Mastering Central

I sometimes get the question, “Why do you reccomend XARC Mastering?”

Although the price for the quality of work you get is one of the most important factors.

The other main reason is that chief mastering engineer Lorenz Vauck consistently performs top-quality work.

When I refer people to him, I know they are going to be thrilled with the results… and it’s going to make a real difference in the success of their music.

For example, here are just a few “testimonials” he receives on a consistant basis:

“Xarc Mastering is that final link between my recordings and my audience that I’ve been trying to find for the last 20-years! I never thought I’d ever get my music to this kind of quality without a recording contract!

From now on, all my CD’s are going to Xarc before hitting the public! I thoroughly enjoyed working with Lorenz at Xarc; he is very helpful and friendly and even guides you through each step if you don’t understand something. It has been quite a new experience for me. I would recommend Xarc Mastering to anybody that’s serious about having an awesome sounding CD!”

Richard Guymon

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“i accidentally stumbled onto the xarc mastering website one day while trying to find a recipe for german potato salad. boom, up jumped michael b. sutton’s name.

i remembered michael from my motown days back in the late 70’s early 80’s. it’s like the commercial: if mikey likes it, it’s the real deal. (i have a ton of respect for michael.) so i listened to a few xarc demo’s and was hooked.

i sent lorenz my project and what i got back was amazing— the clarity in my track, a great stereo image, all with a tight bottom. my brass sounded like brass and not kazoo’s. you can see the rosin floating through the air from the strings and smell what the clarinet players had for lunch.

i was totally impressed. working with lorenz was a complete pleasure. from the first day ‘til the final download, you won’t find another person as professional, as detail oriented or as dedicated to his craft. i realize this may come off a little syrupy … but work with him and you’ll conclude what a lot of us already know: he should be anointed “mix master of the planet”!

he’s the ultimate wizard of mastering.

i’m an old dog and have been mastering for years, so that qualifies me as an authority on magic fairy dust. the brand and amount lorenz sprinkles on your mixes i’m sure is a trade secret, but from the first downbeat to the last master fade your tracks/songs will shine with that high ‘xarc’ gloss and have that competitive punch we all need to impress. go ahead and jump in like i did … his mixes will draw a thousand smiles out of you just like they did for me.

thanks again lorenz, i feel like i’ve truly made a friend for life.”

-john duarte

john duarte, is a producer, arranger, keyboardist, songwriter and programmer. he has over three and a half decades of surviving in the music business.  john has produced, written and played for the new edition, jennifer holiday, tiffany, rockwell, charlene, randy crawford, the four tops, pc quest, kicking harold, the temptations and his latest,
kaukasian. totally at home in any style or genre—whatupjohn@aol.com

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“I can’t say enough great things about Xarc Mastering. Lorenz was incredibly easy to work with and his professionalism was unparalleled.

As his website says, communication IS the key ingredient to his process. The end result was simply amazing. The mastered track was so clear and so professional-sounding.

He removed the muddiness from our bass without affecting the deep end, warmed up the mix without killing the highs.

We had a rush job—panic job, actually before the Winter Music Conference this year and he was able to oblige. We were able to use the mastered track as our promo and even heard our song played out by a DJ on a proper club soundsystem where the Xarc touch was most apparent!

Thanks again, Lorenz, we’ll be using you for our future tracks!”

Sung – “Shady” from 3:SLAX

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And these testimonials are just the tip of the icberb.

These testimonials and many are found inside the “XARC In Your Own Words” section of the XARC Mastering forum.

Check-out what XARC has to offer you now at:
http://www.xarcmastering.com/?ref=recommended

To The Success of Your Music,

Hans Klein

Technorati Tags: XARC Mastering, XARC, Lorenz Vauck, Music Mastering, Mastering, Audio Mastering, Music Production, Mixing and Mastering, Mastering Studio, Mastering Engineer

Mastering can often result in a significant improvement for your music. However, the difference it makes for you depends on the quality of the engineer doing the mastering.

An inexperienced mastering engineer can only help with a few small improvements in the quality of your sound (if you’re lucky). Sometimes they can even make your music worse!

But, a pro mastering engineer is going to give you feedback and know how to make the right adjustments that results in a final “Hit” sound.

For this reason, let’s cover what you should look for in a top mastering studio:

1. Has a solid reputation. There aren’t a lot of mastering engineers who work for the big studios. Only a small number have gained their trust.

The reason is because the best mastering isn’t easy to achieve. It takes years of experience and even then you’ve got to have knack for the process.

Average mastering engineers are not hard to come by, but the best engineers are a rare find. When you come across an engineer who you can trust with your music, then you’ll want to stick with them album after album.

2. Has a wide range of experience, especially with your genre of music.

Every song has its unique quirks and only experience allows the engineers to know the best solution for every song.

Moreover, each genre of music is going to be slightly different. Your ideal mastering studio should be very familiar with your genre of music… and preferably be a fan.

This allows the engineer to give the best feedback and help get the creative juices flowing to bring out the best possible sound.

3. Has fast response times.  A good mastering studio offers you quick responses and once the work is done, they are prompt in sending it back to you.

A mastering studio should give your music a top priority and be devoted to achieving your final vision.

4. Has the right equipment and is skilled with it.

A common problem with many “budget studios,” which seem to offer a good deal (at first sight) is that they often don’t have the proper equipment to give your music the adjustments it needs.

And if they do have some of the equipment, then they don’t have the experience needed to get the most out of it – meaning your music turns out far short of what it could.

5. Guarantees you’re happy with the result.

A good mastering studio works to ensure that you’re happy… and you’ve gotten what you wanted (and more) out of the mastering process. So, if something is overlooked, you can rest assured that they will go back and fix it – so your music is a success!

The mastering studio I recommend that meets all of these guidelines is XARC Mastering with chief mastering engineer Lorenz Vauck. You can see exactly what they have to offer you by clicking here. Be sure to listen to their before/after demos and see their countless satisfied client testimonials.

Technorati Tags: record, mastering, music mastering, audio mastering, precise mastering, online mastering, mastering studio, mastering engineer, mastering professional, recording, music production, producer, artist, music artist, musician, mastering house, mixing and mastering, mixing, mastering software

When it comes to mastering, many artists want to do it themselves so that they can have full control over their music. However, few realize just how much goes into it… and not everybody has what it takes to do a pro job.

This then results in music far short of what it could be when those (not realizing how much goes into mastering) sit down and get to work with mastering software on their home PC.

So, what does it take to get top results with mastering? There are 5 key points:

1. Patience. A good mastering engineer must carefully listen to the audio and know that not every adjustment is going to work out. You’ve got to test, tweak, and listen, until you get the best possible sound.

This means you never know how long it’s going to take to master even a short track. It may need a wide range of adjustments… or not much at all to bring out the best possible sound.

2. Good ears. Just like a photographer or artist needs “good eyes” to create the picture with the best color coordination, a good mastering engineer needs “good ears” to pick-out potential problems… and find the best combination for all of the sounds.

This often takes training and a natural gift to be able to do this well.

3. Experience. Mastering is not something you can automatically do a great job with after reading a book or having just a little bit of hands on training. Every audio you encounter is going to require different adjustments to some degree.

Only experiencing a wide range of music and situations is going to allow you to know the best solutions for all of your music.

