What is mastering?
Mastering is the last step in preparing your recording to be heard by the world! Mastering gets your mix into compliance with standards for radio airplay, streaming and CD production. But more importantly, mastering is an art form that can push your music to sound its absolute best.
Are mastering services required for my recording?
If you want your song to be played on radio, streamed and/or released on CD and have it sound in a similar quality and volume ballpark as national releases (or even more serious local bands) – yes, mastering is required.
How is mastering different than mixing?
Mastering is different than mixing in many ways. While mixing focuses on balancing each individual instrument in songs, mastering shapes the overall sound of the mix, giving each song the right amount of bottom end, midrange, and high end. If your mix contains any harsh frequencies that negatively impact the sound quality, mastering can correct those. It also smooths out a mix, making sure no parts of the song jump out at listeners. Additionally, mastering also brings up the overall volume of a mix to maximum levels without distorting the sound of the song.
Why should I have separate people mix and master my recording?
Recording/mixing engineers spend a lot of time with your recording from the moment the first note is recorded until the last fader move is made on the final mix. If they do a good job, they will have exhausted their bank of ideas to make your recording the best they can by the time the mix is done. So, ask them to master the recording they just mixed and, chances are, they are not going to make what they’ve done much better.
Additionally, they may not own tools designed specifically for professional mastering services. Spoiler alert: Pro Tools is NOT a tool designed specifically for mastering! It simply can't make the difference that mastering-specific tools do.
When we master music at Before and After Music Group's mastering studio, we look for at least one opportunity that the mixing engineer may not have thought of when shaping your recording. We bring in fresh ears that haven't been biased by working with your project for days, weeks or months. Because our mastering engineer will have his/her own expertise to draw on, our mastering will actually add to the quality of your recording. And we use our mastering-specific tools that enable us to analyze your music and our work, resulting in a noticeable improvement in the sound of your recording.
Are mastering services helpful for home recordings, too?
Absolutely! If you’ve recorded and mixed your music by yourself, mastering can give you at least one professional touch to your recording.
Why is Before and After Music Group the best choice for mastering my recording?
There are several things that make Before and After Group special for you: our industry-leading mastering-specific tools, our innovative pricing model, and our commitment to your happiness are three of them.
But, perhaps the most powerful reason we can think of for you to choose us for mastering services is that we see mastering as an art form. We don’t see it is a process of getting an unmastered file in and sending a mastered file out. We will treat your music with the TLC we would treat our own with and focus on making it artistically sound better!
What exactly will you do when you master my recording?
When starting a project, we ask our clients to name a recent song by a popular artist in a similar style that the client finds sonically appealing. We listen to that song FIRST.
Then, we listen to your song(s). That enables us to immediately identify gaps between your unmastered mix and a professionally mastered mix and come up with a mastering services game plan to make your recording sound as close in quality to – or better than – that popular track.
We then use our advanced mastering tools to shape the sound of your recording and make it sound the best it can, applying years of musicianship experience and ears for great-sounding productions.
Finally, we bring up the overall volume of the track. We do this with surgical precision. We listen closely and bring the level up little by little, identifying the point where your music starts not sounding pleasing to a human ear. We finally set the volume of your track at the perfect point where volume is maximized without crossing that line where a great sound is compromised.
How much do Before and After Music Group's mastering services cost?
The “standard” cost for our mastering services is $50 per song. If you need a DDP file (which may be needed by your CD manufacturer), that is an additional $50 per album (not per song).
HOWEVER, we recognize the hardship on musicians brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. So, for a limited time, we are offering a “Pay What You Want/Pay What You Can” plan. Email us at beforeandaftermusicgroup@gmail.com for details on how our Pay What You Want/Can pricing structure can save you money.
How long does it take for Before and After Music Group to master a music release?
Usually, we ask for a full week for any mastering project from a single to a 12-song album. If you are in a time crunch or have an album with more than 12 songs, email us at beforeandaftermusicgroup@gmail.com to inquire about our turnaround time. We may have the available capacity to put your release on the fast track.
In what format should I send my unmastered mix?
You should send us a stereo WAV file of your mix. Ideally, there should be 3 to 6 dB of headroom. That means that your mixing engineer should make sure that the loudest part of your tracks peaks no higher than -3 to -6dB on the master bus meter. Your mixing engineer should apply no EQ, no compression and no limiting to the master bus.
What is the process to get my music mastered?
Getting started is simple. When you are committed to using Before and After Music Group for your mastering services, you need to send us two things:
When we are done, we will send you WAV files for each mastered song plus an invoice that you’ll pay within 2 business days. After payment, you are free to use the files to release your mastered music! If you want anything tweaked, we will tweak until you are happy!
How do Before and After Music Group’s mastering services compare to the new online mastering options?
We’ve tried the online mastering options and they’re not what we’d call “professional” mastering services. With online mastering, no one listens to your music and uses their artistic expertise to carefully help you sound the best you can. Professional mastering is an art and a science. Online mastering brings no art to your music and barely handles the science of mastering. It has its place in the world for bringing a little more volume and tone improvement to amateur demos, but does not get your music sounding as good as it can in competitive situations like radio airplay. If it did, major record labels would use it. Check the credits of your favorite albums. They don’t use online mastering.
Where is Before and After Music Group located?
We are located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We can perform mastering services for any artist, anywhere in the world!
What if I want to chat with someone before getting started or had questions other than the above questions?
We'd love to hear from you! Email us at beforeandaftermusicgroup@gmail.com or call/text us at +1-412-600-8241. We’d be happy to shed some more light on how our mastering services can help your music reach its potential!
Mastering is the last step in preparing your recording to be heard by the world! Mastering gets your mix into compliance with standards for radio airplay, streaming and CD production. But more importantly, mastering is an art form that can push your music to sound its absolute best.
