Mastering.com

What Mastering.com is

Mastering.com is an online audio school for people who make music at home and want it to sound professional. It teaches mastering, mixing and music production, and it is built for learners: self-producing artists, engineers and producers, and serious hobbyists. The homepage calls it "the world's largest online audio school" and says its approach "goes beyond great curriculum, and focuses on the importance of expert mentorship and a thriving, supportive community." The site names Rob Mayzes, a mixing and mastering engineer and online educator since 2015, as its owner.

It sells three levels of training. The flagship is The Reverse Engineer, a full program with lifetime mentorship. Below it sits a Membership with monthly feedback, a short course library and weekly virtual events. At the entry level there are free courses. The site also sells cheat sheets (including a printed binder), plugins, and mixing, mastering and mix feedback services.

The company's argument is aimed squarely at the self-taught. The homepage says most self-producing artists "get stuck at an intermediate plateau" because they lack the technical side of music, frequencies and dynamics, and that the tips found on YouTube and in cheap courses "don't go deep enough."

The Reverse Engineer

The Reverse Engineer teaches audio production backwards, starting with mastering. The reasoning, in the homepage's words: "Learning to master first helps sharpen your ears and creates a strong technical foundation." Once you understand the finished product, you can record, produce and mix with the end in mind and catch problems before they start. The site describes the program as a "degree alternative," and its course comparison article lists it as a two-year online certificate program, self-paced with daily live mentorship.

The curriculum is published in full on the homepage, and it is unusually detailed. Part 1, Mastering, runs through nine sections: first steps, tools of the trade, a long section on room acoustics called Acoustic Truth, listening and observing, the sonic and dynamic spectrum, finalizing masters, advanced mastering (stem mastering, mastering for vinyl, dithering, mid side processing) and becoming a pro. Part 2, Mixing, covers foundations, volume, frequencies, dynamics, space, vocals, finishing mixes and advanced tools, with repeated assignments to mix sets of 5 songs. Part 3, Recording & Producing, moves through pre-production, song structure and hooks, sound selection, microphones, samples and virtual instruments, vocal production and full-stack producing, ending with a final project. Business lessons are woven in, with modules on finding clients, selling audio services and following up.

The FAQ says each section has 9 or more modules and that access to the curriculum is for life. Beginners get optional extras such as DAW walkthroughs that advanced students can skip.

Mentorship and community

Mentorship is what the program charges for. Students get lifetime access to a mentorship calendar with 50+ hours of live coaching available every week. Calls take place in a group setting, and when it is your turn you can switch on your camera and audio for a 1:1 conversation with the mentor "for as long as needed." Regular sessions include mastering, mixing and production calls, open feedback, music analysis, plugin breakdowns, an acoustics session, goals and mindset, a student-led DAW call, a female producers call, and pre-submit feedback slots you can book for dedicated 1-on-1 time.

The mentors listed on the homepage include Rob Mayzes; Caleb Loveless, Director of Education; Will Evans, President, previously CEO of Spitfire Audio; and working engineers such as Austen Jux-Chandler, Manon Grandjean and Kevin McCloskey, whose credits include records by Adele, Ed Sheeran and J. Cole.

The community lives on Skool, where students and mentors interact and build their network, which the FAQ calls "arguably your most important asset in this industry." Community access is also lifetime, and the site mentions the option of real-world studio events.

Certification

Students can certify when they feel ready. They submit a fully produced, mixed and mastered track together with a detailed breakdown of each part of the process, and the mentorship team grades both. A pass earns "an official Mastering.com Gold Record Plaque." A student who does not pass gets pointers to the parts of the program to revisit and can try again. This is the school's own standard of quality, not a degree.

Prices and plans

The Reverse Engineer costs $6,800 as a one-time fee. The homepage says financing is available from as low as $244/month, offers a discount for faster payment, and in its comparison table sets the program against traditional education at $50K-$100K. There are no refunds: the FAQ explains that because it is a mentorship program in which the team works directly with every student, it offers none, and suggests booking a call with admissions if you have doubts.

The Membership costs $49/month or $299/year, according to the course comparison article on the site. It offers unlimited access to online courses in production, mixing, mastering, music business and sync licensing, weekly virtual events, and monthly one-on-one check-in calls with mentors. The site says it is best suited for "dedicated music creators who want ongoing guidance and feedback."

The free courses include How to Produce Modern Pop, Music Production for Beginners, How to Record Pro Vocals, How to Mix Like a Pro, How to Produce & Mix Pro Vocals, How to Master Your Music, How to Use Compression, How to Use an Equaliser, How to Use Reverb and a Logic Pro 11 Complete Tutorial. They run from 6 to 12 hours each, and the site says students who take them first move faster through The Reverse Engineer.

What students say

Reviews on the homepage focus on the method and the mentoring. One student, Joseph Gelvin, writes that after a few weeks he had "already been able to apply the skills I've learned to real-world projects and create a source of income." Patrick Cavanaugh Jr writes: "I have a complete solid workflow. I have no gaps in my knowledge." Diallo Palmer singles out the community and the "numerous mentoring sessions."

Who it suits

The FAQ says the program is not only for people chasing a career: "a large chunk of our students are serious hobbyists simply recording music for their own pleasure or to leave a legacy behind." Most students have a day job and work on the program on weekends and evenings, and the lifetime access means there is no deadline. The homepage names three target groups: self-producing artists who cannot get the sound in their head out of their speakers, people stuck at the intermediate plateau, and beginners who want to tackle advanced concepts with help.

That makes The Reverse Engineer a fit for a committed home producer who wants a long, structured program and regular access to working engineers, and who is comfortable with a large upfront cost and no refund. The Membership is the lighter option for someone who wants monthly feedback and a course library at a subscription price, and the free courses are a sensible first step for anyone unsure whether the teaching style suits them. A learner who mainly wants a formal academic qualification should note that the certification is Mastering.com's own.