What is the point of mastering?

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nodough

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Everything that I've read (on this site and google) says mastering is for polishing up the track and preparing it for duplication, all of which I understand but I am unable to find anything that pertains to my specific question. It seems to me that everything I would do while mastering is the exact same stuff I could just put in the output chain of the mix (e.g. eq, compressor, high/low cut etc.) and achieve the same results as mastering. So what is the point of mastering? There has to be something I'm missing here and I hope someone can help me out.
 
nodough said:
... It seems to me that everything I would do while mastering is the exact same stuff I could just put in the output chain of the mix ..
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For the most part true. Except for-
A second person hearing it objectively
In a second and quite possibly higher quality environment
With somewhere between possibly-to-very-likely more skill specifically tuned to the tasks

You can do it yourself. I have at times. But it can be IMHO a large extra load.
Take on for example an album project for a band. You've recorded it. Did all the overdubs. Put your best out there, and then again in mixing it at which point you're bouncing between micro and macro modes, i.e. neck deep one song at a time typically.

Now mastering is assembling the songs for the whole. Correcting for all the mix differences that will be there so they sound cohesive in every aspect -tone, dynamics, levels, assembled a finished set of files –and quality checked...

My experience (minor compared to some) is that when I've finished mixing an album project and slide into mastering mode a few interesting things come up.
Not the least of which is the question 'If I didn't hear these issues at mix why/how the hell would I expect to now? Still me, same room, same speakers..

Part of the answer is you need to hear it differently, and your focus IMO has to change;

You have to make some distance from the micro mode you've been in. And once in that mode, I for one a) get more critical and b) start hearing things that make me want to call up the mixer— :rolleyes: and say hey, why don't you fix all this... stuff you missed?
Self mastering for me has ended up being quite a lot back and forth between mix-fixes and pulling the whole together.
 
In addition to any audio processing and sequencing of the tracks there is other, non-audio, stuff necessary for a proper master, such as setting the PQ codes for a CD.
 
I love when you're down to the wire, it's got-to-go-out tomorrow, it's getting late and there's that little 'if there's a glitch', a booboo whatever and it goes out, it's your ass. That's one more time 40-50mins solid listening.
Better like what you hear.
:p
 
nodough said:
Everything that I've read (on this site and google) says mastering is for polishing up the track and preparing it for duplication, all of which I understand but I am unable to find anything that pertains to my specific question. It seems to me that everything I would do while mastering is the exact same stuff I could just put in the output chain of the mix (e.g. eq, compressor, high/low cut etc.) and achieve the same results as mastering. So what is the point of mastering? There has to be something I'm missing here and I hope someone can help me out.
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Went to my dentist a couple of weeks ago. Turned out I needed to have a piece of tooth removed so that he could do a cap...etc....and he said I needed to see the oral surgeon.
I chuckled and said how I remember back in the day, you went to one dentist and he did everything himself, and now days there's a different dentist for each phase.
He said yeah, he could do it himself, but the oral surgeon specializes in that type of work and does nothing but that, all the time.

Same thing with mastering.
 
Mastering an audio recording is basically preparing it for commercial use whether it be in retail or on the radio. You could do it yourself and there are plugins that do it for ya but it's best to leave it to the pro's who have the right equipment and the ears to go with it.
 
If your recordings are just for yourself and friends then there is no need for mastering.

I've had one client who has sent his project back to the mastering palace going on 3 times now! I haven't a clue what he is looking for.:confused:
 
moresound said:
I've had one client who has sent his project back to the mastering palace going on 3 times now! I haven't a clue what he is looking for.:confused:
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It would, however, be interesting to find out exactly what he is looking for. I'm really intrigued as to why he's felt the need to return it three times. Does this client feel that mastering has made his project worse ?
 
So I shouldn't bother adding anything to the output chain of the mix but just put whatever I would've put there in the master instead? I strongly suspect that is the case and that it has something to do with dithering as well. As far as "letting a 'pro' do it because they have 'experienced and knowledgeable' ears" is dumb. So when my kid becomes a teenager I should send him off to someone else because I don't have any experience raising one? Also, I am broke.
 
nodough said:
As far as "letting a 'pro' do it because they have 'experienced and knowledgeable' ears" is dumb. So when my kid becomes a teenager I should send him off to someone else because I don't have any experience raising one? Also, I am broke.
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Hey bud, you asked and they answered. That'd be a great comparison if teenagers were comparable to pre-mastered songs in any way. :laughings:

Next time you might want to notify everyone that you have a jaded view before asking the question though. :laughings:
 
nodough said:
So I shouldn't bother adding anything to the output chain of the mix but just put whatever I would've put there in the master instead? I strongly suspect that is the case and that it has something to do with dithering as well. As far as "letting a 'pro' do it because they have 'experienced and knowledgeable' ears" is dumb. So when my kid becomes a teenager I should send him off to someone else because I don't have any experience raising one? Also, I am broke.
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Yeah thats the way to look at it.

I love it when production values get fueled by deep-seeded suspicion fueled by budgets. It always makes great sounding records.

I suspect by the time your kid is a teenager you'll want to send em off to someone with experience.

Its really a great analogy because in the same way, you've been living with your recording in close and intimate contact for a long time and really do lack the foresight needed to make audio decisions to bring it one hundred percent.

Its the same with dealing with teenagers who are your own. I raised three.


I have been recording for over 30 years. Even with the tools and the proper environment I would NEVER claim to be a Mastering Engineer.
 
mmmm........I hear what you're saying......but...children can 'adapt' in real time!....Your music, once stamped, can't.........
 
I wasn't trying to be a dick, although upon re-reading I see how it could be taken as otherwise. This stuff gets pretty frustrating sometimes.
 
nodough said:
So I shouldn't bother adding anything to the output chain of the mix but just put whatever I would've put there in the master instead? I strongly suspect that is the case and that it has something to do with dithering as well. As far as "letting a 'pro' do it because they have 'experienced and knowledgeable' ears" is dumb. So when my kid becomes a teenager I should send him off to someone else because I don't have any experience raising one? Also, I am broke.
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No, you should send him to high school when he's done with grade school because grade school teachers aren't as good as high school teachers at teaching teenagers high school level courses.
 
nodough said:
I wasn't trying to be a dick, although upon re-reading I see how it could be taken as otherwise. This stuff gets pretty frustrating sometimes.
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Yeah, it can be. Your analogy was pretty lame though. Think of this ~ what if your teenager was constantly depressed or wasted on various drugs or drink or was diagnosed with some kind of autism ~ God forbid any of that, but if it were the case, you'd still love and support the child. Hopefully you'd also recognize that some outside help could be apt.
I'm beginning to think of mastering in similar vein. Having got all my signals mixed as I want them, the final step in completing the process, most of which I've been in control of, is taken out of my hands into the hands of someone that knows absolutely what they're doing.
Going back to the kid analogy, you do send your kid to be part moulded by someone that isn't you over whom you have little control and who can give your kid what you can't. That's what happens in school.
 
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