Elevate your tracks: A Deep Dive into Digital Mastering

If you've finished recording and mixing your track and you're happy with the result, it's time to move on to mastering. You can choose to master your track on your own or with the help of a professional. In this article, we’ll share some tips to help you master your track effectively and prepare your audio files for a proper digital release.

What does mastering mean?

Once you’ve finished recording and producing your track, the next step is usually mixing. This involves editing and blending the individual tracks to create a cohesive sound. Mastering is the final step in “polishing” and finalizing the entire track. It adds the finishing touches and ensures that the track is well-balanced in terms of both frequency and volume. During mastering, various considerations must be addressed, such as whether certain elements need to be emphasized, whether the track sounds balanced, and whether the mastered audio will sound powerful on all types of speaker systems. The ultimate goal of mastering is to bring out the track’s full potential.

Making the Right Decision

If you have a sufficient budget and can afford to hire a professional mastering engineer, that’s the easiest route to take. We recommend always having professional mastering done by a sound engineer, which can start at as little as 20? per track. As an artist, make sure you thoroughly research and choose a mastering engineer who aligns with your sound and expectations. Ask for samples of their work and discuss your expectations before hiring them. If you’re not 100% convinced, consider finding another sound or mastering engineer—or choose to do it yourself. However, if you choose the DIY route, you need to be aware that you’ll need to invest time and money, develop your skills and abilities, and have a lot of patience. After spending so much time listening to the song during the recording and production phases, it’s helpful to take a step back before moving on to the mastering process. If you decide to handle the mastering yourself, be sure to get a second opinion from another musician, music producer, or sound engineer. Ultimately, whether you choose to master your track yourself or hire a sound engineer, it’s your music, and you should decide in advance how you want your track and release to sound.

Prepare your track for mastering

Before you begin the mastering process, consider making changes to parts of your production or mix. Not all issues can be fixed during mastering, so it’s crucial to plan ahead. Record your song at the highest possible resolution (24-bit/48 kHz) and mix it at the same resolution. You can always downscale later.
Less is sometimes more when it comes to mixing. If you over-compress your track during mixing, it may become difficult to retain any dynamics, since the track is usually compressed and limited even further during mastering. Avoid making hasty decisions, and seek assistance if you’re unsure about what you’re doing.

Being prepared is crucial

Before you begin mastering a digital track or enlisting the help of a sound engineer, it’s crucial to carefully listen to and analyze the track’s mix.

• Do the individual elements sound good?
• Do you want to enhance or clarify them?
• Is the intended emphasis coming through?
• Is the volume of the individual instruments properly balanced?
• Where is more punch needed?
• How do you envision the sound ultimately sounding—loud, driving, dynamic, and powerful, or atmospheric, light, and gentle?
• Is there any distortion in the mix?

Guidelines for Mastering Digital Releases

When you release your music on major streaming, download, and social media platforms, it’s vital to follow their specific guidelines. Failure to do so could result in your track being rejected or altered. To ensure your music sounds exactly as you intended during the mastering process, it’s important to understand the platform requirements from the start.

Your distributor—the company responsible for releasing your music—can help you select the correct specifications for your audio file. For example, dig dis! has compiled a summary of the requirements for your mastered audio file, allowing you to meet the standards of all platforms:

• File format: WAV
• Sample size: 16-bit
• Sample rate: 44.1 kHz

DIY Mastering: What Do You Need?

Overview of Required Tools

If you’re thinking about trying your hand at DIY mastering, there are a few tools you’ll need to get started. The tools you need will depend on your level of experience, your expectations, and your song. In addition to your digital audio workstation (DAW) and high-quality speakers, digital mastering software is particularly essential for beginners. iZotope Ozone, Waves Masters, and FabFilter are some of the most popular mastering tools available, offering numerous options for adding the finishing touches to your tracks, including equalizers and compressors. However, most DAWs already come with excellent built-in plugins such as compressors, equalizers, and limiters, so—especially when you’re just starting out—you don’t necessarily need expensive mastering plugins to create a proper master for your track.

Less Is More

As a beginner, it’s best to avoid using too many tools at once in your mastering setup. Experimenting is great, but keep the final product in mind with every step. Changes that sound good on their own may not work well together in the final mix. Proceed step by step and check whether the adjustments you make are right for your track and the release as a whole.

Use Presets

Especially if you’re new to mastering, presets are a great option. However, be sure to choose presets that fit well with your genre and style, and use them judiciously. Depending on the differences between your tracks, it may not be appropriate to use a different preset for each one.

Use Visual Tools

Good mastering software offers tools that allow you to visualize your audio. This feature makes it easier to spot peaks and valleys. Your eyes can help you identify irregularities that your ears might not detect immediately, depending on the playback source. Additionally, you can compare the sound of multiple tracks on a release by visually examining their sound profiles and identifying differences in highs, lows, dynamics, etc. Ultimately, however, you should rely on your ears rather than the visual components of plugins. If it sounds good, it sounds good—period.

Use an equalizer

Most mastering suites include a built-in equalizer. Use it to adjust individual frequency levels, balance them, and emphasize the elements you want to hear in your final product. Digital equalizers allow you to analyze and adjust your track’s frequency levels not only by ear but also graphically.

Use a compressor

Compressors are essential for gaining better dynamic control over your entire track and for boosting the overall volume of your track. You can find them in digital mastering tools or purchase them as standalone plugins. As a beginner, you’re better off with all-in-one mastering software that includes a compressor rather than trying to navigate the vast world of compressor plugins.

Additionally, there are various tutorials available on YouTube about how to master a track properly, which walk you through every step of the mastering process. We hope you found our tips and tricks for mastering helpful. If you’ve applied them to your track, we’d love to hear the final result! Don’t hesitate to share your finished track by signing up with us and uploading it here. We can't wait to listen to it!