10 Mistakes to Avoid When Mastering Your Song

Mastering audio is a crucial part of the music production process. It is the final stage where you ensure that your music sounds polished and professional before it’s released to the public.

However, mastering can be a tricky process that requires professionalism and experience. If you don’t know what you’re doing, there are many mistakes that you can make along the way.

In this article, we will discuss 10 rookie mistakes to avoid when mastering your song.

Half of these mistakes occur before you start your master, which goes to show just how much attention you need to pay to the mix.

And for the record, I could easily have made this 20+ mistakes to avoid – but that would end up an extremely long article!

Mistake 1: Heavy Processing On the Master Buss

It is advisable to avoid any heavy processing on your master buss, including compression, limiting, clipping or other processing.

I advise a very minimal amount of compression on the master buss, if at all, and only if you really know what you are doing. Try to do your main compression on individual tracks and your compression “gluing” on your buss/aux channels.

Limiting is a definite no-no.

The reason being is that limiting is a type of dynamic processing that prevents the audio signal from exceeding a specific threshold. When applied to the master buss, it can cause the overall level of the mix to be pushed to the limit of the digital audio system, which can lead to distortion and a loss of dynamic range.

This will limit your ability to achieve an optimal balance between loudness and dynamic range at the mastering stage. It will also limit your ability to shape tonal balance and effectively apply EQ.

Leave the limiter off, and certainly don’t add any reverb or FX to the master buss.

Mistake 2: Ignoring Mix Issues & Hoping for a Fix

Mastering is the final stage in the music production process, and may involve adjusting the tonal balance, enhancing the stereo image, and adding depth and dimension to the mix.

However, it’s important to understand that mastering is not a magic fix for a bad mix. In other words, if the mix is not good, then the mastering process will not be able to fix it completely.

A good mix is the foundation of a great master. If the mix is poorly balanced, has masking issues, or lacks clarity, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to correct these issues during mastering.

In short, mastering can enhance a good mix, but it cannot fix fundamental flaws in the mix.

Therefore, it’s important to ensure that the mix is as good as possible before beginning the mastering process. This means paying attention to the instrument levels, the panning, the EQ, compression, use of reverb and other aspects of the mix.

The goal is to create a mix that is well-balanced, clear, and detailed, and which has room for the mastering engineer to work their magic.

In some cases, a mix may need to be revised before mastering. This may involve going back to the drawing board and making changes to the mix. Although this may be time-consuming, it’s worth the effort if it results in a better final product.

Mistake 3: Not Listening in Different Environments

Before sending your mix to a mastering engineer, or attempting to master yourself, it’s a good idea to listen to your song on a few different sound systems in different environments.

This will help you to identify any issues with the mix, such as excessive bass, harsh highs or lack of space and clarity.

This is particularly important for those working in an untreated environment, one that is inadequately treated, or one that has considerable frequency issues.

Do bear in mind, though, that different systems interpret a song in a different way. For example, your mix will likely sound more bass-heavy in the car than your studio, and far more sparkly in the top end on your phone or earbuds.

With this in mind, you must understand the systems you are testing on, otherwise you’ll find yourself going back and forward making adjustments, and never getting it quite right.

Mistake 4: Not Doing Quality Control On Your Mix

It’s important to critically listen to your mix for noise, glitches, pops and other issues before going to the mastering stage. This is because any flaws or imperfections in the mix will be magnified and potentially made worse during the mastering process.

Identifying and addressing these issues before mastering can help ensure that the final master is of the highest possible quality.

During the mastering process, various techniques are used to enhance the mix and optimize it for different playback systems and environments. However, these techniques can also accentuate any flaws or issues in the mix.

For example, if there is a consistent hiss or hum in the mix, it can become more pronounced when compression, EQ or limiting techniques are applied.

In addition, certain issues, such as pops or glitches, can be difficult or impossible to fix during the mastering process. By identifying and addressing these issues before mastering, you can avoid potential delays and additional costs associated with revising the mix.

Taking the time to quality check your mix for noise, glitches, pops, and other issues is a critical part of the mixing process. By doing so, you can ensure that the mix is as clean and polished as possible before going to the mastering stage.

This will lead to a more seamless and efficient mastering process, and ultimately, a higher quality final song.

Mistake 5: Not Leaving Enough Headroom in the Mix

Headroom in audio refers to the space between the highest peak of an audio signal and the maximum level that can be represented by a digital audio system.

In digital audio, the maximum level is represented as 0 dBFS (decibels relative to full scale).

Headroom is essential in mastering because it allows for enough space for the audio signal to be processed without clipping or distortion.

Clipping occurs when the signal level exceeds the maximum level of the digital system, resulting in a distorted and harsh sound. When an audio signal is clipped, the waveform is flattened and the peaks are cut off. This can lead to audible distortion and affect the overall sound quality.

To avoid clipping and distortion, it’s important to leave enough headroom when mastering audio.

Ideally, you should aim to leave at least 3-6 dB of headroom to allow for the processing of the audio signal without clipping. This headroom can be achieved by reducing the level of the mix.

However, the ideal scenario is to ensure the volume of individual tracks in your mix are not clipping, before you start applying any processing. You should read up on proper gain staging practices to achieve this.

In addition to preventing clipping and distortion, headroom can also provide a safety net for unexpected peaks in the audio signal. For example, if there is a sudden loud sound in the audio, having headroom allows the signal to be processed without clipping.

