The workflow of making a CD

Making a CD generally involves four steps:

Recording.
This is the process of capturing your performance onto a physical medium like tape or a computer's hard disk.

Mixing.
This is the process of blending together multiple recorded tracks using a mixing console; the usual result is a two-channel, stereo performance.

Mastering.
In this phase, your recording is balanced, equalized, and enhanced so your finished product will be both more musical and more competitive in the marketplace.

Replication.
In this final step, your digital audio master is transferred to a glass master and thousands of copies are made.

If you're not mastering your recording, you are leaving out what could be a crucial step in the making of your CD. Your master is the template for thousands of your CDs to be produced for commercial release.

CD Mastering enables your recording to faithfully reproduce your vision, making it the most musical and commercially competitive it can be, and bridging the technological gap between the artist's recording equipment and the listener's stereo system. Mastering can make a huge difference in the competitiveness and musical value of your product - and it is also the greatest bargain in the entire workflow of making a CD.