I've mastered over 40,000 songs since 1999. I've charged $10 a song, $20, $30, $50 even $100! Some prices worked better than others. Here are a few facts to consider when deciding on what prices to charge.
Read more ...In this video I do a quick A/B comparison of a few songs. In my audio mastering secrets video series, I get a lot more in-depth into exactly what you are trying to achieve sonically for your genre/style of music.
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How much headroom before mastering should you leave in your mix? Here's the correct amount of headroom you should leave, using detailed graphic examples. Read more....
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What does mastering do to a song? Your main goal in audio mastering is to replicate the sonic qualities of a well professionally mastered commercial song, in the same genre and style as the song mix you are working on.
Read more ...Here are the series of audio mastering software processors I've used on the over 30,000 songs I've mastered since 1999. In this video, I use mostly izotope ozone plugins because it's easier to explain using them. In real-life, I do mix in a few hardware pieces, and a waves plugin.
Read more ...In this article, we'll show you how to prepare your mixes for mastering.
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These are the Top 17 most common music mixing mistakes I see daily. Correcting them could will improve your audio mastering results and make your mixes sound more professional. Read more....
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The sound engineer scam, the online recording studio ripoff, whatever you want to call it. I hear about it 3-4 times a month from my clients, since 1999. It never changes!
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Here's the monitor speaker setup I use for my DAW, and the setup I recommend for your home recording studio.
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Here are the top 20 audio mastering tips, questions, and answers that I've been asked over the years.
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So, what is the best room size for audio mastering in your DAW home recording studio? Technically, you can properly mix or master in any room size. But, I believe a smaller room is better than a very large one for someone who's just starting out. And when I say smaller I mean closer to 12'x15' than to 20'x30'. I've mixed and mastered songs for a number of years in a 20'x30' room. It took me a few days to get used to it, but after that I could do it.
Read more ...This article discusses what is the chorus effect in music and how to use it? The chorus effect makes a single audio track sound like a group. It achieves this by taking a single instrument or vocal track, multiplying it, and then slightly detunes each newly created track. The result is a fuller lush sounding audio track.
Read more ...Since the begining of his solo career in 2008, I mastered over 80 songs with the top French recording artist NYLS. Great pop dance music with a lot of remixes. During his entire career (as of now), I mastered most of if not all the song he released. It was a great pleasure working with NYLS and Nico at Icon Records!
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What is audio mastering? I've seen a lot of different answers on the Internet to this simple question. Some were pretty technical and confusing.
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Why do songs need to be mastered? I've seen this question on the Internet many times. The answer I always see is "Because all songs on the radio have been professionally mastered, yours should be too." This is a true fact, but not an answer.
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Correctly setting your mixing levels before mastering is essential for great mastering results. Having the best DB levels for mixing is critical. Here's how to properly do it! Read more....
Read more ...Yes, burning your own redbook master CDs is very easy! Here's how to make your own redbook CD masters for free!
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Learning and calibrating your speakers for your DAW in audio mastering is a very important step in the audio mastering process. When I first start out with NEW speakers (though I never change them now), I listen to my favorite hit songs in every genre and style. Songs that I know from my years of experience have X amount of bass, X amount of brightness, etc. I know how these songs are "supposed" to sound.
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Note - This section is basically a tip for those of you working with clients or if you plan on submitting your mixes to a mastering engineer.
Read more ...If you're looking for the best website hosting for musicians, bands, and music recording studios, here's my own personal experience with website hosting companies.
Read more ...Can I master a song that's already been mastered? Yes! Every month I master songs that have already been mastered. Read more....
Read more ...A lot of mastering engineers are afraid to make drastic changes to a mix they are working on. That, or they're stuck in the familiarity of always making only small changes.
In this video I show how you can turn a weak mix (definitely wouldn't call it bad) into a great sounding master, simply by pushing your levels a little more than you might be used to.
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To create a mix for mastering with proper headroom is pretty simple.
Read more ...How long does is take to master a song? There are several extra song mastering procedures I offer that other mastering engineers will not do. Read more....
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Here's another popular question I see online, always with the wrong answer! "There's no such thing as radio ready mastering!" REALLY? Read more....
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