Everybody wants an experienced audio mastering engineer, as it’s vital if you want any chance of creating the “Hit” sound. Without it, the engineer is never going to deliver the complete results you want.

In fact, having an experienced engineer offers you 3 key benefits:

1. Knows which changes and adjustments are going to produce the best results.

Every song has its unique quirks that require adjustments. An experienced engineer is going to know quickly what the best course of action to fix problems is and how to go about doing it to get amazing results.

While, an inexperienced engineer may not feel comfortable with all of the techniques or the full capabilities of what his tools can do (which often takes years of work inside the studio to master).

2. Avoids making the wrong changes (based on a thorough understanding of the potential consequences all the adjustments can have.)

You see, mastering is like cooking a big pot of soup. If you just make one seemingly minor mistake, such as not realizing how much salt you’ve put in (until you’ve got way too much), then you’ve ruined the entire soup.

It didn’t matter that you did everything else right. All it took was one tiny mistake to ruin everything.

Mastering is often the same way. Be aware, a bad mastering engineer can actually make your music worse than what it was to begin with.

This is why you need to go with a proven mastering engineer who has heard it all and knows all the potential pitfalls the wrong adjustments can have.

3. Has experience working, talking, and understanding the wishes and problems of clients… and, in relation, offers you revisions (if needed), until you’re satisifed.

This alone can save you from a major disaster. If the engineer fails to communicate with you in an effective way, this is where the big problems occur. Because the engineer is going to miss vital information needed to get you the result you want (based on your wishes)… or is not going to let you in on what he or she is doing, until it’s too late!

With all that said, experience is sometimes not all it’s cracked up to be. What you should look for instead of the number of years the engineer has been working, is his or her track-record.

You want to ask yourself, “Has the engineer proven he or she has what it takes to create a ‘Hit’ sound?”

After all, an engineer may have been working for 10 years, but has little to show for it. On the other hand, another engineer may have only been working for 4 years, but have already helped many clients create hit records.

Who do you want mastering your music?

Additionally, you should look to see if the engineer has testimonials from satisfied clients on his or her website. Meeting the clients’ wishes satisfactorily is just as important as the final results.

Because nobody likes working with an engineer who is talented, but is no fun to work with either. You should look for someone who is the best of both worlds.

About the Author:
Lorenz Vauck is an Audio Mastering Engineer, Musician, and Internet Entrepreneur from Dresden, Saxony, Germany. He is the Managing Director and Chief Mastering Engineer of XARC Mastering, one of the world’s first online audio mastering studios established in 2003.