MODERN MUSIC PRODUCTION: Mastering
As always, before you read any further, first make sure that I actually produce music the way you want to be able to. All that ultimately matters is what hits your ears and how it makes you feel — so listen. Here’s a link to my website with my portfolio.
https://www.jakewardproducer.com/
Now, assuming those who continue reading have checked “yes” under “would you like to learn how to do mastering the way this particular dude does,” I will share with you my personal method…
Mastering is an essential part of music production. Without proper mastering, the most amazing mix in the world will be quiet, weak and unmistakably amateur. If you want to produce a track that stands any chance of competing in the professional market, it has to be mastered, and it has to be mastered well.
So how do you do it? Conventional wisdom says mastering is an elite craft that takes decades to, well, master. It takes expensive gear and highly specialized facilities. It takes deeply experienced expert ears, and it cannot be done by a novice in a home studio.
20+ years ago, this would have been mostly true, but today, it isn’t. In fact, the old-school traditional method of sending a printed mix to a separate mastering studio with the aforementioned gear and facilities is just flat-out the wrong way to pursue a modern master, especially if you’re an independent musician and/or don’t have a huge budget. Not only can modern mastering be achieved entirely in-the-box, at home, without expert assistance…it is actually the ideal way to master music for the popular playlists of 2019 and beyond. Even in world-class studios, the music of today’s most successful artists is being mixed and mastered using digital computer technology that, buy-and-large, is accessible to the general public.
The truth is, modern mastering isn’t nearly as expertly difficult as most people think. It doesn’t require expensive gear or special facilities or decades of experience — just a clear understanding of what to do, what not to do, and a healthy amount of patience, focus and diligence as you train and develop your ears over time.
Modern mastering can be broken down into 3 fundamental but crucial steps, and can be accomplished with just 3 basic plugins that come free in almost any DAW.
STEP 1: Pre-Mastering
It seems somewhat obvious, but the best way to ensure a good master is to have as good a mix as possible. Mixing is a complicated topic that I will discuss another day, but for now, the key point is that your goal when mixing should be to end up needing to do as little as possible during mastering. The less adjustments you have to make, the better.
An aspect of the “traditional” mixing and mastering process that is still inexplicably used by many today is the independent, solidly two-step method of printing a finished final mix, then mastering it. In the old days, it was necessary, but nevertheless — it blows! This method, however “tried-and-true” it may be, is very limiting. What if you’re mastering and decide you want to make changes to the original mix? How do you mix a track to ensure it will be perfect when mastered, so you won’t have to go all the way back and start over? It’s an inconvenient pain in the ass, and it’s now totally unnecessary with modern technology.
So, do it all in one session. Put your mastering plugins on the master output of the original session, and put them on before you’ve finished mixing. This allows the two processes to become one fluid process that is immensely more versatile and flexible. As you mix, adjust the mastering, and as you master, adjust the mixing. Understanding mastering as a part of mixing (and vice versa) is a huge essential shift in the mindset of a modern producer.
But which plugins? Well, that brings us to step 2…
STEP 2: The 3 Essential Plugins
As I said earlier, 3 basic stock plugins can thoroughly achieve world-class mastering when used the right way. They are:
1. Multiband Compressor
2. Limiter
3. Level Meter
That’s it. Put these 3 plugins, in that order, on your master output, and you’ve got all the tools you need.
Let’s go through each of the 3 to explain what they do and what to do with them.
Multi-band Compressor
The multi-band compressor is the ultimate mastering tool. It is essentially a combination of an EQ and a compressor, allowing you to apply individual compression settings to multiple frequencies of the same sound. In this case, the “sound” will be the sound of your entire mix. You’ll likely have a multi-band compressor which defaults to 4 bands; most give you the option to add or takeaway bands, but don’t bother. Depending on the plugin and/or the DAW, the default range for each band will vary and of course be adjustable, but the basic principle is as follows: Of the 4 total bands, one is for low end, one is for low-mid, one is for high-mid, and the last is for high end. In my experience, it is sufficient to simply think of the bands this way, and only adjust the particular frequency range of any bands if you encounter problems.
