Mastering is often talked about as if it were some mysterious and secretive stage of music production. In simple terms, mastering is the process of refining songs so that they work together as a coherent whole and translate as well as possible across different playback systems.
What happens in mastering process?
If I have not been involved in the earlier stages of a project, the process begins when I receive the final mixes and the intended running order of the songs. Different mixes naturally require different kinds of treatment. This is why an excellent monitoring environment and experienced ears are essential. The goal is always to enhance and maximize the core idea of the music and the mix while respecting the style of the project.
There is no reason to fix what is not broken. In fact, the best mixes often need only the slightest adjustments. Song spacing is fine-tuned, and intros and endings are cleaned up whenever necessary. At this stage, it is also helpful to know the intended release format: digital streaming, CD, vinyl, or cassette.
Over the years, many of my own productions have been mastered at a variety of world-class mastering studios. I have often attended these sessions and later analyzed the changes we made during the mastering process. Through this experience, I have developed a solid understanding of what truly matters in mastering. Having mixed hundreds of records, I can also provide feedback to the mixing engineer if any specific issues need attention.
In some projects, I have even deliberately made the sound worse in the best possible sense. I keep four analog tape recorders on hand, each offering a different level of coloration and character, for those occasions when we really want to push boundaries. This approach can work particularly well for acoustic and lo-fi productions, adding personality and texture to the overall sound, or for mixes that have been created entirely inside the computer and would benefit from a touch of analog character.
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Hiili Hiilesmaa 