Mixing vs. mastering: what is the difference?

Mixing and mastering are two separate stages in music production. Confusing them leads to problems: trying to fix a bad mix in mastering, or applying mastering tools to individual tracks.

What mixing does

Mixing works on the individual tracks and stems of a project. The mixer adjusts volume, panning, EQ, compression, and effects for each element so they sit together in a coherent space.

A good mix is balanced: no element is too loud or too quiet, every instrument has its own frequency space, and the stereo field feels natural.

• Volume automation and fader balance
• EQ to carve frequency space for each element
• Compression to control dynamics within tracks
• Reverb and delay to place elements in a space
• Panning to create stereo width

What mastering does

Mastering works on the final stereo mix export. It prepares the track for distribution: ensuring consistent loudness across streaming platforms, correcting any remaining tonal imbalances, and adding limiting to prevent clipping.

Mastering also ensures the track sounds consistent across different playback systems: earbuds, car speakers, and club sound systems.

• Broad EQ to balance the overall tonal shape
• Multiband compression for glue and punch
• Stereo widening and mid-side processing
• Limiting to hit loudness targets (typically -14 LUFS for streaming)
• Dithering when reducing bit depth for final export

The key rule

Mastering cannot fix a bad mix. If the kick is too loud or the vocals are buried, those problems must be addressed in the mix before mastering.

Export your mix at -6 dBFS headroom (no clipping) with no limiter on the master bus before sending it to mastering.