4. Knowledge of the equipment. This goes back to having experience. It often takes an engineer a good amount of years and clients before they feel fully comfortable with their tools.

Simply knowing what needs to be applied to music is pointless if you don’t know how to do it the best way with your equipment.

5. Ability to communicate with the client. A common problem with many mastering studios is that they don’t listen and communicate with the client well enough.

As a mastering engineer, your job is to help complete the client’s vision. If you can’t get a clear picture of their final vision, then you’re going to have a lot of unhappy clients.

Additionally, you as the artist, can never do a good job mastering if you’re not clear yourself in what you want. Talking with the mastering engineers allows you to understand what can be done to your music during the mastering process.

Probably, the standard for learning about mastering is Bob Katz’s book, “Mastering Audio: The Art and Science.”

Of course, the single biggest advantage of going with a mastering engineer is the fresh pair of independent, skilled ears. Without them, then you’re never going to reach the “Sonic perfection” your music deserves – and increase your chances of having more success.

This is why you should always invest in a professional mastering engineer when the success of your music is on-the-line. The mastering engineer we recommend is Lorenz Vauck of XARC Mastering for 5 key reasons. Click here to learn more.

Technorati Tags: record, mastering, music mastering, audio mastering, precise mastering, online mastering, mastering studio, mastering engineer, mastering professional, recording, music production, producer, artist, music artist, musician, mastering house, mixing and mastering, mixing, mastering software

Today, I’d like to point you in the direction of a cool MP3 Podcast on mastering over at:

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/10/10/230906.php

It’s an interview with Mark Ethier of the mastering software Izotope.

The interivew is great, however, a key point to add is that you should only master yourself for music that’s just for fun… and to not risk it when it counts.  There’s so much involved with the mastering process that it’s impossible to get pro results without going with a top engineer.

The engineer we reccomend is Lorenz Vauck of XARC Mastering.  Click here to read why.

See more posts on why professional mastering is so important at: http://www.masteringcentral.com/?cat=4

Technorati Tags: record, mastering, music mastering, audio mastering, precise mastering, online mastering, mastering studio, mastering engineer, mastering professional, recording, music production, producer, artist, music artist, musician, mastering house, mixing and mastering, mixing, mastering software

As a music artist or producer, understanding the mastering process is a vital part to getting the best possible sound from your music.

Because if you don’t know the ins and outs of it, then its often hard to choose the best mastering engineer for your money. However, when you do know how everything works together, then you are virtually guaranteed to get the hit sounding final record you envisioned.

With that said, let’s cover three important components of the mastering process to getting a great final master:

1. The listening process.

Before you know what to fix, you’ve got hear the music out.

The first time you hear it, you listen to see that there is no clipping (digital distortion). Then, you listen to hear if the file is at least 24bit (16bit is often to poor quality for mastering).

After the basics are established, it is time look for the big “errors,” such as too low-volume vocals, or heavily out-of-phase stereo-image/to mono stereo-image… or a too boomy bass, for example (plus, there are a number of other little things that a skilled mastering engineer knows to look for from experience).

2. Next, the mastering process begins. Every song usually requires something different. A good mastering engineer does not limit himself to certain techniques, but uses a wide variety, depending on what is needed. Bad engineers may only be proficient in a few techniques and use those repeatedly.

Through out the mastering process, the ears are given time to rest. If the ears become too used to the project, then the mastering is put aside for a while.

It´s amazing how used to music you can get even only in a few hours of fine-tuning / mastering. A few hours later, you can again hear things you haven´t noticed before.

Then, you continue that until one of those “fresh-listening-sessions” results in no more changes you want to do to the project. This is how you know you are done with your work.

It doesn’t stop after you get tired.

3. Finally, when the work is done, the client is given the approval master.

If the client wants any changes, then the mastering engineer will discuss the pros and cons of each.  Sometimes certain changes are not possible because the supplied mix doesn´t allow you to make these changes in a way that would not “damage” other important aspects. In this case, the client must decide if they want to redo the mix.

This is a reason why it’s so important to talk with the mastering engineer through the recording and mixng phases to make sure nothing is overlooked.

Eventually, through back and forth discussion with the client, a consensus is reached on a final sound.

Once the client gives the final approval (and the engineer is satisfied with everything from the technical and mastering-”experience”-perspective), the final master everyone is happy with is created.

The result is a much better record than could ever be achieved without the help of a skilled mastering engineer.

The mastering studio who follows all of these processes (and we recommend) is XARC Mastering with chief engineer Lorenz Vauck. With over 800 clients he has proven himself to be one of the top mastering engineers around. You can hear and see for yourself what he can do for you when you visit the XARC site by clicking here.

Technorati Tags: record, mastering, music mastering, audio mastering, precise mastering, online mastering, mastering studio, mastering engineer, mastering professional, recording, music production, producer, artist, music artist, musician, mastering house, mixing and mastering, mixing

Note: Please see: http://www.masteringcentral.com/?p=45 for part 1 of Frequently Asked Questions About XARC Mastering.

Q: How long does it take to complete?

Too often people think of mastering as something you don’t have to think about, until the last minute.

This often leads to rushed jobs and the hiring of mastering studios that focus on getting their wallets fatter more than making sure they do a quality job. So, if your job takes more than what they originally anticipated, then they’ll do a job far short of what they could.

Lorenz Vauck, chief mastering of XARC Mastering is passionate about the mastering process and offers a “work, until its right guarantee.” Getting quality results always comes first.

This ensures you get the best final song or record possible… and you end your first project as among one of the other hundreds of satisfied clients.

For more information on this topic, see: http://www.masteringcentral.com/?p=47. Also, be sure to see the countless unsolicited client testimonials given in the XARC forum inside http://www.xarcmastering.com/?ref=recommended.

Q: Can mastering fix my poor quality recording?

Yes and no. Technically, mastering can never fix a poor quality recording. However, at XARC, Lorenz has performed several “Miracle” jobs where he has taken a poor quality mix and transformed it into descent quality that you would have a hard time finding any problems with it.

You can listen to tons of demos where these jobs have been done at: http://www.xarcmastering.com/demos/?ref=recommended.

Q: Does XARC also do mixing or offer any other services besides mastering?

Stay away from mastering studios that offer mixing from the same engineer who does the mastering as well.

Remember, the main benefit of mastering is the fresh pair of independent and skilled ears. If the mastering engineer spends weeks mixing your music, then he or she becomes close to your music just like everybody else – and, as a result, offers much less value when he puts on his “Mastering hat” on.

Additionally, you’re going to get far better results from somebody who specializes in the craft of mastering. After all, it takes hundreds of clients to become a real pro where you know what to do in virtually all situations a song throws at you.

When you both mix and master, then it’s very hard to become an expert at both.

This is why XARC specializes in mastering only – to give you the best results possible.

Q: Does XARC offer a guarantee?

Absolutely! Sometimes studios offer a money back guarantee, if they offer anything at all. This is definitely better than nothing.

However, wouldn’t it be better to feel certain you’re going to get what you wanted in the first place?

If you’re like most people, of course you would, because nobody likes to waste their time.

For this reason, XARC offers a “Work, until it’s right” guarantee. This means that when you go with XARC, you can rest assured you’re going to love the results you get. You risk nothing and don´t have to pay anything extra (it´s all included in the base-price you can calculate at http://www.xarcmastering.com/pricing/?ref=recommended).

