how much treatment do you home recordists give to your mixdown?

[a27thletter]

untill now i have mostly just tried to get everything sounding nice in the multi-track stage and then mix it down to stereo and not touch the stereo track but lately i've decided that i need to try my hand at some home mastering, my home recordings usually sound a few decibles lower than other cds i listen to, i'm assuming i'd use some compression to bring it up? what is a good starting point for that? also, how much eq tweaking do you all do to your stereo mix? i've always been worried that if i try to start eq-ing i'll end up overdoing it and ruining the sound. sorry for the amature questions.

[peritus]

Originally Posted by a27thletter

untill now i have mostly just tried to get everything sounding nice in the multi-track stage and then mix it down to stereo and not touch the stereo track but lately i've decided that i need to try my hand at some home mastering, my home recordings usually sound a few decibles lower than other cds i listen to, i'm assuming i'd use some compression to bring it up? what is a good starting point for that? also, how much eq tweaking do you all do to your stereo mix? i've always been worried that if i try to start eq-ing i'll end up overdoing it and ruining the sound. sorry for the amature questions.

I won't touch on the other subjects... But all of my stuff is EQ-less (not that it sounds good that way)... I just want to learn to compose in a natural way (i.e. put a sound where it natually fits)... Someday I'll stop being lazy and learn more about the right way to do it...

[scrubs]

I know absolutely bubkis about mastering, but I think as long as you save your stereo mixdown, untouched, in case you want to later send it for mastering, it's ok to try to "half-aster" your tracks at home. Load a copy of the stereo mix into a separate project and listen carefully. Try to imagine what could be better. It will be hard, since you mixed it, most likely on the same speakers and in the same room you're attempting to "master" in. But, really listen. Is the bass too boomy? Not defined enough? Are there annoying things that jump out at you? The project may deserve a remix if there are numerous problems. Otherwise try a few toys and listen to how they affect the mix. Perhaps a touch of reverb to tie everything together. A limiter (the Kjaerhus Classic Master Limiter is my favorite freebie) will help bring up the volume. You may need to apply some gentle compression (single or multiband) and/or eq to tame problem frequencies before hitting the limiter. Really, there are no rules other than what sounds good. If you just want volume, strap the limiter across the master bus and be done. Probably good enough for most home recordings, anyway.

[crowning]

Originally Posted by a27thletter

untill now i have mostly just tried to get everything sounding nice in the multi-track stage and then mix it down to stereo and not touch the stereo track but lately i've decided that i need to try my hand at some home mastering, my home recordings usually sound a few decibles lower than other cds i listen to, i'm assuming i'd use some compression to bring it up?

If you just need some decibels I wouldn't call this 'mastering' , but anyway,
a compressor/limiter is your friend.

Originally Posted by a27thletter

what is a good starting point for that? also, how much eq tweaking do you all do to your stereo mix? i've always been worried that if i try to start eq-ing i'll end up overdoing it and ruining the sound. sorry for the amature questions.

Now we're coming to real mastering questions, and the answer is 'that
depends'.
Each song is different, therefore there exist no general
eq/compressor/whatever settings.

First advice: let a mastering engineer do this

If you want to do this on your own and you (most probably) don't own a
mastering studio with dedicated mastering monitors, my advice is to listen to
your songs on as much different systems as possible (computer, boom box,
car, home stereo/hifi, friends/parents/whatever stereo) in as much different
rooms as possbile.
Make notes for each song on each system.
Try to find out common problems (track 3 sounds too harsh on 7 of 10
systems, track 6 lacks bass on 5 of 10 systems) and address these.
Start over again until all tracks are playing fine on a maximum number
of systems.
Sometimes a track seems to be unfixable. If so you most probably have to
go back to the mixing stage to fix it there.

It's a lot of work, but when you've succesfully done this a couple of times
you'll learn more and more how a track should sound on your mixing monitors
before testing it on all the other systems, so the number of turnarounds will
become less and less each time.

Your songs will still not sound as good as professional mastered songs, but
they'll be closer to the 'real thing'.

Good luck.
Tom

[apl]

I do a little eq and a touch of compression.

[legionserial]

I just do whatever needs doing to make it sound nice. And thats always a circumstantial judgement call. The only thing I can say I consistantly do obviously is make it louder, and maybe a slight EQ tweak. I don't often do much else. To some extent I don't see the point....:Like if theres something wrong with the way my mix sounds that I really don't like I go back to the mix to fix it.

Thats why I've always figured its better if someone else masters it. I figure mastering is kind of like someone else adding the second opinion to the mix. Its too hard for me to be objective about my mix and not just go back to the mix instead of sorting it in mastering. I like the idea of getting one of my other recording enthusiast friends, and swapping and trying to master each others mix.

[Nick98338]

For me, "mastering" is just making stuff sound good on a home stereo system CD player. Nothing I've ever recorded has been put on vinyl. Nothing has been mass produced in 300,000 copies. Nothing on radio, AM or FM. Nothing streamed over internet. So, mastering is rather easy, for me. I do eq the final cuts a bit. And, I compress, or limit so that all cuts are close to the same volume and are close to a typical commercial CD of similar genre.

[dmbfan1981]

i am by NO MEANS a master at recording or mastering, but i was once advised to try out a nice plugin that really helps. BBE SONIC MAXIMIZER. they also make a rack unit but its much easier to use the software version just to boost your levels. It has presets for individual instruments and one for mastering. I tend to just use it on the finished project if it sounds a little lackluster.

Also try normalizing ... i have yet to master this completely but i am told that it is a very valuable tool when trying to boost your final mix. once again i am pretty much a newbie, so take it for what its worth.