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Where to Mix and Master Music

Where to Mix and Master Music

The Tunedly Team
Music mixing and mastering are necessary activities in order to create songs that are worthy of being listened to. In the past, we have discussed the importance of using professional sources to mix and master music. After all, if you want your songs to be appealing to artists, publishers, and other music professionals, they need to sound as close to being radio-ready as possible.

Mixing and mastering music involves a number of fine-tuning processes to bring out the best sounds possible to enhance clarity and uniformity. These processes include:

- Combining tracks

- Adding effects

- Panning

- EQing

- Automating

- Compressing

- Tweaking audio levels

There are other steps but the important thing is ending up with a song that flows out of the speakers without any form of distortion, regardless of the device being used for playback. This can only be achieved with the right equipment and technical skills.

While knowing all that is great, finding the right people with the necessary audio editing skills and talent is not always easy. Where can you go to find these? There are really only two choices. Carrying out mixing and mastering processes using a home studio setup might seem convenient. But it is a recipe for disaster...unless you are only planning to make amateur music recordings to play for your close friends and family.

If you have ambitions to pitch songs to artists or share them with the wider public as a singer-songwriter, you will need to seek out external professional services. Let’s explore the two possible options.

Professional music recording studios

If you live in a big city that has a strong musical background, it might be easy for you to find professional music recording studios. Many of these establishments have specialized audio treatment rooms with cutting edge mixing and mastering equipment, along with trained audio engineers. These are the places where most recording artists and professional musicians go to have their music worked on.

There are a few problems where using physical recording studios are concerned that you need to bear in mind. For one, most of the prominent music recording studios can be expensive, especially if they have a rich musical history. Famous music recording studios such as Abbey Road in London, Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, and Electric Lady in New York, for instance, are often flocked by many of the musicians that have hits on the charts. This means their high profile clientele often results in high fees that make them inaccessible to the average music creator.

Another thing is that some of the lesser-known studios may be staffed by amateurs or people who are learning on the job, so quality is not guaranteed. Finally, going to a physical studio is not ideal nowadays with the current pandemic spreading like wildfire. Music studios are the last places you want to visit as it is difficult to social distance and for musicians to wear a mask.

Professional online music studios

Many music creators live far away from well-known music centers. If you are from a remote area, it means having to travel great distances to find audio technicians who have experience working with the best in the business. This can also prove costly for more than one reason: the cost of using the facility and the cost of transportation. In addition, using a physical studio does not guarantee you will get the results you are seeking (as noted above).

For musicians who may live far away from music centers – and even those who live in them – online recording studios provide a suitable alternative. However, using an online source can be a bit risky because it can be difficult to verify the skill level and type of music mixing and mastering technology that will be working on your song. Some online music studios use freelancers that are not vetted, while others may use artificial intelligence for mastering tracks. While these can possibly deliver results that are middle-of-the-road, your songs will likely fall short of being exceptional.

Tip: Check the reviews for any recording studio you plan to try out, whether physical or online, before going ahead and spending your hard-earned money.

While we are on this point, you can save yourself the hassle of having to vet your own musicians and researching countless music studios by using Tunedly. Here, we have already done the work for you by only adding trained and experienced music talent to our roster, some of whom have mixed and mastered songs for famous artists. Furthermore, our mixing mastering fees are among the most competitive you will find in the industry.

Now that you know where to go to mix and master your music, it is up to you to make the right choice that will produce the best possible results.

TRY OUR PROFESSIONAL MIXING AND MASTERING SERVICES FOR YOUR NEXT SONG. TUNEDLY MAKES CHART-TOPPING SINGLES, YOUTUBE HITS, OR 'JUST BECAUSE.'