Mixing and mastering are 2 distinct stages within the music-making process that concentrate on perfecting the audio sound for a single song or album. During the mixing stage, the mix engineer firstly blends, treats, and edits audio and instruments together to transform a messy arrangement of sounds into a completed song in stereo format. During the mastering stage, a mastering engineer will essentially polish the stereo file with specific sonic and frequency adjustments throughout a single track or album to ensure the final audio product is ready for any and all distribution platforms.