[Scott Dorsey]

Mr.Will wrote:

Does mastering change the sound much? I get that it brings the average level
and the peak level closer together, so that it always sounds the same on
every system, but does it actually change things that much? Its been talked
of as if its some magic elixer for the tracks - I must admit Im happy with
how they sound now, and I guess I will only know once the tracks are
back......

It might not change anything. The mastering engineer might just say,
"these sound great, go with them as is."

It might change everything totally, just with a little bit of judicious
cutting and boosing there and there, and make things much better.

It might change the overall levels substantially without making any real
tonal changes at all.

It might also turn your material into distorted garbage in the pursuit
of the greatest possible loudness.

It depends entirely what you say when you sit down with the mastering
engineer. At an attended session, you're going to tell him your philosophy
and what you want it to sound like, and you might give him some examples
of recordings like that. He will then take that into account when he
listens to your tracks.

You want to do an attended session, rather than just sending the tracks
off to someone sight-unseen, and that's in part because you personally want
to listen to the recording on the mastering monitors and hear what the
mastering engineer is doing because it will give you some insight in what
needs to be fixed and so what you can improve the next time around.
A good mastering session should be an educational experience as well as
the last possible opportunity to make sonic changes.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."