Mixing and Mastering

Just like music production and creating music, mixing and mastering is a learned craft in itself—and it’s a huge part of the production process.

Mixing

Audio mixing is the process of taking the individual tracks of a song and using a DAW, plugins, and/or hardware, among other tools, to bring the mix together and make it sound as good as possible.

The mixing process involves volume levels, automation, faders, limiters, panning, reverb, compressors, equalization, and so much more—all with one goal: a cohesive, professional mix.

Your mixing engineer will a multitude of tools to bring out your vocals, control the low-end, and overall, just make the final mix sound good—and prepare it for mastering.

Although both stages are very important, Mixing accounts for 95% of the process. So pick your mix engineers wisely.

Mastering

Mixing and Mastering are two very different things, and one cannot fix the other. For example, a good master can’t fix a bad mix. The two go hand in hand. Therefore, it’s best that your mixing engineer is also your mastering engineer.

Once the final mix has been completed, your engineer will mix it down and begin the mastering stage.

The mastering process involves the final EQing process, stereo-widening / stereo enhancement, dynamic range, loudness control, and so much more—rendering a high-quality stereo file of your song using the entire mix.

When mastering a full album, your engineer can take the individual songs from your album and master them together, bringing together a cohesive album listening experience.

Our Mixing and Mastering Services

At jbzbeats.com, we offer Mixing and Mastering as a package. While we specialize in hip hop and rap (including instrumentals / Beats), we can Mix and Master any genre, from EDM to singer-songwriter.

Simply send us the individual audio tracks of your song(s) (the “tracked out stems”), and we’ll do the rest, from audio mixing to audio mastering. To get a better idea of what Mixing and Mastering can do, check out the overall sound quality improvements on our before and after examples above.

Take your music to a whole new level and make it sound good on playback systems of any kind.

Pricing

We offer mixing and mastering for a flat-rate of $100 per song, with discounts for bulk orders.

Why You NEED Mixing and Mastering

You have 2 options:

1. You can take the time to learn the art of Mixing and Mastering

OR

2. You can hire someone that’s already been doing it for years.

Don’t Try to Do EVERYTHING Yourself

Option 1 might be a good option for you if you’re low on money but have a lot of time on your hands and are truly passionate about the technicalities of audio. Keep in mind; you’ll still need to invest in some software and equipment.

Option 2 is probably the best option for those who work full-time and are bootstrapping their music career. You have the funds to invest in the sound quality of your music, but you might not have the time to learn the tedious process of mixing and mastering yourself.

Really, your spare time should be spent on CREATING music, and then marketing and promoting yourself. After all, creating your music is a very small part of breaking into the music industry. There are so many other things that go into it, so use your time wisely.

From the Recording Studio to the Radio (or Spotify, iTunes, etc.)

Here are 2 of the most common scenarios:

1. You Record at Your Own Home (Recommended)

You have a home studio setup, and you record your own music. I would highly recommend this method, simply because you don’t need a “professional” studio to make your music sound good; you need a professional mixing and mastering engineer.

I would suggest this route. Invest in the equipment and you’ll save your money in the long run. Not to mention, you’ll have full control over your music, and won’t ever need to rush anything for the sake of saving money.

2. You Pay a Studio for Studio Time

This is also a good option if you don’t want to spend the money on expensive equipment—but be careful. Just because someone charges you for it, doesn’t mean they’re professional. I’ve had clients that use a local recording studio, and the people they hire will send me their tracks—and I can tell that even though they’re charging for it, the recording engineers don’t really know what they’re doing.

Not to mention, when you’re on the clock, you might rush your recordings and be reluctant to go back and fix things. As an artist, if you’re anything like me, you’re also a perfectionist—so that’s hard to deal with.

They might even offer Mixing and Mastering

Many recording studios offer a full service. But again, just because they charge for it, doesn’t mean they’re professional. Be weary. In today’s day and age, there are many people trying to capitalize on the growing music industry, but some are amateurs preying on other amateurs.

Mixing and Mastering Online

In the digital world we live it, it’s as:

1. Record a song in your own home

2. Export the song’s individual tracks and compress them to one file

3. Send that file via Gmail (Google Drive) or Dropbox

From there, a professional can easily mix and master your music from a distance—with better results than you might have gotten at a local recording studio (and often cheaper).

My studio is at home, so I don’t have the overhead that a recording studio has. Therefore, I have more competitive prices.

How to Send Your Song for Mixing and Mastering

1. Recording

Obviously this is the first step to any song. But here are a few mistakes that you (or your recording engineer) can easily avoid.

Recording Too Loud

Don’t record too loud (watch your mic input levels). If you record with your levels too high, your recordings will “clip.” Clipping means that the tops and bottoms of your waveforms are cut off.

Not Recording Multiple Layers

It’s a common mistake for artists to just record one layer for the hook and/or verses

If you record multiple layers for your hook, your mixing engineer can layer your voice on the hook, and make it sound fuller.

Record 2 doubles (emphasis on the rhymes) so your mixing engineer can make your verses pop.

There isn’t just one way to do this, get creative. But only send the layers that you expect your mixing engineer to use.

2. Exporting

(Optional) Export a Reference Track

If you’ve mixed your own song by adding your own effects, and created a certain feel or vibe for your track, be sure to send it to your engineer. They can keep the same vibe while making your track sound better.

But Turn Off Your Effects

Turn off ALL of your effects on your individual tracks and the master bus (with the exception of any pitch correction, if you like how it’s sounding).

It’s important that you send your tracks completely raw so the mixing engineer can get a fresh start on your track. The order of effects is important, so if you leave a reverb on, for example, your engineer would have a hard time putting compressors on your voice, while keeping a clean sound.

Be sure to check the master bus for effects and turn those off too.

Export Individual Tracks

Your engineer will need the individual tracks of your song to mix and master it. This includes all of your vocal recordings.

If you also have the stems to the Beat, that will help take the potential quality to a whole new level—especially since not every producer has properly mixed their own Beat.

3. Sending Your Song

So you’ve exported all of your individual tracks to one folder. Now, right click the folder, and select “compress.” This will create one file ready for sending.

I suggest using a Gmail account to send your files. Every Gmail account comes with 15GB of Google Drive storage, allowing you to easily email large files across the internet.

Send your compressed folder (.zip) and reference track (.mp3 or .wav) to mixing@jbzbeats.com.

We’ll Walk You Through it—From Start to Finish

Sending tacks over for the first time can seem intimidating. Don’t worry about it. We’ll walk you through it from start to finish. If you need assistance, shoot me an email at jared@jbzbeats.com.

If you have any questions about Mixing and mastering in general, just ask!