What’s the Difference Between Mixing and Mastering?
For those just starting their journey in music production, it might seem like recording vocals in a studio is all it takes to get a polished song. In reality, though, that’s just the first step. Raw vocals or instrumentals are only the foundation — they lack clarity, depth, and balance. Without professional processing, they’ll sound flat and lifeless. Producing a track involves several essential stages: Songwriting → Recording → Mixing & Creative Processing → Revisions → Mastering → Final Release Preparation
Recording — also called tracking — is when vocals or instruments are captured in their rawest form. At this point, the sound isn't balanced in terms of frequencies or spatial depth. It’s a rough sketch that still needs professional engineering to truly shine. At AREFYEV Studio, our specialty begins after the recording stage — we focus on mixing and mastering, the core elements that transform raw ideas into professional-sounding music.
Order Mixing & Mastering
Mixing is both a technical and creative process. It’s where all the individual audio elements of a song — vocals, drums, synths, instruments, effects — are brought together into one cohesive, expressive track. Our engineers: balance frequency ranges, eliminate clashing elements, add spaciousness and clarity, apply reverb, delay, EQ, compression, shape the energy and tone of your music. This is where the true vibe and emotion of the track is sculpted. A high-quality mix defines up to 80–85% of your song’s final sound.
Mastering is the final, delicate polish that prepares your music for release. If the mix is already solid, mastering contributes about 10–15% to the overall quality — but it’s crucial for consistency, loudness, and playback across all devices and platforms. Some studios try to combine mixing and mastering in one session. At AREFYEV Studio, we separate them intentionally. Our mixing and mastering engineers are different people — each with a fresh perspective and trained ear. This division ensures: cleaner processing, better creative decisions, maximum sound quality at every stage.