#The decibel scale mastering physics full

Most mastering engineers are partial to custom or highly-customized signal processing gear: discrete, class A electronics, vacuum tube circuitry, and other components closer to the rarified, top-end audiophile equipment than to professional audio processing gear. Part of this is down to simple room acoustics: Those racks of gear on the walls can actually have a negative impact on the room’s acoustics and the ability to create a sonically neutral environment in which to monitor the mix.Īlthough their studios don’t boast rack upon rack of gear, the gear you do see is typically not a lot of off-the-shelf equipment.

#The decibel scale mastering physics full

Unlike major recording studios with their walls full of vintage gear and blinking LEDs, the best mastering engineers’ setups are relatively modest-looking affairs. If you visit a mastering studio, you might be surprised by just how Spartan most of them are. A good mastering engineer will make subtle decisions about sonic balance, bringing out the most important frequency ranges of different aspects of a recording and achieving a blend between the bass and high frequencies that can give a mundane track some punch and make a good track even better. In the right hands, the smallest increments of compression or equalization can have a major impact on the entire track. Mastering is truly an art form: a blend of technology, psychoacoustics, educated ears and musical intuition.

But mastering and mastering well are two different things. In the same way that anyone can lay down some loops and create a track, it’s not hard to plug in a mastering compressor and tweak a track’s parameters.

Technical explanations aside, trying to explain exactly what it is a good mastering engineer does is right up there with trying to define the process of a talented songwriter or producer.