Are mastering services required for my recording?
If you want your song to be played on radio, streamed and/or released on CD and have it sound in a similar quality and volume ballpark as national releases (or even more serious local bands) – yes, mastering is required.
How is mastering different than mixing?
Mastering is different than mixing in many ways. While mixing focuses on balancing each individual instrument in songs, mastering shapes the overall sound of the mix, giving each song the right amount of bottom end, midrange, and high end. If your mix contains any harsh frequencies that negatively impact the sound quality, mastering can correct those. It also smooths out a mix, making sure no parts of the song jump out at listeners. Additionally, mastering also brings up the overall volume of a mix to maximum levels without distorting the sound of the song.
Why should I have separate people mix and master my recording?
Recording/mixing engineers spend a lot of time with your recording from the moment the first note is recorded until the last fader move is made on the final mix. If they do a good job, they will have exhausted their bank of ideas to make your recording the best they can by the time the mix is done. So, ask them to master the recording they just mixed and, chances are, they are not going to make what they’ve done much better.
Additionally, they may not own tools designed specifically for professional mastering services. Spoiler alert: Pro Tools is NOT a tool designed specifically for mastering! It simply can't make the difference that mastering-specific tools do.
When we master music at Before and After Music Group's mastering studio, we look for at least one opportunity that the mixing engineer may not have thought of when shaping your recording. We bring in fresh ears that haven't been biased by working with your project for days, weeks or months. Because our mastering engineer will have his/her own expertise to draw on, our mastering will actually add to the quality of your recording. And we use our mastering-specific tools that enable us to analyze your music and our work, resulting in a noticeable improvement in the sound of your recording.
Are mastering services helpful for home recordings, too?
Absolutely! If you’ve recorded and mixed your music by yourself, mastering can give you at least one professional touch to your recording.
Why is Before and After Music Group the best choice for mastering my recording?
There are several things that make Before and After Group special for you: our industry-leading mastering-specific tools, our innovative pricing model, and our commitment to your happiness are three of them.
But, perhaps the most powerful reason we can think of for you to choose us for mastering services is that we see mastering as an art form. We don’t see it is a process of getting an unmastered file in and sending a mastered file out. We will treat your music with the TLC we would treat our own with and focus on making it artistically sound better!
What exactly will you do when you master my recording?
When starting a project, we ask our clients to name a recent song by a popular artist in a similar style that the client finds sonically appealing. We listen to that song FIRST.
Then, we listen to your song(s). That enables us to immediately identify gaps between your unmastered mix and a professionally mastered mix and come up with a mastering services game plan to make your recording sound as close in quality to – or better than – that popular track.
We then use our advanced mastering tools to shape the sound of your recording and make it sound the best it can, applying years of musicianship experience and ears for great-sounding productions.
Finally, we bring up the overall volume of the track. We do this with surgical precision. We listen closely and bring the level up little by little, identifying the point where your music starts not sounding pleasing to a human ear. We finally set the volume of your track at the perfect point where volume is maximized without crossing that line where a great sound is compromised.
How much do Before and After Music Group's mastering services cost?
The “standard” cost for our mastering services is $50 per song. If you need a DDP file (which may be needed by your CD manufacturer), that is an additional $50 per album (not per song).
HOWEVER, we recognize the hardship on musicians brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. So, for a limited time, we are offering a “Pay What You Want/Pay What You Can” plan. Email us at beforeandaftermusicgroup@gmail.com for details on how our Pay What You Want/Can pricing structure can save you money.
How long does it take for Before and After Music Group to master a music release?
Usually, we ask for a full week for any mastering project from a single to a 12-song album. If you are in a time crunch or have an album with more than 12 songs, email us at beforeandaftermusicgroup@gmail.com to inquire about our turnaround time. We may have the available capacity to put your release on the fast track.
In what format should I send my unmastered mix?
You should send us a stereo WAV file of your mix. Ideally, there should be 3 to 6 dB of headroom. That means that your mixing engineer should make sure that the loudest part of your tracks peaks no higher than -3 to -6dB on the master bus meter. Your mixing engineer should apply no EQ, no compression and no limiting to the master bus.
What is the process to get my music mastered?
Getting started is simple. When you are committed to using Before and After Music Group for your mastering services, you need to send us two things:
- A WAV file of your final mix via http://beforeandaftermusic.wetransfer.com
- Information about your release via https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1LZUcjSRIE2WWs1LoUnDfkMDXEXA1orlPLHkqnWbxIx0/viewform?edit_requested=true
When we are done, we will send you WAV files for each mastered song plus an invoice that you’ll pay within 2 business days. After payment, you are free to use the files to release your mastered music! If you want anything tweaked, we will tweak until you are happy!
How do Before and After Music Group’s mastering services compare to the new online mastering options?
We’ve tried the online mastering options and they’re not what we’d call “professional” mastering services. With online mastering, no one listens to your music and uses their artistic expertise to carefully help you sound the best you can. Professional mastering is an art and a science. Online mastering brings no art to your music and barely handles the science of mastering. It has its place in the world for bringing a little more volume and tone improvement to amateur demos, but does not get your music sounding as good as it can in competitive situations like radio airplay. If it did, major record labels would use it. Check the credits of your favorite albums. They don’t use online mastering.
Where is Before and After Music Group located?
We are located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We can perform mastering services for any artist, anywhere in the world!
What if I want to chat with someone before getting started or had questions other than the above questions?
We'd love to hear from you! Email us at beforeandaftermusicgroup@gmail.com or call/text us at +1-412-600-8241. We’d be happy to shed some more light on how our mastering services can help your music reach its potential!