Best Quality CD Mastering for Bands

Posted by Thinker on Oct 8, 2009 in Thinkable |

Analog mastering is one of the best kept secrets of the best mastering engineers now. As most everything is mixed in the digital realm, top studios will do what’s called analog mastering. The digital signal is put into an analog signal so it can be mastered through analog processors, though in many instances it is also recorded to an two-track system in order to get the warmth that analog tape gives to the recording. It also takes the edge away from purely digital recordings, and can round out the bottom end giving the low frequencies that rich analog sound.

Though Analog mastering often does cost a little more than traditional all digital mastering, as it takes more time and there are other costs for the analog tape, but for important projects, it can be the end step in achieving the best sound quality for the album. Since digital recordings can seem harsh to many people because regardless of how loud the signal gets, digital always gives you purely digital reproduction. Analog tape, however, softens as the volume increases in level, so high-ends are smoothed over instead of clipping, which turns into a warm, fat feel as the harmonics are smoothed over. It is a modified signal from the original which the human ear finds pleasing. In addition, a hotter input signal will result in a more exaggerated difference. As the highs saturate first, this transilates that as the signal increases, the highs naturally smooth out a bit, resulting in a less cold, more pleasing sound. This is the beauty of the Layback mastering process.

There are various mastering studios around the world that have the tools to do CD mastering, however, you also need to have an engineer with the proven experience to get the best results possible with the gear. I have tried a few recording studios and one of incredible sounding is www.stevethomasmastering.com. He is a top CD mastering engineer, yet he also has done thousands of albums as a mixing engineer as well. Not only that, his results rivals some of the most pricey mastering studios in the world. If you already have someone you are using that’s great. But, I would certainly to check him out. You won’t be disappointed!

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