What is Mastering in Music?
Getting Your Mix Ready For Mastering
How to Master a Song
Professional Audio Mastering Services
Mastering is the final EQ, compression, limiting and other enhancement techniques used to get your stereo track volume-competitive, ready for release, and sounding its absolute best. Think of it as the final polish of a song.
For example, let's say your mix is sounding great, but the overall volume is kinda quiet, it's a little muddy-sounding, it's a bit too dynamic, and it lacks some cohesiveness. Mastering helps address all of that, enhancing your song and getting it ready for distribution.
The best way to understand Mastering is to hear it on your own music — you can right now.
Q: What’s the difference between mastering and mixing?
A: Mixing is carefully blending and processing individual tracks using EQ, compression, reverb, delay and other tools. Mastering is the audio processing that gets applied to the entire stereo track. If you're doing your own mastering while mixing, it's what you set on your overall output/master fader.
For example, while mixing your song, you do some processing of the kick drum, snare drum, vocals, and other tracks. After finishing your mix, or while doing the mixing, you attach some mastering plugins to the master fader because you know you'd like those effects applied to your entire song overall.
Mixing and mastering go hand in hand — learn how Auxeus enhances your music with sonic styles and customizable options.
You can use audio plugins within your DAW, hire a mastering engineer, or use an online audio mastering service like Auxeus Instant Mastering. For example, many musicians do what's called a "Mix Master" entirely on their own, mixing and mastering their songs from start to finish. If you want to hear the difference mastering can make, with Auxeus and instantly master your track online.
Yes! For example, EDM is often energizing and exciting music. Hip-Hop often has great bass. Pop music often features vocalists with amazing brilliance, sizzle, and sparkle.
Mastering is used to enhance those features, making each song the best it can be. Auxeus helps you enhance your signature sound with sonic styles like Clarity, Exciting & Energizing, Deep & Subsonic, Warm & Rich, and more.
Without mastering, songs would feel inconsistent. One track might be noticeably quieter, another way too loud. Some songs might have distracting spikes in volume inside the track itself, while others could sound flat or muddy. Listeners would constantly be reaching for the volume knob instead of enjoying the music.
Mastering solves this. It evens out loudness between songs, controls dynamics within each track, and enhances balance so every mix translates beautifully across headphones, car speakers, and streaming platforms.
You're unique because your ears have adapted specifically to all of the artists and songs you love and have listened to over the years. Your mixes and masters are unique to you too! Even if two of the best mastering engineers on the planet mastered your song, each result would likely be different. Both could be professionally done, but you’d likely gravitate toward one.
That’s what makes all of your mixes and masters special — they’re exclusively you. Embrace yourself and create a final Master that makes you happy!
Before diving into plugins and processing, try this: bring all faders down at least 10 dB when starting to mix. With this technique, you can comfortably boost any of your tracks while mixing and not worry about clipping or distorting. Don’t focus on your song’s final volume yet — just get your mix sounding great within itself.
Here’s a valuable exercise: set up a rough mix with no EQ, no compression, no reverb — no processing whatsoever. Get it sitting exactly where you want using only volume automation. Export this “No Mix” so you can reference it later. After mixing and mastering, compare it to make sure you haven’t strayed too far from the natural character of your recordings.
When learning how to mix and master a song, push settings to extremes. For example, set up a compressor and crank the threshold so you hear an extreme amount of compression. Then experiment with attack, release, and ratio settings at their extremes. This isn’t about making a finished track — it’s about training your ears.
Have fun! Take risks. Do weird stuff. Create amazing space design in your song. Invent a new sound effect no one has heard before. Those creative decisions can become your sonic signature.
Leave enough headroom on your final mix before mastering — around -6 dB to -3 dB is common. If your output meter flashes red or goes above 0.0 dB, your mix is clipping and may be distorting. Lower the levels of all your individual tracks and review again. Once ready, export as a WAV or AIFF file for maximum quality, then using the Auxeus free trial.
For best results while mastering, export your final stereo mix as WAV, AIFF, or FLAC — all of which preserve maximum audio quality. Then let Auxeus Instant Mastering take care of the rest.
When learning how to master a song, one of the best things you can do happens before mastering even starts — analyze your mix, element by element.
Do a mix to the best of your ability. Compare it side by side with one of your favorite mixes. Analyze specific elements one at a time. Don't worry about the overall volume of your song right now. Stay focused on everything else, such as the overall balance and impact.
For example, is your hi-hat too bright or dull? Does your kick need some more low-end? Avoid "chasing" your reference track's exact sound. The goal isn't to clone it, but to learn from it.
