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Author: alternativeblueprint
How Do I Make My Podcast Sound Better? – Podcast Mastering
How to sound good on a podcast – that’s the goal of many aspiring creators. You create and record valuable content, edit it, and stream it… only to hear that it doesn’t sound as professional compared to some of your peers. There’s so much content available these days, listeners will switch off quickly if your […]
Choosing The Best Mastering Volume – How Loud Should My Master Be In 2023?
There are several different opinions on the question of “What is the best volume to finish my master?” (or for the more technically minded “What LUFS should I master to?”). We can’t avoid mentioning the famous loudness wars in this article either, and the direction music mastering is heading. After many years spent racing towards the loudest master, is the loudness war over?
Having been a professional mastering engineer since 2006, I have a few opinions. I’m going to give my perspective on these questions and explain about LUFS, peak and true-peak (with as little jargon as possible).
The end point is finding the ultimate recipe for the best mixing and mastering finish for your music, and how to win the loudness war in 2021 and beyond.
Do I Need Mixing AND Mastering? Stem Mastering? Or Stereo Mastering For My Music?
If you are wondering “How can I make my music sound better?” You may be considering taking your mixes to a pro, but are wondering what service your money is better spent on: professional mixing vs mastering, stem mastering or stereo mastering.
Zen Mastering – Using Flow State in Audio Engineering
The article is about a professional audio mastering engineer’s use of Zen meditation to achieve a ‘flow’ state, which leads to effective results especially for complex projects. The author stresses the importance of identifying the right middle ground before adjusting dynamics in a record, a process facilitated by their approach of ‘thought without thought’ obtained through Zen. The engineer describes how ‘moving meditations’ and mindfulness enable deeper, non-distracted focus. The author employs Zen, not just technics, to enhance the emotional and artistic connection in a piece.
“Hottest Record In The World Right Now” – Tommy Farrow – Let’s Just – House Music Mastering by Fat As Funk
“Hottest Record In The World Right Now” – Tommy Farrow “Let’s Just” – Mastered by Fat As Funk
Can You Use Digital Masters To Cut Vinyl Records? – Or Do You Need Separate Vinyl Masters?
Releasing a vinyl record is an expensive business. It’s tempting to cut corners where possible to save money, and inevitably the question gets asked… “Vinyl mastering – is a separate master really necessary? Or can I use digital masters for vinyl music?
Short answer = You need a separate vinyl master for the best results.
Often masters created for digital use (Streaming/download/CD) are accepted by the pressing plant, so technically it’s OK to press on vinyl, but the end result is disappointing sound quality.
Using masters optimized for digital use to press vinyl will usually result in a slightly flatter sound, less dynamic range, various levels of distortion, skipping needles when playing back, and less overall “life” on vinyl – a crying shame after spending so much money on getting the records pressed!
It’s definitely worthwhile getting proper pre-vinyl masters made.
Can Mastering Fix A Bad Mix?
“Can mastering save a bad mix?” is a common question. The short answer? = Yes…. to an extent. It’s always better to fix your mix at the mix stage, rather than waiting to fix the mix in mastering, but what if you don’t have the project file anymore, and still love the track. Do you […]
Album Mixing and Mastering – thoughts on how to do it right
Mastering an album requires subtlety, intuition & a certain sprinkle of black magic that can only come with plenty of experience.
