what exactly is mastering

[protestpoet]

i own a small 16 track digital studio, after recording and mixing i send my projects to one recording studio for mastering, what i would kindly want to know is what exactly is involved in mastering, what happens in a mastering studio that one cant do in a simple recording studio, i would also want to know what basic equipment is required for mastering as i hope to go into that field when i acquire the right knowledge. i thank you as i await your response

 

[brad]

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[Masternfool]

Brad is correct, just to add..You can do mastering in the studio it was recorded but it is difficult. You need a new pair of ears,different monitor environment, and generally a mastering engineer is listening (and looking) for different things. Kinda vague I know.Some things I've done are.. noise reduction,reverb,fadeouts,fadeins,crossfades,edit verses,swap verses,make 8 minute songs 3 minute songs,overall levels,independent levels,compression,limiting,multi-band comp/limt.
speed songs up,slow songs down-with pitch and without pitch correction.etc..It's whatever the tracks need to sound professional. Hope this helps...