The Most Often Asked Questions About Mastering

masteringhouse

www.masteringhouse.com
I was recently asked to write an article on the subject and was hoping to get some ideas from the good folks here (as well as it possibly being helpful to some).

Here's a few to start:

1. What is Mastering?

2. Is Mastering Necessary?

3. Should I limit/normalize/compress my mixes?

4. What format should I send for mastering?

5. How much will it cost?

6. Which is better analog or digital?

7. What is the best software for mastering?

8. What settings should I use for xyz?

9. Can a mastering engineer add reverb/delay/increase the level of a track (i.e. can the ME perform some forms of remixing).

10. How does that Tom guy at the MH stay so good looking day after day?

Thanks!
 
I was recently asked to write an article on the subject and was hoping to get some ideas from the good folks here (as well as it possibly being helpful to some).

Here's a few to start:
I'm assuming you are looking for more questions to write about, not answers to your existing questions? I'd just embarrass the hell out of myself if I took a shot at some of those. :p


Q- How did (big name band "x") get their recording so loud without hurting the sound?
A- They did hurt the sound. badly. The world just doesn't have the "before" to compare with.


Q- Tell me about stems.
A- Yes, tell us about stems. :D


Q- Do I make a "vocals up" mix as well as my regular mix?



Q- How big of a change can I expect?
 
You're missing the one question no one will ever ask, but is so germaine to the mastering process: What is the process of making all the tunes gel together into an album?? I know it's more than just 'use your ears'. Do you pick a golden song that contains parts that represent the rest of the album?? Do you compare loud parts of each song?? soft parts of each song?? Do you bounce around from one song to another? Listen sequentially? Randomly?? How do you determine what needs to be changed inter-song and intra-song??
 
Good additions!

With regard to the stems question I was going to cover that in my answer to #9 (remix techniques). This would include things like M/S processing and stems. The vocal up/down mix answer might fit in here as well.

Keep 'em coming!

Chili -

A quick response to your question, yes it is mostly using your ears. One of the most difficult gigs in mastering is putting together a compilation of different bands with different styles and requirements. For a typical session though I use one or two songs as a general reference to start then just do what I feel is best for that particular track also listening to them in sequence to hear how they blend from one to another.
 
"Can you make this (awful) mix sound good?"

That's gonna be a case by case basis and dependent on the definition of awful and good. Believe it or not I've run into cases where I've had a client say "it sounds too good, f**** it up!". Mostly Punk and Noise Rock bands.
 
That's gonna be a case by case basis and dependent on the definition of awful and good. Believe it or not I've run into cases where I've had a client say "it sounds too good, f**** it up!". Mostly Punk and Noise Rock bands.

:laughings:

Crazy punks :D

I'd have imagined MEs would get a lot of job offers to make a bad mix sound good :confused:
 
I'd have imagined MEs would get a lot of job offers to make a bad mix sound good :confused:

Of course, but it's just a matter of degree with regard to how far you can take it. I (as I'm sure the other MEs here) have received mixes so bad that "good" just wasn't in the cards.
 
Are there ever times that a mastering house sends back a mix and say "there's nothing we can do." be it cause it's so good all ready or simple can't do any thing to this bad mix.



:cool:
 
Are there ever times that a mastering house sends back a mix and say "there's nothing we can do." be it cause it's so good all ready or simple can't do any thing to this bad mix.



:cool:

If it's a really good mix then basically you just want to edit and transfer to CD in the most transparent way possible, so it would still require some premastering. As TW mentioned in another post, when you start dealing with more than one mix the odds are that at least some tweaks are going to be needed from song to song.

Have I ever refused a job because the mix was so bad that I felt mastering it was a waste of money? Yes, and the people I've told this to seem to get very pissed off at me. I'm sure that someone else probably did the job for them though.
 
How about

How much headroom does the ME need or in more Laymans terms how loud should my mix be when I send it to be mastered?
 
How has cd's and dvd's changed the mastering process say from mastering a song for vinyl?

Great question. Not just from vinyl but digital in general has had an impact. There is a fairly lengthly conversation that can be had about this that probably deserves a thread in itself. Since I'm typing on an iPhone I'll give a short version.

There are less physical constraints to the media. You can be louder without worrying about skipping, don't have to be concerned about length per side, sibilance, bass, and phase are not as much of an issue, don't have to be concerned with RIAA curves, don't have to worry about blowing up expensive cutter heads. And more stuff.
 
What is the average turn around time?

Where could I attend schooling for M E ?

Are there different standards between music CDs and DVDs or theater movies when it comes to mastering?



Just noticed the post from before.that asks one of these questions.
 
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Maybe a couple more..

What is the most important (processing) tool for mastering?
Why is it important to have quality converters in mastering?
What makes for a good sounding master?
Are full range speakers needed to master?
 
If you're happy with your mixes and CD compilation, do you still need mastering?

Is it possible to find out if the mastering will make it "better" if you are "happy" (see sentence 1)? In other words...getting a single song sample back vs a "compilation sample"

What do you do if you are unhappy with a mastering job, even after several "re-dos"..and you've given a downpayment?

What kind of recourse do you have if your mastering engineer makes mistakes by not following your cue sheets and "sample CD"?

If you hire a top notch mix engineer, how do you know your mastering engineer has "better" ears to make the FINAL adjustments?

Do mastering engineers exist using modest equipment (or software), that would excell over others that have the most popular "toobe" EQ and converters? In other words, can a "top gun" use Ozone or whatever and provide a better job than the "mid level" person using $25k worth of outboard and $50k in speakers, etc? (kinda like the Roger Nichols on your portastudio vs Joe Blow on the SSL).

What is the preferred dither by high end mastering engineers and can they hear the differences between them?

Can you hear a difference between a 24 bit .wav file and a data file in the final master?

Why do some places charge outrageous hourly rates for attending a session?... (and I can assume I know the answer, but that isn't usually the case with mix engineers, and potential "client interference issues" could be addressed upfront)

If you can tell who mastered a project, wouldn't that be a "bad" thing? (kinda like if you can hear compression settings)
And along those lines, wouldn't the mastering engineer strive for a common result, versus "individual" varieties?... And/or is the "opinion" of a mastering engineer as varied as a guitar player that thinks that "tone" is good?
 
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