Why You Should Get Your Songs Mixed and Mastered

So you’ve written and recorded a fantastic song. The melody is catchy, the lyrics meaningful, and your performance heartfelt. But when you listen to your recording, something doesn’t sound right. The instruments fight each other instead of blending, the vocals get lost in the mix, and the overall vibe is amateur rather than polished and professional.

This is where mixing and mastering come in. Getting your songs mixed and mastered by an experienced audio engineer can take them from mediocre to magnificent. If you’re serious about your music, it’s one of the most important investments you can make. Let’s explore why.

What is Mixing?

Mixing combines all the individual tracks in a song – such as the drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, vocals, etc. – into a cohesive, well-balanced whole. It’s both a technical and creative process.

The mixing engineer uses tools like EQ, compression, reverb, and panning to sculpt and enhance the sound of each instrument. They carve out space in the frequency spectrum so everything can be heard clearly without conflict. The goal is to make all the parts sound good and work together.

Think of mixing like cooking a great meal. You have to get the balance of flavors just right. Too little salt, and it’s bland, too much, and it’s inedible. The same goes for a mix—the bass shouldn’t overpower the vocals, the drums need to cut through, etc. The mix should sound clear, punchy, and complete.

The Art of Mixing

While mixing does involve technical know-how and a treated room with quality speakers, it’s ultimately an artistic process. The best mixing engineers put their creative stamp on a song while respecting the artist’s vision.

Maybe that means tucking an effect on the vocal to add some ear candy, using an unorthodox EQ move to make the snare crack, or automating a filter sweep on the guitar solo to make it jump out of the speakers. The mixer looks for opportunities to enhance and embellish the song.

Mixers also have an extensive toolkit of plugins to color and shape the sound. They know how to use these tools tastefully to achieve the desired effect, whether a warm analog vibe or an ultra-modern sheen.

Getting a professional mix will take your song to the next level. A great mixer will align with your vision as an artist and bring out the best in your music in ways you probably couldn’t on your own. They have the experience, gear, and, most importantly, the ears to make your mix sing.

The Mysterious Art of Mastering

Once you have your song or album mixed, the final step is mastering. Mastering is the process of putting the finishing touches on a recording and preparing it for distribution.

The mastering engineer’s job is to ensure that the song translates well across all playback systems—whether earbuds, car speakers, club PAs, or laptop speakers. They use tools like EQ, compression, limiting, and stereo enhancement to make the mix sound best.

Mastering is also where you make the song competitively loud for the style of music so it can stand up next to other commercial releases. The mastering engineer carefully raises the overall level of the mix without destroying the dynamics or introducing distortion.

If you’re releasing an album or EP, the mastering engineer will work on the whole project to ensure a consistent sound and flow from track to track. They can also slightly adjust the levels, EQs, and dynamics between songs to make the listening experience seamless.

While mastering is more of a technical process than an artistic one compared to mixing, it still requires taste, finesse, and restraint to do it right. Over-compressing or over-EQing a mix in mastering can suck the life out of a song. An experienced engineer with great ears knows how far to push things.

Mixing and Mastering as Quality Control

In addition to the creative benefits, mixing and mastering are essential quality control steps. You’ve spent much time writing, arranging, and recording your music. Going the extra mile to mix and master properly will ensure your song is presented in the best light possible.

A professional mixer can hear issues you might have missed, like distracting noises, clicks, pops, or harsh resonances. They can use tools like noise gates, de-essers, and clip gain automation to clean things up. They’ll ensure the mix is free of technical flaws so the mastering engineer can focus on sweetening things.

The mastering engineer provides another level of quality control. They’ll catch any mix issues that might have been missed and can request revisions from the mixer if needed. Their fresh ears serve as an essential check and balance before the music is released into the world.

The Confidence of a Professional Product

Finally, professionally mixing and mastering your music will give you the confidence to promote and share it widely. You’ve put your heart and soul into your songs and should be proud to have the final product represent you as an artist.

When your music has that professional radio-ready polish, you won’t hesitate to send it to blogs, playlist curators, radio stations, sync licensing agents, etc. You’ll be eager to post it on social media and encourage your fans to stream and share it. Having that validation that your song sounds fantastic is a huge mental boost.

In this streaming era, your music will be compared directly against significant label releases on platforms like Spotify. Mixing and mastering can help level the playing field and make your song competitive with anything out there. You never know who might stumble upon your music and become a fan.

Investing in mixing and mastering also demonstrates that you take your music seriously. Professional sound is essential to being seen as a legitimate artist and having your songs licensed for TV, films, ads, or video games. Don’t skimp on this crucial step!

The Takeaway

While mixing and mastering might seem like an extravagance when you’re on a tight budget, their importance can’t be overstated. Your song and message deserve to be heard the way you intended.

Mixing will bring out the best in your multi-track recording, creating space for all your ideas to shine. Mastering will give your song the final polish and ensure it translates everywhere. Together, they are a robust process to ensure your musical vision becomes a reality.

You’ve already invested much time, energy, and money into writing and recording your music. Finishing the job with professional mixing and mastering is the most innovative and effective way to get a release you can be proud of for years. Your listeners will thank you!