What is Track Mastering?
Track Mastering is the final process of sound production, in which sound producers use tools and techniques to optimize the sound quality of a music track or other audio. The purpose of track mastering is to create a perfect sound with good sound balance, strength, and ease of listening. Track mastering also helps to create a standard for all the music tracks in an album or collection, making them cohesive and a complete collection.
The Importance of Track Mastering in Sound Production.
Track mastering is of great importance in sound production because it helps to create a high-quality and consistent sound.
- Optimizing sound quality: Track mastering helps to optimize the volume, balance, frequency, and other parameters of a music track or audio, creating a better sound.
- Creating a standard: Track mastering helps to create a standard for all the music tracks in an album or collection, making them cohesive and a complete collection.
- Enhancing competitiveness: Track mastering can help enhance the competitiveness of a music track or audio in a competitive market.
- Enhancing inspiration: Track mastering can enhance the inspiration of a music track or audio, allowing listeners to better perceive the sound content.
Necessary actions in the mastering process.
- Change gain: This is the action that sound engineers use to adjust the decibel volume level of a music track.
- Normalize: This is a basic action when performing mastering. When the volume of the source exceeds the power and limits of noise, frequency, etc., the playback system may be damaged. The Normalizer sets the maximum volume level of the music file according to the specified ratio (usually 0 decibels). This means that music can have varying volumes depending on the climax and rhythm of each song, but it should never exceed the 0dB threshold.
- Dynamic: This is considered the soul of a song as it directly affects the sound and sound mood of the music file. Sound is the difference between the smallest and largest sound pressure that the human ear can withstand (the limit level fluctuates from 120-130 dB). dynamic chứ không sử dụng chức năng change gain.
- Equalizing (EQ): Đây là công đoạn hiệu chỉnh tần số âm thanh và đặc biệt hữu hiệu với các nguồn âm từ giọng đọc, giọng nói. Trong quá trình EQ, các kỹ sư âm thanh có thể thêm một chút âm bass bằng cách tăng tần số âm trầm (thường sử dụng với bộ lọc Quick Filter/Parametric EQ hoặc cân chỉnh thủ công các tần số dưới 60Hz)
- Compressing: This is the compression stage, which allows for reducing harsh sounds, increasing the amplitude as well as the width of the sound field.
- Dithering (signal noise removal): With this stage, sound engineers only perform it when everyone is completely satisfied with the quality of the music track after mixing and mastering.
Looking through the mandatory steps in the mastering process, readers can easily recognize the importance of mastering in the overall music production process. Particularly, to ensure the best quality after the mastering stage, it is recommended that you export the music file with the highest possible audio resolution supported by your editing software (usually 24-bit/96kHz).
