People always lump mixing and mastering together when they talk about it (I do it too), and so I guess some newer producers get the idea "mixing and mastering" is one process. Do you think calling them "post production" might fix anything?

Maybe, I guess post prod is just a term not used a lot in music, more in video. I'm sure people will understand what you're talking about if you say post prod, if they're not an idiot

Remix nearly done...

How the fuck did you get this picture of my studio?

idk man, sometimes empty space can be a good thing when you use it correctly. Theres a quote from a famous jazz musician, either miles davis or john coltrane i cant remember, but he basically says his solos aren't about the notes he plays, its about the space in between them. I think this mindset can be applied to mixdowns too

As Maor said, and idk if this is what he meant, but for me hardware is mostly for education. I have a few piece of hardware I play around with for fun and also for inspiration, but mainly just to learn every aspect of my craft. Music production is an endless rabbit hole and hardware is definitely part of that, but I don't think you need to use hardware at all. You can achieve amazing sound quality with just plugins.

However, it's true no amount of digital plugins will give you that analogue funk and soul you get from a piece of hardware, no matter how hard I try

I sometimes see some people ask how they can master their tracks better, but is mastering even necessary?

I thought I'd give a rundown of when mastering is necessary and when it isn't.

Firstly, lets not get confused with mastering and processing your master bus. Putting a limiter and a few other plugins on your master channel is not mastering. Mastering is a whole process. First you bounce down your premaster (just a bounce of your track with at least -3b headroom) and then you edit and process the audio separately. You can also do stem mastering which is bouncing down the different parts, then editing and processing them in the same way.

So, do you need to always master? I personally believe it's not always necessary, especially in the world of electronic music. The purpose of mastering is usually to make things suitable for release on physical media, or radio. If your track is just going on soundcloud, then I don't think it's usually necessary.

The MOST important thing is getting your mixdown nice and balanced, if your mixdown is off then no amount of mastering will fix that.

Lets say you do have to get your track/s mastered, should you do it yourself? I got a lot of stick on twitter a while ago for saying you shouldn't master you own tracks, even if you can (probably cus of the way I said it). However, I stand by this opinion, because no matter how good you are at mastering, your judgement is biased when working with music you've spent a load of time on. A good master from a new set of ears can bring out things in the music you didn't even hear. If you master your own tracks you might miss something you didn't notice because you've gotten so used to it. Also, you tend to be a bit more precious with your own work. It's your baby, and no one wants to cut and slash at their own baby.

Remember though, this is just my opinion, so please discuss if you agree or disagree!

We've been getting a lot of requests for a place where people can talk about anything, and we thought it would be a good idea to explain why there won't be.

1. This is the producer's forum, a general discussion would attract people who have no interest in music production.

2. This is the age of social media, there is enough general discussion. Back in 2004 you needed a general discussion because there weren't things like twitter or facebook.

3. Forums that have general discussion tend to be more divided, and we want everyone on this forum to participate in every part of the forum.

Thank you for your support and understanding!

We've been getting a lot of requests for a place where people can talk about anything, and we thought it would be a good idea to explain why there won't be.

1. This is the producer's forum, a general discussion would attract people who have no interest in music production.

2. This is the age of social media, there is enough general discussion. Back in 2004 you needed a general discussion because there weren't things like twitter or facebook.

3. Forums that have general discussion tend to be more divided, and we want everyone on this forum to participate in every part of the forum.

Thank you for your support and understanding!

We've been getting a lot of requests for a place where people can talk about anything, and we thought it would be a good idea to explain why there won't be.

1. This is the producer's forum, a general discussion would attract people who have no interest in music production.

2. This is the age of social media, there is enough general discussion. Back in 2004 you needed a general discussion because there weren't things like twitter or facebook.

3. Forums that have general discussion tend to be more divided, and we want everyone on this forum to participate in every part of the forum.

Thank you for your support and understanding!