Prepare for the Master (CD Mastering)
Many artists are still confused as to what goes on during a
mastering session. This article will try to shed some light on
the last step before fame and riches (well, at least the last
step before duplication), and help you with preparing your music
before sending to a mastering studio.
Mastering is the last stage of production, right before the
master CD is sent for duplication. It is extremely important for
your product and can dramatically improve the quality and
consistency of your recordings. Since many musicians have home
studios, it is more important than ever to get your final CD
mastered properly. It will bring your home-recordings closer to
a "radio ready" professional level.
Some of the work done at the mastering stage include:
-> Equalization and harmonic balancing for consistent sound
throughout your entire album. -> Adjusting micro/macro-dynamics
(volume changes) of your songs for consistency and loudness. ->
Checking inter-channel phase and polarity for mono
compatibility. -> Final CD layout with proper song spaces,
segues, fades and crossfades snapped to CD frame boundaries. ->
Sample and bit rate conversion with dither to Red Book CD
Standard.
It's amazing how a good mastering job can bring out the width,
depth and dimension of a song. You'll hear sounds that used to
be buried in the mix, the vocals will shine through, the reverb
and effects will be heard, and the whole CD will be more
enjoyable over a varying range of playback systems. At Digital
Sound Magic Studios, we have a one-free song policy. Send us a
song (usually through www.yousendit.com) and we master it for
free. No catch, no obligation.
But don't assume all the work lies on our shoulders! You have to
do some legwork too by giving us the best source audio and as
much information as possible. This will make the final mastering
process run more smoothly and ensure that you get the absolute
best master.
Here is a list of things for you to check before you send out
your songs for mastering:
-> If your final product is an audio CD, most mastering
engineers prefer to receive 44.1 kHz (24bit) data files on
CD-ROM (wav, aiff). This gives us the best source material to
work with. -> Include all ISRC codes along with your songs, we
need these before we burn the final master disc. -> DO NOT add
any processing to your main mix bus (ie: compression etc). Keep
it natural and clean. -> Do not clip your files, keep your peaks
somewhere around -6dB and you'll be safe. It's nearly impossible
to remove distortion. -> Leave space before and after your music
(ie: 2-3 sec at head and tail of each song) -> If you have one,
include the UPC number of the disc. -> Make sure ALL your song
names are in full. No abbreviations please! We need full names
to add as CD-TEXT (which some CD players use to show your band
name and song name). -> Include your CD album title. -> Give us
a track list of the order you would like your songs to appear on
the final CD. -> Include your FULL contact information (Band
Name, Album Name, Contact Person, address, tel, fax, web, email
etc). We use this information to print onto your duplication
master disc. -> Send along a few of your favorite songs as
reference. Rip a couple of songs from your favorite CD and add
these in with your original files. This can do wonders in
helping the mastering engineer understand the 'sound' you are
striving for. It's always easier to 'hear' an example than it is
for you to explain it!
The absolute bottom-line in mastering is COMMUNICATION. Speak up
if you have a concern. It's important that you get what you are
paying for, and at Digital Sound Magic, we don't mind taking a
little longer for a better product.