Do You Need To Go To School To Become An Audio Mastering Engineer?

Do you need to go to school (college) to become an audio mastering engineer? The short answer is definitely "NO!" I never went to school, and I'll go head to head with any of the top audio mastering engineers in the world!

I don't have exact data on this, but I would say most audio mastering engineers do not have a college degree. The ones I know, most of them don't. And I know a lot of them.

And when I say school, I'm talking about a bachelor's degree from a major university. This is not a requirement.

But, you do need training. Books, videos, a 6 month to a year audio engineer trade school or course, and then either a hands on apprenticeship at a local studio, or even working at your own home studio using all the techniques you've learned. You have to put the time in and hone your craft.

How To Become A Great Mastering Engineer!

You become a great mastering engineer by learning the craft, practicing, and becoming great at audio mastering. This may sound like a silly answer, but these are the steps everyone takes.

The "learning the craft" part is where you have many options. You can go to a university, to an audio engineer trade school, take an online course, you could even learn from videos and books.

Of course, the best place to start is with my audio mastering book. 17 years of information wrapped up into 180 pages! You can read it here - Best Song Mastering Book.

The Music Production Secrets Series
by John Rogers

My Best Mixing & Mastering Articles

What Does Channel Mean In Music And Mixing?

It's the most basic of all questions, but someone asks it at least once a week. In this article, I will explain what channel means in music and mixing

Monitor Speaker Placement For Your Home Recording Studio And DAW Setup

Here's the monitor speaker setup I use for my DAW, and the setup I recommend for your home recording studio.

Learning And Calibrating Your Speakers For Your DAW In Audio Mastering

Learning and calibrating your speakers for your DAW in audio mastering is a very important step in the audio mastering process. When I first start out with NEW speakers (though I never change them now), I listen to my favorite hit songs in every genre and style. Songs that I know from my years of experience have X amount of bass, X amount of brightness, etc. I know how these songs are "supposed" to sound.

Mastering Compression Techniques

This video shows one of the more imptotant compression techniques I use in audio mastering. In my audio Mastering Secrets Video Series, I explain everything you need to know about audio mastering.

What Does Mastering Do To A Song?

What does mastering do to a song? Your main goal in audio mastering is to replicate the sonic qualities of a well professionally mastered commercial song, in the same genre and style as the song mix you are working on.

Cheaply Soundproofing Your Room For Audio Mastering

I had to write a quick note on this, as I was reminded about it while thumbing through a popular mixing book that had a 15 page section on speaker resonance and room sound proofing. I must say, a very exciting 15 pages! Ha!

Audio Engineer Hearing Loss And Tinnitus

Millions of people suffer from tinnitus. A new study shows around 10% of the U.S. population suffers from it in some form, but many have never even heard of it until they get it! Unfortunately, I was one of those people. It can happen quickly and it lasts a lifetime...

Best Free Redbook CD Burning Software

Yes, burning your own redbook master CDs is very easy! Here's how to make your own redbook CD masters for free!

Set Mixing Levels For Each Instrument

How to set mixing levels for each instrument is a question I see all over the Internet. I'm going to explain exactly how to set mixing levels in this article.

My First Music Video!

Here's the first music video I directed, Mahalin Muli by JAI, released on July 10th, 2018. I also wrote more than half of the script.

How To Master A Song In Only 5 Minutes!

Would you like to know how to master a song or how to master your own music? So many people think just making the volumes the same level for every song is "mastering" their CD. Well, mastering is a lot more than just that!

How Much Should I Charge For Mastering?

I've mastered over 40,000 songs since 1999. I've charged $10 a song, $20, $30, $50 even $100! Some prices worked better than others. Here are a few facts to consider when deciding on what prices to charge. Read more....

Stereo Widening Techniques | How To Use Stereo Widening In Mastering Music

Here are a few great stereo widening techniques and how to use them in music. When you listen to music on a car radio, you want that wide stereo sound that extends from the left door to the right. Not just two feet wide right above the stereo!

Creating Headroom In A Mix

To create a mix for mastering with proper headroom is pretty simple.

How Much Headroom Before Mastering Should I Leave?

How much headroom before mastering should you leave in your mix? Here's the correct amount of headroom you should leave, using detailed graphic examples.

Top 17 Common Music Mixing Mistakes And How To Fix Them!

audio music mixing mistakes

These are the Top 17 most common music mixing mistakes I see daily. Correcting them could will improve your audio mastering results and make your mixes sound more professional.

Top 20 Audio Mastering Tips, Techniques, And FAQ

Here are the top 20 audio mastering tips, questions, and answers that I've been asked over the years.

What Is Audio Mastering?

What is audio mastering? I've seen a lot of different answers on the Internet to this simple question. Some were pretty technical and confusing.

Audio Mastering Software Processors

Here are the series of audio mastering software processors I've used on the over 30,000 songs I've mastered since 1999. In this video, I use mostly izotope ozone plugins because it's easier to explain using them. In real-life, I do mix in a few hardware pieces, and a waves plugin.

#1 Best Website Hosting For Musicians, And Music Recording Studios

If you're looking for the best website hosting for musicians, bands, and music recording studios, here's my own personal experience with website hosting companies.

Which Is Better For Audio Mastering Analog Gear Or Digital Software Plugins?

I started my career using the old analog stuff, since that was the only option. I incorporated digital software plugins as soon as they became available, but it took many years before computers were fast enough to run them in realtime. And also before they started making very high quality plugins.

A/B Comparison In Mastering

In this video I do a quick A/B comparison of a few songs. In my audio mastering secrets video series, I get a lot more in-depth into exactly what you are trying to achieve sonically for your genre/style of music.

What Is Headroom In Mastering?

In order to produce a good master, a mix needs proper headroom and dynamic range.

Mastering A Song For Radio

Here's another popular question I see online, always with the wrong answer! "There's no such thing as radio ready mastering!" REALLY?

Best Room Size For Audio Mastering DAW Home Recording Studio

So, what is the best room size for audio mastering in your DAW home recording studio? Technically, you can properly mix or master in any room size. But, I believe a smaller room is better than a very large one for someone who's just starting out. And when I say smaller I mean closer to 12'x15' than to 20'x30'. I've mixed and mastered songs for a number of years in a 20'x30' room. It took me a few days to get used to it, but after that I could do it.