Q: How I do get started?

Signing-up is easy. Just visit: http://www.xarcmastering.com/?ref=recommended and see the box that says, “A Quick Tour of XARC” in the center of the page. You are then walked step-by-step through the sign-up process.

Then, just click on the “Contact” link posted several times on the home page and fill out the form. Lorenz will then promptly get in touch with you.

And then you’re ready to go! So, don’t wait another moment and book your mastering project now at: http://www.xarcmastering.com/?ref=recommended. Please keep in mind, that because of the growing clientele (most become repeat clients) XARC often is booked up for weeks in advance and so you should be sure to sign-up as soon as possible.

Technorati Tags: XARC Mastering, XARC, Lorenz Vauck, Music Mastering, Mastering, Audio Mastering, Music Production, Mixing and Mastering, Mastering Studio, Mastering Engineer

When it comes to making a record, mastering is usually the last thing on most people’s mind. After all, there’s a whole lot more that goes into it before you even come close to the mastering process.

However, this lack of forethought often causes a problem.

Too often people wait until the last minute (just after the mix has been completed) before they put any thought into their mastering.

This can be a costly mistake.

The biggest reason is that it often puts you and the mastering engineer “Under the gun” to get it done fast. And, when this happens, it’s often impossible to get the best possible sound from your music.

Why?

Well, the most important reason to get music mastering is the fresh, skilled, and independent ears. This is because they are the only way to catch mistakes and ensure your music has the “Hit” sound before it’s released.

Otherwise, only those who have a lot invested in the music (or people with some type of bias) are going to give you feedback on your music – and that’s how deadly mistakes often occur (Click here for more on this topic).

So, when you give the mastering engineer only a day or two to get it done fast, then there’s no guarantee you’re going to get the best possible result. 

Plus, you’ll often find that the best mastering engineers are booked weeks in advance and so they have to pass on your project to one of the less busy (and in relation, often less good) mastering engineers.

Yet, this is what most people do. They go with a mastering studio that promises to get their music done in a short time and expect the same results than if they went with a “Real pro.”

You see, the best mastering engineers take enough time as it takes to get the master right. If a song doesn’t need much, then they can finish their job more quickly. But, if there are serious changes that need to be made, then a pro is going to take his time to make sure the best possible sound is achieved. And since the pro has many happy clients because of this approach to work, he is often booked weeks in advance.

This includes talking with you to get a clear picture of what you want… and giving the music as many listens and adjustments as it takes before he feels confident in his work. If his ear gets tired from listening to the music too many times in a row, then he’ll take a break to let it rest – and have new ideas come-up

Simply put, what all this means to you is simple… don’t wait until the last moment to start thinking about your mastering. You should begin by communicating with your mastering engineer during the recording and mixing phases to make sure you have the best sound for the engineer to master.

Because, remember, the mastering engineer can make a good recording sound great, but he can’t rid a bad recording and remove all of its flaws.

Then, when you finally get to the mastering phase, you should give the engineer as much time as it takes to work his “Magic”— because you know that rushing is going to mean you can easily miss-out on some killer improvements.

This means, if possible, pre-book a slot in his mastering schedule far in advance to make sure time is not an issue (because his schedule is too full to take in your project in your desired time frame).

The mastering engineer we recommend is Lorenz Vauck of XARC Mastering. When you go with XARC, you can rest assured you’ve gone with the best choice because your music comes with a “work, until it’s right” guarantee. This ensures you get the best possible sound. Click here to discover what XARC has to offer you.

Technorati Tags: record, mastering, music mastering, audio mastering, precise mastering, online mastering, mastering studio, mastering engineer, mastering professional, recording, music production, producer, artist, music artist, musician, mastering house, mixing and mastering, mixing

The music world is filled with one hit wonders and those that made it big for a short time, but are now forgotten. Their loyal fans are non-existent.

You see, most artists don’t realize that you can attract lots of fans in the short run, but it doesn’t mean your music is going to stick around for long.

New music comes out. Fans move on.

On the other hand, some bands have loyal fans that are die-hards forever. Even more, the music is passed on to their kids, a new generation of fans (the Beatles, for example).

But, what is it that keeps fans loyal to your music long into the future?

Of course, there are a lot of different factors. But, probably the single biggest one few people put enough emphasis on is creating a record that fans want to listen to nonstop – without tiring of it.

Because think about it. If you have good music, then your record is likely going to have some sales even if the record stinks.

But, how many of those fans are going to want to listen to your record years into the future? Not many. Because there’s nothing memorable about it.

And this is where good mastering comes into play. Mastering can by no means completely fix terrible recordings and mixes… But, it is what transforms your record into a masterpiece.

Without it, you have about 1 in a 1,000 chance of creating a timeless record. There are just going to be too many flaws that prevent your music from flowing smoothly from beginning to end.

And that’s the goal of a good mastering job. You want the listener to be able to replay your CD dozens of times in a row without wanting to throw it out.

Because when this is accomplished, you have created a memorable record. The listener looks forward to the next time he gets to listen to it it, tells his/her friends about it because it sounds great and fat – instead, of feeling “Sick and tired” of hearing it.

The need to listen to something new and different is reduced. Your music is a “Go-to” record time and time again.

In other words, what all this means to you is simple. Take your record serious and give it the respect it deserves. A good mastering engineer can literally be the difference between having your CD tossed or kept in the record player for generations to come!

To get your music mastered, your best bet is XARC Mastering with chief mastering engineer Lorenz Vauck. He has experience with over 800 clients to help ensure the best possible sound is brought out in your record. Click here to see the 5 main advantages XARC offers over other studios.

Technorati Tags: music mastering, mastering, audio mastering, mastering engineer, records, recording, mixing, music production, music, entertainment, band, music artist, musician, audio production, audio professional, mastering studio, mastering house

Q: Why shouldn’t I master on my own?

Mastering on your own should only be done as a last resort. You’re never going to get a professional sound and you can even make your music sound worse.

The main benefit of a mastering engineer is a fresh pair of skilled, independent ears. This allows you and the engineer to catch key problems and give your music the right kind of polish it needs.

If you don’t go with a pro, then you’re setting yourself up to miss key improvements that can push your music over the edge needed to become a hit.

If you’re short on money, then you should at least get one track mastered by a professional. This allows you to make the right impression when you approach others in the music business who can help you succeed.

Visit http://www.masteringcentral.com/?cat=4 for a more complete case on why mastering yourself is risky.

Q: What advantages does XARC offer over other studios?

The single biggest advantage XARC offers is the experience and communication skills of chief mastering engineer Lorenz Vauck.

You won’t be left with mastering far-short of what it could be… or have your ideas ignored. Instead, you’ll discover what can be done to your music from a proven pro who has mastered thousands of tracks – and experience an enjoyable two-way dialogue to bring out the best possible sound.

Click here to see 5 other key advantages XARC offers.

Q: Why does the investment price seem too low or expensive?

Good mastering doesn’t come cheap. If a studio is cheap, then you know the mastering engineer isn’t spending the time needed to make your music a success.

However, XARC offers affordable investment prices because it’s an online studio (which gives the engineer more flexibility) and it’s designed to remain open to independent artists.

