Guides

Make a before and after video of your master for TikTok, Reels and Shorts

Updated 2026-09-06

A before and after is the only mastering demo that works on a phone speaker. The trick is making one that is fair, because the fake ones are easy to spot and they make your track look worse, not better.

What a fair clip needs

• Level match. Louder always sounds better. Turn the before up to the after's loudness, or turn the after down, so the viewer hears the tone change and not the volume.
• The same bar. Cut from before to after on a downbeat, in the same section of the song. A chorus against a verse proves nothing.
• Show the number. A spectrum or a loudness readout on screen gives the ear something to trust. The rebuilt top end is visible on a spectrum and it is the most convincing thing in the clip.
• Fifteen seconds. Six of before, nine of after, nothing else.

Making it in Burnish

After a master, tap "Share before/after video." The app renders a vertical 1080 by 1920 clip on the device: the before at matched level, the cut, the after, the spectrum morphing from the source to the master, the score, and the dB moves it made, with a "Made with Burnish" card at the end. Post it as it is or drop it into an edit.

What to write with it

One line about what was wrong and one number. "Top end stopped at 16 kHz. Rebuilt to 20. Mud cut 3 dB at 350 Hz." That kind of caption gets replies from people who make music. Hype gets scrolled past.