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TheMas t
ering
CheatSheet
bySc
ottHawks
wor
th
The Beginner’s Guide to Mastering
26 Simple Tips to Polish Any Track for Release
1. Be aware of the common problems that you should be addressing in the mastering
process. When you sit down to master a song, the overall problem you’re trying to fix is
that even though the mix is great, the song may not sound as good as one from your
favorite artist. More specifically, problems could be:
● It sounds small, or not “loud” enough (no, this isn’t solved by simply turning the
volume up). Trying to address this by boosting high-end EQ but the result was just a
harsh, unpleasant sound.
● It’s dull sounding. Other recordings have a warmth and depth to them while also
remaining bright and open - something that yours doesn’t achieve in its current
form.
● Vocals and instrumentation are thin, lacking the kind of fullness that quality
recordings have.
● Your bass doesn’t have punch. You tried fixing it by boosting it with low-end EQ but
it just made everything sound muddy and too loud.
● Every instrument in your mix is in it’s proper place but it still doesn’t sound like
other recordings you enjoy. It’s lacking width that you just can’t seem to get.
● Other issues with effects or tracks not totally working together and sounding as
they should.
2. Understand that mastering is not a magical process that can “fix” a bad mix. There are
a lot of misconceptions about mastering out there - and this is perhaps one of the biggest
ones. When you’re going to master a track, if your goal is to “fix” problems in the mix then
you’re going to end up wasting a lot of time and will likely be unhappy with the result. Fix
problems when you’re mixing, or better yet, when you’re actually recording (think about
mic placement, acoustics, etc). Mastering should be about taking a recording to the next
level after quality recording and mixing, not correcting mistakes and bad practices at
those stages.
Mixing Desk - Source: flirckr.com/aidanwojtas/
3. Don’t be afraid to go back to mixing if needed. Like I mentioned above.. If you’re
working on a project and it’s just not sounding right, you may need to head back to the
mixing stage. Again, mastering shouldn’t be treated as some magical process that can
make a bad mix sound good. Go back to the drawing board if need be!
4. Quality monitors are essential when mastering. Monitoring is without a doubt the
most important element when it comes to mastering. If you don’t have quality speakers
than can help you truly hear and separate all the elements of a track (and compare it to
other tracks) then you’re mastering with incomplete information.
I understand that budgets mean you can’t go out and spend thousands upon thousands of
dollars on pro studio speakers (and that’s not necessary anyway as long as you understand
your room and make use of reference tracks and listening on multiple sources) .
5. Understand what the two most powerful tools for mastering are and learn how to use
them effectively. The two most common tools to use when mastering are a Multiband
Compressor and an Equalizer.
● Here’s a helpful article about multiband compression.
○ Quick Tip: I find a little multiband compression on mid-range frequencies
(250 Hz to 2 kHz ) can really help a master pop a bit more.
● Here’s a helpful article about Mastering with EQ
○ Quick Tip, In general you shouldn’t be making cuts or boosts over 3dB…
mastering is about subtlety, not fixing huge mix problems.
6. Be smart about attack and release times in when using multiband compression on a
master. If you’re unfamiliar with attack and release times, or if you want a quick refresher,
check out this article. Typical recommended attack and release times by frequencies
(when using a multiband compressor):
● Low frequencies (10Hz-200Hz):
○ Attack Time: 40ms
○ Release Time: 80ms
● Mid frequencies (250Hz-5000hz)
○ Attack Time: 100ms
○ Release Time: 300ms
● High Frequencies ( >8000Hz)
○ Attack Time: 25ms
○ Release Time: 50ms
7. Use reference tracks when mastering too! One of the smartest things you can do is
compare your track to a professionally mastered track in a similar genre. Referencing is
helpful in mixing, but is also fantastic tool to help you improve your masters. Choose a
track you love and put it right into your mastering session. Flip between the two tracks
and really LISTEN. Compare elements such as stereo width, volume, compression levels,
vocal and bass prominence and more.