Read these articles to get more information on this topic:

http://www.masteringcentral.com/?p=28 – “The Two Conflicting Paths In Front of The Mastering House”

http://www.masteringcentral.com/?p=24 – “Affordable Music Mastering: 5 Ways To Get The Most Bang For Your Buck”

http://www.masteringcentral.com/?p=9 – “Mastering: Is It Worth The Cost?”

Q: What advantages does online mastering offer over offline?

Online mastering studios have sprouted up like crazy over the years since XARC became the first in 2003.

The engineers love it because they have more flexibility in how they work and gain access to a world market.

And clients prefer it because it better fits into their schedules (just upload it over the internet), ease of instant communication through telephone or email, and they gain expertise of a pro who has seen a much wider variety of music than a local engineer.

Read about the importance of communication in mastering at:
http://www.masteringcentral.com/?p=37 – 5” Communication Tips to Get the Mastering Results You Want (and More)!”

And about the advantages of online mastering at:

http://www.masteringcentral.com/?p=36 – “Why Online Mastering May Be Your Best Bet To Get That ‘Hit’ Sound!”

http://www.masteringcentral.com/?p=4 – “Online vs. Offline Mastering”

Q: What kind of equipment does XARC have?

A key point about mastering is that the equipment is less important than what the engineer can do with it. An engineer experienced with the equipment is going to get more out of it – and create a better final result than somebody who lacks experience.

XARC has custom built digital and analog equipment to offer the most flexibility possible to what can be done to your music. This ensures your music gets the improvements it needs.

And remember, in the end you are paying for the perfect result, not the way you get there.

More information on mastering equipment is at:
http://www.masteringcentral.com/?p=6 – “What Kind of Mastering Equipment Should You Look For?”

Simply put, XARC is the clear choice to get your music mastered if you want to give your tracks a hit sound and enjoy superior service.

Click here to sign-up for your mastering session. While you’re there be sure to view all of the latest raving client testimonials in the forum and listen to dozens of before/after demos.

Technorati Tags: XARC Mastering, XARC, Lorenz Vauck, Music Mastering, Mastering, Audio Mastering, Music Production, Mixing and Mastering, Mastering Studio, Mastering Engineer

Quality mastering costs good money for a reason. It can sometimes mean the difference between having simply a good album or creating a smash-hit that lives on for decades to come.

All because it gives your music the independent look by a skilled engineer who can quickly identify problem areas that need improvement —and add polish to the parts of your music that may end-up causing your album to sell far less than it could.

With that said, there are a few times when it is NOT worth going through the expense of hiring a mastering engineer. These are for small personal projects that you may not want to focus on promoting.

They are just for you to experiment with and for a small amount to people to hear.

So, if this is you, then pay attention. Here are 6 mastering techniques to get a winning result if your music does not warrant hiring a pro:

1. Focus on the big problems and let many of the small ones slide. Remember, that many of the changes you make may cause problems to 5 other parts of the song.

In other words, you don’t want to get off track by focusing on a small problem that in the end isn’t very noticeable.

2. Remember that every track is different. Just because a change in a previous track was effective, it doesn’t mean it’s going to work on another.

Listen closely to each track and then decide what should be applied.

3. Get another pair of skilled, independent ears. The biggest advantage mastering offers is getting a second opinion from someone else who is not close to the music – and knows from experience about potential problems that occur.

Do your mastering with someone who has experience with music production to help make sure your changes sound good. And if you’re not sure about something, then take a break and let your ears and mind become “Fresh” again.

4. Know that mistakes are part of the process and you will make lots of them. Just be sure you save your music every step of the way…. And listen closely every time you make a change to make sure you don’t get way off track.

5. Create a mix optimal for mastering.  Click here to read a detailed article on how.

6. Listen on as many systems as possible. You want to make sure that your music sounds good on as many different systems as possible (like at home, in the car, on the kitchen radio, etc.) If you don´t have a good monitoring system in an acousticaly treated room and if you don´t know your system very well, then this is the only way to get at least “useable” results.

Simply put, you’re never going to get a truly “Pro” job without the help of someone who can perform expert mastering. However, it is possible to improve your personal music on your own and get a sound far better than you would have otherwise had.

For important projects you want to succeed, the mastering engineer I recommend is Lorenz Vauck, chief mastering engineer of XARC Mastering. XARC offers 5 key advantages over other studios. Click here to learn more.

Technorati Tags: mastering, music mastering, audio mastering, music production, mixing and mastering, mixing, audio, music, record, CD, DVD, music studio, mastering studio, audio production, music artist, musician, band, recording artist

Every artist has their influences. It’s how inspiration arises to create new hits.

However, this often causes a problem. At any given time, there are thousands of artists being influenced from the same great acts of the past.

As a result, too often everybody begins to sound too much alike—and this makes it hard for you to stand-out enough in the overcrowded marketplace.

Sure, you can have better music than everybody else. But, there are countless great musicians who failed to get noticed during their lifetime.

Simply put, your music must have the clear “edge” (in quality and emotional charge) over the rest. Otherwise, you’re most likely going to get drowned out by all of the competing noise.

This is another reason why mastering is so important. It’s what gives your music that final touch and helps drive your music home to becoming a hit.

After all, it’s hard to edit your own work. You may think you’re music is new and different. But, in reality, it may need some more polish to differentiate it from the crowd.

What you need is a new set of skilled and impartial ears a good mastering engineer offers… to help you put out the best possible version of your music.

Additoinally, this means when you get mastering, you must consider how you can make your music stand-out.

You should pay attention to how you can give your music a more innovative sound – so you grab the attention of your listeners (or others in the music business who can help get you heard.)

A good mastering engineer you trust is what’s key here. Because a unexperienced one won’t know exactly what to improve to make your record truly special. It takes the talent of a real pro to give your music that final touch to make sure it gets noticed.

The mastering engineer we recommend is Lorenz Vauck, chief mastering engineer of XARC Mastering. There are 5 key advantage XARC offers. Click here to discover what XARC can do for you!

Technorati Tags: mastering, music mastering, music, entertainment, audio, audio mastering, mastering engineer, mastering, music production, audio production, mixing, recording, single, album, mastering studio, mastering house

If you want to guarantee that your music has that “Hit” sound every time, then this short article may be the most important you will ever read.

Here’s why:

Too often people think that one type of music is better than another. Some people love country, but hate classical music… or they love classical, but can’t stand rap.

When in reality, great music is up to the listener. There really isn’t a good or bad because it all depends on what the listener relates to in the music.

But, here’s a key point that few of those in the music business think about.

What is it that makes a listener of your music become a fan? Or go from simply liking your music to wanting to play it non-stop in their CD player for years to come?

The answer is that your music touches something that comes “alive” inside the listener. You can’t really place what it is, but it makes it him or her boil with excitement.

Maybe it’s your lyrics the listener can relate to… or he just sees himself as the type of person who would be fan of your music (because of the image that is portrayed).

Simply put, the music is less about the quality (though still important) and more about emotions that are stirred-up when the person listens to the music.

And this is the secret key ingredient to mastering… focus on making your music pack an emotional punch in the listener.

By tapping into what the audience thinks and feels on daily basis, then this is how hits are made.

This means that when you make changes to your music (such as raise the volume or make certain parts of the song more cohesive), then you need to focus on stirring-up the right emotions of the listener.

In other words, a good mastering job can literally be the difference between your song failing or becoming a smash hit.

