Audio mastering is a process that adds sonic quality to music

Jun 12
17:35

2011

Eric Holston

Eric Holston

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Working hard on musical releases is not always resulting in 100pct satisfaction for an artist, producer or record label. If there is something missing with the sound at the end of the process it may be that online mastering is the solution.

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As a musical artist or a producer it will be clear that you put a great deal of time into your musical productions. Making music is hard work,Audio mastering is a process that adds sonic quality to music Articles some people will never understand this and see it as purely a hobby or pastime.The fact is music takes the artists and producer on a journey and that journey is not always easy and straightforward. It can be emotionally and mentally tiring to work on a complex audio production for an extended period of time. Having said this the process is often incredibly rewarding and when things are going right it can be an exciting experience that is unmatched.

Despite all the hard work and commitment sometimes the end of a mix is reached and yet there is something in the audio quality that remains elusive. Something that maybe difficult to put word to. All the melodies are in place, the arrangement is perfected and musical textures well balanced but sometimes the audio quality is just missing that final gloss. This is where online mastering can be of assistance. Mastering is the process of listening back to music on very high quality play back systems and making small but incremental adjustments which add up to a greater subjective improvement of audio quality and conveyance of musical meaning.

A mastering engineer will usually use high end analogue audio equipment which is designed not to cause any sonic degradation or undue character of itself. The equipment will only add the sonic changes the engineer has set the device for. Such equipment can be equalization and compression. Both of these types of process were originally developed in the analogue domain and as such excel and sound divine when processing 2 track stereo mixes in the mastering phase. In some cases the acoustics of the mix room may not have been ideal or the accuracy of the monitoring may not have been 100pct. As such the issues caused in the mixing stage can be ironed out during mastering.

The mastering studio will have very accurate acoustics and high end loudspeakers and will be able to make correct judgements and ensure that the music will play back as well as possible on all the reproduction systems the music will meet. It is a very important stage and it is important the musicians, record labels and producers choose the right mastering engineer for the job. It is a responsible position for the online mastering  engineer to be in and you should check the studio for photo's of equipment, engineer's career history, recent clients list and to see the acoustics and loudspeakers are in place. The online mastering engineer will also listen for sonic problems, these could include clicks, glitches and pops which may have been missed in the mixing stages.

Mastering does not have to be expensive, if you look with care you can find very high standards of mastering studio offering quality results for a very reasonable rate. Just bear in mind that graphics only based websites tend not to give you the full information you need. Like seeing loudspeakers, equipment racks, acoustics and possibly even the engineer themselves. Many studios offer a free preview so you can hear the results before committing.