What can YOU do to help ME?
A lot of folks ask me about getting the best master. I always say, “start with a great mix”.
You want your mastering engineer (or robot) to spend their time and energy polishing and enhancing - not trying to repair your mix.
Believe it or not, over half of the songs I receive have serious issues that do need “fixing.” Of those, about 25% I politely recommend the artist re-mix their song to address issues that I just can’t fix in a reasonable way with mastering.
(I assume all responsible mastering services do this for their clients. I imagine the automated services don’t provide such feedback.)
So what makes for a great mix - or at least a mix that has the potential for a great master?
I will give my best advice over the next few weeks - so stay tuned.
You want your mastering engineer (or robot) to spend their time and energy polishing and enhancing - not trying to repair your mix.
Believe it or not, over half of the songs I receive have serious issues that do need “fixing.” Of those, about 25% I politely recommend the artist re-mix their song to address issues that I just can’t fix in a reasonable way with mastering.
(I assume all responsible mastering services do this for their clients. I imagine the automated services don’t provide such feedback.)
So what makes for a great mix - or at least a mix that has the potential for a great master?
I will give my best advice over the next few weeks - so stay tuned.
Don't fight your room (or headphones)
A great master always starts by engineering a mix that represents the best sound achievable in a particular mixing environment.
We’re not talking about perfect mix. A mix does not need to be perfect in absolute terms (or you wouldn’t need mastering.)
Assuming you have a decent room or good headphones, your track just needs to sound good in the environment it was mixed in.
All mixing environments have flaws--even fancy studios.
In most cases, mastering will compensate for the environment a track was mixed in without you having to think too much about it. (One of the main reasons to have your music mastered.)
All this to say, don’t waste time and creative energy trying to second-guess yourself (or your room, or your headphones) while mixing. Just get your music to sound good in the environment you’re in.
Nine times out of ten—your mastering engineer will be able to translate your mix to the rest of the world.
We’re not talking about perfect mix. A mix does not need to be perfect in absolute terms (or you wouldn’t need mastering.)
Assuming you have a decent room or good headphones, your track just needs to sound good in the environment it was mixed in.
All mixing environments have flaws--even fancy studios.
In most cases, mastering will compensate for the environment a track was mixed in without you having to think too much about it. (One of the main reasons to have your music mastered.)
All this to say, don’t waste time and creative energy trying to second-guess yourself (or your room, or your headphones) while mixing. Just get your music to sound good in the environment you’re in.
Nine times out of ten—your mastering engineer will be able to translate your mix to the rest of the world.