Mistake 6: Over-Compressing Your Master

Compression is a powerful tool in any audio engineer’s arsenal. It helps to even out the levels of a track, making the quiet parts louder and the loud parts quieter.

This helps to make the track sound more consistent and balanced. However, when used improperly, compression can have the opposite effect and make the track sound lifeless and flat.

In mastering, compression should be used sparingly, and more as a “glue” to make the song that little bit more cohesive.

Over-compression can squash the dynamics of the song.

Dynamics refer to the differences in volume between the loudest and quietest parts of the song. If the dynamics are reduced too much, the song will sound flat and uninteresting.

It’s also important to be careful when setting the attack and release times of the compressor. The attack time determines how quickly the compressor kicks in, while the release time determines how quickly the compressor stops working.

If the attack time is set too fast, the compressor will start working too quickly and may remove some of the transient peaks in the song, which can make it sound dull.

If the release time is set too slow, the compressor will continue to work even after the sound has ended, which can make the song sound unnatural.

Another technique to avoid over-compression is to use a multiband compressor. Multiband compression allows you to apply different amounts of compression to different frequency bands in the song. This can help to avoid over-compressing certain parts of the song, such as the bass or the high frequencies.

Please note that this also applies to the mixing process: An over-compressed mix will considerably restrict what can be achieved at the mastering stage.

Mistake 7: Over EQing Your Master

Equalization, commonly known as EQ, is used in mastering to adjust the frequency balance of a song, through adding to or subtracting frequency content. This can help to bring out certain elements of the song and make it sound more balanced. However, it’s important to use EQ judiciously and not to overdo it.

When EQ is used excessively, it can result in a song that sounds unnatural and harsh. This is because boosting or cutting frequencies too much can cause the song to lose its natural balance and sound artificial.

Overuse of EQ can also result in phase cancellation, which occurs when two identical sound waves are played at the same time, but one is inverted, causing them to cancel each other out. This can cause the song to sound thin or hollow.

As a general rule of thumb (when mastering), make boosts with a wide Q, and cuts with a narrow Q.

Also consider that in mastering we are making subtle moves, perhaps 0.5-1db boosts or cuts. If you think something needs more than 2db, you may need to consult the mix engineer about the problem at hand. Experience will guide you in such situations.

To avoid overuse of EQ, it’s important to understand the frequency spectrum and to use EQ in moderation. A good starting point is to identify any problem frequencies that need to be addressed and to make subtle adjustments to the EQ to correct them.

For example, if the song has a muddy or boomy sound, you might use EQ to cut some of the low-mid frequencies to remove the muddiness. Alternatively, if the song sounds too bright, you might attenuate some of the high frequencies to soften the harshness.

Lastly, it’s also important to avoid using too many EQ plugins in a single track/master buss, as this can cause phase cancellation and other unwanted effects.

Mistake 8: Not Using Reference Tracks

Reference tracks (songs) are important in mastering because they provide a point of comparison for the sound of the song being mastered.

By listening to professionally mastered songs in the same genre as the one being mastered, you can get a sense of how the song should sound in terms of frequency balance, dynamics, stereo image and overall level.

Reference tracks help you to establish a benchmark for the sound you want to achieve, and you can use these tracks as a guide to ensure that the mastered song is competitive and has a similar overall sound quality to other tracks in the same genre.

Just always remain aware that your song will never sound exactly like another; and that shouldn’t be the goal, anyway. The goal is to get in the ball-park of quality, not to produce a replica of another mastered song.

Mistake 9: Not Taking Breaks

Because mastering can be a lengthy and complex process, it can be mentally exhausting.

One of the most significant challenges that engineers face during the mastering process is ear fatigue, which can occur when listening to the same material for an extended period. Ear fatigue can result in a loss of sensitivity to the nuances of sound, making it difficult to make accurate decisions about the master.

There are a number of reasons why ear fatigue can occur during the mastering process.

First, the volume levels required for mastering can cause fatigue.

Second, the repetition of listening to the same material can cause the brain to become desensitized to the sound, making it harder to hear subtle changes in the mix.

And finally, the stress and pressure of meeting deadlines and delivering a high-quality product can also contribute to fatigue.

To avoid ear fatigue and ensure accurate decision-making during mastering, it is essential to take regular breaks. I recommend taking a break of 10 to 15 minutes every hour to allow your ears to rest and recover.

During breaks, it’s important to engage in activities that allow the ears and brain to rest, such as stretching, walking or listening to non-musical sounds.

Mistake 10: Not Hiring a Professional

Mastering is a complex process, making it difficult to master your own song effectively.

The reason for this is two-fold:

Firstly, mastering is a huge learning curve and takes experience.

With a mastering engineer you are employing a second set of professionally trained ears to spot imperfections, imbalances and problems, and to provide the finishing touches to your song.

Secondly, it can be very difficult to switch from mix engineer to mastering engineer mode. It is an entirely different mindset and skillset.

This is why mastering engineers generally don’t master their own music; because what tends to happen is you keep going back to the mix and tweaking things, because you know it is better to fix it in the mix. You can’t let go; you’re never happy.

Hiring a professional mastering engineer helps you finalize your project and ensures that your song sounds polished and professional, and will save you time and frustration in the long run.

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Do you need help mastering your song? I’ve helped thousands of producers just like you make their songs the best they can be. Send it over and I’ll get to work!