Editing Mastering (audio) (section)

===Electro-mechanical mastering process===
From the 1950s until the advent of digital recording in the late 1970s, the mastering process typically went through several stages. Once the studio recording on multi-track tape was complete, a final [[Audio mixing (recorded music)|mix]] was prepared and dubbed down to the master tape, usually either a single-track [[Monaural|mono]] or two-track [[stereo]] tape. Prior to the cutting of the master disc, the master tape was often subjected to further electronic treatment by a specialist mastering engineer.

After the advent of tape it was found that, especially for pop recordings, master recordings could be made so that the resulting record would sound better. This was done by making fine adjustments to the amplitude of sound at different frequency bands ([[Equalization (audio)|equalization]]) prior to the cutting of the master disc.

In large recording companies such as [[EMI]], the mastering process was usually controlled by specialist staff technicians who were conservative in their work practices. These big companies were often reluctant to make changes to their recording and production processes. For example, EMI was very slow in taking up innovations in [[multi-track recording]]{{efn|In [[multi-track recording]] each signal input is recorded to its own track on a multi-track recorder. This multi-track tape is mixed down to a mono or stereo master tape. A multi-track tape may be remixed many times, in different ways, by different engineers, giving the possibility of several masters (mono version, stereo version, LP version, AM radio version, single version, etc.).}} and did not install 8-track recorders in their [[Abbey Road Studios]] until the late 1960s, more than a decade after the first commercial 8-track recorders were installed by American independent studios.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Martin|first1=George|author-link1=George Martin|last2=Hornsby|first2=Jeremy|title=All you need is ears|year=1994|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=0-312-11482-6|page=143}}</ref>