What Does Audio Mastering Do?

Audio mastering is the final and often nebulous phase or stage of audio production. A lot is unknown about what goes into audio mastering and what the overall intended purpose is of it, so let's talk about what does audio mastering do right now.

First, let's debunk a myth. Audio mastering does NOT exist to make the audio louder. The truth is that because songs are oftentimes louder after the mastering stage, coupled with the fact that that's often the most perceived effect of audio mastering, this has mistakenly been long assumed by many to be the point. The truth is that the process of audio mastering yields a louder finished song by virtue of the process itself. Let me explain.

A finalized mix of a song is rendered down to a single file, typically in WAVE format. This file contains the song which you would listen to, just in the pre-mastering stage. That file is sent to the audio mastering engineer who both applies audio processing in different forms to that final mix in order to develop the tone of that song, but who also prepares that audio for whichever format the artist wants to release it in. First let's address the audio processing.

The audio mastering engineer applies both digital and analog plugins or effects to the finished mix in order to develop the sound in different ways. EQ can warm or soften the dominance which different frequencies of the audio have over the final mix. This in itself can yield drastically different effects and sounds on a song, making it sound more bass heavy, cleaner, or even giving it more presence which is typically thought to be strictly the role of compressors.

While we're on the subject, compressors are effective for sacrificing a bit of dynamic range to give the track more presence and unity, kind of like applying glue to a slightly unstable mix to draw it together in just the right way. Limiters can be used to boost the signal of a track without sacrificing the audio itself, thus making it sound on the same level as contemporary hit songs of the day in regards to the volume level of that song.

Note that all of these effects can be used to improve or deteriorate the overall aural quality of a mix, and the skill of the audio mastering engineer will typically dictate which direction it goes. The seasoned engineers here at Online-Audio-Mastering.com have years of experience in bringing the often hidden potential out of a track, so start with a sample master for free today.

I mentioned that the audio mastering engineer also preps the audio for the format which the artist wishes to release their music in. This process varies whether the artist wants to release their songs digitally or in a physical format such as vinyl or compact disk. For the latter, the engineer needs to work with the artist to develop the sequence of the album in terms of tracklist itself as well as the gaps and break lengths and varieties between tracks.

Basically for a physical release, the mastering engineer is also responsible for ensuring that the finished master of the entire album is ready to be replicated en masse and without issues, and in addition to sequencing this includes writing the pertinent information to a CD, as well, such as artist and song identification information which will be written to every subsequent pressed CD from the master copy.

Our engineers at Online-Audio-Mastering.com know exactly how to unlock the true potential of your music and have it ready to be replicated in the format of your choosing, but again before you go one step further, experience the audio difference yourself by submitting one of your own tracks for a free sample master by clicking the button in the menu at the top of this page.