The short answer
Mastering works on the finished stereo mix, not on a vocal on its own. If your song is already mixed with the vocal in it, you can master it free in your browser: two songs a day, no account, nothing uploaded. If you only have a vocal and a beat, mix them first, then master the result.
| You have | You need | Where it happens |
|---|---|---|
| A finished song, vocal already mixed in | Mastering | OBRA Audio Mastering: 2 songs a day free |
| A vocal and a beat, even a vocal recorded on a phone | Mixing, then mastering | OBRA Vocal + beat: listening is free; the download is $5 / €5 / £5 or included with OBRA PRO |
| Lead vocal, backing vocals and a beat | The same mix, with the backing vocals added | OBRA Vocal + beat |
| Only a solo vocal (a cappella) | Mixing: cleaning, leveling, de-essing, space | In your editor, or against a beat in Vocal + beat |
What mastering does for a vocal
A master cannot lift the vocal on its own: by then the voice and the beat are one file. What it does is the whole-song work that lets a good vocal mix hold up everywhere:
- Tone: it measures the balance of the whole song and evens it out against how professional masters of its style sound, so the vocal is not fighting a boomy low end or a dull top.
- Control: gentle multiband and bus compression keep the first verse and the last chorus at a steady level.
- Stereo: it opens the sides above 140 Hz and keeps the bass in mono, so the song holds up on phones and club systems.
- Loudness: a true-peak limiter brings the song to a level measured in integrated LUFS, so it plays right on Spotify and Apple Music.
What mastering will not fix
- A vocal that is buried, or too loud, over the beat. That is a balance decision in the mix.
- Harsh S sounds (sibilance). De-ess the vocal before you export; taming them with master EQ also dulls the cymbals and everything else up there.
- Noise, clipping and bad edits in the recording itself.
- A muddy mix. Cutting at the master is a patch, not a cure.
If the vocal is the problem, go back one step. Mixing the voice against the beat is its own job, and the guide on how to mix vocals over a beat walks through it.
- How to mix vocals over a beat: the steps, in order, with starting values
- Mixing vs mastering: which problems belong to the mix and which to the master
- Vocal + beat: drop the beat and the vocal and listen free
Prepare your file in five minutes
- Export the mix as a WAV or FLAC, 24-bit if you can, at your session's sample rate. OBRA also takes AIFF, MP3, M4A and video, up to 20 minutes.
- Leave headroom: peaks around −6 dBFS are plenty. A mix that already touches 0 dBFS gives the master nothing to work with.
- Take the limiter off your master bus (or bypass it) and do not normalize. Loudness is the master's job.
- Listen to the vocal in the whole mix on headphones and on a phone speaker. If you would change the balance, change it now.
How to master a song with vocals, free, in your browser
- Drop your mix on the page. It stays on your device: the whole engine runs in your browser.
- Listen to the three masters side by side at the same loudness: Natural keeps your dynamics, OBRA is fuller and wider, Loud is dense for clubs and loud genres.
- Judge the vocal: is it clear in the chorus, and are the S sounds sharper than in your mix? If the top is too bright, lower Brightness; volume, punch, warmth, width and bass have their own knobs.
- Switch to your original to compare: the loudness is matched, so a louder master does not win just for being louder.
- Download a 24-bit WAV or FLAC at 44.1 or 48 kHz, true-peak safe and ready for DistroKid, TuneCore or any distributor.
What “free” means here
Two songs a day are free, with no account, no card and no watermark: all three masters, the studio and every meter included. Downloading the same song again in another style, level or format does not use another free song; a new bounce of the mix counts as a new song. Each extra song is $3 / €3 / £3, or unlimited with OBRA PRO. Listening is always free and complete. Vocal + beat and album jobs are free to listen to; their downloads are paid per job, or come with OBRA PRO.
Check the result
- True peak at or below −1 dBTP for streaming.
- Loudness near your target: around −14 LUFS keeps dynamics on streaming, and denser genres are often mastered louder on purpose.
- The chorus and the quietest verse both sound right on a phone speaker, and the song still works in mono.
- How loud should you master for Spotify?: a target by genre and how to hit it
- LUFS for Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube: what each service plays at and what true peak means
- Free alternatives to LANDR and BandLab mastering: what the other services give free
Frequently asked questions
Can I master just a vocal, without a beat?
Mastering is a whole-song stage on a stereo mix, so a solo vocal is mixed (cleaned, leveled, de-essed, given space) rather than mastered. OBRA's Vocal + beat tool does that mix against your beat and then masters the result.
Is free online vocal mastering good enough to release?
For a well-mixed song, yes: you get a 24-bit WAV or FLAC that is true-peak safe and ready for any distributor. If the mix itself has problems, such as a buried vocal or harsh S sounds, fixing the mix is a better investment than any master.
Do I need to sign up, and is my vocal uploaded?
No account is needed for the two free songs a day. The mastering engine runs in your browser, so your file never leaves your device and nothing is stored on our side.
Can I master a vocal recorded on my phone?
Yes, as part of a vocal + beat mix. Drop the beat and the phone recording: we line them up, clean and level the vocal, give it space and master the mix. Listening is free; the download is $5 / €5 / £5 or included with OBRA PRO.
What file should I export for mastering?
A WAV or FLAC of the final mix, 24-bit if possible, with peaks around −6 dBFS and no limiter or normalization on the master bus.
How loud should a vocal master be?
Loudness belongs to the whole song, not to the vocal. About −14 LUFS keeps your dynamics on streaming services; pop and hip-hop are often mastered between −12 and −9 LUFS for a fuller sound. Keep the true peak at −1 dBTP or lower.