As some of you may know, i've been doing a lot more
freelance mastering and audio work as of late, and have come up with a basic list of tips that i figured i would share. If anyone is interested (subject to my time available), i can provide short samples of my mastering on your song for free. An objective pair of outside ears can make all the difference!
Headroom
-Please submit final mixdowns with the highest peaks at -3db at the highest (-4 to -6db preferred)…all mastering engineers need headroom to work properly. The simplest way to do this on modern DAWs is to remove any limiters on the master and lower the master fader. If you are on an older DAW you may (for safety’s sake) link your individual channels together and lower them all the same amount to prevent fidelity loss.
Limiters/Compressors
-Do not have a limiter or compressor on your main out or use one on your final mixdown to be mastered…this significantly hinders the amount and quality of mastering that can be done without artifacts. Mixing with compression on the full mix is fine and can often be helpful for referencing but please do not use it on your final mixdown submission.
Bit Rate
-Mixing at a high bit rate (24 or 32 bit float) is always suggested when possible. Even if your project and audio are working at 16 bits, please bounce at a minimum of 24 bit for final mixdown, this will help slightly with truncation errors.
Reference Mixes
-Feel free to include 1-2 reference mixes of songs that have the sound you are looking for, preferably in the same genre of music as the tracks you are submitting. If you would like, you may also submit a rough master of your mix with limiter, but do not label that as the final mixdown…only as a rough reference master.
Mixing Tips
-Remember in arrangement, mixing, and mastering: less is always more. Fewer simultaneous sounds are easier to sound full and stand out in the mix, as well as preserve headroom and create clear musical direction. Use the powerful techniques of eqing, panning, spatial effects, and shortening sounds to create room in the spectrum, 3 dimensional field, and time continuum of your mix.
-Keep your low end (150 hz and below) in mono when possible, and avoid having two extended bass sounds at the same time. Simultaneous low end sounds (multiple kicks, basslines, or low end reverb) often have phase issues that create mud and destroy headroom. Sidechaining kicks to basslines and high passing all other tracks that do not need low end will keep your bass area clean and free up additional headroom.
-Keep your longer sounds (pads, long bass notes, whooshes, fx busses) lower in the mix than your shorter sounds (percussion, stabs, quick samples). These will be brought back up in mastering but your percussion will still punch through nicely. For reference, throw a compressor on your mix and listen. Remember, comparing an unmastered mix to a mastered mix can be very deceiving!
-Finally, LOUDER IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER. Squashing dynamics (with or without artifacts) significantly detracts from musicality, groove, clarity, punch, and can result in a “weak” loud. When using compression, always compare the compressed sound to the uncompressed version at the same perceived loudness level. This applies to both individual sounds as well as the final mastering process. Don't forget songs will be volume-adjusted to an even playing field based on their perceived loudness and RMS levels by djs, radio, and the average listener!