Guide To Prepare Your Mixes For Mastering
Although I often work with producers and mix engineers for the albums that come through my desk, I also work directly with artists, many of whom don’t necessarily have a technical role in the record. It’s a slightly different way of working and it’s a relationship that I value, but since mastering can be a mysterious process to some artists, I find that some folks aren’t quite sure how to approach it.
When the time comes for you to master your next record, here are some tips both for the engineer and the artist:
TL;DR
Too Long; Didn’t Read
Listen to rendered mixes.
Love your mixes.
Leave some headroom.
Label files.
Communicate.
Love Your Mixes
Make sure you’ve listened to your mixes. Especially on headphones where you can often hear more details. If you have a mix change, get it right with your mix engineer before it is on my desk. It’s rare a bad mix will become an awesome master. If you are happy with the mix, you will be happy with the master.
Communicate Your Creative Goals
The more communication, the better. Seriously. What helps me most as a mastering engineer is clear articulation of what you are going for as an artist. Depending on the audio, these gestures may subtly massage the tone or it may have a significant impact on the sound of your song, adding a cohesiveness or glue to the mix. You also may not have any specific direction or thoughts for mastering your record, and that’s ok too! If you want me to “just do my thing”, simply say so.
Know What Formats You Need
How are you planning to release your music? Knowing the record’s distribution destination helps me determine how to assemble the record. Vinyl, digital, streaming, cassette, and CD, all have small yet critical differences in their respective mastering processes and deliverables — and I will assemble accordingly.
Scour Your Audio
Listen on one device or speaker system that you are most familiar with. If you listen on two different systems you will get two different results. The old adage goes, “A person with one watch always knows what time it is; A person with two watches is never sure.”
Listen for clicks and pops, rumble, poor crossfades/edits, bad notes, buffer underruns, and mouth noises. While I can sometimes fix these errors, it’s infinitely more effective to fix these issues during mixing. Mastering can amplify both the good and the bad in a mix so, left unchecked, these sounds can end up exaggerated in a master.
Ask For Revisions, When Needed
While professional mastering engineers often nail it the first time, it’s not uncommon for there to be a revision in mastering. Sometimes, the first master just doesn’t have the vibe the artist is going for. Occasionally, an artist doesn’t know what to ask for until they hear the first master. Or maybe there is just a minor tweak needed in a song. Don’t be shy about critiquing the work and asking for a revision. We, as mastering engineers, are here to complete a record that is as close to your vision as possible.
Set Realistic Deadlines
Rule #1: Don’t set up a record release show until you have albums in hand. If you aren’t working with physical media, this is less of an issue, but delays still happen. Be realistic with your mastering and production timelines, then pad it by a reasonable amount. Be sure to give yourself time to review mixes and allow extra time for revisions. Give yourself a few days after mastering to sit with the masters before sending them to manufacturing. You never want to be stuck with a deadline that forces you to ship masters for duplication the same day you receive them. Plan, pad it, plan some more.
Don't over think it.
Strive for the best possible feeling, then print the mix. Over-scrutinizing waveforms and meters can distract from the actual process of making music. In other words, use your ears and not your eyes. Remember, part of the process is understanding when to let go, and trusting in the quality of your work.
Headroom
I have no specific requirement regarding the amount of headroom needed in your files. My only request is to keep it below 0dBFS on the master fader.
The notion of having "-12 to -6dB of headroom" is a remnant from recording practices of yore. As long as there is some headroom and no inter-sample peaks, it will pass muster.
Please don’t over think this process.
File Types, Sample Rate, and Bit Rate
When sending uncompressed digital audio files (WAV, AIFF, etc.) please use the native sample and bit rate from your mix session. 24 or 32-bit Float are the preferred bit rates. Avoid sample rate conversion and wordlength reductions. And please do not apply dithering. I willl handle that.
Plugins
Historically, it’s considered a best practice to turn off all master buss plugins. However, this is not a hard and fast rule. If you are using a compressor, EQ, or limiter on the mix buss to achieve the balance and glue desired, it’s completely acceptable. If it’s an artistic choice, then by all means, leave it on. Again, don’t over think this.
Vocal Plosives and Sibilance
Listen to your mixes for either of these two issues. Generally you will find plosives in vocals. A low cut filter can sometimes globally fix vocal plosives, but often one can pop through, so be cognizant. Make sure to de-ess the vocals if they are overly sibilant - and most likely they are. Mastering can often fix sibilance to a degree, but it’s always a best practice to fix it in the mix. And while we are at it, please fix your vocalist's mouth clicks and noises.
Tops and Tails
Please listen to your tops and tails, and for good measure leave a little extra dead air on each end of the song. It’s always better to have more dead air than less. And if you have specific fades in mind, feel free to print them yourself.
Sequence, Editing, and Fades
If the spacing for the sequence has been decided on, please include one continuous file representing the entire record as a reference. It will not be used for mastering, so it can be an MP3. Your mix engineer can print in the fades or I can do what I feel is best.
Labeling Files
Please make sure to clearly label the song titles and track number in the actual files’ names. For example:
01 Song One.wav
02 Song Two.wav
03 Song Three.wav
Alternate Mixes
If you are thinking you’ll want instrumentals, edits, clean radio versions, a cappella, tv, or stage mixes to be mastered, please have your mix engineer prepare them and send with the main mixes to be mastered at the start of the session. This will ensure the best continuity and pricing.
Listen carefully to your final mixes, before mastering to insure there are no glitches, pops, distortions, or mistakes in edits.
Double Check
And also triple check. And then do it again.
For best results, arm yourself with the vocabulary to communicate your creative goals concisely and specifically with your mastering engineer. By the time mastering rolls around, it’s not uncommon for an artist to have listened to their music ad nauseam and it’s easy to lose sight of the sound as a whole.
In mastering, the material gets a fresh perspective — a new set of ears — to listen for areas where the project is asking for polishing.
My end goal is always for the artist to be able to listen back to the masters with excitement and be energized with a new appreciation for the project.
If you have any questions, please reach out. There are no dumb questions here. Or if you are ready to go, please fill out my intake form by clicking on the button below.