8. A/B’ing should be used for every plugin you add or mastering move you make. A/B’ing
is the process of comparing before and after changes. Don’t be afraid to by-pass your
plugin and see if that compression you just added is really doing much. Did you make some
EQ moves? Compare the track with and without them.
9. Try using exciters/enhancers to help your high end! Exciters/harmonic enhancers are
great plugins for helping the upper frequencies of your mix really shine. They can do
things some simpler EQs can’t, specifically utilizing phase manipulation, harmonic
synthesis as well as subtle distortion to make the upper frequencies sparkle. Be forewarned
though, it’s very easy to overdo an exciter and your specific master may not benefit from it.
10. Master at the Highest Resolution. Let’s say you’re mastering something that was
produced at a resolution higher than 16-bit/44.1kHz. If that’s the case, go ahead and
master them at that (higher) resolution and convert the files to a lower resolution only
when the process is complete. I guarantee you’ll see better results.
● Note: You won’t need to convert the files to a lower resolution for Apple iTunes
Plus because it utilizes higher-resolution files.
11. Taking part in the “Loudness Wars” is a bad idea. Excessive compression, dynamic
range reduction, loudness level enhancement for no discernable reason...it’s all bad. Don’t
just go for the highest levels because you can, and don’t crush the life out of your mix if
you can help it. Be smart with how you apply everything to your mix and keep it dynamic.
You can read up more on the history of the loudness war to learn about this trend. Don’t
take part in it!
Metallica’s “Death Magnetic” through the years, a quintessential example of the loudness war
12. Know when you’re over-compressing. This will help you avoid making the mistake
from #11. Experience and improved critical listening skills will enable you to hear when
there’s too much compression going on. However, there’s one simple rule of thumb you
can follow to help avoid this disaster:
● Unless you are specifically trying to over-compress for effect, the gain reduction
meter should return to zero several times each bar!
13. If you’re newer to Mastering, or just unsure about a plugin… start with presets, then
adjust. There’s a lot of people out there who hate presets… and I understand the criticism
because every track is different. However, I think plugin presets can be a nice starting
spot. Throw a preset on, then adjust the settings to your taste.
14. Consider using Ian Shepherd’s Perception Plugin. I hate recommending purchases, so
I try to only do so when I think it’ll be a big win. If you don’t have the cash to invest in an
entire mastering suite, then consider getting this plugin (and no I’m not getting paid for
this!), compatible with all major DAWs on Mac and Windows. It’s fantastic for helping you
make sure your master isn’t too loud, preserving the great dynamics. It’s not exactly
cheap, but delivers a tremendous amount of value for the cost, making it a worthwhile
investment. Since loudness is one of the most important aspects to work on when
mastering, definitely consider using it if you’re going to be mastering often.
UI of Ian Shepherd’s Perception Plugin
15. Master with the delivery media in mind. Your tracks are hopefully going to play on
the radio, on Spotify, Pandora, through direct downloads, and elsewhere. Mastering while
considering that many of these mediums add pre-processing to the signal to make sure
different tracks have similar volumes is essential.
● Here’s a fantastic article about Mastering for Compressed Audio Formats
● Here’s a great PDF to learn how to get Mastered for iTunes
● Nugen Audio’s MasterCheck plug-in is a great tool for helping with this and is
compatible with all major DAWs on both Mac OSX and Windows (again, I’m not
paid for this, just a recommendation if you want a helpful tool!).
16. Test your music on EVERYTHING (aka “Translation”). You should have done this in
the mixing phase… you should do it in the mastering phase as well. Listen to it on different
speakers, listen to it on headphones, play it on different devices and in different rooms.
The mastering stage is all about making your tracks sound great no matter what medium
they’re being played on. To ensure you achieve this goal, you have to test things. I
recommend you give it a listen on at least 3 devices in rooms outside your recording
studio.
17. Stereo widening can be good to use when mastering. Stereo widening can increase
the size and soundstage of the track, so it can be very helpful to use it. Be warned though,
it substantially alters a mix, so it must be used with care. The bottom part of your mix
shouldn’t be widened in general, but applying it to the top and upper-mid frequencies can
be a game changer.
