When it comes to mastering, there are many schools of thought. Some believe that it can only be done properly by an experienced professional in a high-spec studio, while others think that they can do the job perfectly well at home with the help of their plugin collection. There are those who choose to take the human element out of the equation, handing over responsibility to an online ‘auto-mastering’ service, while plenty of musicians never actually bother to master their music at all.
Whatever your level of experience or understanding, we hope that MusicRadar’s Mastering week will help. If you don’t know what mastering is, we’ll try to answer all of the questions that you were too afraid or embarrassed to ask, and to explain why it’s important. If you do have some knowledge but want to improve your skills, our tips and tutorials should enable you to do just that.
We’ll be updating this page with links to new articles as they’re published, so check back frequently to ensure that you don’t miss anything.
Mastering week
How to prepare a multitrack mix for mastering
12 things to remember when you're mastering
How to set up a mastering chain in your DAW
How do I master my music for streaming and download services?
9 pro mastering tips for beginners
Watch a track being mastered by a pro from start to finish
How to use a brickwall limiter in a mastering chain
How to choose the right mastering EQ
12 essential pro mastering tips
Understanding dynamic range and compression when mastering
How to master an 'unfixable' mix
How to use mid/side EQ for mastering
Jupiter Ace on how to master in Ableton Live
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