So you can make an informed decision to keep that boost for both sections it doesn’t affect the verse so much, simply because the verse isn’t as loud as the chorus. In loud sections, you really hear the effect of that boost, but at quieter levels, there’s less of the overall mix feeding the boosted EQ. It’s more than the transients, however-the entire dynamic range has been constricted, and this also affects our EQ choices.Ĭonsider a mix with lots of dynamic range, boosted at 300 Hz to impart warmth during the chorus. It’s like adding salt to a dish already seasoned-it’s going to be too much. If you emphasize or deemphasize those transients with further EQ, you’re manipulating transients already divorced from their original intent. You’ve downright reshaped them in some cases, depending on how hard you’ve limited. When you’ve used compressors and limiters to get as loud as possible, you’ve processed the transients a whole heck of a lot.
Note the general lifeless quality of this example that’s what happens when you EQ something with no headroom. Take the following experiment-a little loop made I made with stereo bass information, prominent low mids, and harsh mids/highs. So, when mastering your own mix, leave headroom for yourself to work with. Without headroom, they find it much harder. With headroom preserved, a mastering engineer has room to maneuver. They want to help you preserve headroom, so they can achieve their goals: balancing your entire record, making it sound good on all playback systems, and competing with similar products. When mastering engineers advise you to shoot for a target level or a target loudness, they’re not trying to shame you. Limiting for effect (heavy metal kick drums parallel distortion processing) is for the mix brickwall limiting, with the lightest touch possible, is for mastering. Issues of width are best handled in the mix itself however, mid/side EQ for instrumental clarity can be saved for mastering.
If I’m using multiband compression to achieve an extra bit of competitive level, I may do this in mastering. If I’m using multiband compression to fix a harsh issue in one instrument, I need to go back into my mix. Take a deep-dive into compression in mastering here. Issues of glue, groove enhancement, and color compression (box tone) are relegated to the mixing process issues of global dynamic reduction-done as transparently as possible and in the service of raising the overall level-are for mastering. Tonal issues of color and vibe are relegated to the mixing process issues of frequency balance, clarity, translation across speakers, and competition with other releases are handled on the stereo bus. What does this mean, in terms of individual processes and tools? I’ve drawn up a list of how I operate: EQ: This helps me to keep perspective in both arenas. So, when I’m wearing both hats, I save adding color for the mix process, and aim for transparency on the stereo bus itself-on the master. If I try to take on adding color in both processes, it winds up being a mess. Either it’s going to be mixing or mastering. Much as I must favor either the kick or the bass in the low end, I have to let one process win the battle of color. If I am doing both mixing and mastering, I have to think very carefully about where to impart color-where I employ big, tonal-shaping gestures to add flavor. But I also note the intended vibe of the mix, and, if it falls short, I use my tools to achieve that vibe. When I’m mastering, I do the same thing to a certain degree: yes, I try to achieve a balance across the entire album, one that translates to all delivery media and speaker systems. If I get a blues-rock mix in the vein of the Black Keys, I know what that means in terms of EQ choices, harmonic distortion implementation, and compression. Know when to add colorĪs a mixer, I’m always trying to suss out the right personality for the song and to translate that personality into technical processes. The following are the rules I live by when I’m asked to master my own mixes, which is more and more often these days. With technology like Ozone 9 and the improved Tonal Balance Control, I find it’s more possible than before-provided I follow concrete rules of thumb. It was interesting then to see engineers like Luca Pretolesi and Don Gehman break that rule. Growing up, I was always told by amateurs and pros alike-you can’t master a song you’ve mixed.