The History of Mastering

The origins of mastering can be traced back to the early days of recording when the process was purely mechanical, involving the transfer of live performances directly onto physical media. The term "mastering engineers" evolved from "transfer engineers" who were initially responsible for transferring recordings from tape to vinyl, focusing on technical rather than creative aspects. As recording technology evolved, so did audio mastering. In the mid-20th century, mastering became a specialized discipline with the advent of magnetic tape recording and the LP (long-playing record). This era saw the introduction of stereo sound, which added new layers of complexity to the mastering process. Engineers began to experiment with techniques to enhance sound quality, including equalization, compression, and limiters, laying the groundwork for modern mastering practices. The shift from purely technical work to also encompassing creative decision-making led to the process we know today as simply, mastering.

The Role of Record Labels in Early Mastering

The earliest masters weren’t created in external specialized mastering studios, it was record labels themselves who built the studios and created the masters. A&M, Capitol Records, Abbey Road, Mercury Records, and many other record labels were especially important in helping to lay the groundwork for some of the most important external, specialized mastering studios to emerge, among these names include legendary studios like Sterling Sound and Masterdisk. But before these specialized businesses could be established, the labels served as important development labs for engineers to experiment and learn the best techniques for making records, and later other home formats, sound their very best.

Capitol Studios and Abbey Road

The early days of mastering at Capitol Records and other noteworthy recording and mastering studios in the 1950s and 1960s marked a transformative period in the music industry, characterized by technical innovation and iconic recordings. Capitol Records, established as the first major West Coast label in 1942, quickly became a powerhouse in the music industry, challenging the dominance of established East Coast labels like RCA Victor, Columbia, and Decca. By the 1950s, Capitol had solidified its reputation with a roster of artists that included legends like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and the Beach Boys, and was producing records that would become staples of American music​​​​.

Capitol Studios, opened in 1956 within the iconic Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood, quickly became one of the most sophisticated recording facilities of its time. The studio was designed not only for optimal sound recording but also as an architectural marvel, with its echo chambers and state-of-the-art technology. Studio A, known for its lush sound and ability to adjust "liveness" through hundreds of wooden slats on the walls, became a preferred location for orchestral recordings, especially for the film industry. Studio B was favored for rock records, reflecting the diversity of music being produced and mastered at Capitol during this era​​.

The studio's echo chambers, designed by Les Paul and located 30 feet below the parking lot, were particularly noteworthy. These chambers, capable of producing a maximum reverb time of five seconds, were integral in creating the distinctive sound on many Capitol recordings. Capitol's mastering department, equipped with vintage Neumann recording lathes, was responsible for cutting lacquers for iconic albums like Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon" and the Bee Gees' "Saturday Night Fever"​​.

During this golden era, Capitol Records and its studios were at the forefront of the transition from mono to stereo recording, further enhancing the listening experience. The company's investment in high-quality recording technology and mastering practices helped shape the sound of popular music and set new standards for audio fidelity. The roster of artists who recorded at Capitol Studios in the 1950s and 1960s reads like a who's who of music history, including Dean Martin, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong. The studio's work with the Beach Boys, particularly on albums like "Surfin' U.S.A.," exemplifies Capitol's impact on the evolving sound of American music and its pivotal role in the surf music craze that defined much of the early '60s sound​​.

In addition to Capitol Records, other studios like Abbey Road in London (also owned by EMI, Capitol's parent company) were pioneering similar advancements in recording technology and early mastering practices. These studios collectively contributed to the evolution of music production, influencing genres ranging from rock and roll to jazz and classical music. Abbey Road’s transformation into a pop music hub was facilitated by notable engineers like Ken Townsend, who played a pivotal role in rebranding the studio and introducing innovative recording techniques. The facility's legacy is also shaped by engineers such as Geoff Emerick and Norman Smith, who contributed to its reputation for technical excellence and creative recording methods.

