What is the difference between mixing and mastering?

Mixing balances the parts of your song against each other: levels, space, tone and the decisions that make separate recordings sound like one record. Mastering balances the finished mix against everything else it will be heard beside, setting final level and tone so it holds up on a playlist, in a car and through a phone speaker.

Can you master a song without mixing it?

Yes, and it is common. A mastering engineer works from a finished stereo mix. What mastering cannot do is fix a mix: if the vocal is buried or the low end is fighting itself, that is a mixing problem and no amount of mastering repairs it.

If the song is being released, yes. A mix that has not been mastered will usually sound quieter and thinner beside other records on the same playlist, which listeners hear as the song being worse rather than the file being unfinished.

What format should a finished master be delivered in?

24 bit stereo WAV is the sensible baseline, and having it at both 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz means the same record serves streaming and video without going back for a second version. MP3 is a distribution format, not a delivery format.

Mixing vs Mastering: What Is the Difference?

Mixing and mastering are two different jobs

One balances the parts of your song against each other. The other balances it against everything else. Paying for one and expecting both is the mistake.

Kashikesh ProductionsOctober 4, 20263 min read

They get sold in one breath and written on one invoice line, which is why so many people pay for one and expect the other.

Mixing: your song against itself

A mix takes the parts of a recording and makes them sound like one thing.

Levels, so the vocal sits where the song needs it. Space, so twelve things occupying the same frequency range stop fighting. Tone, so the guitar and the keys are not both doing the same job. The decisions that turn a folder of recordings into something that sounds deliberate.

A mix is where a record either gets out of its own way or does not. It is also where most of the problems that people blame on mastering actually live.

Mastering: your song against everything else

A master takes the finished mix and prepares it to be heard beside other records.

Final level, so it does not arrive noticeably quieter than the track before it on a playlist. Final tone, so it holds up through a phone speaker, a car and a pair of headphones, which are three very different rooms. Consistency, so an EP sounds like one body of work rather than five sessions.

Mastering works on the stereo mix, not the parts. That is the whole point, and also the whole limitation.

What mastering cannot do

It cannot fix a mix.

If the vocal is buried, if the low end is muddy, if two instruments are colliding, those are decisions made at the mixing stage and they are baked into the stereo file. A mastering engineer can make a problem louder. They cannot make it go away.

Anyone who tells you otherwise is about to charge you for a master and then explain why the result is not what you hoped.

What you should get back

24 bit stereo WAV is the baseline. Ask for it at both 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz: the first is what streaming wants, the second is what video wants, and having both means the same record serves a release and a sync without anyone going back for a second version six months later.

MP3 is a distribution format. If a master arrives as one, something has been skipped.

Which one your song needs

If the parts are recorded and you are not happy with how they sit together, you need a mix. If the mix is finished and the song simply does not stand up beside other records, you need a master. If you cannot tell, send it and ask, and be suspicious of an answer that happens to be whichever service costs more.

Common questions

What is the difference between mixing and mastering?: Mixing balances the parts of your song against each other: levels, space, tone and the decisions that make separate recordings sound like one record. Mastering balances the finished mix against everything else it will be heard beside, setting final level and tone so it holds up on a playlist, in a car and through a phone speaker.
Can you master a song without mixing it?: Yes, and it is common. A mastering engineer works from a finished stereo mix. What mastering cannot do is fix a mix: if the vocal is buried or the low end is fighting itself, that is a mixing problem and no amount of mastering repairs it.
Do I need both?: If the song is being released, yes. A mix that has not been mastered will usually sound quieter and thinner beside other records on the same playlist, which listeners hear as the song being worse rather than the file being unfinished.
What format should a finished master be delivered in?: 24 bit stereo WAV is the sensible baseline, and having it at both 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz means the same record serves streaming and video without going back for a second version. MP3 is a distribution format, not a delivery format.