Mastering Chain Essentials: The Final 10%
What is Mastering?
Mastering is the bridge between a good mix and the listener. It has three goals:
1. Consistency: Making sure your song sounds like it belongs on a
professional playlist.
2. Translation: Ensuring it sounds good on iPhones, cars, and club systems
alike.
3. Loudness: Reaching a competitive commercial volume without destroying
dynamic impact.
The Professional Signal Chain
While every engineer is different, this is the "gold standard" signal path for modern digital mastering:
- Corrective EQ (Linear Phase): Surgical cuts. High-pass at 20-30Hz to remove invisible rumble that eats headroom. Cut resonant "whistles" with a narrow Q.
- Glue Compression: A low-ratio (1.5:1 or 2:1) compressor with a slow attack. This binds the instruments together into a cohesive unit. Aim for 1-2dB of gain reduction max.
- Tonal EQ (Broad Strokes): A "Color EQ" like a Pultec. Add a gentle 0.5dB boost at 10kHz for air, or 100Hz for weight.
- Saturation/Tape: Add subtle harmonic distortion to simulate analog warmth. This increases perceived loudness without increasing peak level.
- Limiting: The final brick wall. Catch the peaks and raise the overall level to your target loudness.
Understanding LUFS and Metering
Stop looking at PEAK levels. The internet runs on LUFS (Loudness Units Full Scale).
📋 Loudness Targets (2026)
- Spotify/Apple Music: -14 LUFS is the "normalization" target, but most pros master louder.
- Safe Commercial Target: -9 to -10 LUFS. This ensures your track sounds energetic but not crushed.
- Club/EDM: -7 to -6 LUFS. Extremely loud, requires a perfect mix to achieve without distortion.
- True Peak: Always set your limiter ceiling to -1.0 dBTP. This prevents "intersample peaks" creating distortion when your file is converted to MP3/AAC for streaming.
The Importance of Environment
You cannot fix what you cannot hear. Mastering requires an acoustically treated room and flat
speakers. If you are mastering in a bedroom, check your mix in multiple
environments:
- Car Test
- Phone Speaker Test (vital for Mid-range clarity)
- Earbuds
- A Reference Track: Always A/B compare your master against a pro track in the same genre at
the same volume.