ANALOG VS DIGITAL MASTERING (BY PAUL ABBOTT)

Open any pro audio magazine and you're likely to read about the difference between analog and digital mastering. In my own work, I hear various comments on the topic. Some clients ask if I can apply analog processing. Others are very concerned that the entire signal chain remain digital. What are these people looking for, and why do they think it can only be delivered in a specific platform?  

As with many discussions, a lot of the opinions are fueled by misinformation. Claims of digital being "cold" or "sterile" are just as unfounded as analog being inherently "warm" or "life-like." To be sure, each platform has its unique capabilities and characteristics, but they're not what most people believe them to be. Let's take a closer look.

Analog -- It's All About Resolution  

The Difference between You and a Pro

If we really break it down, a mastering pro usually has three things over what you do at

home. 

■ The gear. A real pro mastering house has many things available that you probably

won’t find in a simple home or small studio DAW room, such as high-end A/D and

D/A converters, a great-sounding listening environment, and an exceptional monitoring

system. 

Why Master Anyway?

Mastering should be considered the final step in the creative process, since this is the last

chance to polish and fix a project. A project that has been mastered simply sounds better

if done well.  (That’s the key phrase, of course.) It sounds complete, polished, and

finished. The project that might have sounded like a demo before now sounds like a

‘‘record.’’ Here’s why:

Mixing with Mastering in Mind 2 ( BY BOBBY OWSINSKI )

Watch your fades. If you trim the heads and tails of your track too tightly, you might

discover that you’ve trimmed a reverb trail or an essential attack or breath. Leave a

little room and perfect it in mastering, where you will probably hear things better.

■ Document everything. You’ll make it easier on yourself and your mastering person

if everything is well documented, and you’ll save yourself some money too. The

documentation expected includes any flaws, digital errors, distortion, bad edits,

fades, shipping instructions, and record company identification numbers. If your

songs reside on hard disk as files, make sure that each file is properly IDed for easy

identification (especially if you’re not going to be at the mastering session).

Mixing with Mastering in Mind 1 (BY BOBBY OWSINSKI)

Regardless of whether you master your final mixes yourself or take them to a mastering engineer, things will go a lot faster if you prepare for mastering ahead of time. Nothing is as exasperating to all involved as not knowing which mix is the correct one or forgetting the file name. Here are some tips to get you ‘‘mastering ready.’’