There are a number of reasons why a commercial, dedicated mastering studio usually produces better results than mastering your music yourself, or perhaps leaving it to someone who doesn’t deal with the subject matter on a day-to-day basis. In most cases, a mastering studio is better and equipped for exactly this purpose. The mastering engineer has access to high-quality selected equipment and software as well as optimized room acoustics, which small studios may not be able or willing to afford.

Despite all the technology, the most important reason is the experience that a professional mastering engineer has in terms of what he hears, how he hears it, and his ability to ultimately make the material sound good outside the recording studio on as many consumer systems as possible. Mastering is all he does day in and day out. He is familiar with his system and has spent thousands of hours with bad and outstanding music mixes of every musical style and knows what makes a balanced and competitive production. In addition, it is always advisable to have your production checked by an outside person with a trained ear.