Mixing and mastering are two important steps in making music, and they each do different things to make the end track sound great. Armus Digital helps artists understand these steps so that their music sounds its best when it’s shared around the world. Here is a full explanation of how mixing and finishing are different.
Mixing is the process of putting together and balancing different tracks (instruments, vocals, effects) in a song so that the end mix sounds good and flows well.
What Steps Are Needed?
- “Balancing Levels” means changing the sound of each track so that none of them are too loud.
- EQ: Changing the levels of each track to make sure they work well with the others and improve the sound as a whole.
- Panning: adding depth and room by spreading tracks out across the stereo field.
- “Dynamics Processing”: controlling the dynamics and making sure the level stays the same by using compression and limiting.
- Effects: Adding delay, echo, and other effects to improve the sound and make the mood you want.
- Automation: Changing things dynamically over time, like increasing the volume or changing the effects, to make things more interesting and lively.
Goal: The point of mixing is to make a track that is dynamic and well-balanced so that all of its parts can be heard clearly and fit into the general musical vision.
Mastering
Purpose: Mastering is the last step in the production process. Its job is to get the mixed track ready for release by making sure it sounds excellent on all devices.
What Steps Are Needed?
- Final EQ Adjustments: Making small changes to the track’s general frequency balance to make sure it sounds good on all devices.
- Compression and Limiting: Using compression and limiting to make sure the track stays loud and punchy.
- Stereo Enhancement: Increasing the stereo width to make the sound wider and more realistic.
- “Loudness Maximization” means making sure the track gets as loud as it can be without distorting.
- Sequencing: putting records’ tracks in the right order and making sure they play well together.
Adding metadata like track titles, artist names, and ISRC codes, as well as encoding the track for different devices and formats, is called steps 6 and 7.
The purpose of mastering is to finish the track by making it sound great on all platforms and playback devices and making sure it meets release standards.
Differences That Matter
Focus: – Mixing: focuses on different parts of a track and balances them to make a mix that flows well.
- Mastering: This step is all about the end mix’s sound as a whole, getting it ready to be distributed and making sure it stays the same.
Tools and Techniques: Mixing: EQ, compression, panning, and effects are used to make fine changes to each track.
- Mastering: Using EQ, compression, limiting, and audio enhancement to make small changes to the whole sound.
Production Stage: Mixing: Comes after recording and editing but before mastering.
- Mastering: The last step before release that comes after mixing.
Final Thoughts
Mastering and mixing are both important parts of making music that sounds professional. Mastering is the final step in making sure the track sounds great on all playing systems and meets industry standards. Mixing is the process of making small changes to each track to achieve balance and harmony. At Armus Digital, we help artists with every step of the production process and give them the confidence to release their songs all over the world.
This is about Armus Digital:
Armus Digital is a platform for distributing music that helps artists get their songs heard all over the world. It lets you quickly distribute your music to more than 150 platforms, get paid every month, protect your content, earn performance royalties, and use label services. The platform lets artists upload their music, choose which stores to distribute it in, give collaborators, and make UPC and ISRC codes. Armus Digital makes sure that music can be heard all over the world and is properly made money by forming agreements with many digital service providers.