Band widening in Ozone 4, mastering software
18. Remember that you’re working with the entire project when mastering… be subtle.
Making an EQ move on one track of a mix with 2 dozen tracks in the mixing stage is one
thing. Making that same EQ move on the entire project when mastering is another. Your
mastering moves have a greater impact on the entire project… and so a boost or a cut is
magnified significantly. Remember that and be SUBTLE and DELIBERATE with your
mastering moves.
19. Using automation when mastering can be a huge win. As mentioned in #18, you are
working with an entire project on one track when mastering. So you may want to fix a
problem on the chorus that isn’t in the verse with EQ or compression. Automation can be
very helpful here. I hosted a mastering workshop where a great engineer showed me how
he used subtle EQ moves just on the chorus to really help the low end of a track he was
mastering. Automation is powerful! Use it!
● Here’s another helpful article about using automation in mastering.
20. You shouldn’t need to cut more than 2-4dB from the stereo master. If you find
yourself breaking this rule in order to get a better sound, then you’d be better served to go
back to the multitrack mixing step of post production.
21. Limit the Brickwall Limiting. Limiters are compressors that limit the level of the signal
to a certain threshold. They can be helpful to use in mastering… but shouldn’t be used to
achieve loudness. In fact, one of the best ways to use a limiter is to apply it after
compression. Here’s a brilliant mastering engineer, Ian Shepherd, on using a limiter after a
compressor:
● “Since the limiter will protect you against any clipping distortion, you can use slower,
more natural-sounding attack times on the compressor to keep the punch and impact of
the mix. These won’t catch the fast transients but will control the “body” of the sound
more gently and effectively. Then the limiter can work much less hard and control all the
fast transient detail – invisibly.”
22. Use your ears first and foremost, but your eyes can be helpful too. How a mix sounds
is obviously the most important thing, but don’t discount the value that really looking at
your master (or the plugins you’re using) can have. Does your waveform look weird
(maybe some part is jarringly quieter than another and you’ve just gotten used to it)? Is it a
solid brick (dynamics might be dead)? These are questions your eyes can ask if your ears
aren’t telling you.
23. Don’t try to mix and master at the same time. There’s a lot of confusion out there
about mixing and mastering - some people consider them to be similar enough that you
can work on both at the same time. This is a huge mistake. You should think of them as
separate processes and work on them separately. Mixing is all about making your
individual tracks sound great together, mastering is all about balancing the levels of an
entire album, and giving your mix just a little extra punch and clarity to be ready for sale.
23. Don’t over think what you’re doing, keep it simple. Being good at mastering isn’t easy,
but some people try to make it too complicated. Remember, essentially what you’re trying
to do when mastering is:
● Select the correct levels.
● Select the correct EQ.
● Compress or limit if it’s needed.
24. When mastering your own mix, give yourself time away from the mix before
starting. Again, many people recommend sending your mix off to someone else to master
simply because after working on a track so long, you’ll be hearing it differently than others
will. If you insist on doing your own mastering work, you can still be very successful as long
as you give yourself ample time between post production phases. If you start mastering right
after you spent several hours working on a mix, I guarantee you aren’t going to have a
fresh enough perspective.
25. Take breaks while you’re mastering. I’ve suggested this before for mixing, and think
it’s important to mention again for mastering. If you spend too much time on your master
you can start to hear things differently and it can ultimately hurt your process. Take a
breather every now and again and work on something else!
26. Never stop learning. There are many great sites out there to learn more about
mastering. Some of my favorites:
● Home Recording Forums - Great community with a sub-forum on mastering
● AudioSkills - shameless self promotion
So there you have it, 26 tips to instantly help you improve your mastering. I hope you had
as much fun reading this cheat sheet, as I had creating it!
If you have a minute, please connect with me on Facebook - I’ve love to hear from you,
check out your music, or answer any questions you have!