CD mastering generally assumes that there is more work to be done than simply enhancing the audio itself. First off, yes you still enhance the audio. This is done by adding effective plugins and effects to the final rendered and mixed down file in order to improve the sound. An example of a popular effect would be Equalization. It takes an artful hand to get the most out of EQ without going overboard, but generally EQ involves tweaking the audio spectrum itself to boost specific regions to get a different and ideally better sound overall.
For instance, bring up the high end will give the track a crisper and less muffled quality not unlike removing a plastic wrap from the track. Conversely, the low end can be boosted to give the bass and deeper channels of that audio more presence. You can affect the EQ to achieve different results in your audio and many mastering engineers may ask you flat out the kind of sound you’re going for.
Reverb is another popular effect which gives the track more atmosphere to improve upon a flat and lifeless sounding record. Adding too much reverb will give the track too much echo to the point where it sounds cheesy, so you’ve got to be cautious in how much you use.
Once the audio itself has been mastered, if you’re only looking to release your music digitally and online track by track then your job is finished. If you’re looking to create a physical record in either vinyl or CD form, then you’ll need CD mastering.
CD mastering involves actually constructing the file which will make up the record itself which can be sent off to be replicated at the plant. This involves creating the table of contents and more specifically the sequencing in terms of how each track will flow into one another.
This also involves getting the volume of each track in harmony and unity with one another so that there are no changes on the record. In the same vein, the mastering technician works to increase the overall volume of your record to be on par with records from other contemporary artists or in other words to get it on par with current industry standards.
In the CD mastering stage, the data of the record is also added to the tracks including information like the artist and song information, tracking codes, and even lyrics in some cases which can be read on computers.
Try the CD mastering services from Music Guy Mastering and receive a free test master to hear how good one of your songs will hear after the unparalleled vision of the music guy himself is applied to your track. Turn around times are less than 24 hours, so submit your track now.