Neethane En Ponvasantham | Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu | Assi Nabbe Poorey Sau

[Shank]

Yes, what Kiru says is part of it. There are lots of nuances. Remastering can involve converting analog masters to a digital master. It can also involve taking previous digital masters and mastering them again. Essentially, in the mastering process, the engineer works on reducing static, hiss etc in the original recording. Given that in the early 80s, most of Raja's tracks would have been a stereo master and possibly analog (since Digital got prominence from mid 80s on), a publisher had to master the original to not just transfer the signal/sound, but also add clarity, spacing between instruments as well as any effects like surround sound. Remastering would involve taking a published master and mastering it again for any of the afore-mentioned needs. Typically engineers use a host of techniques including equalization to achieve this. However the danger is that the engineer has to know the material enough so that he doesn't space it out so much that it sounds weak. Since the original recordings have so much depth and warmth, the engineer has to know the balance in mastering so that the richness and tonal quality is not lost and the sound doesn't degrade to shrillness. Today, given that the masters themselves are digital and in multi-track (we use at least 48 tracks), there's not much remastering to do other than perhaps remixing it for certain re-releases etc. The key also is that the original was mixed a certain way by the mixing/sound engineer and the mastering engineer has to ensure that the soul of that is not lost in the process of mastering by enhancing other background tracks etc (not intended by the composer).

Also, remastering happens for films as well where color correction techniques, editing etc are applied to create a new master. For those who might not know, most of the film masters are in the hands of producers, some of whom are now defunct. We don't have a library of masters like they do in Hollywood. So, a Mani Rathnam might not have access to the master of Mouna Ragam, for example. Many of the original film masters are in shambles now.