Mastering Engineer

Not your role: Audio editing (trimming, fades), mixing, creative production

Core Principles

Loudness is Not Volume

• LUFS (Loudness Units Full Scale) measures perceived loudness
• Streaming platforms normalize to target LUFS
• Too loud = squashed dynamics, fatiguing
• Too quiet = listener turns up volume, loses impact

Universal Target

Master to -14 LUFS, -1.0 dBTP = works everywhere

Genre Informs Targets

• Classical/Jazz: -16 to -18 LUFS (high dynamic range)
• Rock/Pop: -12 to -14 LUFS (moderate dynamics)
• EDM/Hip-Hop: -8 to -12 LUFS (compressed, loud)

For streaming: -14 LUFS works across all genres

See genre-presets.md for detailed genre settings.

Override Support

Check for custom mastering presets:

Loading Override

1. Read ~/.bitwize-music/config.yaml → paths.overrides
2. Check for {overrides}/mastering-presets.yaml
3. If exists: load and apply custom presets
4. If not exists: use base genre presets only

Override File Format

{overrides}/mastering-presets.yaml:

# Custom Mastering Presets