Music Glossary: mastering

Faders first: achieve a solid rough mix without EQ or compression to ensure source and arrangement work naturally. more

Frequency-dependent compression that tames harshness or sibilance only when triggered. more

When overlapping instruments compete for the same frequency band; solved by EQ carving, panning, or arrangement choices. more

Managing levels across the mix chain to maintain headroom and avoid plugin distortion; aim for -6 dBFS peak on the stereo bus. more

Target average loudness (e.g., -14 LUFS for streaming) to preserve dynamics and avoid platform limiting. more

Separate mid (center) and side (stereo width) signals for targeted EQ, compression, or widening. more

Gentle compression, EQ, and saturation on the master to unify elements; minimal if mastering engineer will handle polish. more

How a mix sounds on different playback systems. Reference on earbuds, car, monitors, and mono to ensure consistency. more

Comparing tonal balance and loudness-normalized reference mixes to avoid being misled by level differences. more

Analyzing mix energy per frequency range to ensure balanced spectrum across playback systems. more

Mastering from grouped stems (drums, vocals, instruments) for finer control while retaining mix integrity. more

Removing offending frequencies before boosting others; promotes headroom and cleaner tone shaping. more

Limiting with oversampling to catch inter-sample peaks above 0 dBFS that can distort on conversion. more