The Most Often Asked Questions About Mastering

Why is it usually considered that a mastering engineer is needed because the engineer, musicians, etc are "too close" to the music to be objective, when infact they are the ones that probably know "best" how they want it to sound?

In the total scope of many projects, why would you want to save $1000 on a mastering job, by using an "online" service, if you're spending 25 times that amount (or more) on the project for recording and mixing and even duplication, advertising...?...versus just trying to get a place like "Gateway", etc to do the job?

Are "in house" mastering engineers OK if they mixed or tracked some of your project too (see question #1)?

How frequently would the mastering engineer play the "finals" on other systems besides their studio.... or is that necessary if they "know" their speakers and room?

Has there ever been a mastering studio with a reverb chamber....or any other "weirdo" scenarios like re-amping... for "spatial fx" ?

Why would a client want to go to a mastering session unless they are intimate with the speakers and room?... are there any advantages... IOW, would the mastering engineer ever ask questions, or just do their job?
 
has it ever proved to be an advantage to have a mastering engineers name in the credits?

What is the current "belief" in having audio files extending past 20Khz?

Can a solo instrument recorded in 16 bit be just as good as 24bit for mastering? (provided the dynamics aren't the extremes)........
and therefore would dithering NOT be required?

Is mastering significantly "better" than days of old, being able to access center info, etc?... but seeming commonly using "vintage" equipment?

Is getting a "printout" of errors on a final CD ever asked for?

Why are Macs generally preferred over PCs nowadays?

Have mastering sessions ever taken 40+ hours.. IOW, longer than a typical "day or two"?

What is the thought of a mastering engineer that does ALL kinds of genre, versus specialized?... or is that an issue with "online mastering"?
 
If you are a mastering engineer, would you rent your facility and act as an assistant, providing you felt comfortable with someones abilities (that no accidental damages could occur, etc)?

If you have a favorite converter, EQ, etc... is it far fetched to bring it to a mastering session to use, or should you choose a facility by their equipment too? (and as an equal to the engineer)

If a mastering engineer is "older", and their hearing range diminished, would that present any problems?

Is it correct that typically most facilities would use mid field monitors or larger... and headphones and "reference check" monitors are never used?...for balancing VS editing?

Are headphones used for "critical" edits...? once a balance has been established?

Since CD architect seems to be the "king" of CD burning programs for the PC, why do you never see that program used? (see my Mac vs PC question earlier)

and finally, do mastering engineers ever negotiate any % in SR copyrights?...or just "for hire"?
 
What is the check list of things a person needs to have done & NOT done before a mix is ripe for mastering? Ie: Headroom, bit rate, master verb/not, limiter/not, normalize/not, monitor as MP3/not, etc. What plugs/vst & processes I should most definitely not do/pas the mix through/add etc. (translated what shouldn't I do to my mix before sending it for mastering?).
What about the "advise you may not want" issues? In terms of being preapred for feedback from the ME about the mix sent.

Oh, nice thread, will you post your article?
 
Oh, nice thread, will you post your article?

Assuming that all goes well and permission is not an issue I will post a link.

There are some very good questions here that are probably beyond what they wanted to cover in a single article. In some cases I will try to roll several of the questions together into a more general question for brevity. For example "What are some common recommendations for submitting mixes" could probably cover both formats and headroom. I will also do my best to answer here or in an additional FAQ on my site.

Some of these questions relate to the policy of the particular company. For example turnaround times will depend on the schedule of the ME (I've heard that you may have to wait months for some of the more famous engineers) and also depends on onilne versus in-sessions. Online sessions I find take longer to complete and are dependent on how quickly a client gets back regarding changes and the number of revisions or remixes that they might supply. Likewise studio rental, price, refunds are all dependent on the policy of the company.

Great replies everyone! If there are more that anyone can think of that haven't been covered already please keep 'em coming!
 
My question being a potential client would be: When is my mix ready for mastering?

The answer "if you can do nothing to make it better", that I have read quite often is kind of misleading in the times of mixing and mastering in the box where people tend to put things on the 2-bus to "make it better". It's so easy to cross the line between mixing and mastering that I think there should be some more detailed advice about when to stop, e.g. explicitly what is "forbidden" starting with the the brickwall ;). I don't think I'd ever reach the point where I could honestly say: I can't do it any better, but it's a matter of how much time and resources I can spend.

Cheers
Tim
 
I've tried to condense most of the questions raised here along with the original questions so that they cover a wide area. As usual your input is greatly appreciated. I'm not totally sold on these and am looking for two more general questions. If you feel that some of these are covering too much ground and should be broken out please let me know.

A rough draft:

1. What is mastering?

Topic covers where mastering fits in the audio production chain, brief history of mastering past and present, what type of improvements can be expected.

2. Is mastering always necessary?

Mean to address questions such as:

“If a mix is perfect is mastering needed?”
“If a release is for demo purposes should it be mastered?”
“Can/should the mix engineer provide the final master?”

3. What are some generally recommended tips when providing the final mix to the mastering engineer?

Covers headroom and limiting or normalizing mixes, creating a good frequency balance in the mix, vocal up/down mixes.

4. Can a mastering engineer add reverb/delay/increase the level of a single track, etc.

Discuss issues that are better addressed during mixing and why along with “remixing” techniques that mastering engineers may use (e.g. M/S processing and stems) and why these are compromises.

5. What materials should I send to the mastering engineer?

Covers file formats, sample rates, bit depth, reference materials, and documentation.

6. How much will it cost?

Discuss different types of rates (pay by track, hourly, flat rate), cost differences between larger and smaller facilities, cost differences for in-session versus non-attended.

7. How much of a role does gear play versus the talents of a mastering engineer?

Discuss the types of gear normally used in mastering, analog versus digital, all-in-one DIY “mastering software”, importance of quality converters, monitors, and room. How the experience and taste affect the quality of a product.

8. What is the best software for mastering, what settings should I use for xyz?

Discussion on workflow, DAW architecture, presets and “one size does not fit all”.
 
Great job Tom. In mastering your article, I only found one bit of distortion.

"The Mastering House and has an extiinsive list of mastering and mixing credits to his name."

LOL.

Thanks Tom. Actually that was one bit that the editor wrote. I'll see if he can remove the corrosion.
 
Very nice article Tom (of course; I expected nothing less from you ;) :D) You really should take over for their editor, however, as you are a much better writer than he (she?).

G.
 
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In their defense think that they may have been in a rush to get it online. The editor did make some gramatical changes to my content that were for the better.

As long as my name is spelled correctly I'm usually happy!
 
I almost expected the #1 most often asked question about mastering to be:
"How do I make it LOUD?" ;)

:D


Nice article...looking forward to the subsequent sections.
 
I almost expected the #1 most often asked question about mastering to be:
"How do I make it LOUD?" ;)

Very true!

I didn't want to get into the loudness wars stuff too much, though I address levels in a later question. That subject is very well covered elsewhere.

A good question may be "Is louder better?".
 
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