Ultimate Guide: How to Master properly your tracks at the maximum level digital music can do?

After several hundreds of projects and several years of production, I have discovered through listening to mostly all equipment possible to know the right levels of any mix, even listening to many different tracks. Some that often play on the radio have a minimum height of sounds and are also going down low as -6dB and even sound properly good. And you feel the bass as the same as 0dB in most of any equipment.

But some of this experience is somehow a few times better at 0dB music. Since you will hear the difference between the more detailed details to the velocity of your tracks sounds or even vocals. That is thus called the Dynamical track.

Most still push some levels up high to roof though, overpowering many certain levels or even low frequencies to high, most also create a substantial bad impact to their highest frequencies.

After years, I knew what the master 0dB was capable of to have to be able not to be blown out by too high frequencies of low bass frequencies and at some point to have the best possible wave of the track. To make it look as if it has a beautiful wave. That needed to succeed with the maximum levels still being at maximum level without overpowering it too much and being limited without causing any distortion to the track’s frequencies through the last master channel limiting to 0dB.

A wave resembling more spikes in the look, especially at sites based upon SoundCloud wave, was the look I always was out after. Some might remember at the beginning of SoundCloud, and these good tracks also had a particular detail to the music in their aesthetic aspect of the wave. The wave could distinguish producers from being bad to the better ones, but they changed to a universal look of the wave for one day. But still, you might see some tracks having a look like a vibrator and some excellent detail.

The low frequencies of a kick “40-60Hz” most times aren’t allowed to be higher than -1.5dB to -2dB; that’s because the master limiter will anyway set its range to that level. As well as for the bass, it should most likely be no higher than -5 to -6dB as the highest level of sound more likely an RMS max of height in volume. That might be false when speaking about Trap beats 808’s. But mostly, all modern Trance to EDM have these levels on their bass if they sound properly for being allowed on the radio or being the right quality track. Even most Techno.

The bass frequencies of 0-100Hz drive best as possible when setting it to -6dB and not higher. But the recommended level for any bass indeed is -9dB. Why? It’s because that will be too heavy feel for even the most expensive to also many cheap headphones, “Which have no filers.” Most often, too high levels as well from 100-200Hz should not be even higher than -9dB. Somehow these levels even shouldn’t surpass -7dB.

But as you keep kick levels beyond -2dB, your tracks acquire a level of -1.2 or 0.4dB, sometimes with the master limiter you use. So it will end up very bumpy from time to time by any means to achieve this. And your mix will be inconsistent as your kick will outpower some frequencies. And Distortions to your mid and high frequencies can occur.

Resonance problems occur to speakers with no copper filter, and resonance at these levels is stated by the sound, which formally isn’t bass but has been taken to this part by lower pitch, perhaps a synth pitched down to bass. Often these levels make a sound of muddiness and frequency fight, which might do as well. But as far as levels from 100-200Hz, this should be much lower than the standards under 100Hz.

To the mid frequencies divided into 200-4000Hz or 200-2000Hz, these need to be at a level where it does not hit the instrumental work above -6dB, even up to -2dB at max. In comparison, it has a vocal loaded in it the track, these are needed to be up to 0dB, but even -2dB will sound good at any point. The lower you can get without the problem of sounds where it is not heard, and it’s the best option. Some vocals might as well end up too loud in a track if they are near 0dB. But also, for most beat producers, it’s essential to set these levels not too high for an instrumental higher than -6dB. Even lower levels would be more interesting for most buyers of your helpful instrumental. And your mid frequencies often are better as an instrumental when these frequencies are below -9dB.

Overall it’s better to have a lower sound than too loud.

In the end, I instead set my high frequencies from 4000-22000Hz to around at max -12dB. Sometimes it does not go beyond -9dB. But for these frequencies, I also tend to more likely distort them to make them sound fresh as a total mix. I do it with Maximus creating a curve that distorts to the highest frequencies on the envelope. It does not even need a high push with a slider.

So having your levels distorted will end up in a mixing solution in the form of a gluer, which sounds good with Maximus added to the project at the beginning of FL 10. Which was the Soundgoodizer preset? It had a cool sound gluer of the high frequencies. And that ended up well. So you might want to add Soundgoodizer, A preset of Maximus, and learn what it does to the higher frequencies with its envelope.

Having the highest frequencies above these higher frequencies will most likely get your tracks killed for the listeners. Especially when there isn’t a way they can be auto-filtered. Some equipment does filter your track. It’s at the expense of the listeners who complained on either iPhone playing lousy sound.

The right solution for anyone is to edit all your sounds solo to understand what is too loud in the track. This soloing goes for when you are adjusting all sounds in one. But you also have to test out the sounds when you are running the full track as well.

A great tip is always to know what the centre of 3000Hz does do for you by any means. Since having to high load from many sounds at that centre, you most likely will have a problem listening to your track by others. Even many claps are too high there. Most often, it’s dependant on what you can split up listening to a song in your mind — knowing all types of instruments and distinct them on your own, even for a song with 20 different instruments in one melody. Did you know that most do not hear more than 5-6 different instruments played in many tracks?

To the most important about a kick: The frequencies surely need not be higher than -1.5dB to -2dB. But it’s often because the 40-60Hz is the centre of the kicks hit if you don’t use an extra bassy feel to it with frequencies up to 100Hz. Unless then, that is a simple kick. Your frequencies from 60-100Hz even up to 200Hz can be too loud if your kick is pushed up to 0dB unless soft clip limited with Maximus on the master channel to be -1.5 to -2dB.

Most who do not understand the equalizing of a kick from 100-200Hz most likely should buy better monitoring equipment since these levels are very dependent on the quality of a kind sound kick. It can sound right for you without any edit of the kick. But does it sound right for others? The equipment you have might have higher impedance, a copper filter in the speakers; taking these out would be more reasonable even to reduce these levels further. These levels most likely get filtered in different man equipment, which gives an excellent sound to it for most. Some will have a problem listening to your track most times when they use different technology speakers.