Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the art of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master); the source from which all copies will be produced. The format of choice these days is digital masters, although analog masters, such as audio tapes, are still being used by the manufacturing industry and a few engineers who specialize in analog mastering. LifeSounds masters to digital formats - either CD-Rs or DATs.
There is a general consensus in the music industry that mastering is an art form and it should be relegated to a mastering engineer.
The source material is processed using equalization, compression, limiting, noise reduction and other processes. More tasks such as editing, pre-gapping, leveling, fading in and out, and other signal restoration and enhancement processes can be applied as part of the mastering stage. This mastered source material is also put in the proper order at this stage. This is commonly called track sequencing. Subsequently, it is rendered to a medium such as CD or DVD.
The process of audio mastering varies depending on the specific needs of the audio to be processed. Steps of the process typically include but are not limited to the following:
Transferring the recorded audio tracks into the Digital Audio Workstation.
Sequencing the separate songs or tracks.
Creating the spaces in between the tracks as they will appear on the final product.
Processing or "sweetening" audio to maximize the sound quality for its particular medium.
Transfer the audio to the final master format.
Examples of possible actions taken during mastering:
Edit minor flaws.
Apply noise reduction to eliminate hum and hiss or other noises.
Adjust stereo width.
Add ambience.
Equalize audio between tracks.
Adjust volumes.
Dynamic expansion.
Dynamic compression.
Peak limit the tracks.
The guidelines above are mainly descriptive of the mastering process and not considered specific instructions. They may or may not be applied in a given situation. Mastering engineers need to examine the types of input media, the expectations of the source producer or recipient, the limitations of the end medium, and process the subject accordingly. General rules of thumb can rarely be applied.
