Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [mastering]

For questions about the process of audio mastering.

41 questions
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Tips for increasing loudness while mastering in Ableton Live

I am a drum and bass (Jump Up) producer using ableton, I have been producing for about 8 months now and I would say I have progressed really well with it. I have got to the stage with it where I want to master my tracks so I can get them sounding…
daniel aagentah
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How can I get the vocals to stand out better in the mix when recording?

I am helping a friend (very talented aspiring singer songwriter in the folk music genre’) by making some free demo recordings of her music to promote her talent. She has a nice voice but it’s on the higher end of the spectrum. When instruments…
Rockin Cowboy
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Difference between mixing and mastering

I am a musician, and I have amateurish-ly recorded my own musical inspiration. I am curious to learn, though, and one of the most confusing things is - as so often - in terminology. I am looking for tutorials to get a better, warmer sound after…
Bram Vanroy
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Move track from Ableton to Logic Pro

I'm trying to take a track to be mastered from Ableton Live 9 to Logic Pro, but the original on Ableton is on a MBP with no Logic Pro installation, and my Logic Pro installation is on a MBP with no Ableton Live installation. How can I get the…
rbrtl
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How can I make sure my mix is not "bricked" before sending it to be professionally mastered?

In the instructions provided to me by the service I'm using to have my album mastered, the engineers include this advice: Include any desired processing, such as compression and equalization, but be sure to avoid using any peak limiting,…
RaceYouAnytime
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3 answers

Mixing and mastering at home

I have been playing guitar, piano, and keys for over ten years, and have been recording my own stuff for about eight years. I understand the basic principles of recording and have spent many hours in studios recording, sometimes with professionals.…
Chandrew
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VST difference between valve amp, preamp and tape saturation

I've been learning how to master songs with a few tutorials and I've stumbled upon various plugin categories I'd like to be able to distinguish a bit better. Many of those tutorials recommend to use preamp VSTs when mixing, as well as a valve amp…
muffin
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5
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Do I understand Mid/Side processing correctly?

Recently I've been reading about the mid/side processing and I'ce got this image in my mind: Let's assume I have 3 guitars in my recording. Guitar one "1" panned 100% left, second "2" in center and third "3" in 100% right. Now when I sum them all…
Toby
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When stereo mix summed to mono, side information dissapears?

What happens to the side information (L-R) when mix is summed to mono? Is it removed and disappears completely or is it blended to the center so we can still hear things that previously made a stero image but now are in center and not in the…
Toby
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I tried to match the sound of this song but it sounds very different, what am I missing?

I'm an amateur music producer, I have little experience. I tried to create a cover of "Beneath the Mask" from the OST of the game Persona 5, and match the sound as closely as possible. Here's a sample of my mix, the…
Djilligan
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How to judge a mix, on e.g. muddiness and balance?

I have been producing music for 7 years: And I have yet to understand how artists are able to tell what a proper mix sounds like. They often tell me that my mix sounds weird and "muddy", but I myself really can't tell what is wrong with it. I…
Alexander Johansen
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How to find the loudest part of a mix?

What are fastest methods to find the loudest part of the track during mixing?
Victor Bodrov
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how much db gain for limiting?

when i mix my music, i always turn down all the tracks faders, so my final stereo head room will be around -20 db. then i add limiter and add something around 14 db , so my final lufs will be somewhere around -6 db (the numbers are not accurate) .…
dana
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Does the microphone gear/setup used to record vocals determine the output quality of the music or does the mixing and mastering?

I know that they both have a role to play, but could a grammy award winning engineer make a crispy vocal using just his engineering skills regardless of equipment used?
user36847
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How to play in time, for songwriters

How do songwriters make recordings that are in time? Here's what I've tried: 1) Recording with a metronome. OK, now my songs are in time, but are different (e.g. quantized/snapped to the beat inappropriately) in places. I believe these issues, at…
mathandy
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