{"id":38125,"date":"2017-01-21T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-21T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/?p=38125"},"modified":"2020-04-22T16:23:26","modified_gmt":"2020-04-22T14:23:26","slug":"what-is-mastering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/learn\/what-is-mastering\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Mastering?"},"content":{"rendered":"

After recording and mixing, mastering is the final step in the realization of a track\u00a0or album. This step may be unfamiliar to some, so let’s take a look at this process and the different objectives that determine the final quality of your audio production.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Basic principle<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A recording must be of the best possible quality, whether it be on your iPhone, Hi-Fi, car or even at a club.\u00a0The main objective in\u00a0mastering is therefore finding optimal sound reproduction from a finished mix, and to homogenize the different tracks of an album in terms of volume and color.<\/p>\n

The tools<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Audio\u00a0mastering, is ideally done by a specialist with a “fresh\u201d pair of ears (who hasn\u2019t spent hours mixing the track\u00a0or album), as there are several objectives to the sound of a finished audio production.\u00a0The stereo audio file created during the mixing will be processed, with various tools, such as an equalizer<\/a>, compressor<\/a>\u00a0or limiter<\/a>. Imbalances in the audio spectrum will be treated by \u201ccleaning up\u201d noisy signals or by amplifying others using an equalizer. The compressor and limiter are\u00a0involved for several reasons, to increase the “loudness” so that the track sounds relatively better in comparison to others, and also to seemingly \u201cweld\u201d individual signals together. An additional possibility is the use of reverb<\/a>, which however is usually used in small doses.<\/p>\n

\"Manley<\/a><\/p>\n

The studios pros most often have an acoustically treated room dedicated to mastering.\u00a0They are also equipped with high-end analog tools specifically designed for mastering, such as the Manley Massive Passive<\/a>\u00a0equalizer\u00a0or SPL Iron<\/a>\u00a0compressor.\u00a0A Multiband compressor such as the\u00a0Tube-Tech SMC B2<\/a>\u00a0allows for more precise settings thanks to multiple adjustable frequency bands.<\/p>\n

\"SPL<\/a><\/p>\n

An art<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Mastering is an art with many things to consider seriously, such as fade-outs, track sequences, breaks between tracks, but to name a few.\u00a0Audio standards and the different media conversions require precise settings and therefore quality tools.\u00a0Not only in the case of\u00a0vinyl pressing, but also concerning sampling rates, dithering and noise-shaping.\u00a0The mastering sound engineer is therefore equipped with dedicated tools\u00a0such as\u00a0\u00a0Dangerous Music Liason<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0AD\/DA converters<\/a>\/monitor controllers<\/a>\u00a0of high quality as the\u00a0Crane Song Solaris<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

\"Crane<\/a><\/p>\n

Accessible to everyone<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Using the services of a professional studio to master your sound productions isn\u2019t always necessary, and can be operated from your home studio.\u00a0The first thing to consider is the acoustics of your room which should be controlled.\u00a0Monitor speakers should sound as neutral as possible and be suitable for said\u00a0room.
\nIt is not always necessary to have the most expensive equipment, as there are many software packages that do the job, which are even used in professional studios, particularly the\u00a0plug-ins UAD<\/a>.\u00a0Other good quality sets of\u00a0plug-ins dedicated to mastering<\/a>\u00a0are\u00a0iZotope Ozone<\/a>, IK Multimedia<\/a>\u00a0or Slate Digital<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n\n\t\t