Essential Production Concepts: Mixing Vs. Mastering

Mastering is the crucial final part of the music production process and thanks to the relentless march of technology, it has for some years now been possible to master entirely "in the box" - meaning without using any external hardware at all. But what exactly is the difference between the mixing and mastering stages? In this short video from the course Audio Concepts 202: Mastering In The Box, Joe Albano explains all!

The tools you use for mixing and for mastering sometimes cross over, but are used in different ways. And some tools like limiters are used almost exclusively during mastering. Using easy-to-understand explanations, Joe describes how mastering is fundamentally different to mixing and why it's important to understand both processes. Check out the rest of the videos in the course for a comprehensive guide to mastering in the box. 

Audio Concepts 202: Mastering In The Box

Mastering is a craft that combines art with advanced engineering skills and there is no one better to teach you the concepts, techniques and strategies of mastering than pro audio engineer and renowned instructor Joe Albano. In this advanced Audio Concepts course, you are carefully guided through the mastering process as every detail is covered in an example-filled, step-by-step fashion.

This course assumes that you have a pretty solid audio background and that you have a clear understanding of the tools that are used in the mastering chain. (You can easily acquire those prerequisites by watching the other courses in our Audio Concepts series!) Then, with that knowledge in hand, Joe explains how to apply it to ensure that your tracks get that highly-polished, bright, loud and clear sound.

So if mastering has been in your educational sights, sit back, watch, listen and learn this amazing skill from one of the best instructors on the planet.