Can Mastering Fix Bad Mixes? Howie Weinberg Rates 19 Common Mastering Tips

Sep 16, 2026 | 2 Views

Waves' Mix Trick or Trash heads into the world of mastering with one of the industry’s busiest and most influential mastering engineers, Howie Weinberg (Nirvana, Madonna, Metallica).

In this episode, he puts social media’s best mastering advice to the test. Can mastering rescue quiet vocals in a mix? Do you really need 6 dB of headroom before mastering? Is checking your final master in the car REALLY a good idea? Hear his scores, his reasoning and the tip that makes him change his mind twice.

Video Chapters:

0:00 - Intro
0:38 - Is mastering still a dark art?
0:53 - Can quiet vocals easily be fixed in mastering?
1:26 - Should you master to exactly -14 LUFS? 1:36 Never boost or cut more than 3 dB when mastering?
1:50 - Is mastering easier than mixing?
2:03 - Should you master your own mixes?
2:07 - Should mastering compression ratios ever exceed
2:22 - Should everything below 150 Hz be mono?
2:30 - Should you check your masters in the car?
2:52 - Can mastering easily fix a muddy mix?
3:06 - Should you only use linear phase EQs?
3:18 - Should you master in your mix session?
3:32 - Is RMS more important than LUFS?
3:45 - Do mixes need 6 dB of headroom before mastering?
4:06 - Has streaming normalization improved mastering?
4:23 - Should you always give the artist a louder master if they ask for it?
4:40 - Is analog better than digital?
5:03 - Does reverb have a place in mastering?
5:15 - Can volume automation make choruses hit harder?

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