The Mastering Lab and Doug Sax

In 1967, mastering would undergo a truly significant change, thanks to one Doug Sax. Sax was an established trumpeter who, along with his brother and a friend, Lincoln Mayorga, opened the very first dedicated mastering studio, The Mastering Lab. Located in Los Angeles, The Mastering Lab quickly rose to prominence thanks to Sax’s work mastering records by The Doors. The opening of The Mastering Lab also marked a shift in mastering; prior to this point, mastering at facilities like Capitol Studios and Abbey Road took place alongside recording and mixing work. Sax’s studio was the very first to focus on music mastering services exclusively. What’s more, other engineers saw the success that Sax and his team began to have and realized that opening a mastering studio was a viable option for them, too. In short order, mastering studios like Sterling Sound, Masterdisk, Lacquer Channel, and many others, would open and start offering audio mastering services as well.

Sterling Sound

Sterling Sound was founded in October 1968 by Canadian partners Lee Hulko and Joachim "Joe" Paschek in New York City. The studio quickly became a significant name in music mastering, with Bob Ludwig joining in 1969 and George Marino in 1972. Early on, it moved to larger premises at the Screen Actors Guild building at 110 West 57th Street in 1970, offering two mastering suites. Notable engineers who joined later include Greg Calbi and Ted Jensen. Over the years, Sterling Sound has been responsible for mastering more than 28,000 records.

The story of Sterling Sound is one of innovation, expansion, and a steadfast commitment to quality. Founded with a deep passion for music, Sterling has been at the forefront of audio mastering technology and has played a crucial role in the final sound of countless iconic albums. Its engineers have garnered recognition and accolades for their work, including Grammy Awards and nominations, showcasing the studio's prominence and recognition among artists and peers.

In 2018, Sterling faced the challenge of relocating due to the expiration of its 20-year lease at the Chelsea Market. This led to the opening of two new facilities, one in Edgewater, NJ, and the other in Nashville, TN. The move was a strategic response to the changing landscape of New York City's real estate and the studio's desire to adapt and continue providing top-notch audio mastering services. Sterling remains one of the most important and respected mastering houses in the world.

Masterdisk

Masterdisk, founded in 1973, has a storied history as a premier audio mastering and multimedia company based in Peekskill, New York. It emerged as a spin-off from the recording, editing, and mastering arm of Mercury Records. Masterdisk quickly established itself in the industry with early engineers like Gilbert Kong and Phil Austin contributing to its success. Kong's work included albums for Rod Stewart and Bachman–Turner Overdrive, while Austin mastered hits for artists like Daniel Boone and Joe Tex.

Over the years, the company has been involved in projects for a wide array of notable artists, including Accept, Sting, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Nirvana, Lou Reed, David Bowie, U2, Gorillaz, John Zorn, DMX, The Rolling Stones, Steely Dan, Bob Dylan, Metallica, Aerosmith, and the Beatles. This diverse client list underscores Masterdisk's broad appeal and expertise across genres.

In 2008, ownership and operational leadership of the studio transitioned to Scott Hull, who started his career at Masterdisk in the early '80s as an intern and later became Bob Ludwig’s assistant. Hull has diligently — and successfully — worked to maintain the studio’s legacy of excellence. The current roster of mastering engineers includes not only Hull but also Tony Dawsey, Andy VanDette, Roger Lian, Randy Merrill, and several others, showcasing a depth of talent and experience.

Masterdisk's history is marked by its adaptability and innovation in the face of industry changes. The company has navigated shifts in the music production landscape, from the dominance of vinyl and analog tape to the digital era, maintaining its reputation for high-quality audio mastering services. Its engineers have been responsible for mastering countless classic records, contributing significantly to the sound of popular music over the past several decades.

