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The Mastering Show #110 - What makes a REAL mastering engineer ?

June 30, 2026 · 41 min

Show notes

I'm seeing several different discussions online about what makes a "real" mastering engineer – and some of them are getting pretty heated !

So what really matters the most ? Expertise, experience, or credits ?

In this episode I talk about my own opinions and reasoning, talking about:

  • Why credits can be a complete red herring, especially online
  • The problem with credits even if they are reliable
  • How I got great results with (almost) zero experience
  • When years of experience might not be an advantage
  • The power (and problems) of trial and error
  • When expertise becomes a super-power

Links and more episodes here:

www.themasteringshow.com/episode-110

Mentioned in this episode:

Learn to master !

Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

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