Mastering (audio)
Mastering, a form of
Mastering requires critical listening; however, software tools exist to facilitate the process. Results depend upon the intent of the engineer, their skills, the accuracy of the speaker monitors, and the listening environment. Mastering engineers often apply equalization and dynamic range compression in order to optimize sound translation on all playback systems.[2] It is standard practice to make a copy of a master recording—known as a safety copy—in case the master is lost, damaged or stolen.
History
Pre-1940s
In the earliest days of the recording industry, all phases of the recording and mastering process were entirely achieved by mechanical processes. Performers sang or played into a large
After the introduction of the
Emergence of magnetic tape
In the late 1940s, the recording industry was revolutionized by the introduction of
Although tape and other technical advances dramatically improved the audio quality of commercial recordings in the post-war years, the basic constraints of the electro-mechanical mastering process remained, and the inherent physical limitations of the main commercial recording media—the 78 rpm disc and later the 7-inch 45 rpm single and 33-1/3 rpm
Electro-mechanical mastering process
From the 1950s until the advent of digital recording in the late 1970s, the mastering process typically went through several stages. Once the studio recording on multi-track tape was complete, a final
After the advent of tape it was found that, especially for pop recordings, master recordings could be made so that the resulting record would sound better. This was done by making fine adjustments to the amplitude of sound at different frequency bands (equalization) prior to the cutting of the master disc.
In large recording companies such as
Digital technology
In the 1990s, electro-mechanical processes were largely superseded by digital technology, with
Digital systems have higher performance and allow mixing to be performed at lower maximum levels. When mixing to 24-bits with peaks between -3 and -10 dBFS on a mix, the mastering engineer has enough headroom to process and produce a final master.[6] Mastering engineers recommend leaving enough headroom on the mix to avoid distortion.[7] The reduction of dynamics by the mix or mastering engineer has resulted in a loudness war in commercial recordings.[8]
Process
The source material, ideally at the original
If the material is destined for vinyl release, additional processing, such as dynamic range reduction or frequency-dependent stereo–to–mono fold-down and equalization may be applied to compensate for the limitations of that medium. For compact disc release, start of track, end of track, and indexes are defined for playback navigation along with
The process of audio mastering varies depending on the specific needs of the audio to be processed. Mastering engineers need to examine the types of input media, the expectations of the source producer or recipient, the limitations of the end medium and process the subject accordingly. General rules of thumb can rarely be applied.
Steps of the process typically include the following:
- Transferring the recorded audio tracks into the Digital Audio Workstation(DAW)
- Sequence the separate songs or tracks as they will appear on the final release
- Adjust the length of the silence between songs
- Process or sweeten audio to maximize the sound quality for the intended medium (e.g. applying specific EQ for vinyl)
- Transfer the audio to the final master format (CD-ROM, half-inch reel tape, PCM 1630 U-matic tape, etc.)
Examples of possible actions taken during mastering:[8]
- Editing minor flaws
- Applying noise reduction to eliminate clicks, dropouts, hum and hiss
- Adjusting stereo width
- Equalize audio across tracks for the purpose of optimized frequency distribution
- Adjust volume
- Dynamic range compression or expansion
- Peak limit
- Inserting ISRCcodes and CD text
- Arranging tracks in their final sequential order
- Fading out the ending of each song
- Dither
Notable audio mastering engineers
- Brad Blackwood
- Greg Calbi
- Tony Dawsey
- P. A. Deepak
- Brian Gardner
- Chris Gehringer
- Kevin Gray
- Bernie Grundman[9]
- Steve Hoffman[10]
- Ted Jensen
- Bob Katz
- Heba Kadry
- Emily Lazar
- Bob Ludwig
- Stephen Marcussen
- George Marino[11]
- Randy Merrill
- Mandy Parnell
- George "Porky" Peckham
- Eric Pillai[12]
- Shadab Rayeen
- Doug Sax
- H. Sridhar
- Ray Staff
- Rudy Van Gelder
- Howie Weinberg
- Leon Zervos
See also
Notes
- ^ Dynamic range was limited by the fact that if the mastering level was set too high, the cutting head might be damaged during the cutting process or the stylus may jump out of the groove during playback.[3]
- ^ Running times were constrained by the diameter of the disc and the density with which grooves could be inscribed on the surface without cutting into each other.
- multi-track recordingeach signal input is recorded to its own track on a multi-track recorder. This multi-track tape is mixed down to a mono or stereo master tape. A multi-track tape may be remixed many times, in different ways, by different engineers, giving the possibility of several masters (mono version, stereo version, LP version, AM radio version, single version, etc.).
References
- ^ "What's actually going on when people talk about digital vs. analogue masters". 18 October 2017.
- ^ a b Blair Jackson (May 1, 2006). "Issues in Modern Mastering". Mix Magazine. Archived from the original on May 24, 2007.
- ^ a b c d Robert Auld. "Mastering Then and Now". Archived from the original on 2017-11-24. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
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: Cite magazine requires|magazine=
(help) - ^ "New Technique Aids LP Waxing", Billboard, 1950-03-25
- ISBN 0-312-11482-6.
- ^ Bob Katz Mixing Tips Archived August 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ How much headroom for mastering?
- ^ a b c Shelvock, Matt (2012). Audio Mastering as Musical Practice. Ontario, Canada: ETDR: University of Western Ontario. pp. 1–72.
- ^ Wood, Mikael (2017-10-27). "Bernie Grundman wants to change the way you hear music — for the better". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
- ^ Hanlon, Keith (September–October 2011). "Steve Hoffman: Mastering The Beach Boys, Miles Davis, & More". TapeOp Magazine. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
- ^ Barnes, Mike (2012-06-04). "George Marino, Legendary Mastering Engineer, Dies". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
- ^ "Eric Pillai – Future Sound of Bombay".