This is because you may have a created some great music, but it’s irrelevant if nobody can “feel” it. If it fails to reach what the listener cares about, they’re not going to listen to it.

Mastering gives your music that little extra edge needed to hit the “Sweet spot” inside your listeners – and make them raving fans.

And since the mastering engineer is an unbiased listener (not involved with any other parts of the music) he or she can adjust the music to give the listeners more of what they want.

For instance, maybe the drums aren’t prominent enough to get the listener going along with music… or, on the flip side, maybe they’re to loud and drown-out another important part the song the listeners want to hear.

Working one-on-one with the mastering engineer allows you to perfect your music during the mastering to give it the crucial emotional punch that creates hits!

The mastering studio we recommend is XARC Mastering with chief mastering engineer Lorenz Vauck. XARC offers 5 key benefits over other mastering studios, you can read about by clicking here.

Technorati Tags: mastering, mastering techniques, music mastering, music production, recording, mixing, audio, audio mastering, music, mastering studio, mastering house, audio production, entertainment, hit single, mastering engineer, band, musicans, musical artist

There’s a lot that goes into the production of your music. It’s got to be written, performed, tweaked (with each person involved adding his or her own personal touch), recorded, mixed, mastered, and finally distributed.

All of this takes months or years before any potential listeners get to hear your record.

Although this is often a difficult process, there is one step you can do to make the production go quicker, easier, and more pain-free.

Moreover, this step is a vital component to creating a hit record.

It’s simply this… continually work on building a cohesive vision of where your music is going.

In other words, you must have a picture in your head of the final sound and “feel” you’re trying to create. To get this vision, it involves actually stopping and taking time to answer the difficult questions.

You must think about (from the start) what sounds you want to experiment with and how you want the music to flow together. Think about how you would describe your music to people who’ve never heard it.

If you’re not certain of this picture, then you’re in for a difficult time. Because you’re going to go back and forth between changes and be indecisive about your music.

It’s a bit like being lost in the woods. If you keep on changing directions, then you’re never going to find your way out. You’ll keep going in circles.

As a result, you’re going to frustrate those who you work with (sometimes causing disagreements that can result in disaster) and it’s going to take longer to create the record.

Plus, you should also keep in mind that this vision is part of the creation process.

You’re not going to get the complete vision, until you’ve discussed your ideas with all of the people who help in the music production.

The holes of your final vision get filled-in as your music is produced and experimentation with different sounds takes place.

In the case of the mastering engineer, for instance, you need his expertise to get a clear view of what can technologically be done (based on his tools and skills).

This is the same with the mixing and recording engineer.

Another key point is that the more experienced the people you work with are, the better. Their experience is going to help guide you to making the best decisions based on years of working in-the-trenches.

They know what to expect and can guide you painlessly to creating your vision. All you have to do is figure-out how to explain it to them. Those with good communication skills are going to be the best people to work with.

Additionally, the biggest place where experience matters to help create your vision is in the mastering studio.

Mastering is the process of putting the final touches on your music and making all the sounds run seamlessly together. It makes your record complete.

The mastering engineer I recommend is Lorenz Vauck of XARC Mastering. With over 800 successful clients, he has the experience to help you put together your final vision. Click here to discover what XARC has to offer you.

Technorati Tags: Mastering, Mastering Engineer, Audio Mastering, Nusic Mastering, Mastering Studio, Recording, Mixing, Mixing and Mastering, Music Artist, Music, Entertainment, Band, Audio, Audio Mastering Engineer, Online Mastering, Records, Getting Signed, Record Deal

Passion is a key ingriedient to creating good music. Without it, the artist is never going to put his or her full emotion into the music.

However, this often causes a huge problem. After the music has been recorded and mixed, those who worked on it often fall too closely in love with the finished product.

Long hours slaving away in the studio can make anybody feel like little or nothing is wrong with the masterpiece you’ve just created.

It’s just like an author that writes a novel or a director that creates a movie. After all of that time and work spent on it, nobody wants to hear critical reviews. They’ve put their heart and soul into it. It’s their baby.

Your music is the same way. All of those who have put a lot of time and energy into your music aren’t going to be critical enough to catch serious problems.

For instance, maybe there’s a problem with the recording quality, the song just does not gel together, or it just does not have the best overall “feel” your potential listeners are looking for.

Simply put, too often musicans just don’t realize these mistakes, until it’s too late!

This is why a good mastering engineer is so important. You should think of your mastering engineer as the final quality control check by “fresh,” skilled and independent ears.

It’s less about simply the processing and more about making changes based on a final and objective look at what you’ve created.

Only after the engineer has given your music a fresh look and discussed potential problems with you are any adjustments made.

In other words, the mastering process revolves around the objective look at your music.

This means it’s impossible for anybody else who has worked with you during the creation of your song to not be biased (even if it´s only slightly – like for the mix engineer for example). They’ve heard the arguments for why the music is the way it is and worked hard to make it that way – everybody, but the mastering engineer is emotionally invested.

This also means you should be talking to your mastering engineer throughout the entire process to ensure you deliver the best possible mix for the engineer to work his magic.

Additionally, you should deeply consider all of the feedback the engineer gives you.

Remember, he is giving you feedback based on years of experience and knows what he’s talking about – because he’s “heard it all” before.

Your mastering engineer should be somebody you trust to give you the right feedback to bring-out the best in your music.

The bottom line is that the objective view of a good mastering engineer offers can mean the difference between the success and failure of your record. It’s what catches flaws and helps gear your music torward a positive direction.

The Mastering engineer we recommend is Lorenz Vauck of XARC Mastering. Lorenz has experience with over 800 clients and knows the potential problems to look for and how to go about getting the most out of your music. Click here now to learn more.

Technorati Tags: Mastering, Music Mastering, Mastering Engineer, Mastering Studio, Recording, Mixing, Mixing and Mastering, Music Artist, Music, Entertainment, Band, Audio, Audio Mastering, Audio Mastering Engineer, Online Mastering, Records

Everybody wants an experienced audio mastering engineer, as it’s vital if you want any chance of creating the “Hit” sound. Without it, the engineer is never going to deliver the complete results you want.

In fact, having an experienced engineer offers you 3 key benefits:

1. Knows which changes and adjustments are going to produce the best results.

Every song has its unique quirks that require adjustments. An experienced engineer is going to know quickly what the best course of action to fix problems is and how to go about doing it to get amazing results.

While, an inexperienced engineer may not feel comfortable with all of the techniques or the full capabilities of what his tools can do (which often takes years of work inside the studio to master).

2. Avoids making the wrong changes (based on a thorough understanding of the potential consequences all the adjustments can have.)

You see, mastering is like cooking a big pot of soup. If you just make one seemingly minor mistake, such as not realizing how much salt you’ve put in (until you’ve got way too much), then you’ve ruined the entire soup.

It didn’t matter that you did everything else right. All it took was one tiny mistake to ruin everything.

Mastering is often the same way. Be aware, a bad mastering engineer can actually make your music worse than what it was to begin with.

This is why you need to go with a proven mastering engineer who has heard it all and knows all the potential pitfalls the wrong adjustments can have.

3. Has experience working, talking, and understanding the wishes and problems of clients… and, in relation, offers you revisions (if needed), until you’re satisifed.

