What Is Mastering+ and When Should You Use It?

If you have uploaded a track to Mix Check Studio and the analysis has flagged issues, Mastering+ is the tool that fixes them. This post covers what it actually does, how to use it, and when it is the right choice versus a full multitrack mix with Automix.

What is Mastering+?

Mastering+ is an AI-powered enhancement tool built directly into Mix Check Studio. It takes your finished stereo file - whether that is an unmastered mix or a track that has already been mastered - and applies adaptive processing to improve it automatically.

Under the hood it uses adaptive EQ, compression, stereo imaging and limiting. The result is a cleaner, louder, more polished track that meets streaming platform standards - without needing the original multitrack stems.

It costs £4.99 / €5.99 / $6.49 per download or is included unlimited with a Studio Pro subscription.

How it works

Upload your track to Mix Check Studio, run the analysis, and if the results show problems you want to address, Mastering+ generates a 30-second preview of the enhanced version automatically.

From there you can:

• Adjust - select your Genre/Style, choose which enhancements to apply (Loudness, Tone, Stereo Field, or any combination), and set the mastering option (No mastering, Master for streaming, or Master for loudness)

• Before / After - toggle to compare the original and enhanced versions directly

• Loudness Match - level-match the comparison so you hear the tonal and dynamic changes rather than just the volume difference

• Regenerate preview - hear the updated result before committing

When you are happy with the preview, click Get full track to download the complete enhanced file.

When to use Mastering+

Mastering+ works on any finished stereo file. It is particularly well suited to:

Demos and work-in-progress tracks - if you want a quick, release-quality version of something before going through a full mix session, Mastering+ gets it there in minutes.

Back catalogue material - older recordings mastered to a lower standard or at higher loudness targets than modern streaming platforms prefer. Mastering+ brings these up to current standards without touching the original multitrack session.

Archive and re-release projects - tracks being re-released that need updating without access to the original session files.

AI-generated music - Suno and similar tools produce tracks with common problems: muddy low end, harsh or inconsistent highs, and low overall loudness that makes the output sound flat next to commercially released music. Mastering+ addresses all of these directly. For more on getting AI-generated music release-ready, Suno to Spotify: How to Get Your AI Songs Release-Ready covers the full pipeline.

Finished mixes - if your mix is balanced and well-structured but just needs a final loudness pass and overall polish before release, Mastering+ handles that in one step.

What Mastering+ cannot do

Mastering+ works on the stereo file you give it. It cannot access individual stems, which means it cannot fix problems within the mix itself - a buried vocal, a bass clashing with the kick, frequency masking between instruments.

It also cannot address phase issues. If your mix has phase problems - elements cancelling each other out in mono, or a hollow stereo image caused by out-of-sync channels - these require stem-level processing to fix. Run your track through Mix Check Studio first and the analysis will flag any phase problems before you decide how to proceed.

If your track has mix-level problems, Mastering+ will improve what it can but it will not resolve the underlying issue. That requires working at the stem level.

This is the key distinction between Mastering+ and Automix. Automix processes each stem individually - applying EQ, compression, panning and spatial treatment to every element before combining them into a mix and master. The result is fundamentally different to anything a stereo tool can produce, because the problems have been addressed at the source rather than treated across the whole file.

For a clear explanation of the difference between mixing and mastering and when you need each, AI Mixing vs AI Mastering: What's the Difference? covers it directly.

Which tool do you need?

If you have a finished stereo file and want to improve it quickly - use Mastering+. Upload to Mix Check Studio, get the analysis, preview the result for free and download for £4.99 / €5.99 / $6.49, or unlimited with Studio Pro.

If your track has mix-level problems - a buried vocal, clashing low end, phase issues, or anything that requires treating individual elements separately - use Automix. Upload your stems, get a free preview, and download when you are happy.

If you are not sure which applies to your track, start with Mix Check Studio. The analysis will tell you exactly what the problem is - and the right tool to fix it.