The Art of Mastering

The Art of Mastering
Mixing requires multiple tracks that are combined into one track, while mastering works to fine tune a single track. Mixing works with individual instrument tracks to create a complete song and achieve balance within itself. Mastering works with a complete song to make it achieve balance with other songs.

Mastering requires critical listening; however, software tools exist to facilitate the process. Results depend upon the intent of the engineer, the skills of the engineer, the accuracy of the speaker monitors, and the listening environment. Mastering engineers often apply equalization and dynamic range compression in order to optimize sound translation on all playback systems.