This alone can save you from a major disaster. If the engineer fails to communicate with you in an effective way, this is where the big problems occur. Because the engineer is going to miss vital information needed to get you the result you want (based on your wishes)… or is not going to let you in on what he or she is doing, until it’s too late!

With all that said, experience is sometimes not all it’s cracked up to be. What you should look for instead of the number of years the engineer has been working, is his or her track-record.

You want to ask yourself, “Has the engineer proven he or she has what it takes to create a ‘Hit’ sound?”

After all, an engineer may have been working for 10 years, but has little to show for it. On the other hand, another engineer may have only been working for 4 years, but have already helped many clients create hit records.

Who do you want mastering your music?

Additionally, you should look to see if the engineer has testimonials from satisfied clients on his or her website. Meeting the clients’ wishes satisfactorily is just as important as the final results.

Because nobody likes working with an engineer who is talented, but is no fun to work with either. You should look for someone who is the best of both worlds.

The mastering engineer we recommend is Lorenz Vauck, chief mastering engineer of XARC Mastering. He has a successful track-record (with over 800 clients). Additionally, he has proven himself to be able to “rescue” even the most problematic tracks and has a loyal following of satisfied customers.

You can listen to dozens of before/after demos and view countless raving client testimonials to discover how XARC can help YOU too by clicking here now!

Technorati Tags: mastering, music mastering, mastering engineer, mastering studio, music, audio, mastering house, band, musician, mixing, recording, music artist, online mastering

When most people look for a mastering engineer, they often think that talent is the most important characteristic.

Although it’s true that skill is vital to getting a “Hit” sound, it’s NOT the most important part.

Far more important is effective communication.

This is because without it, the engineer’s talent doesn’t mean a thing. It’s impossible to get the “Hit” sound YOU’RE after.

You see, the reason communication is so important is that there are countless adjustments the mastering engineer can make.

But, knowing which ones can be tricky. They must be based on the sound/feel you’re going for and what the engineer is technically able to do (based on experience and tools).

Additionally, good communication also allows you and the engineer to get on the same page.

Because each person only has half of the story. You have an idea of what you want your music to sound like and the engineer knows the full scope of what can be done to achieve your vision.

And when everybody involved with the production gets in the groove of creating the best possible sound, this is how hits are made.

A good dialog allows both sides to fully picture what can be achieved… and generate the ideas needed to get a successful master.

With that said, let’s move on to…

5 Tips to Achieve Communication Success:

1. Give references of bands you want to sound like. Then, discuss with the engineer the parts you like and what you want to capture for your music. The more specific you are in what you like, the better job the engineer can do.

2. Talk to the engineer about all the potential changes and solutions he or she has in mind. You can then give your input to generate new ideas and ensure these changes are what you’re going for.

3. Look for an engineer who you can get in touch with using the phone or email.

You can then quickly reach the engineer if a good idea hits you.

4. Look for an engineer who’s interested in listening to your ideas. The last thing you want to work with is somebody who fails to listen to your input. A good mastering engineer will deeply consider your ideas and then tell you what can be done.

5. Pay attention to the engineer’s critique of your recording. Often the engineer has worked with hundreds of other acts and knows exactly the common problems that occur. By listening to the engineer’s ideas carefully, then you’ll know exactly how to get the best sound out of your music.

Relating to this, you should also be in contact with your mastering engineer during the mixing and recording phases to make sure that you have the best possible mix by the time it gets to the mastering engineer.

Mastering can only improve your audio based on where it starts. A bad recording can’t be turned into a top-quality master (though it occasionally can be transformed into an average sound with a star engineer).

Simply put, good communication is the difference between having simply “Average” or “Good” sounding music… or creating memorable music that leaves a lasting impression on the listener.

If you want your music to live on for years and decades to come, the mastering engineer we recommend is Lorenz Vauck, chief mastering engineer of XARC Mastering.

He offers prompt and “Customer friendly” detailed communication to help bring-out the greatness in your music. Click here to get access to dozens of before/after demos and countless satisfied client testimonials so you can see for yourself the difference XARC can make for you as well!

Technorati Tags: Mastering, Music Mastering, Mastering Studio, Mastering Engineer, Recording, Mixing, Audio, Music, Entertainment, Audio Post Production, Mastering House, Mastering Communication, Band, Musician, Music Artist

For many, online mastering seems like something you’d only use in two circumstances: You’re either in a rush or are short on cash.

The reason some people have this image of online mastering is because there are a lot of so-called “Budget studios” that only charge $5-$30 a track and guarantee a quick turnaround time.

Usually, these studios are amateurs who do the work on their home computer. You then hear stories about these studios giving back masters no better (or even worse) than what you sent!

The truth is that the studio is not so much important as the engineer you get to master your tracks.

It doesn’t matter if you’re online or off, if you don’t have a professional working on your music, then you’re probably not going to get a quality result.

With that said, online mastering also has much more to offer than most realize. And, in fact, is much better than offline studios in many respects with the right engineer.

One of the key reasons is because the time spent mastering your music is 100% productive. You don’t have to travel anywhere to get to the studio and sit there while the engineer works.

Often this can take-up valuable time and distract the engineer from doing the best job.

Because when the engineer is alone he or she can take his time to test various adjustments to find the best sounding combinations. If you’re still waiting in the studio, the engineer often feels pressured to make the adjustments more quickly.

With online mastering, communication is quick and easy through email or over the phone. If you have an idea in the middle of the night, then you can quickly notify the engineer.

As a result, the engineer has the freedom to do his or her thing without any pressure, but while still having and following your input—so you get the best possible result.

Then, when the engineer’s done, he can send you over the music instantly through the internet for your review. And, if something needs to be changed, it takes only a few minutes to tell the engineer.

You don’t have to return to the studio or ship anything back.

Additionally, this also means you’re usually going to pay less – because the engineer does not have to spend as much time like in a offline session, while still being able to achieve the same and even better results.

Plus, another key benefit is that online mastering engineers often have more experience with different types of music. Since people throughout the world use their services, they’ve heard it all. And know exactly how to improve your music to get the best sound.

Offline studios often only have experience with a certain type of music that is popular in the area.

To get started with your mastering, check out the world’s first online mastering studio XARC Mastering. The chief mastering engineer of XARC, Lorenz Vauck, has a successful track-record of creating hits with over 800 clients. Click here to listen to before/after demos and read satisfied clients’ testimonials (to hear and see for yourself what can be done for your music)!

Technorati Tags: online mastering, online mastering studio, offline mastering, music mastering, mastering, mastering studio, mastering house, music, entertainment, music production, recording, mastering engineer, CD Mastering, band, music artist

Although music mastering is only one small component of a hit record, it can’t be overlooked.

In fact, it sometimes can be the most important part of post audio production.

This is because there’s often a thin line between success and failure.

All that’s standing in your way from massive success may only be one little flaw making a big impact on your music.

And this is what mastering is about. 

A good analogy is that mastering is like an Olympic sports trainer whose job it is to get the athlete (or your record) into peak performance.

Failing to get the right coach could cost the athlete the gold medal because he or she is off by just a fraction of a second.

Mastering is the same way in that its job is to optimize your music to give it the edge to cross the finish line first.

Good music mastering is the difference between having a record that falls flat of its potential… or getting a “Hit” sound that lives on for many years to come.

