))) MIXING AND MASTERINGON PRO TOOLSWITH A PRO (((((( (hayward castro valley)
What is mixing ?
What is mastering?
I hear people use the term "Mastering" about many things that are in fact NOT mastering.
Often Mastering is mistaken for ANY part of the production/recording process that follows
the beginning recording stage. (such as editing or processing)
Many confuse mixing for mastering.
Mixing is in fact a totally separate process/
Mastering is actually only the very last part of the recording process.
I generally break down the music production/recording process down into 5 stages.
1) Pre-production or song writing.
2) Recording, tracking or production.
3) Post production, sound design or editing.
4) Mixing
5) Mastering.
As you can see, mastering is only the very last part of the chain.
1) Pre-production or song writing.
These days songs are often written while the production is actually underway,
but a good songwriting phase can really make a song much better.
Knowing what you're going to record before you are going to record it,
can only give you a better result.
2) Recording, tracking or production.
This is obviously the phase where the bulk of the music and vocals are recorded.
3) Post production, sound design or editing.
Another part that is not commonly understood is that after the tracks are recorded,
but before you can mix, often it is necessary to clean up the tracks or pre-process
some of the sounds to make the mix go smoother.
4) The Mix
The most important part of the recording process in my opinion is the mix.
You've heard the expression "We'll fix it in the mix" right?
Well, the mix is the last place you can fix things.
The mix is where you take a completed project that sounds pretty good,
and you transform it into something that sounds amazing.
There are many tricks to doing a great mix.
But essentially what you're dealing with is setting the volume for each sound.
You also are setting the stereo position (pan) effects level (Echo) and EQ (Tone).
5) Mastering.
Mastering is the final stage.
After the song is 'Mixed', your many individual tracks are bounced down to a single
file. That file is called a 'Two Track Mix". That's 2 tracks (Left and Right Stereo)
The same format as the CD or mp3.
That format is what we play in a car or in an ipod.
Mastering is the process of making that 2 track mix sound even better through additional
EQ and Compression to make it loud and full sounding.
You can not Master a song until the song is mixed properly.
So if the mix is bad, or if there is some problem with the production or recording,
then the song is not ready to master.
Those other problems must be fixed BEFORE you can master a song.
Let's suppose that you have a song or songs that you have
recorded at home or at a studio.
Perhaps you are not satisfied with the way the mix sounds.
There could be problems with how loud things sit in the mix.
Or it could be that it just doesn't 'PoP'.
Who knows? why.
It could be the speakers.
It could be the gear.
It could be how it was recorded.
It could be how the song was produced.
I can answer all of these questions and send you down the right path.
In fact I'm happy to sit down and answer any questions you might have for free.
Mixing is a specialty.
There is no right or wrong answer for how long it takes to get a great mix.
Every song is different.
But of coarse, budget and expectations enter into it.
Call me up and I'll give you a free consultation on your project.
I'm happy to listen to your project and let you know what it needs.
If you have a project that is ready to mix,
Please let me know.
Or if you have mixed your project and simply need mastering,
I can help you with that too.
You might be interested in some of my podcasts on the topic.
Podcast 002: "Intro To Mixing and Mastering"
http://producerbillwilliams.com/?p=21
Podcast 018: "Mastering Part 1"
http://producerbillwilliams.com/?p=61
Podcast 019: "Mastering Part 2"
http://producerbillwilliams.com/?p=63
Podcast 020: "Mastering Part 3"
http://producerbillwilliams.com/?p=65
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