Mastering typically starts with removing any technical issues in the recording. Any clicks or pops caused by bad edits need to go, and any hiss or noise needs to be removed. It's crucial that you stamp out these issues early on, as they'll only become more noticeable when you increase the loudness of the mix later on.
Another important aspect of mastering is frequency balancing. Mastering engineers use EQ to adjust the frequency response of a mix to make sure that each element is clearly audible, and that the mix is even and balanced. If there is too much or not enough of one frequency range, it can throw the whole mix out of whack.
Mastering engineers use compressors and other dynamics processors to enhance the dynamics of a mix as well. It's common to use fast peak limiting to give transients an aggressive, punchy sound, while using a slower, gentler device to glue all of the elements together with mix bus compression.
It's also common for mastering engineers to use stereo enhancers to make a mix sound bigger and wider. This can help tighten up the stereo image by focusing the low-end in the center of the mix.