The Lacquer Channel

In 1975, The Lacquer Channel became a very important mastering studio to open in Canada. Los Angeles born engineer George Graves quickly put the studio on the map, thanks to his work with artists like Alice Cooper, ABBA, Peter Gabriel, Rod Stewart, The Beatles, Rush, and so many others. Graves had relocated to Toronto originally to work at J.A.M.F., also known as “Just Another Mastering Facility”. J.A.M.F. was owned and operated by Nimbus 9 Productions, a company involved in music publishing as well as the recording and nascent mastering industries. Graves would go on to join The Lacquer Channel, and in short order, the studio became synonymous with world class mastering. Graves had already made a name for himself in Los Angeles, working alongside the founder of The Mastering Lab, Doug Sax.

In 1989, the studio would relocate to North York, but it has continued to serve countless incredible artists from around the world as usual. Aside from the legendary George Graves, both Phil DeMetro and Noah Mintz established themselves as top class engineers at the studio as well, with both mastering for scores of top Canadian and global acts. In the late 2000s, ownership transitioned to Mintz, who continues the studio’s longstanding tradition of excellence.

Bernie Grundman Mastering

In 1984, Bernie Grundman would found Bernie Grundman mastering, a Los Angeles-based mastering house that quickly became known for quality. During the 1980s and 1990s, the studio was home to Brian “Big Bass” Gardner, a man whose name will be familiar to any aficionado of west coast hip-hop, and noted engineer for top artists like Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and others. Later, following Gardner’s departure from the studio, Mike Bozzi would take over, continuing the tradition of providing exceptional masters not just for the greats of hip-hop, but across an array of genres. Some of the many big records mastered at the studio include Prince’s Lovesexy, Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, and Tupac’s Me Against the World.

Metropolis Mastering

Metropolis Mastering, part of Metropolis Studios, was established in 1989 by Gary Langan, Carey Taylor, and Karin Clayton. The mastering studio is part of a larger group that includes Metropolis Studios and Digital Media/Productions, located in London, UK. Metropolis is recognized as one of Europe's leading mastering studios with a history of acclaimed work. Leif Mases, known for his association with Prism Sound/Maselec, played a significant role in shaping the mastering systems at Metropolis. His collaboration, particularly with the technical director John Goldstraw, contributed to the high-quality sound and use of custom Maselec equipment in the studio's mastering rooms​​. Some noteworthy artists mastered at Metropolis include Depeche Mode, Joy Division, Florence & The Machine, Joe Cocker, A Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, INXS, and many others. Today, Metropolis remains one of the most sought-after music mastering services around with a stellar reputation for quality.

Now, let’s go back to the early days and take a look at some of the most important early names in mastering.

Bob Ludwig

As noted earlier, Bob Ludwig is perhaps the most renowned mastering engineer in the world. Ludwig’s mastering career is remarkable, with credits on albums for a wide array of artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Metallica, Queen, Jimi Hendrix, Bryan Ferry, Paul McCartney, Nirvana, Bruce Springsteen, Daft Punk, and many more. His work spans various genres, from rock to classical, showcasing his versatile talent in the audio mastering field. Ludwig began his career cutting lacquers at A&R Recording with producer Phil Ramone in New York. He later worked at Sterling Sound and Masterdisk before founding Gateway Mastering in 1992 in Portland, Maine. Ludwig has mastered albums for a wide array of artists, including Bruce Springsteen, Dire Straits, and Queen, marking a significant impact not just on the field of mastering, but on the music industry overall.

Wally Traugott

Wally Traugott was a renowned mastering and lacquer-cutting engineer whose prolific career spanned several decades, primarily at Capitol Records' Capitol Mastering subsidiary. Born on September 11, 1934, in Kitchener, Ontario, Traugott began his career in the music industry as a fiddle player in Canada during the 1950s and 1960s. Disillusioned with the Canadian recording industry, he moved to the U.S., where he became a key figure in the mastering world, working for Capitol Records from the late 1960s until the mid-1990s. Traugott passed away on December 3, 2010, in Tucson, Arizona.

