I always felt like I'd be good at mastering...

Do people just "start mastering"?  I guess so...I always thought I'd be good at it.  I like mixing, but I think I'm always trying to go for the best final mix and spend lots of time on that part of things.  I'm curious if there are others here that have gotten into mastering after being in the studio for a while.  How did you make the transition?  I'm not talking business,just gear, etc.  Just invest in the best speakers you could and room treatment?

Had been recording and mixing for a long time and had a few disappointing experiences with some top mastering guys where I come from, figured I could do it better myself.  Was probably wrong but I stuck at it until I was right!

It's all about the speakers, room and experience.  You've got to be able to hear the tracks properly and then know what to do with them.

If you're good at mixing and you know how to achieve certain sounds, you can get a long way with comparing your track other (already mastered) tracks. The trick is to find a tracks that have the same elements as yours.
However, most of the time it's multiple tracks with one element the same as yours. For example, try to get your bass like the bass in track A, and mimic the highs from track B and so fort.

It will all be not very original but it works.

And some of it's sequencing , the time between cuts feels different depending on level ,
providing a listenable overall package  , it'll vary how much tweaking projects need or want
just like some aspects of production [ & producers ] maybe as much about budget as sound
good luck & skill !

ruairioflaherty said:

Had been recording and mixing for a long time and had a few disappointing experiences with some top mastering guys where I come from, figured I could do it better myself.  Was probably wrong but I stuck at it until I was right!

It's all about the speakers, room and experience.  You've got to be able to hear the tracks properly and then know what to do with them.

Click to expand...

My sentiments exactly.  I've had some big name guys do mediocre work for me.  The medium name guy that I've been using for the last 15 years has also been getting worse.  He used to do stellar work, and lately my buddy and I have had to send stuff back or do our own cleanup/re-EQ on some of his stuff. 

Mastering is like the blues, it's easy to learn, hard to master.  Simple is often better, as long as the heart is in there.  Masters of the craft can loose their touch later in life.  Best bet is to sell your soul to the devil and have a few great years.  If the devil isn't returning any calls, then boost 5K and hit the L2 as hard as you can, and collect the checks.

I like the reference to the blues. The concepts of mastering a record are easy and seem easy to really get into it.  It takes a lifetime to great at it much like the blues.