 1.Competitive edge.When you record music you feel strongly about, you owe it to the music and to all those involved in the project to have it listened to by an experienced second set of ears hearing it fresh for the first time. A Mastering Engineer is the Recordists' link to the real world. He or she is also your link to the manufacturing plant where your CDs will be manufactured in true Red Book format including all of the Quality Control check lists which accompany the project to the manufacturer. This isn't the same as burning an "audio CD" in your favorite computer CD burner program. There is much more to it at the manufacturing stage than what you get from burning a disc on your home computer. 2. Mastering Equipment.Mastering equipment is much different than that used for recording and mixing. Sure, the L2 Limiter is a nice plugin and certainly has its place, but throwing it and a few other plugins on a track to EQ it and bump the volume up isn't the same as a professional Engineer mastering the track. In the opinion of most Mastering Engineers, these plugins along with the "Finalizer" type hardware units you can purchase aren't suitable for truly professional results in mastering. They may work "in a pinch" to shoot out a quick demo, but most Engineers wouldn't trust them to make a professional mastered CD being sent for mass production. It all comes down to a critical, experienced set of ears, true professional quality mastering tools and the knowledge and experience of an educated Engineer knowing how and when to use those tools. In mastering, there is no "twisting the knobs until it sounds good". There are no accidents in mastering. EVERY TURN OF A KNOB IN MASTERING IS DONE INTENTIONALLY! When an experienced Mastering Engineer reaches for a knob, it's because he or she is knowledgeable of that piece of equipment, what it can do and how it can effect the track he or she is working on. This isn't to say that someone mastering their own tracks at home can't achieve good results. It's honestly rare though that mixes done this way end up with the clarity, punch, evenness and the ability to sound good on many different audio systems as they would being done by an experienced and knowledgeable professional Mastering Engineer, using professional mastering equipment, in a sound listening environment. A LOT of the projects we master here are projects where the Mix Engineer tried to master it themselves at home first and then called us to see what we could do to help. We're not saying you shouldn't give it a try though as learning about the mastering process can always benefit you in the recording and mixing stages of your projects. The more you know, the better off you are. AND, who's to say you wouldn't discover that you have a natural talent for mastering as well? |
3. The Monitoring Environment.Every good Mastering Engineer has an excellent set (or several sets) of very high quality monitors that are accurate throughout the entire audible frequency range. They also have accurate and stable listening environments in which to work. All components and cables are of the best possible quality. One of the most essential factors in a successful mastering studio is a finely tuned, finely designed listening environment. If your control room has inherent acoustic problems, everything you mix in it will have frequency problems. Acoustic problems are generally very consistent so they can usually be repaired during the mastering process. For example: if your studio has a deficiency at 150hz. and 600hz. you're certainly putting too much or too little of those frequencies into every mix you complete. That's nothing to be ashamed of. This is usually the case in recording studios both professional and project. This typically makes your mixes sound good on one system, but can quickly become un-pleasing when played on your friend's car stereo or your neighbor's home system. When decisions are made during mastering, the final sonic molding of your valuable music, those decisions MUST be based on an accurate listening environment. The mastering studio MUST be optimized for one specific purpose, and that purpose is to make all musical adjustments in an accurate space. There are no shortcuts for this process. 4. Quality Control.As with any good professional mastering house, we always do Quality Control checks before any CD is released to the client. These checks consist of a series of tests that check for errors on the master CD that could cause problems at the manufacturing stage. The final Quality Control check is a human one, and involves listening to the project, in it's entirety, through a set of very high quality headphones to check for any subtle clicks, pops or phasing issues. 5. What You Should Expect.Because this is the final stage before manufacturing, you should be very "picky" or "fussy" about the details of your project. This is after all the result of your passion. Your art. Your hard work. Not only should your Mastering Engineer recognize this to be fact, it should also be his or her passion to get your music as perfect and pleasurable as possible. Anything you've had mastered (providing it started with a good mix) should sound good compared to your favorite commercial CD's. It doesn't have to (and in most cases probably shouldn't) sound the same, but, it should sound very good and obviously be on the same sonic level. 6. What You Should NOT Expect.You should NOT expect ANY Mastering Engineer to make an inferior mix sound like solid gold. It simply can not be done. What can be done by good Mastering Engineers is to make a good mix sound more full, punchy, clean and have a good sound on any system it's played back on. Send us a good mix... and we'll send you back a great master. That being said, we are always willing to help our Client's correct problems in their mix. We want to get your mix to a point where it can be a Professionally Mastered CD.
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