Mastering engineers have thousands of recording and mixing techniques to make top notch CD’s and Albums. Steve at www.stevethomasmastering.com does analog mastering which is one of the best kept secrets of top producers now. Since most everything is recorded in the digital realm, top mastering houses will do what’s called layback mastering. What happens is the digital signal is converted into an analog recording so it can be mastered through original analog processors, though many times it is also recorded to an two-track system to acheive the fatness that original analog tape gives to the album. It also takes the edge away from digital recordings, and can even out the low end giving the bottom frequencies that signature analog sound.

There are pros and cons but the advantages are worth it. Analog CD mastering will often cost a little more than traditional digital mastering, since it takes additional time and there are additional costs for the analog tape, but for important projects, it can be the last step in achieving the best sound quality for the CD. The reason for this is digital recordings can feel harsh to a lot of people because no matter how loud the sound gets, digital gives you purely digital reproduction. Analog tape, however, softens as the DB increases in level, so peaks are rounded instead of clipping, which becomes a warm, nice sound as the harmonic series is smoothed over. To the audience, this is more appealing. Furthermore, a hotter input signal will result in a more exaggerated effect. As the top ranges saturate first, this transilates that as the signal becomes louder, the highs will naturally smooth out a bit, resulting in a less brittle, and a nicer recording. This is the magic of the analog mastering method.

There are various mastering houses around the country that have the equipment to do CD mastering, however, you also need to have a mastering engineer with the proven experience to get the best end product possible with the tools. I have sampled a few recording studios and one of the most impressive is www.stevethomasmastering.com. He is a top CD mastering engineer, yet he also has done 1000s of albums as a mixing engineer as well. In addition, his expertise rivals some of the most expensive mastering studios in the world. If you already have someone you are working with that’s fine. But, I would certainly to give him a call. Seriously!

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