Traugott's mastering work spanned a wide variety of music genres, from Top 40 Rock and Pop to artists like the Beastie Boys. His signature can often be found in the runout grooves of records, usually alongside the "Mastered by Capitol" stamp, indicating his hands-on involvement in the mastering process of numerous influential albums.

Gilbert Kong

Gilbert Kong was a notable mastering engineer at Masterdisk, New York, with a career that also spanned roles as an audio engineer for Mercury Records and Phonogram, and a video engineer for NBC. He is remembered for his many wonderful contributions to the music industry until his passing in 2012. During his time as an engineer, Kong mastered some of the 20th century’s most important albums, among these, “Days of Future Passed” by the Moody Blues. The legendary mastering engineer also mastered artists like Joan Baez, Dusty Springfield, Rod Stewart, Elton John, Cat Stevens, Neil Diamond, Thin Lizzy, and many others. With a remarkable discography, Kong’s work spanned a multitude of genres and he put his special touch on many iconic records.

Lee Hulko

A native of Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada, Lee Hulko rose to prominence first as a recording engineer, and then as a mastering engineer in New York City during the late 1960s. In 1968, Hulko would found the legendary Sterling Sound along with Joachim Paschek. With future legend Bob Ludwig joining shortly after in 1969, the studio quickly built a reputation for some of the best masters of the era. During his time as a mastering engineer, Hulko would master scores of seminal records, including works by James Brown, Gordon Lightfoot, B.B. King, Led Zeppelin, Quincy Jones, The Stooges, T. Bone Walker, Judy Garland, and many others. One of Hulko’s most lauded works is the legendary Tea For the Tillerman by Cat Stevens, but his credits span nearly all genres and feature a wide breadth of talented artists. Sadly, Hulko reportedly passed away in 2023, but details are scarce. Lee Hulko’s name and work will live on in his many contributions to some of the best music of the 20th century.

The Early 2000s and the Loudness Wars

Moving on from notable early engineers and studios, let’s talk about a dark time in mastering, the dreaded loudness wars. In the early to mid-2000s, the music industry experienced the height of this trend, where songs were mastered at increasingly louder volumes to stand out. This era saw a steady increase in overall music volume, with productions favoring loudness over audio quality. This resulted in music that was often over-compressed, leading to a loss of dynamic range and fidelity. Critics argued that this trend made music sound worse, as it sacrificed nuance and detail for the sake of loudness. It’s important to note that this wasn’t usually so much the fault of the mastering engineer, rather it was simply the engineer trying to cater to label and artist requests.

The loudness wars reached their height with the release of albums like Metallica’s Death Magnetic. The album was widely criticized for being overly compressed, harsh, and just unpleasant to listen to. The album was mastered by the great Ted Jensen of Sterling Sound fame, so it’s obvious this wasn’t a case of a bad engineer. Jensen is a world-renowned mastering engineer with some incredible credits and knows how to make a record sound great. Indeed, Jensen himself has explained that the album’s mixes arrived already distorted and overly-compressed, so there was little he could do to change characteristics baked into the audio. Criticism wasn’t universal, however, and the band stood behind the album. At the same time, criticism of a popular album’s sonic quality was important in terms of getting people thinking about how records were being mastered and whether the popular aesthetic of the day was resulting in music that didn’t sound as good as it could.

Modern Mastering and the Rise of Streaming

Today, while physical formats still have their place, for most artists, streaming is king. One major benefit to the rise of streaming is there is much less emphasis on mastering for loudness than there has been in the past two decades; these days, artists and labels seem to prioritize a better sounding master over simply wanting the loudest track on the block. Loudness normalization on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music have eliminated the problem of massive level differences between different tracks. As long as a track has a reasonably competitive master, it will hold up well in terms of loudness on streaming platforms. At the same time, a good quality master can provide a track that extra 5-10% to really shine, especially when paired against tracks released without a focus on professional mastering.