You will hear lots of people (especially older people) tell you that preserving dynamics is important for modern mastering, so go easy on the compression. This is bad advice. Open an empty session in your DAW and import any modern song that you think is well produced. Press play and look at the levels. You will discover very quickly that “well-preserved dynamics” are not an element of modern mastering. Of course, over-compression is always possible, and it’s not wrong to say there is a dynamic sweet spot that is well below the maximum possible amount of compression…but if you approach mastering from the perspective of “preserving dynamics” you’ll be too apprehensive about putting the levels where they really need to be.
Remember, we’re talking about modern music production. If all your favorite music comes from vinyl records made in the 1970’s (which is a great place for it to come from) and you want your recordings to sound like that, then by all means go for it. But this isn’t the article for you. If you (like most of today’s aspiring producers) want your music to sound modern and competitive, crush the shit out of it.
On each of the 4 bands in your multi-band compressor, apply heavy compression at a high ratio (I’ll generally use a 5:1 ratio on all 4 bands). Solo each band one by one and lower the threshold until it is really, seriously crushed (but not distorting).
Now, un-solo each band so you can hear all 4 together, and adjust the makeup gain of each until you’ve restored the mix to its basic original character (with perhaps some minor adjustments to make it brighter, bring up the bass, etc.). The end result should be a mix that is similar to the original, but significantly louder, fatter, clearer, and wider.
Next comes the limiter…
Limiter
A limiter is really no different from a compressor; it just uses a much higher ratio. The key difference you will notice is that limiters, unlike compressors, simply set a peak threshold and block any of the sound from exceeding that level. Different limiters will have different parameters that may be labeled or visualized differently, but for the purposes of modern mastering, the general principles will always be the same.
1. Set the peak threshold at -0.1 dB. Doing this means you won’t allow any sound to go above that level…it is limited to a peak of -0.1.
2. If you have the option to set the attack time, make it relatively fast. You’ll have to use your ears to find the right exact setting, but here’s what you should listen for: Too Slow and your mix will start pumping and sounding weird. Too Fast and you’ll start losing the impact and fullness of the lower frequencies.
3. Whatever other parameters exist or don’t exist on whatever limiter you’re using, there will be some way or another in which you increase the ratio and thereby increase the overall loudness of the mix. It might be by lowering the threshold, or it might be by increasing the input gain. Either way, like I said earlier, limiters are essentially compressors, and by increasing the ratio you are making the quiet parts louder. However, unlike compressors, you’re not making the loud parts quieter — because of your -0.1 dB peak threshold, you are making everything louder, but no louder than -0.1 dB.
Imagine taking a syringe with no needle or opening at the end and pushing the plunger further and further up the barrel towards the top. In theory, you would quite literally be compressing the air in the barrel. This is essentially what you’re doing to the sound of your mix with a master limiter. It is technically possible to push the plunger all the way to the top, i.e. make the entire mix have literally no dynamic range at all, but this will sound horrible and distorted even on the most aggressive death metal tracks.
Again, subjective taste is subjective taste, but for modern mastering purposes, your goal at this stage is to make your mix as loud as possible without it distorting.
Level Meter
The last step is to use a basic level meter to monitor RMS levels. RMS stands for “Root-Mean-Square,” but all you need to know is that RMS levels tell you how “loud” your mix is post-limiter (which has peaked everything at -0.1 dB). This is useful for mastering albums and ensuring everything is even and consistent across different sessions, and it is also useful for the final step which I’m about to explain.
STEP 3: The Reference Mix
It’s one thing to know what to do; it’s another thing to know how to do it in order to create a world-class finished product. Most people who are new to mastering will likely have the daunting experience of saying to themselves “hey, just because I have the right tools and know how they work doesn’t mean I have the ears or expertise to use them as well as the veteran pros.”
This has some truth to it, and I wouldn’t advise you to expect world-class results the first time you try it. But I can give you one final tip that will serve as the ultimate crutch and will immediately get you much, much closer to the desired result.
Pick 1–3 songs that you think are well-produced and sound reasonably similar to the track you’re working on. If you’re able to download an mp3 and import it into your session, even better.
Rather than worry arbitrarily about whether your mix sounds right, compare it directly to the best mixes you can find. Is the bass at the same level? Is there more or less high end? How loud are the vocals? Remember, since it’s all in one session, you can go back and make any adjustments necessary. Also take note: Is your mix as loud as the reference mix?
If you’re able to import your reference mix, check its RMS level against yours as well. Keep adjusting until your mix is comparable to the reference mix(es). If you do this every time you master, you will greatly increase the speed with which you improve over time.
And that’s really all there is to it!
