What is Mastering and Why is it Necessary?

what's up everybody will boards are here Forza mastering it's the analogue vlog it's a vlog analog so today we're gonna be talking about what mastering actually is and why it's necessary to the process if it's your first time here welcome my name is Wil I'm a mastering engineer I work with major label artists independent artists and I'd love to work with you too if that's something you need these videos are going to be all about mastering theory mastering technology and mastering techniques and as always there is a accompaniment to these videos that is the Facebook group called the analogue mob it's where we discuss these videos in depth and it's just really a great place to meet like-minded people and make some friends so without any further ado let's get to the video all right so so many records these days are being done DIY do-it-yourself in less studios and in more bedrooms which honestly it's kind of cool it's like the wild wild west of music all over again it's like the first time someone turned up a guitar amp a little too loud and made a really cool sound and that started a movement the bedroom studio movement is a real thing that's really happening and I'm loving it but here's the thing one of the biggest complaints I get is people saying that what they recorded in the studio sounds great in the studio but as soon as they bring it out and put it in their car or they play it on their phone or they bump it up against other music like their music it just doesn't stand up it falls apart the mix isn't there and they're not sure why mastering is the solution to that problem so even if you DIY absolutely everything else mastering is something you should definitely hire out for just to make sure that those long hours spent in the studio pays off when the album hits the shelf mastering is the final step between what happens in the studio and what is actually heard by the consumers it is the last artistic step and it is the first step of distribution in the record making process perhaps the most important role of a mastering engineer is to optimize your audio to sound as best it possibly can on all platforms and all devices the reason your song is falling apart outside of the studio is because it needs real professional mastering so let's talk real quick about the lifecycle of a regular professional record these days it starts with conception that's where you're writing the songs you're rehearsing the songs you're practicing and practicing and please practice figuring out arrangement figuring out song order that kind of stuff and then after conception it starts pre-production that's where you're hiring a producer that's when you're sorting out the arrangements that's when you're figuring out what different instruments are going to be on the record and figuring out all the parts you need to record pre bit of getting ready for going into the studio so you're not paying lots of money to figure it out in the studio so once you have a solid idea of where your records going to go that's when the recording process starts recording is taking all that hard work all that practice you did all the pre-production and trying to get it on record as best as possible truest to the source true us - exactly the way you want it once you have a recording that you're happy with that's when the mixing process starts you take the recordings and you give them to a mixing engineer who specializes in mixing and they balance out all the different individual elements so that vocals go here and the kick goes there and the snare goes there and we're going to put the drums this way and we're gonna put the backgrounds over here and we're gonna put the guitars around here and we're gonna put the synthesizers down here that's mixing and finally when the mix is ready that's when you send the song to mastering mastering where you take the two-track the stereo bounce and you optimize it bring it up to level do this frequency balance dynamic balance that kind of stuff and just get it ready for distribution after mastering is done it goes to distribution and distribution is where the world gets to meet your record now one step in all of this that I should add is also the promotion of your record and it's not the last thing you do it's really something you should be doing all the way from the beginning wait as my camera going this way from the beginning to the end maybe it's this way whatever promotion needs to happen at every part of the process hey guys we're writing songs it's really cool hey we're practicing in the studio we're gonna start recording soon hey we just got into the studio look at this awesome gear look at this awesome room hey we're going to mix now we're in the mixing session and we're listening to the new mix hey we just got our song mastered it sounds great we're distributing in three two one launch party get promotion is absolutely essential of course to the record making process but as you can see mastering really is that last line of defense between what happens in the studio and what the world sees it's a very very important process that really should not be skipped out on it's not something where you can just drag and drop a mastering preset and hope for the best if you do skimp out up mastering at best you don't have an extra set of ears and an unbiased opinion to listen to your work and make sure that everything's okay but it might turn out fine at worst you might be releasing a record that's full of unwanted distortion pops cliques glitches not up to level not up to commercial expectations it's just it could be very bad so proceed with caution wee mastering engineers we are outside perspective we're fresh ears that haven't been listening to the same song for the last couple days weeks months years however long has taken for you to make the record we know basically upon first listen what a song needs to get up to that commercial expectation for the song we know if it's gonna be a little tube AC or if it needs a little more we need we know if it's too shrill or it's too tinny we know if it's too loud or not loud enough we do this all the time all day long it is our specialty it's the only thing we do and we know how to do it very very well so that's it really mastering is the last artistic step in making the record it's your last line of defense between what happened in the studio and what the public is going to hear mastering make sure that your song is at its fullest potential when it gets released and it's really not something you want a DIY mostly because of the fresh perspective and the trained ears that the mastering engineer brings to the table so if you are in need of custom musical professional mastering hit me orsa mastering comm link in the description wherever that is I also welcome you to join the analog mom on Facebook it is a great place to make friends meet new like-minded people and we're gonna be discussing this video in depth if you like this video please hit the like button share it with someone that you think could benefit from it and until next time peace

Channel: Will Borza

Views: 20,455

Keywords: l.a. recordist, will borza, borza mastering, mastering, mixing, recording, home studio, recording studio, music studio, mastering studio, pro tools, logic pro x, music production, what is mastering?, what is mastering, audio mastering, music mastering

Id: x0ce05iAdxI

Length: 7min 20sec (440 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 30 2019