Secrets To Making Your Music Stand Out

Mastering Insights: An In-depth Conversation with Drew, a Mastering Engineer

In the world of audio production, mastering remains one of the most nuanced and critical phases.

Today, we bring you an insightful interview with Drew, a seasoned mixing and mastering engineer. Drew collaborates with top audio brands and is the brains behind Warp Academy, where he shares his expertise through educational content on YouTube.

Let’s dive into this comprehensive discussion filled with practical advice and expert tips for mastering your tracks.

HIGHLIGHTS: Introduction to Mastering Loudness

Tom: Drew, welcome! Let’s start with a fundamental question: How loud should we master our tracks, and what are the implications of loudness in mastering?

Drew: Thanks, Tom. Loudness in mastering is a hot topic and has been extensively researched. A critical concept here is the Just Noticeable Difference (JND), which is the smallest change in loudness that a listener can detect. For music, this can be as little as 0.2 dB. Understanding JND helps us realize that even minor loudness differences can significantly impact perceived quality.  

Importance of Competitive Loudness

Tom: Why is it important to submit a competitively loud master when sending tracks to labels?

Drew: Great question. It boils down to psychoacoustics—the science of how we perceive sound. Our ears tend to favor louder sounds, perceiving them as higher quality. When submitting to labels, you must consider that A&R representatives might not use loudness normalization. They often compare your track directly against others. Therefore, a louder master can leave a better first impression, crucial when they might only listen to a short clip of your track.

Optimal Loudness Levels

Tom: What’s the threshold for loudness where pushing it further becomes counterproductive?

Drew: It’s about finding the balance. In genres like drum and bass, tracks often hit around -4 to -5 LUFS (Loudness Units relative to Full Scale) integrated in the drops. However, pushing beyond this, say to -2 LUFS, typically introduces distortion and artifacts, making the track sound worse. For most electronic music, staying around -6 LUFS integrated in the drops is optimal. It ensures loudness without significant quality loss.

Mastering Techniques

Tom: Could you explain some techniques to maintain clarity and avoid artifacts while mastering?

Drew: Absolutely. One crucial aspect is to handle peak levels and microtransients during mixing. Using tools like clippers can help manage peaks effectively. For example, non-oversampled hard clippers are excellent for controlling drum transients, while oversampling should be used judiciously to manage aliasing, especially in plugins like limiters and saturators.

Balancing Loudness and Quality

Tom: How do you balance achieving competitive loudness with maintaining dynamic range and clarity?

Drew: It starts with the mix. Ensure that your mix doesn’t have excessive peaks that can trigger limiters harshly. During mastering, use a combination of clipping and limiting. Clipping first in the chain can clean up the signal before it hits the limiter, allowing for a cleaner master. Always aim for minimal limiting to avoid audible artifacts.

Addressing Oversampling

Tom: What role does oversampling play in mastering, and when should it be used?

Drew: Oversampling can be a double-edged sword. It’s designed to reduce aliasing by upsampling the signal, processing it, and then downsampling. However, this process can introduce overshoots, leading to higher peak levels. It’s crucial to understand that oversampling isn’t always synonymous with better quality. Use it when necessary, particularly in saturators and limiters, but be mindful of the changes it brings to the sound.

True Peak Limiting

Tom: Can you shed some light on true peak limiting and its implications?

Drew: True peak limiting (TPL) addresses inter-sample peaks that can cause distortion when converting from digital to analog. However, enabling TPL often results in more limiting, which can introduce unwanted artifacts. It’s essential to decide if TPL is necessary based on your specific needs. For most music it might be beneficial to avoid TPL to maintain a cleaner sound.

Practical Mastering Steps

Tom: Let’s provide our readers with a concise, actionable mastering process they can apply.

Drew: Sure. Here’s a streamlined approach:

• Preparation:
• Ensure your mix has enough headroom, ideally peaking between -3 dB and -6 dB.
• Identify and control microtransients using clippers during the mixing stage.
• Initial Mastering Setup:
• Import your mix into your DAW and match the project’s BPM to the track.
• Load essential mastering plugins: gain control, EQ, compressor, limiter, and meter.
• Loudness Management:
• Use a LUFS meter to target the desired loudness. For streaming, aim around -14 LUFS; for competitive genres, -6 LUFS integrated in the drops. 
• The only caveat I would like to add is that -6 LUFS is a loudness level that requires a whole plethora of very specific techniques to be done in the mix so that a master can be pushed that loud and still sound clean. IMO most -6 LUFS (integrated drops only) sound rubbish, full of distortion, loss of punch and transient impact, pumping, dull, messy. An example of -6 LUFS done well is the Grammy-winning Skrillex tune Rumble, which won the 2024 Grammy for Best Electronic / Dance Recording. Mastered by Luca Pretolesi @ Studio DMI.
• Apply a brick wall limiter last in the chain. Use minimal gain reduction to avoid distortion.
• Clipping and Limiting:
• Use a non-oversampled hard clipper first to control peaks.
• Follow with a high-quality limiter, ensuring minimal gain reduction to maintain clarity.
• Oversampling and True Peak Limiting:
• Use oversampling in plugins where necessary, such as saturators, to manage aliasing.
• Decide on TPL based on the final playback medium. For streaming, you might need it, but be cautious of the added limiting.
• Quality Control:
• Conduct a final listen on various playback systems to ensure consistency.
• Compare with reference tracks to ensure your master meets the competitive standards without compromising quality.

Conclusion

Mastering is a delicate balance of achieving loudness while maintaining the integrity and clarity of your music. By understanding and applying the right techniques, you can create professional-sounding masters ready for any platform. For those looking to delve deeper into mastering, check out Warp Academy’s YouTube channel for more in-depth tutorials and tips.

Thank you, Drew, for sharing your expertise. Your insights are invaluable for anyone looking to improve their mastering skills. For more resources and professional mastering services, visit Mastering The Mix and explore our range of plugins and tools designed to help you achieve the perfect master.