I’ve worked with several “A-list” mastering folks on a variety of projects over the years, and continue to do so.

The results have been great, yes, but I feel I need to point out that the reason the results were great is that the results at every stage of the project were also top-notch, and working together harmoniously to create the end product.

What I mean by that is that mastering isn’t the kind of magic bullet that so many people seem to think it is - if the writing, arrangement, performances, production, programming, tracking, editing, and mixing aren’t all super on-point already, then mastering isn’t gonna change that very much, (and is actually more likely to expose the flaws in the previous stages even more).

If all the things I’ve just mentioned are where they need to be, and the final mix is already at the point where you could quite comfortably just export it and release it as-is, then yeah, working with (and building up a good working relationship with) a top-tier mastering engineer can be invaluable, and be the little finishing bit of fairy dust on top of an already fantastic production/mix.

They can also give you really useful input on a track during the mixing process, if you feel you’re maybe losing some objectivity, and could use a completely outside, unbiased set of ears on something.

Since they’re also 100% working in a much better-sounding room than you are, they can sometimes spot and flag up issues with a mix so you can correct them before you send them the final export - that way they’re not having to try to correct issues you could have resolved much more easily and effectively.

(You shouldn’t be relying on this kinda consultation every mix you do obviously - I’m talking about this happening maybe once out of every 40-50 mixes you do, if there’s a specific issue - 98% of the time, you should have the experience to recognise these things yourself).


Good mastering is not some kinda shortcut to a fantastic end result, and you’re not gonna be able to “hide behind it”.

One thing I’ve noticed when working with ME’s who are working at a very high level - they don’t feel the need to “leave their mark” on the material like so many less experienced folks do - they’re not making big dramatic eq moves, or slapping on 5 different stereo wideners, before slamming the level to some insane figure.

On quite a few occasions, I’ve had mixes I’ve done end up being mastered completely flat from an eq standpoint - indeed, I’m literally trying to aim for that to happen every time, because it means I’m getting the mix to where it needs to be in the first place!
If your ME is routinely needing to make moves of more than about 1-2db anywhere in the spectrum (and even that’s usually pushing it) then you’ve not really done your job correctly.

Same kinda philosophy holds true for dynamics, stereo field processing, etc.

You asked for recommendations, and based on the (literally) 28 other threads you’ve created within the last 10 days - most of which are addressing very basic topics (which is ofc totally fine - we all had to learn, and start somewhere!) - my strong recommendation to you would be to spend time getting to grips with the basics of your craft, and figuring out, over time by yourself, the answers to the many threads you’ve created, and through learning by actually doing.

I obviously haven’t heard any of your stuff, so I’m just basing this off reading the threads you’ve been starting, and from that, here’s the bottom line:

At this stage in your career/development, I think you would absolutely be wasting your money by paying out $300-500+ per track to work with a top-level mastering engineer.

You’ll be going into it with massively unrealistic expectations, and setting yourself up for nothing but disappointment with the results.

 

Last edited: Jul 30, 2022