Human Mastering is the process of preparing an album for distribution with an actual engineer, as opposed to an AI-based mastering system. With the popularization of AI mastering, mastering studios comprised of human engineers are becoming few and far between, despite having distinct advantages during mastering.
Getting your vocal to sit on top of a mix is often easier said than done. When a mix starts to become more complex, and layers of instrumentation start to cause competition for sonic space, finding room for your lead vocal can be a challenge.
Compressors allow us to do all sorts of processing when mixing and mastering. First and foremost, they exist to help balance the dynamics of a performance, making quiet parts louder and louder parts quieter.
Mastering for Heavy Metal Music is the process of preparing metal music for distribution while upholding the sound fans of metal music love and expect.
The use of headphones instead of traditional speakers is drastically changing how music is being listened to, recorded, mixed and mastered.
Song Mastering is the process of preparing a song for commercial distribution, while focusing on what makes a song sonically unique, instead of mastering it in the context of a full album. Single song mastering requires an engineer to approach a track differently than a typical mastering session.
Mastering for Country Music is the process of preparing a country song, EP, or Album for distribution while keeping the unique sonic characteristics of country music in mind. Because country music varies greatly from sub-genre to sub-genre, the processing used when mastering for country music varies as well.
This particular signal chain works well for almost all mastering applications and will work particularly well if you intend to release your music online or on streaming services.
What makes a great studio microphone? Is it the price tag, or the flexibility - the impressiveness or the technical specifications?
Loudness for mastering is the measurement of the perceived loudness of an audio signal during the audio mastering and distribution process. Loudness as it relates to mastering music can be something that is implemented carefully and skillfully, or it can be something that can ruin a master is used excessively.
Digitally controlled analog equipment is analog equipment that can have its various parameters and functions altered and stored using a digital control system like a plugin or interface. Digitally controlled analog is slowly growing in popularity but has immense practical applications for studio owners and audio enthusiasts.
Mastering for Hip-Hop music includes accentuating both the low-end frequencies and high-end frequencies of a track, without resulting in distortion. Considering that these frequencies can be very loud, and the overall volume of the master is expected to be loud, accomplishing this can be a challenge.
Analog mastering is the process of using analog equipment to process a signal to prepare it for distribution; digital mastering is the process of using solely digital processors and software to process a signal and for the same reason.
If you value flexibility and mobility in your interface, then the RME Babyface is a great introduction to RME’s line of pro-class interfaces.
Mastering for Pop Music means understanding the balance between creating a sonically competitive master, and retaining the dynamic range. Often times, pop music gets mastered so loudly, that the dynamics are almost nonexistent; creating a loud master, that retains dynamics is key to creating a great pop master.
