The Essential Guide to Mastering Electronic Music on Your Own

Mastering is the final stage of audio post-production and is defined as the process of balancing and harmonizing various sonic elements of a stereo mix while optimizing its sound across all media formats.

The goal of mastering is to add a final touch and polish the audio’s sound to convert the final mix into a ready-to-go release that listeners can enjoy and experience in high quality on all possible devices—from dance club sound systems to home stereo systems to smartphones. Usually, mastering involves using various tools, such as limiting, dynamic range compression, equalization, stereo widening, and other stereo enhancements.

The term "mastering" comes from the idea of transferring the final mix from a source to a data storage device, also known as the master, from which all subsequent copies will be made and produced using methods like replication, duplication, or pressing. Throughout this process, mastering ensures that all reproduced copies can be played back sounding the best way possible, regardless of the platform or medium used (CDs, DVDs, cassettes, vinyl records, music streaming platforms, etc.).

If it hasn’t been clear yet, mastering is an incredibly important step in your music-making journey. It improves the quality of sound, elevates the listeners’ experience, and deepens their connection to music.

As mastering aims to ensure an audio file is heard as intended, its absence may cause the audio to sound unbalanced, inconsistent, or disjointed compared to other tracks. Consequently, the overall body of work may come off as incoherent and uncoordinated, potentially making you, as a musician, appear somewhat amateurish.

Before we dive into mastering electronic music, there’s one thing that might not always be clear—and that is the difference between mastering and mixing. While mastering is the final stage of music post-production, mixing refers to the process that comes right after audio recording. Yet, some people view mixing and mastering as the same or dismiss both processes as unnecessary if the music composition is decent to begin with.

After audio tracks are recorded, the mixing process comes into play to combine, harmonize, and balance them, achieving a level of complexity when played together. Individual mixing techniques greatly depend on the music genre and the quality of the recording involved.

Mixing is traditionally performed by a mixing engineer, but both the recording producer and musician may also participate in the process. After mixing, mastering occurs, polishing the entire mix, and preparing the record for release and distribution.

There are typically two ways to have your electronic music (or any genre, really) mastered—each with its advantages and disadvantages.

The first option is to hire a mastering engineer. This approach provides you with more time and opportunity to focus on composing and writing music while ensuring that your existing tracks are being mastered by a professional. However, do not assume that just because someone else is mastering your music, you will be excluded from the mastering process entirely.

For a mastering engineer to grasp your artistic vision and ensure the final version meets your expectations, they need your continuous input. Chances are, therefore, that there will be a lot of back and forth with edits, or you might even attend the mastering (and mixing) sessions. To be honest, this is the better outcome. The worst-case scenario is you coming across an engineer who doesn’t care enough about your art, simply because it’s not theirs, leaving you with a version of your track or album that doesn’t fully align with your vision.

There’s one more downside to consider when hiring a mastering engineer. Professional mastering services are typically expensive—and understandably so—which might ultimately mean you have to save money in other areas of your career. Is that worth it? That’s really up to you to decide.

The second option is to master your electronic track on your own, which is more cost-effective and allows you more artistic freedom. Naturally, it might not be easy—especially when you’re just starting out. Traditionally, there is a lot to learn and perfect, which will demand a considerable amount of your time and energy. Part of the process also involves sorting through the vast amount of knowledge and materials available, and being prepared to make mistakes along the way.

On the positive side, though, with technological advances, mastering has never been more accessible to musicians and producers, allowing them to edit their music from the comfort of their homes. Today, there is an abundance of application software programs, including plug-ins and digital audio workstations (DAWs), that facilitate a high level of automation and personalization.

Through such software, the source material is processed using various tools and features, including equalization, compression, limiting, editing, and other operational processes such as noise reduction, identifying gaps between individual tracks, adjusting levels, fading in and out, and various enhancement procedures. These operations then prepare your music for digital and/or analog (physical, e.g., CD, cassette, vinyl) replication and distribution.

There are also platforms like iMusician’s Instant Mastering, which allow you to achieve high-quality, professional results without any hassle. All you have to do is upload your track through the iMusician app and select the genre preset that best aligns with your track, or upload a reference track to tailor the results to your unique vision—our online audio mastering tool will do the rest! Your mastered file will be ready in just a few minutes, and the finished track will be automatically added to your tracks library. If you’re seeking an even more personalized option, you can work with JP Masters, which offers professional mastering services and can perfect your track at their studio.

As we have outlined, both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages, and ultimately, it’s up to you to choose the path that works best for you. Are you eager to master your electronic music independently? Great! We have compiled several key tips to enhance your mastering skills and release the music you desire.

