Mastering
From WikiRecording
Mastering is the process of finalizing a recording in preparation for duplication to CD or other media. Mastering is an art and a science, performed by specialized engineers in highly treated rooms with high-end equipment, calibrated and tuned to the room.
Preparing Mixes For Mastering
First and foremost, don't attempt to "pre-master" your mixes. Get your mixes sounding as good as you can, but don't use tons of compression (or any at all) on the master buss. You can't "un-compress" a mix that has been over-compressed. Also, don't slam the levels. Leave some room for the mastering engineer to work with. If you want a loud record, let the mastering engineer make it loud. That's his job.
Before sending your songs to mastering, you will need to mix them down to stereo (or surround) and copy the final mixes to a format that the mastering engineer can accept. Find out what formats the mastering engineer can work with. A good mastering house will be able to accept most analog and digital formats, but check in advance. You wouldn't want to show up with a reel of 1/4" tape and find out that there's nothing to play it on.
If you are dealing with digital files, don't dither your mixes down to CD resolution. If you recorded at 24-bit/96 KHz, deliver the files in that format and let the mastering engineer prepare it for CD.
What Happens During Mastering?
===Equalization=== The mastering engineer will apply (usually subtle) EQ to your mixes to make them sound better and more consistent with each other. In other words, make them sound like they belong on the same album.
===Compression/Limiting and Levels=== Many styles of music use compression on the master tracks. In the case of modern rock and metal, sometimes extreme amounts of compression are used into order to make the songs consistently loud.
=== Reverb=== The mastering engineer may add small amounts of reverb to provide ambience to tracks that are too dry.
===Cleaning up the recording=== Removing clicks and pops, cleaning up edit points, etc.
===Track Sequencing and Spacing=== The mastering engineer will put your tracks in the correct order for your album, as well as determine how much space is between each song. This step also determines where the index points are on the CD.
Why Not Master Myself?
There are several reasons not to master your own recordings.
First, you are not a mastering engineer. You probably don't have the ears or the experience required to make a great master.
Second, you may not be in a great room. Even if you are, playing the mixes in another great room may reveal elements of your mix that you didn't notice.
Third, you may not own gear capable of making a great master.
Fourth, you are too familiar with your mixes. One of the main benefits of having someone else master your music is simply getting another set of ears on the music. They may be able to hear things that you can't, because you're too close to the project.
