CD audio mastering (or pre-mastering) is a necessary stage for obtaining the best sound from the mix. It unites the album by bringing all the different pieces of the puzzle together and polishing the sound with added depth and emphasis on nuances. It can improve even the best mixes through a variety of processing techniques. Additionally, CD audio mastering is needed in order for the recording to meet Red Book standards for audio CDs.

Well, there are no "perfect" CD audio mastering engineers, just like there's no "perfect" genre of music. And like music, almost every CD audio mastering engineer has a different style, sometimes specializing in certain genres. One of the standout factors you should keep in mind when choosing a cd audio mastering engineer is to remember that he or she must know how an album will sound when played back and listened to on a wide variety of different sound systems in order to produce a master that will be enjoyable to listen to on just about any type of sound equipment. That usually requires sampling the audio on anything from several thousand dollar acoustical monitors to radio shack desktop speakers. Keep in mind though that there's no way to make the mix sound perfect on every type of sound equipment, simply because of the drastic alterations that occur from one type of audio reproduction system to another.

Good cd audio mastering engineers in any genre are specialists with solid experience and knowledge of the style of music they're mastering. If you're a jazz or classical artist, you may feel more comfortable taking your album to a cd audio mastering engineer who has extensive musical training in those genres. There are definite reasons for this; most importantly, those genres oftentimes demand an academic understanding of the musical style being mastered. Rhythmic accents, crescendos, dynamic ranges... these are all aspects of jazz and classical music that are usually more pronounced in tracks, compared to the standard rock, pop, or hip-hop. And they're in the tracks for definitive musical reasons, so you don't want a audio mastering engineer who's going to take all the dynamics out of the music.

CD audio mastering is usually done solely by mastering engineers. The recording engineer, mixing engineer, or producer who mixed the tracks could do the CD audio mastering, but there are several reasons why this is not a good idea. Perhaps most importantly, it usually results in the lack of a fresh perspective of the music. Mixing is an extremely tedious and time consuming job. It's rewarding, but it does take a toll on whoever is behind the board hours each day doing the work. Producers and musicians and their recording engineer usually all work together on the mixing process. When it's all said and done and the mixing is finished, everyone who was a part of the joint effort could've been listening to the same tracks for weeks, or maybe even months, when you factor in all the stages of the recording process. Now contrast that with a CD audio mastering engineer who has never heard the tracks before and may be able to hear a new potential for taking the music to another level. In addition, the cd audio mastering engineer's studio is specially calibrated for flat frequency response and usually makes use of high-end single set monitors. The audio signal paths are kept to a minimum to reduce distortion as much as possible. And of course, most famously perhaps, the CD audio mastering studio is equipped with different types of sound processors than those found in a recording studio- ones that are specifically tailored to the needs of mastering.

With the digital revolution and explosion in home recording popularity, just about anybody can record an album. If you're content with sounding like just about anybody, then don't worry about doing cd audio mastering. If you want your music to stand out from the crowd however and sound radio-ready, then finding a great cd audio mastering engineer is an absolute must. The good news is that there are many more affordable mastering options than there were even a few years ago- a good portion of them catering specifically to the needs of independent artists. Whatever cd audio mastering solution you go with, make sure you have confidence in the engineer you're giving your music too. Check their clientele list. Do you see a pattern in the type of artists the engineer masters CDs for? If it's one long list of hip-hop artists, take your indie folk album somewhere else, or vice versa. Mastering can dramatically alter a mix, for better or worse, and it will all depend on who's doing it, so don't necessarily look for the cheapest option. If you're going with an online cd audio mastering solution, go only with someone who has referenced materials available. Anyone can write a bio making themselves sound like a great cd audio mastering engineer, so the only way to know for sure is to hear their work.