The environment in which you edit your music is crucial for the success and quality of your mastering efforts—even if, or especially if, you don’t have access to a professional or expensive mastering studio. This is because the place where you master your tracks significantly influences how you perceive and process sound.

If you’re in a very noisy and echoing room, certain frequencies will cause excess resonance as they bounce around. On the other hand, if you’re mastering in an extremely quiet environment with no background sounds, the audio you’re working on may seem to lack a natural sense.

It’s therefore essential, when mastering your electronic music, to use multiple monitoring devices or sources. If you, for example, choose headphones or earbuds as your main monitoring source, make sure to reference your audio on a separate monitoring device, such as a car stereo, another pair of headphones (or any in-ears), or a pair of studio monitors.

Both the process and outcome of mastering vary significantly depending on the needs of the audio file and its final destination. Knowing where you intend to release your record is crucial, as different platforms and destinations may require distinct conditions, particularly regarding loudness levels. Mastering for Spotify and other streaming platforms will differ from mastering for a vinyl record, for instance.

Music and video streaming platforms, such as Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and YouTube, have, to a greater extent, adapted to loudness normalization, which refers to automatic adjustments of recordings based on perceived loudness to bring the average amplitude to a specific target level. This means that if you upload your master at a higher loudness level than a streaming platform’s target, the service will automatically lower the level to match its other songs.

The ultimate goal of loudness normalization is to address the varying loudness of songs when listening to them one after another. Without normalization, one song may be louder or, conversely, quieter than others, which forces the listener to adjust the playback volume manually.

Most streaming platforms are not very strict, operating within the range of -12 to -16 LUFS, depending on the particular service. When mastering your music, you can consistently check how loud your master is by looking at the loudness meter in your chosen plug-in’s insights. There, you can measure and control the short-term perceived loudness levels in a digital environment. The units that these meters measure are called ‘loudness units relative to full scale’, known as LUFS.

Using high-quality mastering meters is crucial because they help visualize what you hear and where you stand with your music. In essence, mastering meters are essential tools in music production that offer a visual representation of various elements of a track’s audio. These elements include dynamic range, loudness levels, frequency spectrum, stereo spread, and more.

Using mastering meters can help audio engineers, producers, and artists make informed decisions during the mastering process, seeing what needs to be changed and optimized for different playback systems.

They can identify and highlight any mixing issues (like clipping, stereo width issues, or excessive low-end), ensure sufficient headroom (the space below the maximum peak level), and help you understand the relationship between the peak and the average level of a signal, known as the crest factor. This understanding is essential for optimizing dynamic range and further preventing clipping. There are various types of meters to consider.

Level meters are likely the most common measuring meters we come across in mastering, available in DAWs, mixing boards, and various outboard gear. Their purpose is to indicate the strength (or level) of a specific signal in audio equipment, in other words, to show how ‘loud’ a signal is at any given moment. You can choose from a variety of level meters, depending on the DAW or other plug-in software you prefer.

Volume unit meters (VU meters), traditionally electromechanical devices, take longer to respond and read the signal level and to recognize when a level drops or rises (usually takes up to 300 milliseconds). This, however, makes them excellent tools for averaging out peaks and lows of rather short duration, and they echo the perceived loudness more precisely and closely than modern and more expensive level meters.

Peak programme meters (PPM meters) are a bit more expensive, but unlike VU meters, they can be used to detect, measure, and quantify the level of the signal (and its change) momentarily, regardless of how brief the duration of the waveform is.

LUFS meters are the most versatile of the three level meters mentioned so far, measuring the momentary, short-term, and average (integrated) loudness of your music. While the momentary level of loudness can be used to measure the dynamic range between the loudest and the quietest point of your track, the integrated loudness is measured to see whether the loudness complies with broadcast standards, as indicated in LU units (loudness units).

For short-term loudness, which can help you assess the overall level of the mix or master, especially in reference to other mixes and masters, true peak metering might be the best option. Such meters can show you the maximum (peak) level an audio signal reaches, indicating potential clipping or distortion when your song is converted into ready-to-be-listened-to audio. ‘Clipping’ happens when your mix is too loud and results in your song’s volume being automatically turned down and the louder parts being clipped off. As a result, the dynamic range is reduced, and distortions might appear. True peak meters assist in preventing this.

Phase correlators are tools that help you estimate the width of your track’s stereo in comparison to the reference track of your choice. If your stereo is too wide, particular parts of it may be lost in the mono playback system. Phase correlation meters can help you verify this.

Frequency meters allow you to measure, display, and judge the frequency content of your music. Such tools will be especially useful in suggesting where in your mix you need to add a high- or low-end, decrease your upper-midst frequency, and more.

