Regardless of whether you use our mastering services or not we recommend that you master your CD. A well- mastered CD will blend in with other commercially released CDs when played in context by the listener. Without getting too technical here’s a short explanation of what the 2 major goals are when mastering a CD. The first is to make sure that the entire CD sounds like one cohesive work. Loudness, treble and bass should be evenly balanced from one song to the next unless you specifically want to create an effect.  Spacing between songs and creative effects like cross-fades can be thought out at this point and improve upon the listening experience. The second goal is to make the CD sound  natural when played against other CDs in the same style. Once more, loudness, treble and bass should not jump up or down when you make A/B comparisons. This is where an experienced professional can  be the most help. You would be surprised how much the right set of ears can bring to this process. Here are a few tests you should make:

Pick your favorite CD, in a style similar to the one you’ve just produced, and compare it in different listening environments. Do not adjust the volume or any other settings in between comparisons. Play it soft, play it loud, play it in the car, in the living room, boom box etc. Listen for differences in boominess, brightness, speakers breaking up, etc.

 

 

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