Mastering engineer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A mastering engineer is one skilled in the practice of taking audio (typically musical content) that has been previously mixed in either the analog or digital domain as mono, stereo, or multichannel formats and preparing it for use in distribution, whether by physical media such as a CD, vinyl record, or as some method of streaming audio.
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[edit] Education and Experience
A professional mastering engineer does not get his title at an audio engineering school. Mastering engineers that perform audio mastering (Especially music) should have complete knowledge of audio engineering, or be credited with an audio engineering degree. Many audio engineers do not engage in mastering for a good reason: Good mastering is the result of at least 10 years of experience mastering records, 10 years or more tracking and mixing audio, and some may even possess arrangement and record production skills which allows them to trouble-shoot mix issues and effectively help improve the sound of the final product.
[edit] Equipment
Many mastering engineers use special equipment to process audio. The equipment used in mastering is almost entirely dedicated to this goal and is usually very expensive. Some advocates for digital software claim that plug-ins are capable of handling mastering processes without signal degradation. The truth lays somewhere in the middle. There are some digital software programs that are capable of delivering a superb sound (Within the digital realm) such as the TDM plug-ins by DigiDesign, but the platform in which they need to operate from is not the most affordable.
Some mastering engineers rely not only on what they hear, but on what they see. Through the guidance of frequency spectrum analyzers, phase oscilloscopes and sensitive peak meters, the pre-mastering process can be taken to an unprecedented level of precision and maximum sonic delivery.
[edit] Aspects of their work
Most mastering engineer accolades are given for their ability to make a mix consistent with respect to subjective factors based on the perception of listeners, regardless of their playback systems and the environment. This is a difficult task due to the varieties of systems now available and the effect it has on the apparent qualitative attributes of the recording. For instance, a recording that sounds great on one speaker/amplifier combination playing CD audio, may sound drastically different on a computer-based system playing back a low-bitrate MP3.
Prolonged periods of listening to improperly mastered recordings usually leads to hearing fatigue that ultimately takes the pleasure out of the listening experience[citation needed]. A professional mastering engineer renders mixes that have a good harmonic balance. Harmonic balancing can be accomplished by correcting and removing the tonal imbalances that result from problem mixes, thus producing a more naturally pleasing and enjoyable sound to the listening ears, and is another aspect to a mastering engineer's job. This is why mastering is considered an art as well as an "audio engineering" discipline.
