Should I hire an outside mastering engineer?
This question is asked by many artists as they approach the end of their album recording process.
Software technology has recently made it possible for mixing engineers to do their own mastering these days. This might save the artist a bit of money as well. Also, some recording engineers like having complete control over the production of their albums even if there is a compromise made by doing their own mastering.
This said, many engineers do not like performing mastering themselves because they cannot be objective about their own mixes so they want an outside engineer to give them feedback or make adjustments that they might have missed due to their own biases or limitations of their own equipment, skills or listening environment.
There are a number of reasons why mastering in the recording studio may not be the best decision.
– The mastering engineer can listen to the mixes with a fresh, objective set of ears. He is not emotionally drained by the job of recording and mixing and can perform his job faster, more efficiently and without second guessing his decisions. This may be one of the most important reasons to send mixes out for mastering.
– Recording and mixing equipment is not always the same as mastering equipment. Mastering gear is often audiophile hi-fi equipment or very finely crafted gear built for the job of mastering. Mastering software for creating fades, producing DDP images and adding metadata is often more sophisticated than what mixing engineers commonly use.
– The mastering studio is operated by a specialized engineer who knows the art of mastering and is familiar with mastering techniques and mastering technology in general.
– Mixing monitors are not the same kind of speakers that are used for mastering. Mixing speakers are usually near-field speakers which are small and sit close to the listener. Mastering speakers are often larger and installed in a far-field position. Because of this, they have a deeper bass response and more accurate sound stage. Low end problems are more easily noticed with mastering grade monitoring.
– The mastering studio is often a specially built room that is relatively free of excessive “standing waves” which can effect listener perception drastically.
Many mixing engineers would like to send their mixes out for mastering but they have had bad experiences in the past. I have also heard many engineers tell me that their old mastering engineer is not around anymore but they have not had the time or energy to go searching for a new one. Trust is another issue. Mixing engineers have to trust the mastering engineer with their mixes and their clients.
But if we assume that there is an affordable, high end mastering engineer that is available, who specializes in their genre of music, who is highly responsible and trustworthy and who is happy to make free test masters, then the decision becomes a no-brainier!
Colin Davis
imperialmastering@gmail.com 925.305.1616 call/text