ME main task

[kundevelop]

As artist and producer I understood ME spend most of the time rebalancing the mix to get it sound good on most different speaker systems that's why the best monitoring systems are used in mastering. Supposing you receive a good mix I would like to ask you on what task do you spend more time when doing mastering? EQ, limiting, compression or something else? I suppose finding the right EQ curve but could be nice to listen to your opinion. If you receive a well balaneced mix what do you usually prefer to use? EQ, multiband comp or parallel? I know there are no general rules and the most depends on the kind of music and on ME fellings about it. I think that some way of working are simply more funny and interesting then others, what's your favorite one? which one make you feel smiling when doing mastering?

Faust

[jinksdingo]

I'm not an ME but it is worthwhile knowing what one is and does, and the history of mastering so your mixes will benefit from proper mastering.

Back in the days of tape a mix engineer got his mix as good as he could get it. This still holds true today. If you check your mix on a consumer clock radio speaker and adjust your mix without wrecking it, your mix can translate on any system.

Getting back to the good ol days, you needed to get your mix onto vinyl and the ME balanced your entire album into a cohesive whole. Very important!

This still holds true today. From one song to the next the transition is smooth and of like sonic character.

Simply, the program material could be recorded by different Engineers, mixed again by someone else or at least some time elapses from the first recorded song to the last in any Studio and each song will be sonically unique.

When you consider mastering as it is like this it reveals that each tune is not just improved as itself but more broadly as part of a whole release of an album and now you know that what is needed is an unknown until there is a program material order, spaces between, fades etc.

So one tune has heavy bass and lots of compression and another is lighter perhaps a ballad and it has to not seem out of place or bring an adverse reaction.
And now you know some of what the ME does.
Hope this helps
Cheers

[Bob Olhsson]

Mastering is all about the presentation of the mix and the first impression it makes. It's where production intersects marketing.

The context of each song within the album is important as is translation between different listening environments. The overall tonality and volume level relative to the genre where the music will be marketed is also a major consideration.

The goal is to have a recording that will generate excellent word of mouth promotion and additional exposure as a result of people listening and liking what they hear.

[KyleDiSanto]

Originally Posted by Bob Olhsson

Mastering is all about the presentation of the mix and the first impression it makes. It's where production intersects marketing.

The context of each song within the album is important as is translation between different listening environments. The overall tonality and volume level relative to the genre where the music will be marketed is also a major consideration.

The goal is to have a recording that will generate excellent word of mouth promotion and additional exposure as a result of people listening and liking what they hear.

Can I quote you on this one lol? I completely agree!