Once you have finished working on a song, you will have to work on the last stage, which is
mastering the mix.

When it comes to music production, mastering is the last stage before you release the music to the public.

Good mastering can help guarantee the success of your song. Therefore, it is important that
you master your mixes. If you are looking to master your own mixes, we have come up with
a list of 5 tips that can help you achieve your desired results.

1. Focus on the Perspective

Before mastering your mix, you need to see what your perspective would be. Nobody would
know the song better than you, which is why you need to make all the creative decisions
while mastering the mix. While mastering the mix, you can not expect the engineer to make
creative changes as you would. For example, only you would know if the reverb works better
for the song or if the mixes are balanced. This is why you need to focus on the perspective
of your song to help mix and master.

To help you place a better focus, you can also listen to other well-produced music for
inspiration. This can help you get ideas on how to add qualities such as imaging and depth
to your mix. With mastering, you can not only help clarify your sound, but you can also
increase its overall listenability. If your head starts bobbing to the beat, then your sound has
passed the head bob test and is ready to be out in the world.

2. Divide your Time

One thing that you should always keep in mind is to never master your song in the same
session that you mix it in. Always make a habit of exporting your final mix into a new session
for mastering. One song should be divided into two sessions rather than one.

This is the key to good mastering as it allows you to go over complex effects with ease. If
you master your song over a new session, it allows you to make any necessary changes
with a fresh mindset. Instead of focusing on getting the job done, the new session will help
you place more emphasis on making any necessary adjustments that you would have
otherwise failed to notice. This may seem like it will take more of your time, but trust me, working at this pace gives you the best result possible. A song will only be ready to be
released if it has been mastered perfectly.

Before you work on the mastering session, make sure that you have exported your mix at
the same frequency and depth. Using this sample, create a new session for mastering. This
can help assure the quality of the sound!

3. Managing the Maximus and Miximus

When it comes to mastering, this is a very important tip that you should keep in mind. It is
recommended that you leave maximizers off the final mixing export. If you increase the
maximizing of the mix, it can affect the processing. Excessive maximizing can cause you to
have undesired results as well.

This is why it is vital that you apply limiters only at the last stage of the mastering process. If
you want to achieve a sound with a maximized mix, export your sound with and without it to
see which one works better for you.

4. Compressing the Mix

Should you compress the mix? The answer to this question depends on how confident you
feel about your sound. If you are satisfied with the mastering, then you should compress the
mix. However, if you still feel like some changes are needed, then it is best that you leave
out the compressing part.

When it comes to compressing, there is no right or wrong. You have to make the decision on
what works best for your sound.

5. Equalization

Equalization is the adjusting of the volume of different frequencies within the audio. This is a
vital process for mastering sound. If you are building your mix into any existing equalizer,
then make sure that you keep it in the final export as well. If you are equalizing the mix
yourself, make sure that you store a preset beforehand. While equalizing, import all the
settings into the mastering session in case you have second thoughts and would want to
change the volumes.

Final Thoughts

No song can be released to the public unless it has been mastered properly. This is why it is
important that you go through this stage carefully. Our tips on mastering your own mixes can help you achieve your desired results and have you put out very well-produced music.

Published by HOLR Magazine.