Phil Zotti

Easily the most common question associated with audio production is what is mastering? Mastering is the last element of audio production and occurs in post production after the tracks have been written, recorded, and mixed. The artist records the various tracks that comprise a song and then that tune is mixed to achieve its greatest possible sound either by the musicians themselves or more usually the engineer.

Once the last render been assembled, that music mix is translated an audio computer file usually in a WAVE format. That wave sound file and all the different files that make up the various songs on that record are then sent to the mastering producer.

While some musicians choose to have their engineer second master their music or will do it themselves, it is best to have a third party not involved with any other bit of the audio production to handle your mastering as it's good to get a fresh pair of ears and a new perspective and insight on your music. It is good to get someone new who knows what they are doing as they can bring out the full potential and your music through the procedure of audio mastering.

The actual mastering itself usually is referring to improvement of the audio itself. This entails applying analog or digital plugins and effects to that final mix computer file to edit and improve the audio. One of the most common effects associated with mastering are audio compression and eq. Compression can limit the peaks in your audio or smooth out your audio so there's no inconsistencies and ideally to remove clipping through the use of limiters.

Equalization on the other hand entails cutting up the audio and singling out specific dynamics or bands to take away from or enhance their presence in the music mix. You can play with different frequencies implementing eq to achieve different sounds and highlight or bury certain areas of your audio. Again, this is done to achieve the greatest possible sound from that mix and can significantly enhance the perceived quality of the audio when placed under the supervision of a accomplished glossy whom knows what they are doing.

There are other aspects of mastering involved such as ensuring that every tune which constructs up an album is at a equal or similar volume levels as every other tune. Just as importantly the mastering technician ensures that the volume of the entire album is on par with other contemporary albums so that there's no inconsistency when your tunes are played in a mix alongside songs from other artists.

CD mastering second involves setting up the sequencing for an album and composing the ending file which will be submitted to the CD replication factory. Different aspects of mastering are involved depending on what the musician wants in their closing product and the format in which they plan on releasing the album. Additional steps are next taken if you're mastering for a vinyl version of your record, although above all else mastering ensures which your audio sounds as good as it possibly can before reaching the ears of your listeners.

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