sonvardy wrote:So I've gotten my mix to sound amazing on my monitors and great on most other sound systems. Everyone tells me it needs to be mastered now, but no one can give me a clear definition of what that means exactly, only that it's really expensive and complicated. Isn't mastering the adjustment of the overall volume of the mix? That's really the only thing that seems to be lacking in my tracks... volume. I always have to turn up people's stereos for my tracks to match whatever radiohead or chemical brothers CD was on before mine. Basically my question is this: What is it that getting my tracks professionally mastered can do that I can't do with compressors and limiters? I know everyone's gonna tell me that limiters will kill my dynamics, which I also don't understand because I always understood that dynamics in the volume of a track is bad. Why would I want dynamics in my volume? Don't I want it to be the same volume throughout?
Mastering is indeed part art and part science. Traditionally, the mastering engineer (ME) would be responsible for cutting discs. There is a GREAT discussion of the influence of a good ME in Geoff Emerick's book "Here, There, and Everywhere" (which is a fantastic read overall).
There are numerous goals in modern mastering. The first is to make your mixes sound as good as they possibly can. This usually takes two forms: modulating apparent volume by modulating dynamic range (Limiting) and eq. Once you hear a raw mix turned into a master, you'll be amazed at the difference it can make. A slight eq here and there and a touch of limiting can make massive differences. This doesn't mean the mastering engineer is trying to MAXIMIZE the loudness (although many modern MEs do exactly this).
The second major goal of the ME is to ensure a cohesiveness of the final product. You want to make sure apparent levels are the same across all the tracks, and you (may) want to impart a tonal "character" on the work as a whole. The ME may start with a single track, get the balance just right, and then master the rest of the album to make a more cohesive product, based on that first track.
Generally speaking, even top flight mixes can benefit from a little bit of sweetening at the mastering stage. MEs usually have access to specialized gear that can lend some additional mojo to a tune. As I said, you'll be blown away by the difference an ME can make.
sonvardy wrote:I always understood that dynamics in the volume of a track is bad. Why would I want dynamics in my volume? Don't I want it to be the same volume throughout?
On a song to song basis, you're basically right. Some songs may be slightly louder than others, but you want a good, consistent level throughout.
But WITHIN a track, you definitely want dynamics. Dynamic volume allows a track to breathe. Run your tracks through a brickwall limiter with a low threshold: you'll get a totally squashed song with NO dynamics, which will be loud as hell. And you'll get sick of it (or be in literal pain) within two listens.