A reference track is something we’ve mentioned a few times before in this article, so what is it actually? A reference track is used to indicate a tune or another track that is similar to yours in genre, tempo, and arrangement. It’s important, if possible, to use a lossless file type of your reference track, such as .WAV, .FLAC, or .AIFF. With lower resolution files like .MP3, or .AAC, you will soon notice a decrease in the sound quality.

Having a reference track is important for your music to compete on commercial platforms, particularly music streaming services. When mastering your track, consider whether its overall loudness level, frequency spectrum, and dynamic range resemble those of the reference tune and if both could fit on the same playlist. This can hint at the overall condition and quality of your track. If you’ve created similar music before, you can also use your personal songs as your reference tracks.

It’s advisable, especially if you’ve just started with music mastering, to use a limited number of tools in your DAW or plug-in. Equalization, dynamic range compression, and limiting may be just enough at the beginning, but over time, you can incorporate additional tools, such as stereo widening, noise reduction (if applicable), and other audio enhancements.

Equalization (also known as EQ), traditionally achieved through a circuit called an equalizer, refers to a process in sound recording, production, and reproduction that aims to edit and adjust the frequency content of a track. The purpose of equalization is, therefore, to balance individual frequency bands within an audio signal, helping all of your melodic elements work together to create a unified sound.

Equalization can also be used to get rid of unwanted and unnecessary sounds (e.g., humming from instrument amplifiers) and enhance certain aspects of an instrument’s tone or adjust the prominence of various instrument sounds and voices. Generally, it helps to accustom the timbre and frequency content of individual instruments and voices so that they harmonize with each other and align with the overall frequency spectrum of the mastering mix.

Tip: It’s essential to remain as precise as possible when applying equalization to your music. One should remember that any EQ decision strongly affects the sound of the track’s bass, kick, synth, and vocals. If you need to add or cut down more than 3 dB in gain, the track should be returned to the mixing process before continuing with mastering.

Dynamic range compression (DRC), or commonly referred to as compression, describes an audio processing operation that aims to decrease the volume of sounds that are too loud and can potentially amplify sounds that are too quiet and soft. Traditionally, however, compression targets the loudest sounds to make them softer. This means that by applying compression, the volume range of audio signals in a piece of music is limited or compressed.

Traditionally, compression is performed by a compressor, which is a dedicated electronic hardware unit or audio software. In recent years, compressors have become available as individual software plug-ins available through various digital audio workstations.

It’s said that compression is the ‘ingredient’ that adds energy, grip, and solidity to the track, but can also ruin it if too much is applied. The higher the ratio of compression, the more the audio is affected by the process; therefore, it’s advisable not to exceed the 4:1 ratio (a 2:1 ratio is just ideal).

Limiting, as a process, is identical to compression but differs in terms of perceived effects. It can be described as a process that restricts a signal to a specific predetermined value that it cannot exceed. In other words, limiting takes compression to the extreme level and establishes a limit or threshold beyond which no sound can pass.

Limiters, which perform the process of limiting, are commonly used as safety devices during live performances, such as sound and broadcast applications, to prevent sudden volume peaks. The circuits are referred to as compressors but with a very high ratio and, generally, a shorter attack time. They are also utilized as protective features within bass amplifiers and sound reinforcement systems, such as powered mixing boards, to avoid loudspeaker damage or unwanted disruptions.

Stereo widening presents an action through which the observed width of a stereo image of a mix or individual instruments is increased. A stereo image in audio concerns the perceived spatial locations of sound source(s) within an audio signal. This means that when listening to a piece of music, there are ‘audio pictures’ depicting which instruments are playing at the moment and where they are in relation to you. The better the stereo image is, the more clearly you can recognize each picture.

Stereo widening helps enhance the quality of your stereo image by making the existing stereo signal clearer and creating the illusion that it’s literally jumping out of the stereo speakers. Without a strong stereo image, your music will fail to deliver a quality and expansive listening experience that immerses your listeners in your music.

Monitoring your process and its progress is essential, and it’s therefore important to set a fixed monitoring level. Listening to your track at various levels can lead to inconsistent and conflicting decisions, as well as listener fatigue. When listening at a lower level, you may amplify your lows, which can sound too loud when you increase your loudness level. By maintaining a fixed monitoring level, you may not feel the need to make any changes, meaning that having a stable point of examination will help you make objective and better decisions regarding your process.

The monitoring level you select should be just loud enough to hear your track’s lows and highs without causing ear fatigue. Generally, mastering engineers recommend around 80-83 dB.

Tip: If you want to understand what your music sounds like and, more importantly, how to master it at a lower volume, you can set a monitoring level of about 12 dB less.