The Definition of Mastering

**cleet-chie** · 07-28-2012

the definition of mastering is to finalize your production by taking every song on your project that were mixed and recorded at different times and tamming the frequencies and dynamics of every song on the project. And making every song sound continuous in loundness and character from song to song it a medium wheather CD and so on.

---------- Post added at 05:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:30 PM ----------

Wrong explination. Compression controls your dynamics ur up and downs in levels, limiting do not bring ur lows up. Limiting is the samething as compression just soft knee, a higher ratio(10:1) or higher, and a faster attack time and release time. and Eq is only for boosting and cutting frequencies. And I wouldn't be so confindent about saying no mastering engineer makes better music than if u. From what I see if u don't kno what a compressor eq or limiter is really doing u not even messing with me.

**Madalin** · 08-11-2012

We have to accept the term "mastering" meaning whatever people reffers to. I think you don't have to be so smart to guess if the one you are speaking with uses the "mastering" to refer to mastering a recording (vocal, sound effect..) or to master a song...or to master an album. It's obviously if you know why are you speaking about.

**WeissSound** · 08-12-2012

Not sure where it came up along here - but - high ratio compressors and limiters are slightly different.

There are some folks (Moses, I'm lookin' at you) who can explain this better than me. But, both compressors and limiters are designed to attenuate level when a signal exceeds a threshold. A limiter is a very specific compressor type designed to apply attenuation in a way so that the threshold is never exceeded. This requires a very fast attack and release - so fast that when limiting is applied for any duration of time it would cause self modulation. The design of a limiter is to handle this fast attack, release, and peak stopping function in as musical/clean a way as possible (depending on the designers intentions).

A high ratio, fast attack, fast release compressor will still probably leave peaks that exceed the threshold. A limiter will not, or will only do so minimally.

**ortamusic** · 08-15-2012

I actually did not know these things. Mastering has taken on a life of its own, I guess only a few people know nowadays what real mastering is. With all these DIY tutorials and tips everyone assumes that they can master a track... and some really can!