Audio formats can become complex pretty quickly. There are a lot to choose from, and picking the best one for your professional audio needs, or just for casual listening can easily become daunting.
Mastering is the last step in the audio creation process. It takes stereo mixes and prepares them for distribution.Within this process most people view the main goal of mastering as creating a cohesive, balanced body of work; but it’s so much more than than this.
Have you ever found yourself wondering what people are talking about when describing the qualities of audio? Many adjectives that get used to describe audio make little sense when thinking of them in their literal definitions.
Quick Answer A “Loudness Penalty” is the amount in dB your mix or master will be turned down by loudness normalization. Loudness normalization occurs right before streaming and is something any engineer or artist needs to keep in mind before distributing their mix or master for distribution.
Sibilance...Right when you think you may have made the right adjustments on your EQ and set the compressor just so, a sharp, harsh “s” jumps from your speakers.
Mastering is an exciting and ever-changing field. Some of the information available about mastering is well known, and some are certainly unique.
Mixing and mastering can be done with analog and digital workflows. Often the choice of which to go with comes down to user preferences, cost, and desired features of a system.
Yes, in most circumstances mastering is needed in order to prepare a project for distribution. Although the choice to master your music depends on the desired outcome, it is always helpful to have another engineer listen to and assess the quality of your project before it’s distributed.
Mastering music for streaming is the process of preparing a song or project for distribution on a digital streaming platform.
No audio toolbox would be complete without a compressor. They are some of the most versatile pieces of gear with complex and simplistic functions alike.
Stereo mastering is a mastering process in which one stereo file is used; whereas stem mastering is a mastering process in which multiple instrument groups or stems are used.
Mastering for Rock music is the process of preparing a rock song or project for distribution, all while keeping the unique sonic characteristics of the rock genre in mind.
Plugins are great for many reasons. One of those reasons is their ability to be moved from session to session, making it easy to build a workflow and stick to it. Another is how easy it is to recall settings and presets.
Although a fair amount can be accomplished during a stereo mastering session, having the stems of a project offers possibilities that simply are not available during a stereo mastering session.
It may be surprising then that mastering takes multiple forms, and can be categorized based on processing type, the medium the song will be distributed on, and even the genre or style of the production being made.
