What is Mastering?

Mastering is the final creative step in the recording process. At this point you are working with the tracks after they have been mixed down to stereo files. In this stage you are making the final decisions on the order of the tracks as they will appear on a physical CD. You are also ensuring that all the tracks are the same volume and have the same overall harmonic balance. In other words you don’t what one track to sound bright and open and then the next to sound dark and closed down, unless of cource there is a thematic or creative reason for this. This is where you will decide how to end each track and if there will be silence between tracks or if the tracks will overlap.