A Comparison Between Mastering Music Production - Improve Your Sound - The rise in popularity of work-from-home studios has significantly impacted the music production landscape in recent years, driven by the increasing availability of tools and technology. This growth has led to the emergence of mobile recording rigs, making it possible to record full band performances anywhere. While one might anticipate a wealth of high-quality music,… and Mixing
As an online mastering studio engineer, people often find it confusing to understand what mastering can achieve for their music productions, as it is the final step in the creation An Artist Portrait (Part Two) - This is the Part Two (and final part) of the true life story as artist written by Frank V. Cahoj for our Weblog. (Part One) An Artist Portrait (Part Two) I give an unbelievable amount of credence to these two early periods in my life: one of everlasting creation, one of analysis and disillusionment. The… chain. Not every mix is perfect and some have inconsistencies in balance. Frequently, mixes are submitted that don’t quite have the right blend and balance of sounds. Here are some common issues in a music mix:
- Kick drum too loud, snare drum too quiet
- Lead vocal too loud or quiet, backing vocals too loud or quiet
- Harsh sounding guitars
- Bass guitar Learning to Enjoy Bass Guitar - Do you enjoy bass guitar? A bass guitar is a four-stringed instrument that typically accompanies a lead guitar. Some bass guitars have additional strings, with 5 or 6 strings in total. Bass guitars produce lower tones, and an electric bass guitar is connected to an amplifier for enhanced sound. When learning to play the bass… causing clicking noises as strings hit pick-ups
- Vocal pops, harsh sounding hi-hats
- Bass guitar too low in the mix, kick drum with excessive sub-bass frequencies
Ideally, such issues should be addressed during the mixing stage, but they are often only noticed during mastering when the music is heard on high-resolution monitoring equipment. You should trust your mastering engineer and hope they can provide feedback on these mix issues. During mastering, an engineer will typically attempt to resolve these problems, but it is often a compromise, as they are working with the stereo two-track mix rather than the individual multi-track files.
This limitation makes it challenging to isolate any given instrument in a mix and process it accordingly. In such cases, it is helpful if the mastering engineer has prior mixing experience in their audio engineering An Artist Portrait (Part One) - This is a fantastic article written exclusively for my Weblog by Frank V. Cahoj. Please feel free to comment here or send him emails. He'll be happy of this. An Artist Portrait (Part One) My name is Frank Cahoj and I have been an artist since I was born. I can say this in confidence without… career Darklands, a Classic RPG - I'll talk about Darklands, a Classic RPG in a moment. April is an excellent month to reflect on how the year is going and whether we have achieved all or some of the goals we set for ourselves (Read - Overcoming Procrastination). It's also a time to assess the overall positive or negative trend of… , as they will quickly recognize the issues and advise how to fix them in the mix. Bands and record labels often appreciate this feedback on their music and releases, as it benefits both the band and the mastering studio by improving the sound and reflecting positively on both parties. When choosing an online mastering studio, it is crucial to ensure that your mastering engineer has the necessary experience for the task.
If the engineer has recording and mixing experience, they will understand the requirements and be able to provide valuable advice to you during the mastering stage. Mix feedback is a crucial aspect of mastering, particularly for enthusiastic young musicians and less experienced bands that are developing their playing and production skills. The tools available for mastering audio are quite sophisticated, allowing mastering engineers to perform the following tasks:
- Adjust the tone of the mix, including brightening, adding bass, adding warmth, or reducing harshness.
- Increase or decrease the overall perceived levels of mixes.
- Remove problematic and challenging resonances for playback systems.
- Eliminate pops, glitches, clicks, and other audio anomalies.
- Enhance the stereo image and widen or collapse it if necessary.
This list is not exhaustive but provides an idea of the possibilities a mastering engineer can achieve with the right tools and skills.
Manuel Marino is a seasoned Senior Producer, Music Composer, and Artist with over a decade of experience. He specializes in branded entertainment across various mediums, including video games, films, and advertising campaigns. With 20+ years as a game music composer, Manuel has worked on numerous platforms, creating diverse orchestral soundtracks. HIRE ME
