While many people will discuss what goes into mastering in technical
terms (compression, equalization, loudness maximization, song
sequencing) this can all be very intangible when you don’t understand
what all of these technical terms mean. To clarify we have assembled a
list of what mastering generally does.
- Louder – While
some records have their dynamics already perfected, most records need
the help of a little loudness maximization. This helps make it so that
when your song comes on next to another it is equal in volume and has a
good amount of resolution. Great mastering houses have expensive
loudness maximizers that do a very musical job of getting your record to
be loud without sound tinny and crunchy. - Clearer – Good
mastering will bring out more resolution and clarity in your recording.
It will not only be clearer but the recording as a whole should work a
lot better. - Sequencing - A good mastering job will get your songs with the proper spacing between tracks and help make the flow of tracks work properly.