help with understanding MIXING and MASTERING

[balla_balla]

can some of the experienced and helpful cats on here please help answer these questions
. I'm kinda confused

1. I belive mixing is adjusting the levels of the beat and vocals etc. so they fit together well. If that's what mixing is, then what is mastering?

2. is mixing and mastering something that can be done at home or is it recommended to be done at the studio

3. is it always necessary to mix and master a song? do all y'all do it?

thanks!

 

[Ghetto Lexicon]

well i cant give you direct info on mastering and mixing but this site should help...

www.computermusic.co.uk

if it isnt co.uk then try uk.co

p'z good luck

 

[Equality 7-2521]

i think that mixing and mastering are different names for the same sorta thing. they might be slightly different though. i think the main things involved are EQing and compressing. although other things are involved....i havnt learned them yet.

and to answer your other question ........yes mastering is fucking essential if you plan on releasing your material. it is the difference between your beat being audible on various sound systems and not being audible on various sound systems.

 

[SyN]

The quickest and easiest way to explain the differences is this...

- Mixing is taking your multitrack project and mixing it down to either stereo or if you are gettin a lil crazy... surround. This is the proccess of blending the tracks with levels, effects, eq's, panning, any automation you need to put in and anything else to get it to be a final product

- Mastering then takes that final product that you have of your music and brings in the stereo or surround files and does a final process to them to match them to the rest of the project they are to be a part of. IE: taking the stereo file from your mixdown and bringing up the over all punch, level, eq, and getting rid of any unwanted noise, as well as any last minute edits for length, content, or fades. This process is used to get the most dynamically out of your album as possible and to make all of the tracks on the album sound the same and be as loud as they can withouth forfeiting dynamics or sonic quality... It keeps you from having to turn the stereo up and down for each track and from cranking it really loud just to hear anything....