How to prepare recorded material for online mixing and online mastering? : practical guide for amateurs and professionals

Abstract

New technology has lowered the prices of recording equipment so that it is available to almost everybody. Today, many artists carry out their record projects with their own recording equipment and use online services in the mixing and mastering phases. Objective vision, experience and high technology are required for these production phases. There are plenty of artists who do the recording themselves, but very little material is available for them on how to prepare the recorded material for online mixing and mastering.

The goal of this thesis was to provide useful information on how to develop working methods, which make online mixing and online mastering processes more efficient. There are no rules or standards in the industry for what kinds of technical measures or decisions should be made when preparing the recorded material for online mixing or online mastering.

The purpose of this thesis was to provide a practical guide for those, who are planning to carry out their mixing or mastering phase online, and to develop Hiili Music's online services, who is the subscriber to this thesis. In addition, a purpose was to provide useful ideas for sound engineers, who are interested in developing their services. The sources used are Hiili Music’s archives, literature and online sources. The thesis has a constructive approach. The material was collected by researching materials from dozens of music albums and mapping out the problem areas that emerged from them.

The final results showed that a big budget is not as important a factor as is often thought, but instead careful preparation is required. The recorded material should be delivered with sufficient technical quality, and many decisions must be made in advance. Interaction plays a much more important role than the industry thinks. A good production is born of interaction and collaboration.