So you’ve finished mixing your tracks and now you’re wondering – should I master these myself or hire a professional mastering engineer?
It’s an important question. Mastering is the final creative step before releasing your music to the world, so you want to get it right.
In this post, we’ll look at the key differences between mastering at home versus sending your mixes to a pro studio.
Let’s weigh the pros and cons so you can decide what’s best for your music.
The Allure of DIY Home Mastering
Why might you want to master your own mixes? Here are some of the appealing factors:
Cost – Paying a professional mastering engineer can be expensive. Doing it yourself is “free”, aside from any gear investments.
Convenience – No need to book studio time or send files back and forth. Master on your own time!
Creative Control – You don’t have to compromise on your vision. Master your mixes precisely how you want.
Learning Experience – Mastering your own material can teach you new skills.
These reasons make home mastering sound pretty good. But before deciding, let’s look at the potential downsides.
Limitations of Home Mastering
Mastering requires specialized gear, space, and ears. Most home studios lack these key elements:
Studio Setup – You need accurate, full-range studio monitors in an acoustically treated room. Most home studios have limited space and budget.
Mastering Gear – Professional converters, EQs, compressors, and limiters are very expensive. Most home studios use basic production gear.
Fresh Ears – After mixing for hours, your ears and brain get fatigued. A pro mastering engineer brings fresh, objective ears.
Experience – Mastering requires specialized expertise built over years. Mixing skills don’t automatically translate to mastering.
Without the right specialized tools and skills, the results you can achieve at home will be limited.
When Does Home Mastering Make Sense?
Given the above, does home mastering ever make sense? Here are two cases where it can work:
1. Demo Material – For early demos and rough mixes you want to share privately, DIY mastering can give them some extra polish. You mainly want to balance levels and add light limiting.
2. Learning Purposes – Mastering your own material, just like mixing your own tracks, can be a useful learning experience. Just understand that the results may not be release-ready professional quality.
In most other cases, sending your final mixes to an experienced professional will produce better results and give you an objective 3rd party perspective.
Finding the Right Professional Mastering Engineer
Okay, you’re convinced – you want to hire a pro. How do you select the right mastering engineer for your project?
Here are key things to consider:
Listen To Their Work – Check out samples of their past masters, especially in your genre. Do you like what you hear?
Communication – Do they understand exactly what you’re looking for sonically and emotionally? Are they attentive and responsive?
Experience – Look for an experienced engineer with proven mastery of the latest technology as well as vintage gear.
Room – They need a superbly designed studio with top notch converters, monitors, and acoustics.
Credibility – Are they respected in the industry? Do they have good testimonials and repeat clients?
Personal Dynamic – Choose a mastering engineer that “gets” you and your music. You want a collaborative, creative experience.
Taking the time to find the right engineer for you will make a huge difference vs. compromising with home mastering.
When Is Your Music Ready for Mastering?
Before booking mastering time, make sure your mixes are as polished and professional as you can make them.
Don’t expect mastering to fix mix problems! Your mix engineer should handle balances, panning, EQ and compression.
The mastering stage is for subtle enhancements and sheen. If you send well-crafted pro mixes, your mastering engineer can take them to the next level sonically.
In Conclusion…
We’ve looked at the tradeoffs between home mastering and hiring a professional. While home mastering is tempting for cost and convenience, for release-ready results, nothing beats having an experienced engineer in a treated studio with top gear and fresh ears.
Take the time to find the right mastering partner for your projects. It will really make your music shine!
What has your experience been with mastering? Have you done it yourself or hired a pro? What worked well and what challenges did you face? Let us know your thoughts!
