Mixing & Mastering FAQ

What is mixing and why does it matter?

Mixing is the step in which we use of EQ, compression, and other tools to allow space for all instruments/parts to shine appropriately on the track.

If you’ve ever listened to a song that lacks, bass, depth, or clarity… you probably listened to something that deserved a better mix. Mixing is an integral step of any recording project and it can really make or break a record.

Isn’t mixing just mastering?

Not quite… Mastering is formatting the whole song (Or Album/EP) for a specific purpose. For example, a song that is destined to be put on Spotify will be mastered differently than if it was for a CD or for TV/Film.

Mastering is about bringing the song or record to life as a whole. It the final step before the finished product. Sonic tweaks can be made during the mastering stage to either sweeten, enhance, and/or simply turn up the final recording.

If you’ve ever heard a song and thought to yourself, “This sounds way to quiet, I shouldn’t have to turn my volume up should I?”… Most likely the song has yet to be mastered, was mastered for a different format, or simply was not the best master job.

What on earth is the “volume” wars?

Sometime in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, music executives (as well as some producers) attributed higher album sales to be directly related to the loudness of the music.

So as time went by, everyone was making music as loud as possible… In the attempt to push sales with the idea that “If this music is louder than the song before it, it will draw more attention and sell more records!”…

Today we know better, though pushing the loudness of a record can bring out a lot of the song’s characteristics…. The downside is that this simple little concept was pushed too far.

All of a sudden music was blowing speakers left and right. Songs were pushed so loud that it simply sounded like distortion pancakes … RHCP’s- Californication (for example)…. Worst of all, music lost it’s dynamics. The contrasting flow of a soft verse to a loud bombastic chorus was gone. Everything was stuck at the same ear crippling volume and pushed to 11.

Sure you could just turn the volume on your boombox, car stereo, or Ipod nano down. But that didnt stop the music from sounding like it was pounded against a concrete wall with a hammer. Not to mention the audible distortion on a lot of great records of the time.

Luckily Today we’ve realized our mistake and many platforms like spotify and youtube actually require a lower volume, higher headroom, and higher dynamic range recording to translate well into their algorithm.

It’s nice to see that music is winning the “Volume Wars” rather than our own greed.

Here at Pattern we master and mix with the battle scars of the past two decades in mind, and at the end of the day… Songs will be mixed and mastered with the music in mind. Cheers to another decade of music sounding more and more like music.