6 Mastering fun facts

If you're planning on recording and releasing your music, mastering is a required step in the process.  Too often, musicians don't put enough effort into understanding what mastering really is and how much influence it has over the quality of recorded music.

So, here are 6 mastering fun facts to help you begin to understand mastering.  

Of course, Before and After Music Group would love the opportunity to master your music.  So, contact us at beforeandaftermusicgroup@gmail.com if you are seeking a mastering studio to help your music reach its potential!

1. Mastering is the FINAL process involved in improving the sound of your recorded music - make the most of the opportunity!
2. Mastering is NOT just converting an unmastered file into a mastered file - it is an art form that makes your music sound better before encoding it to a final file
3. Having separate mastering and mixing engineers makes a big difference. A good mastering engineer will hear opportunities that even a great mixing engineer didn’t.
4. A big part of pro mastering is listening to your music, listening to national releases, and using musical expertise and creative ideas to close the gaps -  which is why “online mastering” isn’t pro mastering.
5. There isn’t one and only one way to master a song.  A good mastering engineer is likely to come up with at least two different options, listen closely to the differences, and refine the approach that helps your music sound its best.
6. Mastering is about MORE than loudness.  It’s also about improving the tonal balance; making your recording dynamically “smooth” like national releases; searching for, identifying and reducing harsh frequencies; and more.  If all you’re getting out of a mastering job is more volume, you’re not really getting professional mastering.

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