how do you become a mastering engineer?

digital983 · Post by **digital983** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 9:48 pm

ive been making music for quite a few years now but have always wanted to get into mastering.
i just love trying to make tracks sound good at the final stage(might sound strange i know,but i prefer doing this than actually making the beats).

i just dont know how i could learn mastering the right way,ive tried finding good courses but there aint really any that specialize in this.

also does anyone know what good equipment to use for mastering(hardware or software).
nothing to cheap but nothing overly expensive either.

appreciate any advice.

FSTZ · Post by **FSTZ** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 9:55 pm

go to school for engineering and mastering audio

there are many

auan · Post by **auan** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:00 pm

My music tech course didn't tell me shit about mastering.

It's totally different equipment from what you'd find in a studio, and none of it really comes cheap. My advice, if you're serious about it, would be to find some mastering houses locally and pester them into letting you watch / making them tea / giving them head / the usual crap it takes to get your foot in the door in these places.

manray · Post by **manray** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:12 pm

Auan wrote:My music tech course didn't tell me shit about mastering.

It's totally different equipment from what you'd find in a studio, and none of it really comes cheap. My advice, if you're serious about it, would be to find some mastering houses locally and pester them into letting you watch / making them tea / giving them head / the usual crap it takes to get your foot in the door in these places.

What he said. After reading sound on sound quite a bit my impression is that the vast majority of engineers worked their way up from a tea boy. Understanding the fundamentals is key though so maybe look at courses at your local college and then do what Auan said.

az · Post by az » Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:14 pm

I've learnt mastering on my music tech degree in Stafford and it's not an easy thing to get into. Takes years of expertise to make it professionally, but if you want to do it at home, i would suggest a decent hardware valve or solid state EQ, Decent valve compressor along the lines of the high end TLA equipment and a Good limiter. Similar results can be had with the Focusrite Liquidmix which i can honestly say owning one is a solid investment regardless of your musical direction because they sound bloody fantastic!

For a more cut price way for decent mastering, a UAD DSP card with multiband limiter and Oxford Cambridge EQ can give excellent results. unfortunat;y none of these are cheap options but worth it if you want a top quiality sound. In my experience cheap limiters and EQs wont give you either the sound quality of loudness that you will desire when mastering your own or anybody elses tracks.

Hope that helps!

psyphon · Post by **psyphon** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:21 pm

I studied at the School of Audio Engineering in London. I did a short module on Mastering, but like everyone else has said, the best way in is to get yourself down to the studios and mastering houses and get your foot in the door that way. Pester, hassle and never stop asking questions. Do it all for nothing and you get taught from the ground up. One day you could be there at the top!

College aint gonna teach you none of that. I'm living proof!

digital983 · Post by **digital983** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:40 pm

nice1 for all the advice.

definately gonna be ringing up all the studios in london and see if i can sit in a few days a week and help out for free.

suppose its the same as any other part of the music industry where you just have to keep persisting until you get a little break.

i will be buying equipment for my home studio as well though so i can keep practicing myself.

tenbucc2 · Post by **tenbucc2** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 1:44 am

find another Jedi to teach you the force

abstractsound · Post by **abstractsound** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 1:02 pm

anyone that is mastering records you can buy in a store has probably been recording for atleast 7-10 years before they even got into mastering. its something that takes years to learn, after already "mastering" all the different aspects that go into recording and mixing. great aspiration but you better start either going to school or interning at a recording studio and start the long glorious road...

see you on the warpath

Sharmaji · Post by **Sharmaji** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 2:44 pm

you gotta intern. tough because at least in the states, probably 50% of the big studios nationwide have closed-- both the gigantic sony studios and the hit factory here in NYC have closed and become condos.

but yeah, you start sweeping floors, move up to winding mic cable, and just climb the barely-paying ladder you're good-- and people will notice.

deion · Post by **deion** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 3:03 pm

im goin to uni in sept to do a sound production/engineering course... ive looked about it, and this seems to be the best way foward...

abstractsound · Post by **abstractsound** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 4:53 pm

i went to audio engineer school in manhattan and learned all the basics from recording to midi to live to post. they supplied the fundamentals for mastering, but didnt teach any courses in it. it honestly is one of the hardest jobs to get into in the audio world, but dont let that stop you.

one tip, if you are offering your time up for free to studios, make sure they dont take advantage of you. more than likely you will start as a runner, getting coffee, making copies and cleaning toilets, but after 2-4 weeks of you honestly working hard, if they havent got you doing anything audio related move on. (and wrapping cables does count as audio related)

jtransition · Post by **jtransition** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 7:10 pm

abstractsound wrote: one tip, if you are offering your time up for free to studios, make sure they dont take advantage of you. more than likely you will start as a runner, getting coffee, making copies and cleaning toilets, but after 2-4 weeks of you honestly working hard, if they havent got you doing anything audio related move on. (and wrapping cables does count as audio related)

Abstractsound,
What is your experience in the running of a professional studio to be giving this advice?.

definately gonna be ringing up all the studios in london and see if i can sit in a few days a week and help out for free.

