Mastering is one of the most misunderstood elements of the Recording Process. The most common Mastering questions I’ve heard over the years from artists and rookie engineers are:
What does Mastering do?
Does Mastering make my Record louder?
Do I need to have my Record Mastered?
I heard that my Mastering Engineer needs to be different from my Mixing Engineer, is that true?
Let me answer each of those questions and see if I can clear this up for you.
What does Mastering do?
Mastering is the final step of the Record making process. Mixing is the step before and addresses the individual tracks of the Recording Session project file, blending them together into an end product that is one track of stereo audio. Mastering processes that resulting stereo track only, so everything applied in Mastering affects the sound of the entire Mix. The full Mix is EQ’d, Limited, Dithered and results in a 44.1kHz 16bit WAV file. Mastering Engineers take into consideration the many different types of speakers, headphones and ear buds that a modern Record will be played on and works to find a balanced translation across all listening situations (within reason, this can never be perfected).
EQ
Short for Equalization, EQ is the process of removing unwanted frequencies (such as high mids that create harshness to the ear or low muddiness that compromises clarity) and boosting underrepresented frequencies (in Mastering there is almost always a treble boost to create brightness). EQ is also one of the main tools of Mixing, but it is applied to individual tracks while Master EQ is applied to the entire Mix.
Limiting: Does Mastering make my Record louder?
Put simply, yes Mastering makes your record louder and a Limiter is the tool that does it. Loudness is good but there is more flexibility with it than in the past, meaning you do need to hit a minimum standard of loudness but don’t need to be the loudest thing out there. From the late 90s through the 2010s (a period in the music industry dubbed “The Loudness Wars”) it was fashionable to push a Master as loud as possible, often at the cost of ruining the sound quality of the Record. Limiting will give your Record more loudness, brightness and punch…to a point. When taken too far, Limiting creates distortion and an overall unpleasant sound. So, Limiting is an important element of your Master but it needs to be handled skillfully.
Dither
It’s not important that you understand this term unless you’re a Mastering Engineer, as it’s some semi-complicated digital audio jargon. I just wanted to mention it as a small step in the process.
Sample Rate and Bit Depth
This is also digital audio jargon but it’s important to have some understanding here. 44.1kHz (Hertz) sample rate and 16 bit depth WAV file has been the format of a digital final Master since the invention of the CD. The higher the sample rate and bit depth, the higher the audio fidelity. In the studio we work at higher quality levels but the Mastering process will reduce that quality down into a file that can be burnt to CD and uploaded to streaming platforms (they adopted the same file standard as CD). There is a very slow movement to up standard quality to 24 bit, which would be great, but it looks like 16 bit will still be the standard for a while.
Do I need to have my Record Mastered?
Yes, absolutely. Without Mastering your record will likely be quieter, less clear and less powerful than the millions of other songs you’ll be sharing “shelf space” with on streaming platforms. The goal of Mastering is to both top off your creative vision and make it so it can play seamlessly along side what else is out there. In our modern music culture where playlists mixing songs together from different artists and albums is the norm, you may be disqualified from your spot if your record is too quiet or EQed radically different from the others. The parameters for Mastering are wider and more creative than they’ve ever been, but there still remains some guidelines that should be adhered to.
I heard that my Mastering Engineer needs to be different from my Mixing Engineer, is that true?
This question has been the topic of debate for decades. I differ from a lot of Engineers on this and feel pretty firm in my position, so I’ll do my best to represent both sides of the argument but there’s going to be some bias. It’s my blog after all, but I’ll give you good reason why I hold the position that I do.
Some will say it’s not properly Mastered unless a different Engineer than the Mix Engineer touches it, that this process is less about the techniques of Mastering and more about getting a fresh set of ears to assess and adjust the record. It makes sense, the Recording and Mix engineers spend a lot of time with the material so it can be helpful bringing in an Engineer with fresh perspective on the project.
On the other end of the spectrum, there are those who believe that an Engineer can be skilled in both Mixing and Mastering and can do both on the same Record. While I agree the first approach I described makes total sense, my working experience has lead me to focus on Mastering my own Mixes. Since 2012, I’ve Recorded, Mixed and Mastered about 95% of the work I’ve done. Another large portion of that was Produced, Recorded, Mixed and Mastered by me. So what happened with the 5% of stuff that was sent to a dedicated Mastering engineer? After each one, the Artist and I shoot it out with my Mastered version. In every situation, the Artist agreed the other Engineer’s Master was less than or, at best, equal to my own (come work with me in my Studio and I’ll run my blind Mastering taste-test on you). The sampling of Mastering Engineers that have worked on my Mixes ranges from someone’s home operation for less than $50 to Major Label Mastering Engineer with International hits for $500 per song. So I’ve had various skill levels, prices and pedigrees of Mastering Engineers work on my Mixes over the past 10+ years and usually the Artist has preferred the Mastered file that I include in the price of my Mixes. In some situations the Artist has shelved the Master they paid extra for to release my version.
Now, I’ve worked on my Mastering skills quite a bit. I’m not suggesting that any Mix Engineer can do as good a job as any Mastering Engineer, but there are plenty of Engineers who can do both. Some do have the skill but simply don’t like Mastering, they’d rather do their Mix then let someone else top it off. Or they may have a long-standing great relationship with a Mastering Engineer who they trust and have built into their process. I choose to promote my abilities as Production, Recording, Mixing and Mastering because I have interest in each step of the process, it saves my clients money while still delivering high quality and my years of experience working with Artists have led me to believe this is the best way to go for my business.
Conclusion
Hopefully answering those questions leaves you feeling more knowledgeable about Mastering and empowered to make the best decision for yourself. Contact me if you want to discuss Mastering your work.
Drew Mantia
Feel Good Music Recordings
3146264270
feelgoodmusicrecordings@gmail.com