The more skilled you become at this step, the better your mixes will be before mastering. They'll also achieve incredible clarity because you've fine-tuned each element individually, creating a well-sculpted song.
And for maximum clarity on your final master, try Auxeus's Clarity style!
EQ is one of the most important tools in audio mastering. Subtractive EQ can be used to reduce unwanted frequencies. For example, taming muddiness, boominess, harshness, or excessive brightness. This can improve clarity and make space for every element in your mix.
Additive EQ can be used to shape tone and add character. A gentle boost can enhance air, bass, sparkle, warmth, presence, richness, etc. Small, intentional EQ moves during mastering can transform a mix without losing its natural feel.
Getting good at doing Mastering EQ can take time and practice, but here are some tips to help:
Learning mastering is great, but if you'd prefer to focus on creating music instead of mastering it, let Auxeus Instant Mastering handle the technical work for you effortlessly.
When you master your song, compression can “glue” the mix together. Stereo bus compression affects the entire track, moving it as one cohesive piece.
For example, let's say your compressor's ratio, attack, release and threshold are set a certain way. Your entire song will be compressed and flow together based on those defined mathematical values.
Getting good at doing Mastering Compression can take time and practice, but here are some tips to help:
Learning mastering is great, but if you'd prefer to focus on creating music instead of mastering it, let Auxeus Instant Mastering handle the technical work for you effortlessly.
There’s no single “correct” answer. It’s entirely up to you. Most platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube normalize the volume of all songs a little bit, meaning they adjust playback loudness automatically.
For example, one song might be mastered with an Integrated LUFS of -6.0 LUFS (which is pretty loud) and another might be mastered with an Integrated LUFS of -13.0 LUFS (which is on the softer side). Streaming platforms might then automatically lower then volume of the -6.0 LUFS song a little bit.
With Auxeus Instant Mastering, you can easily experiment with different loudness levels and choose the one that best suits your artistic vision.
Integrated LUFS is a mathematical way to measure the loudness of an entire track. When you run some mastering tests — for example, Master A, B, and C — matching their Integrated LUFS levels ensures you’re comparing them fairly, so that your ears aren't deceived by subtle volume differences.
Tools like Youlean Loudness Meter, Loudness Penalty Analyzer, or iTunes Sound Check can help you make accurate loudness assessments when learning how to mix and master a song.
That's an excellent question! If your mix already sounds good, that likely means you're happy with it, so you're 99% of the way there. You'll want minimal mastering as a final review to ensure your song is volume-competitive, ready for release, and sounding its absolute best.
For example, using Auxeus, you might select the Platinum Enhancement style, EQ = Minimum, Compression = None, Volume = Moderate. And you're all set!
This is a great question! There are many amazing mastering plugins out there, and it can feel overwhelming. Here at Auxeus, our advice is this: Focus on the fundamentals of EQ and Compression first. Use any free, stock plugins and start running experiments. See our specific tips on and
The best engineers on the planet can achieve amazing, professional results with free, stock plugins. They have a mastery of the fundamentals. For example, if you were to hand Eddie Van Halen the cheapest guitar ever made, he would make it sing! It's his mastery of guitar playing, not the guitar.
The best mastering engineers on the planet have dedicated rooms with premium acoustic panels and studio monitors designed exclusively for mastering songs. They can hear audio subtleties incredibly well. They know exactly what to subtract and add to a song. They help get your song ready for distribution.
Instant online music mastering uses advanced algorithms to analyze your stereo track and apply professional enhancements in seconds. It studies your mix, performs precise calculations, and then processes it to achieve an optimal result.
For many independent artists, instant mastering can be an affordable and accessible way to get professional-level results without the time or expense of a full studio session.
Instant mastering means more time for making music. , compare your master, and keep the one you love.
There are many online mixing and mastering services! Here at Auxeus Instant Mastering, we've strived to craft you the best possible professional mastering service that's also affordable mastering.
Mastering is an art of fine sculpting. Extreme changes can play tricks on your ears and can ruin your song, hurting all the work you've done and hurting your listeners' ears too. Our engine is expertly engineered around the fundamentals of audio. It will never over-process, over-compress, or over-boost your music. It is designed to enhance your music carefully and brilliantly.
Mastering can be cryptic and confusing. We've taken all of the guesswork out of it for you. We specialize in Mastering and focus exclusively on Mastering. Enjoy the peace of mind knowing your music is in good hands and your results will be amazing.
If you’re ready to hear your track at its full potential, and master your song now.
