Best Quality Analog Mixing and Mastering for Bands

Analog mastering is one of the best secrets of top producers now. As most everything is mixed in the digital realm, top studios will do something called analog mastering. The digital version is converted back to an analog version so it can be mastered through original analog processors, though in many instances it is also recorded to an two-track system to acheive the warmth that original analog tape gives to the sound. It also takes the brittleness away from digital recordings, and can round out the bottom end giving the bass frequencies that rich analog sound.

There are pros and cons but the advantages are worth it. Analog mastering often does cost a little more than basic digital mastering, as it takes additional time and there are additional costs for the analog tape, but for important projects, it can be the last step in getting the top sound quality for the album. The reason for this is digital recordings can feel cold to a lot of listeners because regardless of how loud the sound gets, digital always gives you flat reproduction. Analog tape, on the other hand, softens as the DB increases in level, so high-ends are smoothed over rather than clipped, which becomes a warm, nice signal as the harmonics are balanced out. To the audience, this is more appealing. Furthermore, a hotter input sound will create a more exaggerated effect. Since the top ranges saturate first, this will mean that as the signal goes up, the highs naturally soften up, resulting in a less brittle, more pleasing sound. This is the magic of layback mastering.

There are different mastering houses around the country that have the tools to do analog mastering, however, it also necessitates you have a mastering engineer with the track record to get optimal results possible with the studio. I have tried a few mastering studios and one of the best is www.stevethomasmastering.com. He is a top analog mastering engineer, yet he also has done thousands of albums as a mixing engineer as well. Not only that, his results is comparable to some of the most expensive mastering studios in the world. If you already have someone you are working with that’s fine. But, I would really encourage you to check him out. Seriously!