Christian Thomas on the importance of mastering your music.

"Why do I need to get someone else to master my music? Why can't you do it?"

"My friend's got a crack of Ozotope, and he says he can make my tracks really loud".

Mastering is probably the least understood of all the elements of recording. The whole recording process has become easier to do with the advent of faster computers and cheap interfacing, and of course the *ahem* availability of plug ins from unscrupulous sources. So now it's pretty easy for people to say that they provide the whole package from tracking to mixing to mastering. Just because they say they can do this, does it actually mean they can do it? Is it desirable to have the same person track, mix and master your work?

Let's look at the first point - can a tracking studio actually master your magnum opus? Quite possibly, yes - you might be lucky enough to get someone who can work on all the subtle differences - mastering doesn't just mean making your music loud enough to cause structural damage in far-off lands.

A true mastering engineer has years of experience, bat-like hearing, beautiful outboard gear and a room geared to mastering.

Now, if you've got a great mix already - yes, it will sound good, but the mastering process ensures that all of your tracks have a uniform quality and will sound the very best they can on all systems. This is far removed from whacking a limiter on your mix buss and dialling in a preset! Sure, when we send a client away with a mix, we limit it to get it to sound loud enough– but this is level maximising, not mastering! And of course, you can do a great job using (preferably paid for) plug ins, but it's not the same as using Manley or Crane Song gear adding that extra analogue element.

Then the second point - whichever way you look at it, it is always good to have an impartial set of ears listen to your tracks. How close have you and your tracking engineer come to the tracks by the time you've edited and mixed? And what a set of ears you've got with a mastering engineer - they truly can pick out those frequencies that can muddy up your mix, or make it harsh and brittle. They can hear the slightest clip at forty paces. And you will be amazed at what comes out in a mastering studio - those speakers reveal everything.

People wonder what the difference is between their mixes and a commercial recording, and one of the biggest elements here is the mastering. A lot of the work a mastering engineer does is very subtle, small tweaks that when added together put that professional polished sheen over your tracks.

And you don't even have to be in the same country as the mastering studio, as a lot of guys are offering online services. Of course it is great to be there in the session, but this really gives you a lot of flexibity. You should check out the work they've done first though!

Our favoured mastering studio is Hafod Mastering run by Donal Whelan. You can hear his work on Jessica's album "I am Not", and on the Mary Hopkin / Morgan Visconti album "You Look Familiar". He is also a part of the online mastering network masteringworld.