mastering? soo difficult??

[Rufio87]

why do the most guys go to a mastering studio when they record their mixes??? isn't mastering the easyeast thing about all of that???? why pay extra money and give it to a masteringstudio?? two month ago i didn't know that there is mastering studio!!!!

tell me please. i think it has a reason why many people go to a masteringstudio

[brandondrury]

This is a great question.

I probably wouldn't use the "easy" word. However, I would say it is the most subtle part of the process. If a mastering engineer isn't subtle, he sucks. That's my opinion. I work WAY too damn hard on my recordings for some no talent ass clown to go in their and drop an atomic bomb on a mix when it may only call for a few rifle shots.

With that said, it is very "nice" to go to a big boy mastering studio. I did it and it was a learning experience. I do not consider the mastering stage to be as creative as others. I think it's about getting all the songs to come together to make an album. A monkey could not do this!

I'm of the opinion that I've hit a home run on a mix, the mastering guy will say "This is a home run. I didn't touch it."

Stephen Marsh in the mastering forum talks about objectivity being a HUGE factor in mastering. I tend to agree. I like giving an album to a guy who masters a new album each and every day on an extremely accurate system. He'll notice problems that maybe I do not and he'll know how to solve them.

I think that mastering engineers are usually a little more aggressive with compression and limiting than the average mixing engineer would be on his 2bus. This modern compression on the 2 bus or during mastering is part of the game (like it or not). Some home recorders don't feel comfortable crushing their mixes. It took years and a few painful epiphanies before I felt comfortable doing it.

The thing I like about a good mastering guy is he will make the tunes FEEL better than they did beforehand. This mastering stage where things are compressed and evened out is what many people consider to be the "sound quality" part. Without that compressed density, a song can sound empty.

Brandon