Denver Recording Studio

In it’s most simple form, mastering music can be thought of in a similar way that a song is mixed… Each individual track is mixed with the other tracks to create a cohesive song, while in mastering, each track is mixed with the other tracks to create a cohesive album. This can be especially useful when you have tracks from different studios or mixing engineers. Among the many technical aspects of mastering music, ultimately, the mastering process is the final sonic judgment of your mixes and is a critical step in achieving optimal sound. A solid mastering job can make a huge difference and set one album apart from the others, yet, likewise, a bad mastering job can squander all of your recording and mixing efforts up to that point.

In a nut shell, mastering puts the finishing touch on your tracks and leaves your music with a very professional and sophisticated sound. Yet, if you are not combining numerous tracks in search of a top-notch album, it may be more appropriate to use mastering effects in programs like Reason, ProTools and Logic to achieve a stronger, more dynamic and enhanced sound while saving some money… if you know what you are doing. In my humble opinion though, there’s no point in spending lots of time, energy and money on a project to not take the final steps in achieving the highest quality sound possible. It just makes sense to do it right the whole way through and nothing beats having an accomplished mastering engineer putting his name and experience into your work. Believe me, their ears are better than yours.

Not enough mastering info for ya? Check out this article and this one too!
-Mike with the Mic
CCM Studios
Broken Tongues Music
Denver Recording Studio Blog.com