Archive

Since time immemorial, producers and artists have been pushing mastering engineers to increase the loudness of audio.  The nonstop march of technology has been making it possible to do this.  But why?  Well, to get your attention.  Listen to the radio, and the song that grabs you out of your drive-time zombie haze is the […]

Well, you can.  It’s just not usually a great idea.  Mastering Engineers usually sink time and money into specialized gear, resources, and knowledge specific to the process.  Plus they’re a second set of fresh ears.  But that said, a lot of people do it themselves, for better or worse.

The main reason is portability and translatability.  A mastering engineer’s job is, mostly, to ensure that your final product sounds good everywhere.  Along the way that means punching a few things up, evening out EQ, adjusting loudness, managing dynamic range, etc.  It also means prepping the music for the final delivery medium – CD, Tape, […]