The art of music production begins with the band in the studio. A recording engineer and a producer, sometimes one and the same, sometimes two different people, work to get the best sound they can out of the band they're recording. Standard recording studio equipment, such as mixing boards, speakers and monitors are used in conjunction with computers and digital recording tools to shape the music as it's recorded. Some producers introduce unique techniques. During the recording of the "Rock and Roll Over" album by Kiss, Eddie Kramer, the producer, rented a special house for the band and set recording equipment all over the house. His idea was to get a better recording by having the band live where they recorded. He also put drummer Peter Criss in an entirely different room because Criss played so loud. Rather than tone Criss down, Eddie took advantage of the sound and arranged for a way to capture it. The sound many producers get is almost like a fingerprint. The right producer can push an album to a higher level of success.
Final mixing of the songs comes after the recording process. The recording engineer often works in conjunction with the producer, and sometimes the band or members of the band, especially if the band has a hand in producing the album. The demos are listened to and mixed to balance the recordings. It may require bringing the vocals out in the mix, cleaning up the sound of the bass, or adding effects to the instrument parts to give them polish. In many cases, musicians are called in to record a part or several parts over again. In the case of a lot of live recordings, producers will have the band record studio material to go into the live recording to make it sound a little more polished. Audience noise can be brought down or even digitally added to achieve the right "crowd" feel. This is why the magic of the music is so often finally captured in the studio.
Mastering your music is the final step before CD production. this step is often confused with other areas of music production, but it is its own process, wisely left in most cases to professionals. Mastering is the process that makes the final recording cohesive. The mastering engineer ensures that all the levels of the songs are set to provide a consistent level throughout the final product, that all the enhancements create an even tapestry of sound that pleases the ear. The mastering engineer delivers a product known as the Master, which is the template that all of the produced recordings are born from. As technology improves, new mastering techniques become available, which is why you see so many classic recordings being remastered.