Sound Your Best: Mixing and Mastering 101

In this episode of his music production workshop series, musician and sound engineer Zsolt Török invites you to learn about the fundamentals of sound mixing and apply them in your own recordings.

Recording studios have evolved leaps and bounds from their humble beginnings in the early 20th century, both in terms of their sound quality and their capabilities. At the same time, the equipment necessary to produce professional-sounding recordings has shrunk significantly in size, thanks to the advances in digital technology. However, the fundamental goals and principles of mixing and mastering remain the same as they were decades ago: using a critical ear and the tools at your disposal to create a well-balanced recording that is enjoyable to listen to.

In this workshop salon we will learn about the basic concepts and techniques of sound mixing and mastering. While these do apply quite broadly across both software and hardware studio environments, we will focus on applying them using the effects and tools built into Ableton Live.

Each workshop in this series will include a presentation demonstrating concepts and techniques, while leaving ample time for hands-on experimentation, sharing, and discussion. The workshop will be recorded, and made available to series ticket holders in case they missed a session, or want to review some things later.

What you will need to follow along at home

Participants should have Ableton Live 11 Standard or Suite already installed on their computer before joining the workshop. The free and fully functional 90-day trial includes the full feature set of the Suite edition, and even allows the software to be used beyond the trial period, although with saving and exporting disabled.

Attendees will receive a downloadable package (project files, audio samples, etc.) as a common starting point for the workshop.

Good to read or watch before the salon

• Recording Studios: A History Of The Most Legendary Studios In Music
• What Is the Difference Between Mixing and Mastering?
• The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook: 5th Edition

Tickets

This workshop salon is part of the Unlock the Music in You — Music Production Workshop Series. Only the first 4 workshops will be sold individually; a series ticket is required to attend all 8 workshops.