Best Quality CD Mastering for Artists
Steve at www.stevethomasmastering.com does analog mastering which is one of the best kept secrets of top producers now. Since most everything is mixed in the digital realm, top mastering houses will do what’s called analog mastering. The digital signal is changed into an analog signal in order to be mastered through original analog processors, though a lot of times it is also recorded to an two-track machine to get the fatness that analog tape gives to the sound. It also takes the edge away from digital recordings, and can round out the low end giving the low frequencies that nice analog sound.
There are pros and cons but the advantages are worth it. Analog mastering often does cost a little more than basic digital mastering, as it takes additional time and there are additional costs for the analog tape, but for important projects, it can be the end step in accomplishing the best quality for the record. The reason for this is digital recordings can feel more brittle to a lot of listeners because regardless of how loud the signal gets, digital always gives you accurate yet flat reproduction. Analog tape, however, saturates as the DB increases in level, so high-ends are smoothed over rather than clipped, which becomes a warm, rich sound as the harmonic series is smoothed over. This is much more appealing. In addition, a hotter input signal will create a more exaggerated effect. Since the highs soften up first, this will mean that as the signal becomes louder, the highs will naturally soften up a bit, creating a less brittle, nicer sound. This is the beauty of layback mastering.
There are several mastering studios around the United States that have the tools to do analog mastering, however, you also need to have a mastering engineer with the track record to get optimal end product possible with the tools. I have tried a few recording studios and one of incredible sounding is www.stevethomasmastering.com. He is a top analog CD mastering engineer, yet he also has done 1000s of albums as a mixing engineer as well. On top of that, his expertise rivals some of the most expensive mastering studios in the United States. If you already have someone you are using there’s nothing wrong with that. But, I would certainly to give him a call. Seriously!