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:

■ The mastering engineer has added judicious amounts of EQ and compression to

make the project bigger, fatter, richer, and louder.

■ He’s matched the levels of each song so they all have the same apparent level.

■ He’s fixed the fades so that they’re smooth.

■ He’s edited out distorted parts or glitches so well that you didn’t even notice.

■ He’s made all the songs blend together into a cohesive unit.

■ In the case of mastering for CD or vinyl, he’s inserted the spreads (the time between

each song) so the songs flow seamlessly together.

■ He’s sequenced the songs so they fall in the correct order.

■ He’s also made and stored a backup clone in case anything should happen to your

cherished master.

■ He’s taken care of all of the shipping to the desired replication facility if you’re using

one.

And all this happened so quickly and smoothly that you hardly knew it was happening.