Artist : Sunstation
Track : Send Me A Sign
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MASTERING NOTES
The first thing you notice is the difference in level. An unmastered track is always going to sound quiet against a mastered track. But loudness isn’t everything!
Listen to the bass guitar. It now sounds a lot fatter, warmer and defined. Also the balance between the kick drum and the bass line is better, especially in the chorus where the bass notes now sound nice and tight and the kick drum is now a little bit more punchy.
Another aspect of the mastering that really stands out here is the enhancement of mid-range frequencies. The age-old saying applies here – what you do with one frequency always affects another. So when trying to fatten up the bass, this will also bring out the low mids and this is most noticeable on the vocal, the snare drum and the acoustic guitar. It has the effect of warming the guitar and giving the snare more weight.
It’s not just the bottom end of the track that needs work though. One of the most common parts of the mastering process is trying to ‘open a track up’. This really makes a huge difference to the overall sound of a track. High mids and higher frequencies are brought out to sound clearer in the mix, basically resulting in being able to hear every aspect of the track more clearly.
Overall results achieved:
Punchier sound
Not over-compressed – got the overall level up while keeping a nice dynamic range
Opened out the top end – the track now has a bit of sparkle and sounds polished and professional |
