While specialized mastering engineers often produce the best results, anyone can produce a decent master if they know the basic concepts and goals of mastering. We’ll go through the foundational steps and tools involved in mastering a track for release, removing the mystery from the process and its associated technical terms.
What Is Audio Mastering?
Mastering is the final post-production step in a track or album’s life cycle, and the step aftermixing a trackin themusic production process. It can be described as the stage where the final touches to tonal and volume levels, sonic inconsistencies, and overall musicality are applied.
Out of all the stages of music production, mastering is the most subtle. Through the use of specialized tools, such as EQs, stereo enhancers, and compressors, mastering engineers attempt to draw out the qualities of a mix while rounding out any jarring features.
The main, in-your-face, element of the mastering process is its adjustment to the overall loudness of a track. The loudness level of a mix is pushed up until it reaches a level that is competitive with the industry standard—tracks you hear on streaming platforms.
The First Step of Mastering
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Mastering begins when you’ve bounced the entirety of your mix into one audio file and placed it into a new session in your DAW of choice. Mastering is simplified if you’ve made a high-quality mixdown. Errors that can be fixed in your mix should be fixed there; not in your master.
Your life will be made easier if you’ve left some headroom in your mixdown session (when your Stereo Output Channel doesn’t read above -4 to -6 dB). Not only does this avoid clipping issues, but it allows you to apply additive EQ edits and other changes that may bring up the overall level.
Before you rush into placing a bunch of plugins, listen through the entirety of your track. If you have reference tracks to compare it to, listen to them too. This will help you make informed decisions on what mastering plugins to use and how.
Ensure a Clean Beginning and End of Your Track
After your first playthroughs, a good initial task is to make a clear start and end to your track. While the beginning and end of your audio file may already be relatively obvious, mastering requires exact precision.
To do so, create a track from your Master channel strip, and enable automation. Then, automate the volume of the beginning and end of your track. If you’re unsure how to do so, look intohow to use automation in your DAW. Try and follow the tempo and style of your track so you don’t cause any off-putting sonic interruptions.
This will help you avoid any excessive hissing and other sounds that can appear once you raise the loudness at the end of your mastering process. Beginnings and endings are memorable, so try to get these areas just right.
Improve Your Track With Additive and Subtractive EQ
Now, it’s time to get into the body of the track and see if you’re able to improve it via subtle EQ boosts or cuts. Look intohow to use EQs and filtersif you want to brush up on this area.
It helps to examine the visual analyzer most EQs show as it can reveal too little or too much in certain frequency ranges. Similarly, you may see that your reference track has more presence in the sub-bass and bass frequencies; thus, you can try some EQ boosts there.
Different EQ plugins specialize in boosting/cutting different frequency ranges when mastering. For example, you may find that PuigTec EQs work best for boosting low frequencies, and other EQ tools are best for high frequencies. The key is experimentation.
Try a 0.5-2.5 dB boost around 30-40 Hz to add more presence to your kick drums. Experiment with a boost of around 15 kHz for some added air and brightness to your vocals and overall mix.
Conversely, you may find too much booming/harsh presence in a certain frequency range. Try an exaggerated cut before trying to find the middle ground between too much and too little subtractive EQ.
Use Multiband Compressors
Multiband compressors allow you to apply different rates of compression to different frequency bands. Generally, multiband compressors are a good idea if you’re hearing too much in a specific frequency range; e.g. the low- or high-end.
Be careful when applying compression as too much can suck the life out of a dynamic, musical mix. For a refresher on compressors, look intohow to use compression plugins.
Apply a Stereo Enhancer
Stereo enhancer plugins are a great way to add some polish to a track which, particularly, headphone listeners will appreciate.
They work by increasing the difference between the left and right channels, which, in turn, enhances the stereo effect. Try out a stock stereo imager plugin to widen your mix. Extreme usage will mess up the whole master, so go for subtle applications to find the sweet spot.
Utilize Limiting and Metering
Limiters and metering plugins are what allow you to precisely meet the loudness level of the modern music industry. Let’s look at how they work and what this level is.
Metering Plugins
Metering tools give you exact readings for things like LUFS, RMS, Peak, and True Peak. True Peak and Peak represent the maximum level at a specific point in time (True Peak is more accurate).
LUFS represents the average (also called integrated) loudness over time based on the human perception of loudness. RMS represents the same but based on the average power signal. The industry standard for measuring levels is LUFS.
Nowadays, streaming platforms like Spotify set -14 LUFS as the maximum level. You can still make a master that reaches -11 LUFS, but Spotify will automatically reduce it to -14 LUFS; thus, all their music is standardized level-wise.
Choose a whole integer target between -10 to -14 LUFS for your master, and use your limiter to achieve it. Remember to reset your metering plugin each time you restart your track.
Limiters are, essentially, extreme compressors. They are also called brickwall compressors as they completely stop the level from exceeding a specified volume (e.g. 0 dB), thereby avoiding clipping. Paired with this function is their ability to raise the gain of your track.
Use your limiter in tandem with your metering plugin until a playthrough of your track produces your desired LUFS (e.g. -10 LUFS). Drive your limiter too hard, and you can ruin the musicality of your track. Find the sweet spot where sonic quality is maintained while the overall level reaches your desired LUFS.
Listen to the End Result on Multiple Devices
The final step in mastering is to listen to your result on multiple electronic devices; e.g. your speakers, your computer, and your phone. A good master produces a track that sounds great on any and all sound systems.
While AI can lead to damaging shortcuts,AI mixing and mastering toolscan provide useful references to learn from.
Create a Release-Ready Track
Once you’ve made sure you’ve done all you can in your mix, bounce it, and load up a new session for mastering. Design a precise start and end, and apply subtle additive and subtractive EQ edits. Use multiband compression if needed, and stereo enhancement tools for a touch of additional width.
Then, use your limiter and metering plugins to reach competitive loudness levels without sacrificing sonic quality. Add in some final checks on different sound systems, and your track is now ready for distribution.