You are going to need a better game plan than that

Digital 983
If this is what you want and you are willing to work hard (50- 60 hours a week) for little fiscal return on tasks that you cannot see the relevance of then start pestering studios.
If not forget it because you will not make it past the first month in most places.

Jason

abstractsound · Post by **abstractsound** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 8:39 pm

no one said i ran a professional studio. i do have a close friend who owned a professional studio in new orleans before katrina and i did however go to an audio engineering school that was ran and taught by all people working in this business. some owned studios, some freelanced at the largest studios in NYC, others did other audio work that wasnt recording related. one thing that everyone at the school made abundantly clear was that you have to take care of yourself and recognize when you are getting taken advantage of. and from the sounds of your post you also recognize that. my question to you is what is your experience that you think my statement was out of line or wrong.

what i know from experience comes from the world of live sound, because that is primarily what i do when im getting paid. i was brought in by a well known club in NYC as an intern and after the engineer walk about of the venue and left me to run the whole show on my first two nights on "the job" i told the production manager that i wasnt going to come anymore if they werent going to pay me because i was interning i was working. no one was showing me anything. & the next time i was on the schedule i was getting paid for it, but if i hadnt spoken up they would have kept me coming in for free for another 3 weeks which was their standard procedure.

FSTZ · Post by **FSTZ** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 9:08 pm

abstractsound wrote: my question to you is what is your experience

he runs one of the best mastering houses for electronic dance music in the world

djake · Post by **djake** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 10:34 pm

unklefesta wrote:
abstractsound wrote: my question to you is what is your experience

he runs one of the best mastering houses for electronic dance music in the world

abstractsound i wouldnt go there with that question....

getting good at mastering thou takes loads of time and experience doesnt it?

i mean like years and years of it?

auan · Post by **auan** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 12:03 am

djake wrote:
unklefesta wrote:
abstractsound wrote: my question to you is what is your experience

he runs one of the best mastering houses for electronic dance music in the world
abstractsound i wouldnt go there with that question....

getting good at mastering thou takes loads of time and experience doesnt it?

i mean like years and years of it?

Even a journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step, young padawan.

__________ · Post by **__________** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 12:38 am

i'd have thought people will TELL you that you might be a good mastering engineer, because you obviously have a great ear for what needs to be done to tunes.

i'd say keep your ears in good nick, make sure you understand compression inside out and practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice!

oh and make sure you can afford lots of expensive hardware

jtransition · Post by **jtransition** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:46 am

abstractsound wrote:no one said i ran a professional studio. i do have a close friend who owned a professional studio in new orleans before katrina and i did however go to an audio engineering school that was ran and taught by all people working in this business. some owned studios, some freelanced at the largest studios in NYC, others did other audio work that wasnt recording related. one thing that everyone at the school made abundantly clear was that you have to take care of yourself and recognize when you are getting taken advantage of. and from the sounds of your post you also recognize that. my question to you is what is your experience that you think my statement was out of line or wrong.

what i know from experience comes from the world of live sound, because that is primarily what i do when im getting paid. i was brought in by a well known club in NYC as an intern and after the engineer walk about of the venue and left me to run the whole show on my first two nights on "the job" i told the production manager that i wasnt going to come anymore if they werent going to pay me because i was interning i was working. no one was showing me anything. & the next time i was on the schedule i was getting paid for it, but if i hadnt spoken up they would have kept me coming in for free for another 3 weeks which was their standard procedure.

My experience is from starting a mastering company from scratch ten years ago,I am not going to get into who's dick is bigger contest but your comments about doing audio related stuff within two weeks, shows your ignorance on this subject.

Jason

FSTZ · Post by **FSTZ** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 5:11 pm

how do you become a mastering engineer?

how do you become a mastering engineer?

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