My Mastering Process Explained | Mix VS Master

Here's how I would approach mastering a track. I discuss the mastering mindset, how I analyse a mix, mastering techniques and why I am doing certain processes to achieve great sounding masters.
Follow me on IG: josh.bartel
Stream "Tuff" by Dead Beat Dad Bod Here:
open.spotify.com/track/2K42ar...
Thanks for letting me use the track as an example!

[@TheRealCooperRoblox]

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[@levelletate4551]

This song is 🔥

[@riyajmahmudbd]

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[@richardpretorius4929]

Great video, Josh! And, great job on the master. I had the same thought about the snare, but I also thought that the track could be improved by reducing some sub-harmonic content, and also adding some air to the track. It sounded like there was more top end in your master (than there was in the mix), but I don't think you mentioned that when you were talking about your processing. Was it just that limiting brought reverbs etc up in the mix, or am I missing something?

[@Josh.Bartel]

Thank you 🙏🏻 I did simplify to get the key points across clearly for the video. The analogue chain has a sound too depending on how it’s gain staged. So that has shaped the tone. Also the Weiss ds1 clipping can have a slightly crisp tone. So these were also considerations in combination with using reference tracks.

[@ZestyKrisps]

Hi been making music about a year now. My thing is i only have a smartphone with bandlab. I recently tried using the built in distribution. Everything turned out bad. Essentially i just want to know what ideas you have for someone with no money at all for paying someone to mix. And no other tools such as a desktop to do my own mixing which is what i prefer. Any tips?

[@TheSignOfficial]

How do you like your Avalon 2077 for mastering purposes? What is its role in your chain, what do you like about them most? I'm considering an Avalon 2055 for mastering, would you recommend buying it? Thank you!

[@Josh.Bartel]

I really, really love the 2077 and haven’t heard anything like it yet. Compared to the Massive Passive which is fat, soft and silky sounding, the 2077 tone is very solid, precise and clean sounding. Even just with it engaged with no processing it almost sounds like it makes music slightly more detailed or sharper. If I had to describe the top end it would be sparkly. So basically it acts as a really nice, clean and precise eq in the chain. I personally haven’t heard the 2055, and I don’t feel comfortable recommending to buy something. Personally I couldn’t afford it so I’m lucky that I’m working at a commercial studio that owns it haha. But I hope that helps.

[@TheSignOfficial]

@@Josh.Bartel Sharper and detailed? Its quite interesting concerning the fact that this is a Tube gear as far as I'm not mistaken. Tube usually makes things softer and gives more density. Does it imparts a certain color? Or is it as clean and precise as a digital eq? Lastly what are your thoughts about the mid bands (lowmid,highmid) how they sound? Ty!

[@Josh.Bartel]

⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠@@TheSignOfficial Yeah I know it is interesting but I can only speak on what I’m hearing. It does have a colour which is almost like a subtle clean, crisp tone but it’s still very transparent. Of course great da/ad helps as well. I’d more often than not prefer to use it than any digital eq I’ve tried to be honest. I actually don’t use the mid bands too much on it, sometimes a narrow cut if there’s a resonance or annoying peak. Depends on the mix but more often than not I’d prefer the massive passive mid bands which sound more soft/gentle. The Avalon has a ‘harder’ sound which can be necessary for some tracks too. I mostly find myself using it for shaping low-end and sparkly top-end / presence.

[@seangill2413]

The feeling of having the same notes as you is so validating fam lol

[@Josh.Bartel]

Hell yeah, it’s not easy to hear what a mix needs so that’s actually really awesome

[@KingKong-mp6gj]

I agree with the 2 points made but also think this is better corrected in the mixing stage. Highly disapprove of the loudness gain and the resulting brickwall limiting, really sucks the soul out of modern music and causes ear fatigue.

[@Josh.Bartel]

So two things I need to say about this. I’m a mastering engineer and this is a mastering video. People hire me to make sure their music is as good as possible before release. Making improvements like these is very, very common in pro mastering. I’d only ask for a mix revision if something was seriously wrong. So maybe it could have been better fixed in the mix, but the mixing engineer didn’t hear what it needed so that’s where I come in. Secondly about the loudness in modern music. I 100% don’t advocate to crush the soul out of music. This track only needed a couple of db of limiting which I believe improved the track and made it commercially competitive. This may not be your goal, so you can master tracks how you like, but I personally want my masters to be able to played within a playlist of the most successful productions in the world and sound amazing. There are mastering engineers that do crush the soul out of music, but that ain’t me. Soft music should stay soft, loud music should be loud.