The Human Side of Mastering

After more than 25 years as a mastering engineer, I often think about what’s really changed in the world of music mastering…and what hasn’t.

The tools have evolved beyond recognition. When I started, everything revolved around analogue gear, tape, and careful manual adjustments. Today, entire mastering sessions can happen inside a computer with incredible precision and flexibility. The workflow is faster, the options broader, and the technology more powerful than ever.

But despite all that progress, one thing remains exactly the same: mastering is still about emotion.

Every track that comes through my studio carries something deeply personal. A story, an intention, a feeling that the artist has worked hard to capture. Whether it’s an intimate acoustic piece or a layered electronic mix, each song has a heartbeat of its own. My job as a professional mastering engineer is to make sure that emotion translates clearly and honestly, wherever it’s heard. From streaming platforms to vinyl, from headphones to big sound systems.

More Than Loudness and Polish

People often think of audio mastering as the final technical step. The polish before release. In reality, it’s more about connection. It’s about helping listeners feel what the artist felt when the track first came alive.

That might mean adding subtle warmth, balancing frequencies for clarity, or shaping dynamics so the music breathes naturally. There’s a craft to finding that emotional balance. When an artist tells me their song “finally sounds right,” that’s still the best feedback I could ever get.

A Quiet Satisfaction

There’s a quiet kind of satisfaction in mastering. I might not be there when a song is written or recorded, but I get to be the last set of ears before it reaches the world. I hear the point where every creative decision comes together. Where the performance, the mix, and the emotion align. Sometimes a single move in mastering can make the whole picture click into place.

After thousands of songs and countless projects, I’ve realised that no two pieces of music are ever the same. Each artist brings something unique, and that humanity is what keeps this work so rewarding.

Technology Moves Fast. Emotion Doesn’t.

The world of music production changes constantly: new plugins, new platforms, new loudness standards. But the essence of what we do as musicians and engineers stays the same. It’s about emotion, storytelling, and human connection.

So while the meters, waveforms, and tools evolve, the goal never does: to translate feeling into sound, and sound into connection.

Here’s to keeping the human side of music — and mastering — alive and well.

— Steve
Steve Kitch Mastering