QUICK TIPS

1 As a rule, creative input decreases as a track goes through the various stages: the artist and/or producer provide the artistic vision, the mixing engineer sweetens and sculpts the mix’s sonics, and the mastering engineer optimises it for final output. Note – stem mastering isn’t mixing, so respect the artist’s vision! 2 When dialling in master-bus limiting, overly spiky or dynamic elements can trip gain reduction too early, and result in less-than-ideal loudness levels. When stem mastering, simply head to the offending stem and apply limiting earlier down the chain. Multiple stages of subtle limiting give a more controlled overall sound. 3 If a particular stem is getting lost in the overall song, you can easily turn it up. If it’s not quite ‘dense’ enough, try mixing in some transparent RMS weight with parallel compression. 4 As with any mastering process, try to use as little processing as possible. 0.5-2dB of EQ boost or gain reduction should do. If you need to go further, it means the mix needs addressing at source.