Additionally, just like a there differences in quality between coaches, not all mastering engineers are in the same league.

Some have a track-record for creating the “Hit” sound, while others are still learning.

A good mastering engineer gets the music playing up to its potential by bringing-out the best sounds, reducing the bad ones, and giving it the overall feel you’re going for.

Moreover, he or she knows how to listen and communicate with the artist. Because if the engineer does not, then he or she is never going to accomplish a final result everybody is happy with.

The mastering engineer’s job is to help you accomplish your final vision… because he or she knows the most efficient way to get there.

Without the mastering engineer, you’d never reach your full potential. Because you would not know what changes you should make or how to make them.

The mastering engineer we recommend is Lorenz Vauck, chief mastering engineer of XARC Mastering. He works with you one-on-one to show you how to get the most from mastering to help you create the “Hit Sound”. Click here to learn more.

Technorati Tags: music mastering, audio post production, mastering, record, CD, audio, music, entertainment, mastering studio, band, artist, audio production, mastering house, mastering engineer, mastering audio, producer, musician, band, music artist, performers, record deal, recording, mixing

Getting signed to an established label isn’t easy. There are thousands of talented acts out there, all fighting for a few open slots.

This means if you want to be chosen, you can’t hold back. You’ve got to do everything to make the right impression and stand-out from the crowd.

One of the most vital (yet often overlooked) parts of doing this is professional mastering.

You can think of mastering as the “Polish” that makes your music sparkle. It’s what gives your music the professional, “Big label” sound by bringing-out the best in it.

And this is vital. Because when the A & R manager has a big stack of demos to go through, he or she is going to give very few of them a serious listen.

Some are going to get dumped on the spot based on first impressions. While, others are going to fail to grab his or her full attention.

Moreover, even if you are the most talented artist on the managers’ desk, that does NOT mean he or she is going to realize it… because your demo just did not stand-out enough when stacked-up against those of better quality.

You see, mastering communicates that you’re a serious act… and, as a result, encourages those listening to give your music the deep look it deserves.

It does this by:

• Making all the sounds cohesive,
• Increasing the loudness to grab attention,
• Bringing-out the right instruments or vocals in the best amounts,
• Helping to eliminate or reduce errors (that can occurr during the recording and mixing),
• Plus, much more depending on what you and the mastering engineer feel the songs need.

In other words, mastering gives your music that little extra edge you need to get signed… because it allows you to be pictured as a successful act.

And this is what the key to getting signed is all about. The label must see you as an investment that is going to pay-off quickly and easily without a lot of effort.

Mastering paints this picture and helps get you a deal so as many people as possible get to experience your music long into the future.

With that said, you should also keep in mind that there is a world of difference between a professional mastering engineer and an amateur.

A professional knows what to listen for, the exact adjustments that need to be made (as the wrong ones can ruin the music), and has the equipment to do a serious job.

You should not expect a “Big label” sound by doing it yourself on a home computer or by hiring an amateur who doesn’t fully understand the aspects of “real” mastering.

To get started with your mastering, the studio we recommend is XARC Mastering. XARC has a track-record of success with over 800 clients. This means they have experience with a wide-range of music and know exactly how to bring-out the best in your music.

Click here to learn more about what XARC mastering can do for you now. Be sure to listen to the before/after demos to hear exactly the difference professional mastering can make.

Technorati Tags:  Get signed, getting signed, get a record deal, music label, major label, independent label, music mastering, record deal, mastering, mastering engineer, mastering studio, band, performers, music artist, music act

Every song requires something different inside the mastering studio. It all depends on the quality of the recording and what the artist’s final vision is.

Some tracks require more time spent trying to reduce or eliminate errors… and others may need lots of adjustment to make the songs come together.

Simply put, whatever sounds best for the album and each particular song is what’s used.

With that said, each music genre often has similar adjustments made to it.

Let’s talk about some of these so you can get an idea of what’s done to your genre of music:

First, let´s take a look at hip hop. With hip hop, the artist often wants to achieve a big and fat bass/bottom with clear and “Peaking out” vocals and a sparkling highend.

Also “extreme” loudness, at least nowadays, is often what the artist is looking for in order to compete with other releases (see posts on the loudness wars here and here).

This is compared to the other end of the spectrum with classical music.

Compression is sparingly used. Maintaining the dynamic range is very important for the listeners.

Essentially, the live performance feel is what is trying to be captured. Ideally, there is very little sound processing to keep everything as natural as possible.

The main adjustments are editing and noise removal. Bringing all the instruments together in the right way is also very important with careful equalizing.

Classical is related to jazz mastering.

With jazz, you are also trying capture the live performance sound. However, compression is often used, especially on the vocals and slightly on the overall mix to increase the loudness, while keeping the dynamics in tact.

So, what about other types of music?

With rock, for instance, the sound ranges from very dynamic to heavily compressed and from “dark” to a very “bright” sound with a lot or a small amount of bass. Whatever the artist preferes. And the same basically goes for any genre – because there is never a “One approach fits all” rule for a good mastering engineer.

The bottom line is… every song varies in what should be applied.

To help determine the right adjustments that should be applied to your music, you need a qualified mastering engineer. The one we recommend is Lorenz Vauck, chief mastering engineer of XARC Mastering. Click here to learn more.

Technorati Tags: mastering hip hop, mastering jazz, mastering classical, mastering rock, music mastering, mastering studio, mastering, mastering engineer, mastering house, equalizing, loudness wars, loudness race, compression, band, music artist

You may have heard that audio mastering is best left up to a mastering engineer. But, how much of a difference does a pro really make?

After all, anybody can pick-up some software and plug-ins and begin mastering on a home computer, right?

At first glance, this can seem like the case. Because after spending weeks, months, or years putting together an album, it often does not seem like much more can be done (other than maybe a few small adjustments).

However, when you take a deeper look, you discover there’s more to mastering than it first appears.

Because, just like any profession, mastering takes a lot of training to get good at it.

For instance, you can’t just waltz into a restaurant and become the top chef without any training. Nor, can you walk into a hospital and perform surgery without going to school.

Mastering is no different. If you want to get top-quality work to give your music the “Hit sound”, then you need to invest in somebody who specializes in the craft of mastering.

Additionally, there are varying degrees of expertise. There are the rookies and then there are seasoned veterans (just like there are cheap and gourmet cooks). Each one produces a world of difference in results.

What you want is somebody with a track-record for helping to create hits.

For instance, which lawyer would you want defending you? Somebody who is brand new, but seems to know the law backwards and forwards… or somebody who has a track-record of winning juries over time-after-time?

Of course, you want to lawyer who has proven himself.

But, experience is just a tiny part of why going with a pro mastering engineer is so important.

A key advantage a professional offers you is a fresh look at your music.

You may know exactly what you want your music to sound like. However, it takes a lot of people to help you get there, including a producer, recording engineer, mixing engineer, and a mastering engineer.

Each has spent years of difficult trial-and-error studying a specific part of music production. Your job is to create the final vision of how you want your music to sound. Then, let a specialist who knows all the details of how to do it best help you get there.

As a result of investing in the best expertise you can afford, you’re going to get a much better sound with less stress than you could ever get on your own.

It’s just like going with an expert chef to cook your meal, a well-trained surgeon to operate on you, or a proven lawyer to defend you.

If you want the best possible result, investment price should not be your key consideration.

