“Mastering is an art, not a science, and despite the technological achievements of this release, the human ear will always be the most accurate and delicate piece of music equipment ever created. Related: Best Analog Summing Mixers in 2022.RELATED: Is Aria Mastering the Best Automated Service?.
The folks at BandLab also respect and understand the necessity of real-life mastering engineers, and do not see online mastering as a replacement: At best, you’ll be happy with the result and have a song mastered instantly for free. At worst, you won’t be satisfied with the result. It’s unlimited and totally free to use, so there’s zero excuse to not try it.
What really sets BandLab‘s online mastering apart is that it’s FREE. It sounds quite reasonable, as those are all things a mastering engineer does. It’s based on a few parameters they call CD Quality, intended to raise the overall level of a track Bass Boost to give a bit of low-end punch for bass-heavy music and Enhance Clarity to brighten things up and give your song a pop sheen. If you’re simply wondering whether it’s worth giving online mastering a shot, the answer is “why not?”.įour years ago, BandLab introduced their automated mastering process. In addition to equalizing track-to-track levels across an album, they’re also listening to songs individually and applying any additional processing that will help an already-mixed track. In a similar way, mastering engineers “touch up” an already incredible mix. A skilled Photoshop user can touch things up and make sure the photo reaches its highest potential. The lighting may be off a bit, or a smudge on the lens can mess up an otherwise great shot. You can buy a great camera, learn the art of photography, take beautiful photos, and sometimes things still aren’t quite right. There’s a great analogy saying that mastering is like Photoshop for audio. In mastering, a final stereo bounce is usually all the engineer is working with. In mixing, individual tracks are paid careful attention, ensuring that they sit well for the final stereo bounce. The biggest thing to remember when differentiating mixing and mastering is that the latter puts polish on the finished product.
Video can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: Mastering Music with Warren Sokol – Warren Huart Produce Like A Pro ()
What a mastering engineer does is make final, sometimes very subtle, tweaks which make a piece sound “finished.” You can learn how to master a song or album yourself, but there’s a reason we trust dedicated engineers! Mastering is an audio discipline on its own, so those who specialize in it have incredible ears, the proper equipment, and highly treated rooms. This means that it takes place after mixing, so the overall sonic aesthetic should be well established by the time a song reaches mastering. Mastering is the final step in preparing a song or album for commercial release. It’s an audio specialty.įirst, understand the “traditional” mastering process. Anyone who’s familiar with the process at a high level understands the amount of experience, expertise, and specialized equipment that goes into it. There’s definitely a bit of skepticism surrounding online mastering, and understandably so. Automated online mastering tools like BandLab, LANDR, and eMastered all offer “instant results at a fraction of the cost of studio mastering.”