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Mastering:
What Is It Good For?
By Amanda Garrigues |
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What is mastering? "Mastering is the process of critically listening
to your recording and assessing the overall equalization of the
work," Rich Dupree, (Southeast Performer, June pp. 28.) Like
a lot of artists, I had no idea about the importance of mastering.
What I've learned (two records later) is that mastering can make
a good record sound great. It adds the warmth and polish that you
hear on most of today's recordings. It also gives the album a consistency
so that all the songs sound good together, turning a collection
of songs into a cohesive work of art.
Much goes into recording a CD: pre-production, basic tracking, mixing,
editing and mastering. This month I hope to give you a clear understanding
of what it means to master an album and why it's absolutely essential
in the production process.
Mastering is usually the last thing you do before sending your CD
off to the duplication plant. When I first began making records,
I thought the project was done once I was finished mixing. The only
reason I mastered on the first record is because someone told me
it was good idea. Keep in mind that, although the CD might be mixed,
it is still an unfinished project.
When you are ready to master, you put your final mixes into the
hands of a mastering engineer. I have found this is usually not
the same person who has worked with you on the basic tracks and/or
the mix. It's an asset to have fresh ears listening to your record
at this stage. An article posted on the Audible Arts Interactive
website draws a comparison, "Compare CD Mastering to the editor's
job of taking a raw manuscript and turning it into a book. The book
editor must understand syntax, grammar, organization and writing
style, as well as know the arcane techniques of binding, color separation,
printing presses and the like. Likewise, the CD Mastering engineer
marries the art of music with the science of sound." (http://www.undercurrent.com/audarts/mstrng.html).
Audible Arts breaks it down this way:
A mastering engineer does one or more of the following:
1. Put tracks in order (sequence).
2. Edit within the music.
3. Remove unwanted pops, clicks or other noises.
4. Add sound effects such as crowd noises or cheers.
5. Place appropriate ID's and spaces between songs.
6. Make album or program sound consistent (equalize, compress).
7. Maximize music so it is as powerful as possible.
8. Create a duplication master to meet technical requirements of
final format(s).
As with any project, you must trust the people who work with you.
I spoke to several engineers before I chose the one who mastered
my latest record. I chose him based on his past clients, his ability
to explain the process in a way I could understand, and his willingness
to let me sit in on the session and have input.
The engineer masters the CD in either an analog or digital domain.
I read quite a few articles on the Web about this topic, and there
are equal arguments in both camps as to why analog or digital is
better. I think well-known record producer George Martin explains
it best in his book Making Music: "Ordinary [analog] recording
stores the electrical impulses (which have been converted from the
pure aural vibration by the microphone) on magnetic tape as magnetic
variations in the coating. Digital recording, on the other hand,
analyzes the frequencies constantly and stores the information as
binary code on tape. If you can imagine 'stop-framing' a slice of
sound, analyzing it in terms of frequencies, converting the information
into numbers to store on tape and doing that 50,000 times a second,
that is what a digital recorder does. And on playback, a reverse
process takes place." Although the mastering process can be
digital or analog, keep in mind that your final output will be digital.
Compact discs, by definition, are a digital format for storing music.
Remember the cost of mastering can be high, but it is an investment
in your project. The engineer who works on your album has invested
in high-quality equipment, often made in the 70's, tube-based, etc.
He or she has invested in this equipment to provide an overall sound
that competes with the sound quality of professional releases. However,
there are ways to master a CD without breaking your pocketbook.
There are software-based programs that can simulate, somewhat, what
a professional mastering studio can do. Note, that these programs
are not meant to replace a professional studio. This kind
of mastering usually only changes the loudness of the record. In
other words the volume of the first song matches the volume of the
last song, etc. A professional mastering engineer will do most of
the tasks listed earlier in this article. If someone tells you s/he
can master your CD for $100, be wary. Find out what kind of equipment
is being used. This low-ball figure usually means that person is
using one of a number of inexpensive software programs available.
Mastering your finished product in this sort-of "low-fi" way is
fine, but should probably be reserved for a demo not a finished
product.
"Mastering will ALWAYS be about bringing out the best in
a recording" says Jonathan Wyner of M Works Mastering (Southeast
Performer, June pp. 28). Continuing advances in mastering technologies
give independent artists the potential to make a basic recording
into a creative success.
Additional technical input was provided by my good friend and
fellow freak, Harry Monkhorst.
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Other
articles by Amanda Garrigues include:
The Path of the Song: Deconstructing
the Songwriting Process
EQ That Guitar!
Choose Your Acoustic Wisely
In the Booth: Getting a Good
Vocal
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Amanda Garrigues is a singer and songwriter based in Gainesville,
Florida. She runs her own label, Average Sinner Records. For more
info check out Amanda's official Web site:
http://www.amandagarrigues.com
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_________________________________
Amanda Garrigues recently released a 9-song cd titled "Groundswell".
It can be purchased at:
http://www.cdbaby.com/view/garrigues2
or directly through her Web site. |
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