The very last phase before a piece of music is released is called the mastering phase. At this point any sonic or even technical problems must be addressed before production.
As you prepare your music for this last process here are some things to keep in mind before sending it off for an online mastering studio.
The mastering session will be largely determined by the quality of the phases of your production efforts. The arrangement, mixdown and even sounds used will all play a role to this.
One example of factors that are very essential to the result will be your kick and bassline. You'll want to make sure these interact and not against each other.
The me will have his work cut out for him if you have a clash of low end frequencies due to poorly mismatched kick and bass sounds.
If the mastering engineer provides good service then he will hopefully ask you to fix this kind of issue first before proceeding. If they don't then what usually happens is the MASTERING ENGINEER will strengthen the mix overall but it still won't be in as good shape as it could be.
Simple arrangement techniques can help in the same manner. For instance don't put too many competing sounds on at at one time in the song. This helps each stand out more clearly.
All of these methods so far are interchangeable with mixdown methods, which shows how integral the mix is to a good master.
Getting the levels repair along with any eqing and compression are of course also significant. Ideally the master will just bring up the overall level and strengthen the mix which should already be sounding great.
Once you've got the mix sounding good you now need to choose a very good mastering engineer.
So now you need to find a me to take the track to the next level, here's some tips on how to choose one.
First of all experience is key, you want someone who has dealt with the type of music you are doing. If they concentrate in that particular type of genre that can also be a plus.
Another good sign is the calibre of clients they have dealt with in the past. If the ME you're looking at has only dealt with lesser known artists that might be a bad sign. In comparison if they have dealt with high profile clients and artists then this means you can probably trust their skills.
Make sure to bear in mind the kinds of prices they are asking for. If their prices are too cheap then it's a strong probability they are doing low quality work.
The type of equipment they are using is the last thing to take into account. Usually studios with higher end analogue gear will beat out the quality of smaller studios only running plugins.
As you prepare your music for this last process here are some things to keep in mind before sending it off for an online mastering studio.
The mastering session will be largely determined by the quality of the phases of your production efforts. The arrangement, mixdown and even sounds used will all play a role to this.
One example of factors that are very essential to the result will be your kick and bassline. You'll want to make sure these interact and not against each other.
The me will have his work cut out for him if you have a clash of low end frequencies due to poorly mismatched kick and bass sounds.
If the mastering engineer provides good service then he will hopefully ask you to fix this kind of issue first before proceeding. If they don't then what usually happens is the MASTERING ENGINEER will strengthen the mix overall but it still won't be in as good shape as it could be.
Simple arrangement techniques can help in the same manner. For instance don't put too many competing sounds on at at one time in the song. This helps each stand out more clearly.
All of these methods so far are interchangeable with mixdown methods, which shows how integral the mix is to a good master.
Getting the levels repair along with any eqing and compression are of course also significant. Ideally the master will just bring up the overall level and strengthen the mix which should already be sounding great.
Once you've got the mix sounding good you now need to choose a very good mastering engineer.
So now you need to find a me to take the track to the next level, here's some tips on how to choose one.
First of all experience is key, you want someone who has dealt with the type of music you are doing. If they concentrate in that particular type of genre that can also be a plus.
Another good sign is the calibre of clients they have dealt with in the past. If the ME you're looking at has only dealt with lesser known artists that might be a bad sign. In comparison if they have dealt with high profile clients and artists then this means you can probably trust their skills.
Make sure to bear in mind the kinds of prices they are asking for. If their prices are too cheap then it's a strong probability they are doing low quality work.
The type of equipment they are using is the last thing to take into account. Usually studios with higher end analogue gear will beat out the quality of smaller studios only running plugins.