Hey a,
I hate gatekeeping.
The whole "mastering is a dark-art" nonsense comes from a time where grumpy old white dudes didn't allow their studio interns to even touch their equipment.
But hey, at least they learned how to make good coffee.
Let me tell you the story of when I finally believed I was "allowed" to master professionally and charge money for it.
Back when I had just moved to Berlin, I got signed to a small underground label for my first EP. I was already working as a full-time producer and mixing engineer back then but I didn't dare to even consider going into mastering.
My mentor back then was an established mastering engineer with (I kid you not) TWO pairs of speakers worth over $100k, a room built by one of the top acoustic firms, and racks of analog equipment worth more than a mid-tier Mercedes.
So I told that label "yeah, I'm happy to release with you guys but I need this to get mastered by that other engineer."
Since that guy charged twice as much as the label's go-to engineer (who wasn't that good), I had to pay for the mastering myself.
Martin, the guy who owned the label suddenly asked me "why don't you just master it yourself? I mean, you're a good mix engineer so I'm sure you can do it!"
At first, I was shocked. In my universe, this hadn't even been an option.
And even after Martin's encouragement, I still wasn't confident enough to do it myself.
But then I had a simple idea that would change my life forever: I decided to master the song myself and at the same time get it mastered by my mentor so I could hear the difference and learn from it.
So I went and gave it my best shot.
When the master files came back from my mentor, it was the moment of truth. I loaded both versions, mine and his, into a blank session.
After a few seconds of anxious doubt, I hit play and switched back and forth.
I couldn't believe what I heard.
The two versions sounded almost identical. But what's even crazier: I actually liked my version better.
Due to all the analog processing and running the signal through expensive transformers, his master simply sounded too soft, especially the kick drum.
That was the moment I finally gained confidence in my own masters.
It led to Martin, the head of the label, hiring me as their new go-to mastering engineer for all their projects and it set the stage for my career after that.
In the next years, I got introduced to people like Acid Pauli and Ruede Hagelstein among many other Berlin underground legends.
I'm more than grateful for these experiences and looking back, there's only one thing I would like to tell my past self:
Don't believe all the "mastering is a dark art" gatekeeper talk. You have everything you need to create a great-sounding master.
Let's bring this back to where you are.
Should you master your own music?
Maybe. Maybe not.
One thing is clear: I don't regret working with a professional mastering engineer for years before becoming one myself.
A good mastering engineer can give you invaluable feedback on your mixes and will make you a better producer. That assumes you work with an actual pro who takes the time for proper feedback and communication.
That's why in our coaching program, all artists get everything they finish during the time with us mastered professionally by me and my team for free.
We want our artists to experience what it's like to collaborate with a professional engineer while at the same time learning how to master your own tracks so you can test them at clubs before they're officially released.
In the end, all we care about is empowering artists with the skills, knowledge, and mindset they need in today's music industry.
Enough of the gate-keeping, we're all in this together.
To give you a starting point, here's how you can approach mastering step-by-step:
1. Create a super simple mastering chain to begin with. One EQ, one compressor, one limiter. Stock plugins or other free tools are perfectly fine in the beginning.
2. Make it sound as good as possible and as loud as necessary. Use these three tools to make your track sound as good as possible and try to get in the ballpark of the loudness of other tracks in your genre. If it starts to sound bad, sacrifice a bit of loudness for a cleaner master.
3. Broad boosts, narrow cuts. For the EQ, try broad, gentle boosts to enhance areas you want to hear more of. Cut frequencies only when you feel that something is building up or resonating in an unpleasant way. Cuts are typically a bit narrower and more precise than boosts in mastering.
4. Let the compressor glue it together. For the compressor, use a typical bus glue compression style: Slow attack, fast release time, gentle ratio of not more than 2:1. The gain reduction is typically no more than 1-2dB. If the compressor has an internal sidechain frequency, filter out some of the low-end so that the compressor doesn't react as much to the bass.
5. Find the sweet spot for limiting. On the limiter, set the output ceiling to something between -0.1 (this is what I use) and -1.0 dBFs (if you want to stay super safe). Feed the signal into the limiter until the perceived "density" of the song feels right to you. That's the sweetspot of loudness for this specific track.
6. Expand your toolbox when you're ready Once you feel comfortable in that workflow, you can start exploring other mastering chains that include clipping, saturation or different combinations of EQs and compressors.
I know that this is only touching the surface of mastering but it should give you a decent starting point.
For 95% of you, it's probably still a good idea to work with a professional mastering engineer.
I have a warning for you though: You get what you pay for.
Cheap mastering engineers are often not as experienced. That's a problem because an experienced pair of ears is exactly what you need.
Everything below $50 is a clear sign that you're working with someone who doesn't do this for a living or spends an absolute minimum of time on your track.
Professional rates start at around $60 and go up to over $300. In my experience, the $90-150 range gives you the best bang for buck.
By the way: Many of our artists in the coaching program now confidently create their own masters and they get pretty damn close to what an experienced engineer can do.
Tomorrow, I'll share a few stories with you of some of our coaching members. This will help you gain the confidence that you're on the right path with your music.
Your music matters. Let's make it count.
Philip
PS: Want to get your tracks professionally mastered and get a personalized walkthrough? That's one of the many perks of joining our coaching program. We help you create the best mixes possible and then put the finishing touches on with professional mastering. Book your free 60-minute discovery call here to learn more.
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