Ok... first dumb noob question....

[Moparnut]

Hi guys, thanks to this forum, I now know what compression is and I think I even managed to use it successfully on my first real (self) recording on Cubase 4LE. You guys are awesome!

Anyhoo, my question is this.... what's the difference between "mastering" and "mixing"....? And if they aren't the same thing, then just what the hell IS "mastering"..?! I eagerly await the tirade of "You moron, THIS is what mastering is....." replies!

Thanks in advance....

[Hunter33]

You won't get much of that negativity here, this place is great and although its kinda cheesy now to say this, there really are no dumb questions only dumb answers.

And with that said I will totally ignore your question and sod off..........................................lol (j/k)..

But to try and answer your question; They are two processes in the finalising and preparing of an audio recording.

Mixing is getting everything to what you perceive to be the right levels so nothing is clipping (in the red) and there is an audiable balance between all the recordings that is pleasant to listen to.

Mastering is the step before the audio gets printed to vinyl or cd or whatever media you are going to be using. I am not really qualified to state what it is exactly but I think I can safely say it involves making sure the mixed levels are loud enough (maybe you mixed the tracks well but they are too quiet) or making sure all the tracks are of equal volume levels so you don't end up with tracks at totally different volume levels.
Also when it comes to printing to vinyl there are a bunch of procedures to make sure the recording works properly. I have heard for example if its not done right the needle can actually jump off the record.

Well thats all I have for you, someone else may explain better.

Welcome.

[bozmillar]

In real life, mastering is taking the mixed songs and formatting them and setting them up so they all sound good together on the CD. Making sure they are all the same loudness with the same tonal balance, etc. There is often times a bit of polishing that goes on in the step as well to get the songs to sound a bit better. Getting the right amount or silence in between songs, making sure they don't click as they switch, getting fadouts, making sure the metadata is right, making sure the order of the songs is right, basically all that finalizing crap you don't want to have to think about when you are mixing a song.

In home recording land, mastering is generally referred to as putting FX on the master buss. Since most of us aren't really making albums and CDs, mastering really just means we tried to make it sound as good and finished as possible (and loud too).

[R8R9R0]

Welcome Moparnut; Yes, what they say, and said......Mixing is a skill that CAN be learned with knowledge, trial and error,
and doing it over and over, in conjunction with research, and hanging out here....Mastering, IMHO, takes a whole lotta
REAL KNOWLEDGE.......Sure, one can do a home unskilled Mastering Job, on home demos, and think, " Cool !! ", but the
reality is, a skilled engineer, and many 'common' folk will hear the result as being " not so cool." IMHO, I've learned that
real mastering is best left to the pros, and even the semi-pros....There are probably around 12 long term hardcore members
here who have the skill.....I'm prepping to hire one member here for that very purpose....It makes the difference between
a "home recording" that sounds good (or not), and recordings that meet industry standards on a variety of levels...........

[Moparnut]

Awesome, thanks guys! Your answers helped a lot! At least now I know I don't need to "Master" my song until I have a few more songs to go along with it....! (I'll probably make an absolute mess of it when I DO try it, but it's the only way to learn I reckon....) You guys rock!