The mastering studio we recommend to get your music done right is XARC Mastering. XARC is the first online mastering studio and has a track-record of bringing-out the “Hit sound” for over 800 clients. You can listen to dozens of before/after examples inside the XARC site by clicking here.

Technorati Tags: mastering audio, mastering studio, music mastering, music production, mixing, recording, mastering engineer, music, audio, mastering, entertainment, art, music artist, music producer, band

Probably the most important tools in the mastering engineer’s toolbox are equalizers.

Equalization is what makes about 95% of the sound by adjusting the frequency of the various components of a song (such as the bass or treble). It’s essential to bringing-out the vocals or instrument sounds, or to add some “sparkle” and “shine” to the song.

Additionally, it’s vital to making the songs come together and sound coherent. For example, one song might have too much bass, while another doesn’t have enough. You can then reduce the bass on the first one and boost it on the second one so that you have a same level in both tracks.

When applied to vocals, you may use equalization to make them less “nasal” or give them more “body” / “warmth”.

For instruments, equalization is important because many instruments have complex frequency components that are difficult to mic correctly. Equalizing can balance this.

It can also help emphasize certain sounds of an instrument you like and eliminate ones you don’t. For example you can raise the attack / kick of a bassdrum or boost its “body” so that it has more power in the bass area.

Another example might be if you had a whistle sound that’s too loud in a Brazilian song. With equalization, you can reduce the exact frequency of the whistle to make it fit in better.

Inside the mastering studio, there are a wide range of EQ´s available… from clean digital to warm analog models.

Each equalization model can dramatically change the overall feel or “flavor” of the song.

This means that every song varies in the types of adjustment it needs and it can even be the case that several EQ´s (an analog EQ for that “sparkling” highend and a precicse digital EQ for exact low-end adjustments) are used for specific frequency adjustments within one song.

And this is also a reason why you need an experienced mastering engineer to help guide you in making the right EQ adjustments to your song.

The mastering studio we recommend is XARC Mastering. The chief mastering engineer, Lorenz Vauck, works with you to achieve your final vision and create a perfect sounding ‘Hit’ song. Click here to learn more.

Technorati Tags: equalization, eq, equalizing, mastering, recording, mastering studio, mastering engineer, bass, treble, music mastering, music production, music creation, music artist, music, entertainment, mixing, bands 

Too often musicians think of mastering as something you should do as a last minute step and fail to put their full attention on getting the best possible result.

They don’t realize mastering can offer far more than just simple adjustments… and that it’s essential to standing-out in the marketplace.

For this reason, here are 5 audio mastering tips to make sure you get the most out of your mastering:

1. Go for overall quality, not just an improved single effect (such as loudness).

A common mistake with mastering is that you become so focused on adjusting just one aspect of a track that you sacrifice the overall quality.

This is because just about every adjustment you make is tied to multiple aspects of the song. And if you don’t know what you’re doing, your adjustments can have many negative unintended effects.

The most common area where this takes place is on loudness. Increasing the loudness is an important part of the mastering process. However, it’s easy for artists to go too loud, while ignoring what happens to the quality of the music.

You want an album to stand the test of time and have something your fans want to listen to many years into the future.

Sacrificing one part for too much of another is just not worth it in the long run.

2. Talk with your mastering engineer about what can be done.

Good and detailed communication is essential to getting the best possible sound from your mastering session. Be clear on exactly the sound you’re going for and seek-out an experienced mastering engineer’s opinion on what can be done.

3. Keep the mastering in mind through the recording and mixing processes.

If you have a poor quality mix or recording, then there’s only so much the mastering engineer can do.

Ideally, you should communicate with your mastering engineer during the recording and mixing processes. This ensures you get a quality mix the mastering engineer can take full advantage of.

Although a good mastering engineer can significantly improve a poor quality recording, he or she is never going to get rid of all the problems. 

Poor recordings are always going to be about compromises to bring out the best possible sound.

4. Adjust your mastering techniques to each genre and type of music.

You should keep in mind that every genre of music has its own unique adjustments that can be made.

Mastering is not something where the same techniques are used on every single track. It varies.

Talk to your mastering engineer about what’s commonly done to your genre of music to get new ideas of what can be done for you.

5. If you’re attempting to do it yourself (which we don’t recommend), avoid cheap plug-ins.

There are some plug-ins that are designed very well, but most are cheap and won’t produce a quality result.

If a professional engineer is not an option, then keep it simple and always save the original version before you make any changes. Since it’s often impossible to undo any effects you’ve already applied, this will allow you to get professional mastering done later.

As you can see from these tips, communication is a very important part of mastering. If your mastering engineer does not give proper feedback or listen to your ideas, then you’re not going to get the best possible sound.

This is one reason why XARC Mastering is our recommended mastering studio. The chief mastering engineer, Lorenz Vauck, is very responsive to questions and concerns. This helps ensure your final vision is achieved. To learn more about what XARC can do Click here.

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One of the most important steps during the mastering engineer’s work is what’s known as “Dithering.”

Dithering is applied at the end of the mastering process to ready your music to be put on CD, DVD, MP3, Vinyl, or any destination format.

It’s needed because the mastering work is often performed at either 24, 32 or 64 bit (a high resolution). However, most playback devices/destination medias do not currently support anything higher than 16 bit (CD) or 24 bit (DVD).

This means the bit-depth must be reduced. You can think “Bit depth” as the steps of loudness that can be represented. 8 bit only supports 255 “loudness steps” which the music’s volume-dynamic must be fit into. While, 16 bits supports 65535 steps (a much better resolution already).

The ladder then keeps on climbing with increasing bit depths.

However, a problem occurs when you reduce the bit-depth. The loudness steps can’t be evenly reduced because there are more “loudness steps” occupied by the music’s volume-dynamic in the higher bit depth than available in the lower destination bit depth.

Unwanted distortion occurs as a result.

This problem is what’s commonly known as the, “Quantization error”.

To fix this problem the process of dithering is used. Dithering makes the distortion unnoticeable to the human ear by adding noise to the lowest signals to help fill-in the uneven loudness steps.

Simply put, dithering is an essential part of mastering to eliminate low-level distortion (a “grainy” sound) for creating the truest possible sound.

If you’re in need of mastering for your audio, the mastering studio we recommend is XARC Mastering. Dithering is just one of the many steps they perform on your tracks, giving them the “Big Label” sound. Click here to learn more.

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There are two directions you can take when producing your music. Although both begin with weeks, months or years (and lots of money) spent getting quality work inside the recording and mixing studios, they diverge upon arriving at the mastering house.

The first path looks tempting at first glance. It’s where you decide to get your mastering done fast and cheap. And mastering is only seen as something you do as a last minute step to catch errors and make small adjustments that aren’t extremely necessary.

However, the lure of this path eventually wears off. You soon discover this road isn’t as smooth as it once looked, as the reality of having to compete among thousands of other artists hits you.

Of course, few artists choose this path because they want to. But, they just don’t know what can be achieved during the mastering process with a skilled mastering engineer. And so the cheap guy seems like a pretty good deal.

As a result, their albums lack that certain “Edge” to stand-out over others in the marketplace. And they are less likely to catch on.

Not only in the short term because their music fails to capture as much attention as it could… but, also in the long-term as fans soon forget about your album if it isn´t “up to par”.