Reasons why you should not try and master your own records
Categories: Tips & Tricks
Tags: advantages of online mastering, home mastering, Mastering, mastering my own records
You might be saying “I can do it myself” but here are a few reasons why mastering your own music may not be such a good idea.
Mastering records can take many years of dedication, knowledge and knowhow. Mastering is not just throwing a limiter on your master buss and smashing the signal to an inch of its life (Unless that’s the sound you want of course). We get a lot of producers sending home made tracks that are pretty well mixed but they cant get it to sound ‘right’ when they try and master it themselves!
Here are a few ideas of why mastering your own records may not be as wise as you think, and online mastering may be a better option.
- You have spent a lot of time, sweat and tears over it and are probably quite emotionally invested in the track as well. With this in mind you might not be able to make rational decisions about what’s needed. You may have spent the last 3 days getting the mix right and as such your ears are accustomed to the sound. A fresh pair of ears is worth its weight in gold! They will be able to hear issues you may overlook which could be essential to your mix sounding as great as it can!
- Accurate monitoring. In home studios and a lot of professional mixing studios the acoustics in the room are not always the best for mastering. Mastering rooms are designed for this exact task – mastering! They also use highly accurate monitors to match, really hearing every little thing in detail is crucial to the mastering process, Is the bass to loud? Are the highs spaced effectively? Is the volume of each track on the album similar?
- Knowing the equipment and what’s right for the job! Just because someone uses a piece of hardware or a plugin on one track and it sounds good does not mean it will sound great on every track. A good mastering engineer will know how their equipment sounds and what’s right for the job and most importantly – how to use it!
- Louder is better syndrome, When your ears get use to a certain volume you get use to it, and then you end up pushing it even louder, and then 10 minutes later you turn it up louder again! This can be a serious vicious cycle especially when trying to level out an album or e.p, the same applies with equalisation.
- Getting a second opinion is always worth its weight, we will gladly let you know what you could improve within the mix so your master comes out even better. We work with clients like this on a daily basis who are amazed how a few little tweaks in their mixes can transform the sound.
Professional online mastering doesn’t cost the earth yet it can bring a whole new life to your recordings, if you don’t believe it give us a go with the offer below…