I’m struggling to decide how to master the new album. (“Mastering” is sort of the final sonic polish put on a collection of songs — there’s a decent description here which is better than I can do.)

On one hand, I have an opportunity to work with a local mastering guru who’s done work for plenty of hometown heroes (including Pearl Jam and several Sub Pop and Barsuk artists). It’s likely I’d be able to sit in on the session so I’d get to see a master master-er at work. The downside is that it’d cost me about $300 more than I’ve budgeted.

On the other hand, the CD manufacturing company I’ve chosen also offers mastering. It’s considerably cheaper and the artists I’ve spoken to have been happy with it. I’d save some money, but I’d have to do everything by mail, and I wouldn’t get to see how they work.

Another option is to try mastering it myself. I’ve done relatively well mastering my own material on my past CDs and it’s something I enjoy doing. However, don’t have a tricked-out mastering facility in my basement, and it’s likely to take much longer as I endlessly tinker.

Being a DIY guy I’ve been skeptical of the usefulness of mastering in an increasingly MP3 world, but now that I’m putting out a Big Professional CD I want to make sure that it sounds at least as good as any CD you’d buy from a big label. It’s turning out to be one of those classic Good vs. Fast vs. Cheap dilemmas, where I can only have two of the three. Regardless, I have to make the decision pretty soon if I want to get this done before the holidays.

Previously: Hello from the Trabant…

Next: The track list