The Definitive Difference Between Mixing and Mastering: A Guide for Artists
The roles of the mixing engineer and mastering engineer may not be obvious, but for most purposes they are quite distinct. Well, it’s not quite as simple as this as you’ll find out later in this article. But, for now, let’s look at the main difference between them.
The mixing engineer may also be the person who engineered the recording (i.e. the capture of each track through microphones or direct line input for electronic devices). The mixing and mastering engineer could also be the same person, but it’s a good idea to separate these aspects of audio production to get a different perspective (i.e., another pair of ears). Mastering also requires somewhat different skills which means traditionally it has been viewed as a different role.
The essential role of the mixing engineer is to blend the separate tracks recorded in the studio (e.g., drums, bass, vocals, guitars, keyboards, effects) to produce a single track (i.e., a single stem or lane in your Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) or on an analogue tape recording) which represents all the elements of a song. The mixing engineer will make sure that all recorded elements are free of unwanted noise or distortion before mixing starts (unless this is an aesthetic choice for the production; more about this later). The responsibility for this ‘quality control’ should be with the recording engineer, but a mixing engineer not involved in recording should always make these checks. The mixing engineer may then add what’s called ‘processing’ to tracks, before blending them together. This could be for individual tracks or groups of tracks (e.g., a bus) that combine different drum elements such as kick, snare, cymbals, etc.
What is meant by ‘processing’? Processing refers to EQ (equalisation, such as adjusting the bass or treble), compression, adding effects, etc. This may happen at the recording stage, and additional processing may still be added by the mixing engineer (and artist). The final mix will be formed on a track referred to as the ‘master bus’ or ‘2-bus’ (the ‘2 refers to the left and right channels of a stereo mix). There may be additional processing on the master bus to put the finishing touches to the mix, such as compression to ‘glue’ the elements of the music together. The finished track or tracks are then passed to the mastering engineer.
Mastering is the final stage of audio production before release. The mastering engineer will check the mix for unwanted distortion or phase issues (i.e., delays in or incorrect timing of one piece of audio relative to another) and check that the elements in the mix are balanced. If all is well at this stage, the mastering engineer will start to work on adjusting the music using a mixture of EQ, compression, and sometimes saturation (because it can add warmth and density). The stereo image may also be widened (or narrowed) depending on what the mastering engineer decides is best for the music, or under direction from the artist.
The final stage in mastering is to increase the loudness of the music to meet industry standards (e.g., streaming platforms work to specific loudness standards). You’ll often hear mastering engineers talking about using a ‘limiter’ or ‘maximiser’ to achieve loudness. In some cases, the mastering engineer will do nothing to the mix except adjust the loudness. You might wonder what you are paying for in this situation. There is rule of thumb in mastering called ‘do as little as possible’. It’s not the role of the mastering engineer to do work for the sake of it, but it is their role to recognise what needs to be done, even if it’s very little or nothing. This step is the important confirmation that the mix is as good as it can be before release. Either way (changes or no changes except loudness adjustments) your mix becomes a master.
Remember earlier when we said that the distinction between the roles of the mixing and mastering engineer may not be that simple? Well, there is another type of mastering called ‘stem mastering’ which involves mixing. The easiest way to think about this is that the mixing engineer will do some of the work on the mix and the mastering engineer will take the main elements (sometimes as few as the main vocal, backing vocals, bass, drums, guitars) and blend them together during the mastering process. Rather than the mastering engineer working with one stereo mix (or perhaps a Dolby Atmos mix; we’ll save this difference for another time), they will blend the stems into a final master. The easiest way to think about this is by imagining the mastering engineer having access to grouped tracks and control over the ‘master bus’ while producing the final master.
Is the link between mixing and mastering always smooth? Most of the time, masters are produced without issues, but sometimes things are not ideal or even problematic, and the mastering engineer speaks to the mixing engineer or artist to request changes. The main problem areas are:
· The mix has elements which are distorted (in an unpleasant way) or there are clicks or pops because the levels were too high at one stage or another;
· There are phase issues such as in recording where two or more mics are present, or misaligned stems in mixing leading to phase cancellation;
· The balance of elements is not ideal (e.g., kick drum too loud in the mix).
A skilled mastering engineer may be able to overcome some of these issues using their own processes, but it’s often easier (quicker and with better results) to speak with the mixing engineer (or ask the artist to speak to them) to get these issues resolved. It’s really important that the mastering engineer communicates any issues so that the best outcomes are achieved for the music and the artist.
At Orange Polygon we focus on building good relationships with artists and their collaborators (mixing engineers, management) to ensure the best results in mastering your track(s). You will have the opportunity to discuss the needs of your project with us, such as tailoring your mastering to a specific tonal balance or reference track. If for any reason you are not happy with the results, we will always work with you on changes.
