How to prepare your files for Remote Mastering:
You are about to prepare your files to send to a remote Mastering engineer. Here are some key steps to follow.
Introduction:
Mastering is the final step in the audio post-production process for music, where the final touches are added to a track to prepare it for release. The goal of mastering is to create a polished, consistent sound that can be played across a variety of devices and formats while also ensuring that the original artist's intentions are preserved.
Understanding the Role of a Mastering Engineer:
Here are some things that happen during the mastering process:
Adjustments
Mastering involves making precise adjustments to the track using tools like EQ, compression, and stereo enhancement.
Monitoring
Mastering engineers listen to the track in a high-quality room and monitor for clicks and pops that could distract the listener.
Balancing
Mastering involves balancing the track's sonic elements, including frequencies, stereo image, and volume.
Loudness
Mastering ensures that the track is loud enough for commercial release.
Format optimization
Mastering prepares the track for distribution formats like vinyl, MP3, streaming services, and broadcast.
Consistency
Mastering ensures that the track sounds consistent across an album or EP so the listener has a uniform experience.
Mastering is different from mixing, and it's important to avoid using it to change the style or genre of the music drastically.
NOTE: Mastering starts with a two-track bounce of your mix. If you want us to master “Stems,” - See more about our Single Services.
Step-by-Step Guide to File Preparation:
Get your mix sounding just right. Make sure to reference your mix on different systems. You know— Earbuds - Headphones - The Car Test?
Make sure you and your client are happy with the mix(s).
Remove any master bus processing that you had on while mixing.
Make sure you leave some room for the mastering; I like -6dB to -12dB, but -3dB is acceptable.
Bounce your mix to a two-track file.
I suggest NOT sending stem or session files to your mastering engineer. The temptation to change the mix is too great. Also, if you are not mastering the project, you don’t want the mastering engineer to adjust your mix. (Although we do offer a STEM MASTERING Process Here.)Bounce the mix with the specs your mastering engineer asks for or whatever specs the label may require. As a habit, you should always work with 24-bit 48k files.
Make sure your MetaData is in order.