What is Mastering?

People should check the title of this website. its called Home Recording. this is a hobbyist site - Dr Dre or Chris Lord Alge don't come here. ok so he didn't post in the newbie forum, whoop de do. moderators should just move it to the newbie forum for him.
 
Yeah, that makes sense. Instead of caring enough to do some reading lets just let someone else care about your craft for you. Great logic there. You completely miss the point. Asking "what is mastering" is about as broad and retarded as asking "what is recording". If a person doesn't care enough to do some research on their own (there must be hundreds of websites, books, etc on mastering) then I doubt I would want to hear whatever train-wreck it is that they're recording. The general consensus is that (and should be) mastering is an advanced technique that assumes you've already spent a good deal of time developing your chops in other aspects of recording.
 
to repeat an old comment made by ...... hmmm, was it Blue Bear? .... not sure .. anyways, "It's mastered once it's burned to CD"
 
Murdersgalore said:
The general consensus is that (and should be) mastering is an advanced technique that assumes you've already spent a good deal of time developing your chops in other aspects of recording.
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Not to argue with you, but the assumption of which you speak may be misplaced. If someone doesn't know what mastering is then they don't know. I'm only now getting to understand with a little more clarity what it is and I've been recording for years. Part of what has helped form the little I do understand has been reading up discussions here. I think the OP has asked a valid question and even if they're given answers, that doesn't mean they're being spoonfed, nor does it mean their work is over. Quite the opposite in many cases.
 
I prefer not to use a brand name for an action or to replace the general noun. I know some poms say hoovering instead of vacuuming and there are examples across most cultures I'm sure but that one particular company, besides being ubiquitous, is not exactly a beacon to which that we should provide additional paths. I know they have a presence within this forum (there's one of their search widgets just above & to the right of this reply box. We don't suggest that Gadaffi is Pinochetting or that apple a document.
Search engine, search etc - but then again I'm in my cranky pants this afternoon.
 
The OP should have spent 5 minutes of research and reading before asking for a definition of mastering.

That's just lazy.

A quick search on HR would have yielded a wealth of information (gold nuggets) if the OP had made even a little bit of effort.

Some of us get cranky about having to answer the same old questions or in this case provide a definition, when the information is out there and easily found.

A more refined/intelligent question about mastering, instead of just wanting a definition of what it is, would have been met with a more positive response.

If you want a definition of something, do a search first, or take it to the newbie forum.

Kid's these days....sheesh.

And I like Lt. Bob's (blue bear?) definition of mastering.

That is definitely true. :laughings:
 
Wish14 said:
The OP should have spent 5 minutes of research and reading before asking for a definition of mastering.

That's just lazy.

A quick search on HR would have yielded a wealth of information (gold nuggets) if the OP had made even a little bit of effort.

Some of us get cranky about having to answer the same old questions or in this case provide a definition, when the information is out there and easily found.

A more refined/intelligent question about mastering, instead of just wanting a definition of what it is, would have been met with a more positive response.

If you want a definition of something, do a search first, or take it to the newbie forum.
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And yet, the fact remains that it's only relatively recently {within the last year, I think} that the mixing and mastering forums have divided to become separate entities and that even with experienced recorders confusion sometimes abounded as to what exactly mastering was. And mastering in the digital age is a different thing to what it was in the analog age etc. Even the blurb under the forum heading "Because mastering is not mixing" tells you that actually, it is far from obvious or a foregone conclusion what it is or that it is commonly known. And that confusion and debate and exposure of understanding (or lack of it) was never clearer than in the infamous Fala thread last year.
While it's true that the Newbie forum is appropriate to go to on some matters like these, it's entirely logical if you want a definition of what mastering actually is.......to go to the mastering forum and ask.
 
Yep...you can ask your question of "What is mastering" in the mastering forum.

You may not get the response you are looking for without having done 5 minutes of research/reading everything that has already been posted ad nauseum first.
 
That is a good point. If the OP had stated his/her goals and what they were trying to achieve, I'm sure this thread would have gone in a very different direction.
 
Mastering is both the last stage of production and the first stage of manufacturing. It is the last chance to alter the sonic presentation and is where the various parts of an album are brought together into a cohesive whole.
 
mastering is when your girlfriend will do anything you want ......... even that kinky thing if you tell her to.
 
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