Everyone knows mastering is an extremely vital step to creating a radio-ready track, but few know what mastering actually entails. Contrary to popular belief, it is not simply a matter of making the mix louder, although that is one of its functions. A mastering session accomplishes not only a radio-level volume for a track, but it is also the final stage at which dynamic ranges are determined, attack is properly adjusted, final levels among specific bands are achieved, and the track is given its final polish. Wave Burner, a program that comes with most Mac setups, is excellent for mastering because of its ability to use plug-ins on what you have imported, which makes it easy to apply compression, limiting, and other tweaks across an entire album in order to achieve a more streamlined, similar sound. Proper mastering requires an experienced set of ears and a good deal of patience, but the results can make or break a recording.
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