Ok, so I'm not sure exactly what kind of magic can be worked in the mastering phase but.I was wondering, can a great mastering house like West West Side Music make a so-so sounding recording sound more proffesional. Say a record recorded in a small home studio (obviously not going t sound the same as something recorded in a big studio), In your guys opinion could a good mastering engineer make it sound more professional.
Thanks for the help.
Comments
It mostly depends on what it "so-so" about it. For example, i
It mostly depends on what it "so-so" about it.
For example, if the problems are consistent throughout (like too much of a certain frequency), then that tends to be easier to work with that if there are a BUNCH of problems throughout the song...like the acoustic guitar is out of phase in the verses, and the cymbals are too dull in the choruses, but the vocal is really essy, and the bass guitar was overly ompressed ONLY in the bridge...that sort of thing.
But on the whole, good mastering can help a great deal.
That is exactly what a good ME does. However, if the recording
That is exactly what a good ME does. However, if the recording is absolute crap (bad musicianship and bad recording or mixing technique) then there is not much that can be done for it. Maybe a good mastering engineer can make it sound a bit better but the old "polishing a turd" saying comes into play.