What would recorded music be like without mixing and mastering? It’s a frightening thought.  What would music be like without topnotch music producers like Kip Allen? Again, a frightening thought!

Let’s talk a bit about this aspect of music recording many people know very little about. Call Kip Allen, music producer, at 817-995-8093 for more information and to arrange for a sit-down with one of Nashville’s best music producers.

Now, though, let’s talk about mixing and mastering.

So, we know that it’s necessary in the recording journey to both mix music and master a recording, but what are these steps and how are they different from one another?

Mixing

To simplify things, mixing is the process of taking individually recorded tracks and blending them together like ingredients in a recipe. When making your favorite dish, you don’t just throw everything on a plate and enjoy a meal. Instead, different ingredients need to be prepared in different ways, so that everything comes together in harmony and perfect taste.

Mixing is much the same as cooking/baking in that your mixing engineer may need to adjust and automate volume levels of different tracks to blend them. They may need to add effects like delay and reverb for extra spice, and they may need to tweak EQ settings for corrections and added flavor. Each instrument is also panned in the stereo field to make space so that each track sits just right in the mix and no frequencies stumble over each other.

Mastering

Mastering, on the other hand, is the finalization process where everything gets baked together for the perfect “taste” experience. This is where the mix has been perfected and the track as a whole is worked on to give it shine, sparkle, volume, depth, punch and loudness. During the mastering process, an audio engineer will use different tools like compression, stereo width tools, limiters, maximizers, EQ, automation and more to ensure that the final master copy achieves the right levels to meet industry standards, and the proper tone for your style of music.

And when you are done . . .

When a quality music producer is done with the audio mixing, the song/recording is transformed into a piece of musical art or, using the baking analogy, into a culinary masterpiece that Paul Hollywood would be proud of.

What proof of what we say? Listen to some of the old recordings from the 40’s and 50’s.  Then listen to the music produced during the Age of Rock n Roll.  Then do a listen test to today’s top artist recordings. Listen to the melodic balance. Listen to how it all comes together in a perfectly-blended recipe. The difference is like night and day. That’s how far mixing and mastering have come over the years.

What can Kip Allen do for you?

Kip Allen, Drum Workshop Artist, can produce tracks for you which will pass the test of time, just as he’s done for some of the biggest names on the American music scene since 2008.  If you are looking for mediocrity, look elsewhere. If you are looking at mixing ands mastering professionalism and creativity, call Kip Allen if you want to find a music producer who is at the top of his game.

Why settle for second-best when Kip Allen is available?