Quote:
Originally Posted by L_Nix_Mastering  A recording engineer knows how to make a great song, but it takes a mastering engineer to make a song sound great - whether it's being played through a car stereo, a portable CD player or a top of the line stereo system. With mastering, a professional engineer will optimize the sound of your CD, making it sound punchy, warm and full, while raising the overall level and highlighting details that aren't already apparent.
In the recording studio, you record one song at a time, which results in songs that all peak at different levels and may have different EQ's. A mastering engineer unifies the CD by using EQ and compression to give it a consistent sound from track to track. Mastering can raise your album's overall level through the careful use of compression, so your album is as hot as a major label release.
The difference between a mastered song and an unmastered one really becomes apparent when the two are played back to back over the radio. Radio stations compress songs so much that unmastered ones wind up with too much low end or sound weak and tinny. If you're planning to promote your CD to radio stations, mastering is a must, since it keeps you in control of the EQ and compression.
Another vital part of mastering is the digital editing. This process includes: cleaning up between tracks, fade outs/ins, sequencing, and making sure the album "flows" properly. It can also be used to "clean up" songs for the radio using reversing and replacing words not allowed on the air with the instrumental track. Editing can also be used to remove unwanted "pops" and "ticks".
A real advantage of the mastering is that an unbiased sound professional has the opportunity to evaluate your master and determine how to get the most out of your product. After you've spent weeks or even months in a recording studio listening to your CD over and over again, a fresh pair of ears can put the project into perspective for you and let you know whether or not your CD will benefit from mastering. After all, you only have one chance to make your music sound its best. The choice is up to you! |
I am sorry to say i totally disagree with your entire post.
If i as a recording/mixing engineer were to leave all these decisions up to the ME i would be basically out of a job because the projects would never get to an ME in the first place.
The mixes should on their own translate everywhere. You shouldn't need someone else's opinion to make that happen. Its really the opinion of the artists and the production team that matters most in the assembly of the songs themselves. You really don't need an ME to do this and in some mastering houses the assistants handle this chore.
I think where and ME's opinion can come in play if there is doubt in any of the above. Now this is not always the case but it can happen especially if there alots of different production teams involved in the record as a whole. If its just one producer or the band producing themselves i think the role of the recording/mixing engineer becomes more important.
Again the role of the ME in the production process has become more relevant in modern times. It wasn't always this way and it doesn't mean it will stay this way either.
Especially now as more and more people are doing everything themselves.
