Top 17 Common Music Mixing Mistakes And How To Fix Them!

Monitor Speaker Placement For Your Home Recording Studio And DAW Setup

Here's the monitor speaker setup I use for my DAW, and the setup I recommend for your home recording studio.

Which Is Better For Audio Mastering Analog Gear Or Digital Software Plugins?

I started my career using the old analog stuff, since that was the only option.  I incorporated digital software plugins as soon as they became available, but it took many years before computers were fast enough to run them in realtime.  And also before they started making very high quality plugins. 

How To Prepare Your Songs For Mastering

In this article, we'll show you how to prepare your mixes for mastering.

How Much Should I Charge For Mastering?

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.

Mastering A Song For Radio

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....

What's The Difference Between Mixing And Mastering

What's the difference between mixing and mastering?  A lot of people new to music don't know the answer to this.

Top 20 Audio Mastering Tips, Techniques, And FAQ

Here are the top 20 audio mastering tips, questions, and answers that I've been asked over the years.

How To Prepare Your Songs For Mixing

In this article, I'll show you how to prepare your songs for mixing.

Can Anyone Become A Great Sound Engineer?

I would say YES, most people can become a great mastering engineer. I say this because most of the mixes I receive from clients are pretty good and I know the audio engineer (the band member with a computer) has only minimal training.  He could easily be great if he put a little more study and practice time into it.  And if he had this book to teach him what took me over 17 years to learn!  Ha!

Set Mixing Levels For Each Instrument

How to set mixing levels for each instrument is a question I see all over the Internet.  I'm going to explain exactly how to set mixing levels in this article.

Should Your Mix Sound Close To A Mastered Song?

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.

How Long Does It Take To Master A Song?

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. 

What Software Do You Need For Audio Mastering?

If you've mixed songs in the past, you more than likely can use that same software for audio mastering. As long as you can add effects to the stereo/main out bus, you're good to go.  Read more....

Mastering Compression Techniques

This video shows one of the more imptotant compression techniques I use in audio mastering.  In my audio Mastering Secrets Video Series, I explain everything you need to know about audio mastering.

My First Music Video!

Here's the first music video I directed, Mahalin Muli by JAI, released on July 10th, 2018.  I also wrote more than half of the script. 

Why Do Songs Need To Be Mastered?

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.

What Is Audio Mastering?

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.

Mastering Hardware Equipment You Need For Your DAW Home Recording Studio

Here's the basic hardware you need to master music:

What Is Reverb Effect In Music | How To Use Reverb

This article discusses what is the reverb effect in music and how to use it?  The reverb effect is used to simulate space. When reverb is applied to a dry vocal or instrument track, it will sound like it was recorded live in the space size that was selected on the processor. Common space size options include a small room, vocal plate, large hall, etc.

Mid Side EQ In Mastering

This is a quick video on how a mid-side processor works, and how to check the stereo field of your mix using a mid-side processor equalizer.

How Much Headroom Before Mastering Should I Leave?

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.

How To Mix And Master Songs

If you're into "do it yourself projects" my mastering book will show you EXACTLY how I mastered every style of music on this website.  Get it here Audio Mastering Secrets!

What Is Headroom In Mastering?

In order to produce a good master, a mix needs proper headroom and dynamic range.

Best Mixing Levels Before Mastering

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!