Advanced Mastering

1. The Mastering Studio - Room Acoustics & Design 

• Dimensions 

• Power and grounding 

• Absorption, diffusion, active bass trapping 

• Sound isolation

• Air handling and exchange 

2. Mastering Equipment

Monitoring - Speakers, Power Amps, and Digital Audio Convertors (DACs)

• Speaker selection, and the importance of a full-range system 

• Soffit mounted vs freestanding speakers 

• Power amp selection

• DAC selection 

• Headphones and headphone amps 

• Mastering console vs. Point to Point 

Analog Equipment - EQ, Compression, Harmonic Enhancement 

• Different types of compressors 

• Selecting equipment that provides a palette of both transparent, and “coloured” 

• AD/DA (Analog Digital/Digital Analog) converters 

Mastering Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) 

• Mastering-specific DAWs 

• Mastering in ProTools, advantages and shortcomings 

Cables 

• Speaker cables 

• Interconnects

Software & Plugins for Processing for Mastering 

• Equalizers 

• Compressors 

• De-Essers 

• Limiters 

• Common problems with stereo width tools

• Harmonic enhancement tools 

• Repair tools for clicks, pops, background noise  

• Speciality and “intelligent” processors              

Equipment for Digitizing / Archiving Analog Formats 

• Cassette decks 

• Reel to Reel 

• Turntable and phono preamp considerations for test pressing evaluation 

• Utility software for assembly, recall, and metadata 

3. File Management 

• Creating a folder template for new projects

• Project Folder Structure: Source files (original and upsampled), mastering session, deliverables (with subfolders for various sample rates and formats)

• Metadata, Recall, Disc Description Protocol (DDP) Session

• Archiving and backup strategies

4. File Assessment  

• Verify sample rate, bit depth, file type, peak level, root mean square (RMS) or Loudness Unit Full Scale (LUFS)

• Receiving limited mixes 

• Assessing quality of client submissions

5. Mastering Session Setup 

• Upsampling - when and why?

• Creating a template for single mastering 

• Creating a template for album mastering 

• Alternate versions (instrumental, a cappella, etc.) 

• Preparing for the vinyl premaster

• Importing files 

• Setting levels 

• Dither 

• Signal flow 

6. Song / Album Assessment  

• Frequency distribution 

• Micro and macro dynamics 

• Stereo field 

• Identifying what can and cannot be fixed, and when to say something 

• Identifying the desired outcome 

7. Processing 

• A heavy hand vs. a gentle touch 

• Stem mastering 

• ITB (In The Box) vs OTB (Out of The Box) processing 

• Choosing the signal path, and order of processors 

• Genre considerations 

• Removing clicks, pops, background noise

• Equalization 

• Compression 

• Multi-band compression 

• Dynamic EQ 

• Mid-side processing 

• Saturation 

• Clipping 

• Limiting 

• Loudness 

8. Delivery Formats 

• Sequencing  

• File naming 

• Streaming 

• Vinyl 

• CD 

• Cassette 

• Apple Digital Masters 

• Metadata 

9. Client Relations 

• Professionalism 

• Pre-mastering dialogue 

• Client expectations  

• Suggesting mix changes 

• Notes and revisions 

• Networking 

• Invoicing 

10. After the Mastering Session 

• Final listen and quality control

• Recall notes 

• File transfer 

• Backups 

11. Vinyl Manufacturing 

• The cutting lathe 

• Electroplating and parts 

• Test pressings 

• Pressing