by Steve Cass

Created on: February 22, 2007

Should I get my CD project Mastered?

To master or not to master? For those of you reading this that don't know what this is, it's the 'final audio touch-ups' that can be done in a studio before sending your CD project off for duplication. The question to be asked is, "do I want to put icing on my cake?"

Are there projects out there from 'major' artists that have not gone through the mastering process? Absolutely not. It can make a huge difference in the final sound of your project.

What do they do there? What can I expect?

They help the project develop it's own global "sweet spot", sometimes called "optimal tonal balance", so that all the songs on the project relate to the others. Remember that sometimes one song from a project can the the 'signature' of the entire collection! They have the ability to change the eq on songs, set the space between songs, perform cross-fading between tracks, volume leveling between songs and other areas about how your project sounds that you probably haven't thought about!

To quote John Vestman of John Vestman Mastering: "Expect to hear things you've never heard before in your songs since mastering will often make them more clear, 3-dimensional and distinct. The clarity and articulation (and volume) brought up in mastering is great, but sometimes there can be tics, blips, hiss and flaws that snuck by you at mix time. Sometimes extra low end in your mix will mask problem items in the top frequencies. The good news is that there are many tools available to enhance and correct some of these issues."

They begin by eq enhancing, using compression, limiting, de-essing, phase correction and other items to bring the best out of the song that is being mastered. What they can do to enhance the sounds will amaze you, and the end product will make you smile!

A good mastering house will first invite you to submit your ideas and goals for the sound of the project. They want to discuss your recording methods or look at any possible documentation about the sessions. They will also invite you to the work session(s), but can work independently as well.

It's all about what you want your project to sound like. Maybe your CD is just like you want it to sound. Maybe it only needs help in certain areas. From personal experience as an artist and producer, I have to tell you that it's completely worth doing!

How much does it cost?

Generally speaking, anywhere between $500 and $1500. The charge is usually a package deal or by the hour. You can spend as little as

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