Modern mastering has also been shaped by both the increasing sophistication and availability of mastering plugins. Developers like Softube, iZotope, FabFilter, and so many others have created incredible tools capable of producing phenomenal masters. Professional-grade mastering tools are no longer limited to expensive hardware form; indeed, some of these plugins are incredible and many are widely accessible, with relatively low price-points making them available to all levels of producers and engineers. There is obviously good and bad here, as many novice users simply will not understand how to effectively use these tools without some extensive learning. Still, the problem of a learning curve is obviously outweighed by the benefits of great mastering software and other tools being more available and more accessible to artists.

Digital tools have also facilitated the rise of hybrid mastering, allowing engineers to get the best of both analog and digital worlds and facilitating advanced mastering techniques. Hybrid mastering is exactly what it sounds like — it combines analog mastering with digital mastering and allows an engineer to get an expensive, analog sound, rich saturation and phenomenal stereo imaging, along with the power and precision of digital tools, especially digital limiters, an essential tool for loudness.

Today’s Trends in Mastering

One of the most prevalent trends I’ve seen today in mastering is the claim that AI is somehow being used in some online audio mastering services. I am extremely skeptical of these claims; I don’t think the majority of these services use any kind of meaningful AI — at least in terms of neural networks — but rather use tools like curve-fitting EQ which simply adjusts rapidly in response to the audio being processed. That’s cool technology but it isn’t AI. I think AI mastering is mostly a marketing gimmick. The idea that you can get AI to generate a high quality master near-instantaneously and for low cost doesn’t really align with where the technology is at and what’s capable right now. Still, some of these services are free, and that’s a cool and potentially valuable service for some artists.

Today has also seen the rise of analog mastering services offered via the web. While mastering was once limited to traditional recording studios, many of today’s hit records are mastered via an online service using an engineer who might be located thousands and thousands of miles away from the artists. The internet has allowed what were once niche private studios to expand and serve clients not just in their local market, but those around the world. The benefits for studios are clear, but there are also great benefits to artists, who get top-quality mastering, typically at a fraction of the cost they’d pay in a traditional mastering studio with an attended session.

The Future of Mastering

What does the future of mastering music hold? Ultimately only time will tell. But the trend of moving away from a focus on loudness to overall fidelity certainly suggests the field is moving in a positive direction. Moreover, the democratization of mastering, accomplished via mastering plugins and mastering software accessible to an increasingly large base of users means more people getting involved in mastering audio, which can only be a good thing overall. While those who favor gatekeeping might bemoan such trends, it is undeniable that getting more people involved and aware of mastering is only likely to increase the number of skilled, quality mastering engineers out there. For those of us who love the art of mastering, seeing more interest in the field makes me very optimistic for the future of mastering.

Closing Thoughts

Mastering is probably the least understood part of the record making process, but its really not some esoteric dark art. Music mastering is just about blending the technical with the creative to ensure a recording sounds its best, no matter how its enjoyed by the listener. By understanding the history of mastering and how its changed over time, we can better understand where its likely to go in the future. I’m of the mind that rather than AI or other automated services taking some meaningful hold on the industry, artists want accessible engineers who focus on both the science and the art of mastering. I don’t think mastering is going anywhere, but I do think that the needs and perspectives of artists have changed considerably over time.

Today, artists have access to mastering plugins and other tools to master their own works. In some genres, artists are expected to master their own music, as part of the music making process itself. Gone are the days where artists left it to engineers; artists today have particular tastes and know what they want in their mastering. The result? Engineers need to be prepared to take on a more collaborative approach, understanding that the artist’s opinion and vision is more important than their own. Regardless, mastering is and will continue to be an essential part of the music making process. So whether you do it yourself, hire a professional, or use an automated service, don’t skip the mastering — your listeners will thank you (although they probably won’t thank you too much if you use AI mastering, just FYI).