Full Track Mastering
Professional Delaware Music Studio Services
In the sense of music, mastering is the final step of audio post-production. The purpose of mastering is to balance sonic elements of a stereo mix and optimize playback across all systems and media formats. Whether you are recording and mixing in a million dollar studio, or recording in your bedroom closet (it's where we ALL started), you still need the final quality check of mastering. This ensures that your sound will be heard the way you intended it to be.
A common misconception is that online mastering tools will produce an exceptional master, so why should you pay so much for a mastering engineer? Online mastering tools use an algorithm to detect the transients of your uploaded track. Transients are the “spikes” in your audio that represent the highest decibel output throughout the track. Using that information, the algorithm will compress the transients slightly and push all other frequencies to match that level as closely as it can. I would refer to this as the “quick and dirty” master. There is no human perception involved, which gives the master an impersonal feel.
A good mastering job makes an album consistent and balanced across all tracks. Boosting the overall output is a general aim to this much more precise end. Every track is unique and a high quality master requires the right touch. At New Wave Studios we use a variety of plugins to enhance the sound that we perceive through the mixed track. Mastering for a track or project that was mixed in our studio is $30/track and for audio that was mixed elsewhere, it's $50/track. Below, you can listen to some examples of what a track sounds like mixed vs. mastered before deciding to get that New Wave shine.