What IS Mastering?

cont' from PAGE 4

4) Now we come to gating and/or expanding.

This section will be quite brief, because the concept is simply to clean up audio and reduce noise if it is present. Gating and expansion are not used to alter the tone or volume, like an EQ or compressor. Their job is rather subtle. So if your recording is noise free, chances are we'll bypass this step. But here is the general explanation anyhow.

An expander works just like a compressor, only in reverse. It basically pushes the noise floor low enough to be inaudible. Of course you have the usual suspects…threshold, ratio, attack, and so forth and so on. Expanders can also be multiband to increase flexibility.

A gate, or gating works similarly, by the user adjusting and setting a threshold, in which any sound below that threshold is simply cut off or "gated". It can be a very abrupt effect, and is really good for special circumstances. Because of the sharp cut off, gates are used a lot during recording to tighten up loose sounding drums and bass, and to help that section really "lock in". In mastering, these tools are used for noise control and to cut off unwanted sections, especially at the head or tail of the song.

 

5) So now that we have a working master in progress, it's time to listen to the overall project again.

If all is well, it's left alone.

But, since we have poked, prodded, speared and tweaked everything, chances are we'll need a small tune up in the EQ. So we do final EQ tweaking, and we listen yet again. Here, the stereo field is also examined and reduced, or expanded, depending on the overall needs of the work.

Also phase is checked.

Simply put, out of phase signals cancel each other, so hearing your song on the radio with half the music missing is not the place for that kind of discovery! Again details on phase can be found in the Mastering Resources link. Finally, satisfied with the results, your project is now ready for final assembly.

 

6) This is where songs are arranged in the desired order of play, as well as performing fade ins, fade outs, or cross fades…all according to the artist or producer's request. (Yes, that's all for this section...Really, move along now! Keep reading...almost done!)

 

7) Then, during final assembly, pq codes and sub indexes are encoded to the final master. That, in simple terms, is all the information present on a CD, from track indexes, numbering, even names and text.

The final master to be replicated/duplicated can be presented in a variety of formats, ranging from CDRs , to exabyte, as well as many others. (note: Nowadays, many mastering studios including 1st Call Mastering are foregoing the physical media and dealing with clients through internet transfers. The possibility of damage to the physical media is now a thing of the past!)

A reference master (see above note) is presented to the client for critical listening, and/or evaluation. If it doesn't meet approval, changes are made. Upon approval however, the final official master is sent out (transfered), with specific instructions, along with a backup.

At this point, the replication/duplication facility chosen by the client, takes over and creates what is called a glass master. From there, the required components (stampers) needed for mass replication are produced.

Duplication is a simpler process involving "burnt" media.

Again technical, in depth details are available in the fine publications recommended in the Mastering Resources link.

Also as a final note, please understand that a lot of the mastering techniques are not always performed in the order written here, but rather on a custom basis for the project at hand. For instance EQ isn't always first. Some engineers like to edit on their workstation first, then EQ and compress, or compress and EQ. The variables are almost endless. Ultimately what counts though, is the FINAL result being of the highest quality possible.

I, myself, take a pragmatic approach…use what works and discard the rest!

Remember, nothing is set in stone.

Hopefully the above explanation will help you understand a little bit more about this misunderstood trade. Also believe this or not, as long winded as this seemed, it is but a mere layman's summary of all the variations, techniques, and services provided by a mastering engineer! For every concept and step I've addressed, there are numerous others I didn't even touch on. If you feel the need to venture deeper…yep, the resources mentioned will satisfy that thirst.

If you made it this far, I COMMEND you! Now take a break (A BIG ONE), and check out the rest of the links.

You are now armed with knowledge to make an informed decision regarding your project!