T-racks

[t-hart]

personally i love t-racks, it has a lot of good presets but i made my own presets according to how i like my music to sound. secondly i hope your using a good soundcard and a decent set of monitors if not your hearing music that sound sweet in there but somewhere else sounds like trash....lastly to whoever made the comment about if your get more than 500 cd's pressed up you should get your final copy mastered by a pro...that bull, man you can spend your own (free) time mastering your cd w/ t-racks and good a very good sound master than can compete with major record labels.


tha incredible

t-hart

[mixmkr]

hhhhmmm..... suspicious post.....

[Kramer]

Originally posted by mixmkr
hhhhmmm..... suspicious post.....

Indeed.....I just wanna know how many people are forking over 300 bucks this program!

Is T-racks worth it?

[Track Rat]

Mr Hart. I strongly disagree but I have an open mind. Lets hear something you've done that rivals commercial releases. I've used T Racks many times and I think it makes stuff sound like ass but prehaps that's my lack of "skilz". Post a link to something you've done with it.

[Blue Bear Sound]

Originally posted by t-hart
....you should get your final copy mastered by a pro...that bull, man you can spend your own (free) time mastering your cd w/ t-racks and good a very good sound master than can compete with major record labels.

Yeah... right....

Feel free to post clips to disprove it, but you're pretty much talking nonsense........

[eljay]

When I first used t-racks, I was a little impressed. But after screwing around with the stupid KNOBS and being unable to get the exact setting with the rotatiing of the mouse thing, I got frustrated.

After hearing my mixes on my car stereo and my home theater, I noticed that they sounded like they were coming out of a little speaker box.

I now concentrate on iZotope and Sound Forge. I even use a little of Cool Edit Pro.

iZotope is so far the very best I have used.

[littledog]

Originally posted by t-hart
personally i love t-racks, it has a lot of good presets but i ...that bull, man you can spend your own (free) time mastering your cd w/ t-racks and good a very good sound master than can compete with major record labels.

So I guess the implication is you can be competive with top mastering engineers not only with crappy software, but with crappy speakers in a crappy room as well. Now we're REALLY talking about saving money!

[Son of Mixerman]

Originally posted by t-hart
....lastly to whoever made the comment about if your get more than 500 cd's pressed up you should get your final copy mastered by a pro...that bull,

Since your quoting me I suppose I have to reply.

I have well over 15 years of experience behind my statement and unfortunately, some costly mistakes because on my inexperience in my younger years. If you want to learn on your own and make more than 500 cdr's at home in a closed system thats your decision. Its your life. But, if you expect to get professional results without the professionals experience Id like to hear the proof.
So far we all I hear is how ya'lls can make professional CD's that compete with major label Cd's so where is the proof? Why don't you post your T-rack'd music where it can be compared to major label releases. Yes its time for: PUT UP OR SHUT UP. After nearly a 1000 home mastering with T-Racks posts someone had to finally say it. Im sorry but put you music where your mouth is, this is an opne challenge to all T-Rack lurkers and users. Whose gonna help get this ball rolling?

SoMm

[Track Rat]

I'm with you. Lets hear 'em.

[Wiz C]

check out some of these:
http://stage.vitaminic.co.uk/wiz_c_productions

mastered with wavelab n soundforge

i used t-racks lst year a little but i switch back in forth in these programs to get different sounds...

[Blue Bear Sound]

Originally posted by Wiz C
check out some of these:
http://stage.vitaminic.co.uk/wiz_c_productions

mastered with wavelab n soundforge

i used t-racks lst year a little but i switch back in forth in these programs to get different sounds...

I'm sorry... IMO none of them sound anywhere close to being professionally mastered....

[Wiz C]

you heard the old stuff i just put up... i did 3 of em like 2 years ago when i first got in to mastering my own music but the album with the new stuff will be up soon you will hear the difference
plus those are compressed mp3s
nobodies mp3s sound pro at 128...
maybe at 256 or better....

[Stealthtech]

Fortunetly I didn't purchase T-racks, I got a free copy of it. I worked with this software for month's and was never satisfied with it. Always seemed to be so artificial. The only effect I found somewhat pleasing was FM Broadcast if you tweeked the Hell out of it.

[heylow]

Originally posted by Blue Bear Sound
I'm sorry... IMO none of them sound anywhere close to being professionally mastered....

Look,

I'm not sticking up for anyone here since i believe pro mastering is the way to go.

However,

I cant see how you could arrive at this judgement considering:

a. You have never heard the original ( I mean, this could be serious miracle working for all we know, compared to the original, unmastered version.)

b. You are listening to a REAL AUDIO stream!!! I doubt anything sounds too pro in this format....it the wosrt format of them all!!


I dunno.....


heylow

[Blue Bear Sound]

Heylow...

What's the damn problem?

I listened after he asked us too -- and I gave my opinion... it doesn't have the sheen or the polished, tight sound that a pro mastering job gives a track....

I don't need to hear the original to know that it doesn't sound polished....

And a polished track will still sound better than average even streamed....

These were not "better than average..."

And anyways, this was (and IS) my opinion, so who gives a flying fuck?

[heylow]

Originally posted by Blue Bear Sound
Heylow...

What's the damn problem?

I listened after he asked us too -- and I gave my opinion... it doesn't have the sheen or the polished, tight sound that a pro mastering job gives a track....

I don't need to hear the original to know that it doesn't sound polished....

And a polished track will still sound better than average even streamed....

These were not "better than average..."

And anyways, this was (and IS) my opinion, so who gives a flying fuck?

Hmmmmm.....well you are certainly entitled to an opinion.

But as to the idea that all professionally mastered tracks come out tight, sheened and polished.....one could come up with any numbere of examples that do not fit into that catagory though done by pros....not to mention that any of those words are only relative at best.

Its also interesting that you seem to think the original track's sound has nothing to do with the finished master. Why bother recording well at all if all mastered material comes out tight, polished and sheeny?

I'm not trying to start a flame war here....I just believe that your response was beneath you, honestly. I know you know better than that.


heylow

[littledog]

Hey Heyyyyyyylow!

Don't you know Bear-baiting has been outlawed since the 19th century?


(besides, that's my job...)

[heylow]

Hey...it's all out of love, man!

Anyway, I publicy admit bear can engineer me under the table but this one just stuck out to me.....I dunno.

And...uh....anyone that doesnt like it can...um...Engineer me under the table!!



heylow

[Track Rat]

I got engineered under a table once. God it was kinky!!

[Blue Bear Sound]

Originally posted by heylow
Its also interesting that you seem to think the original track's sound has nothing to do with the finished master. Why bother recording well at all if all mastered material comes out tight, polished and sheeny?

You missed my point........ the mastering process also involves checking the mix to ensure that the frequency spectrum is well-balanced and well-represented in that nothing inappropriate jumps out.... hearing a mix that ISN'T sonically balanced usually is a clear sign that the material hasn't been mastered.

This doesn't require comparsion to the original to hear....

[smellyfuzz]

We must stop the newbees...

They are tearing us apart

We are now at each other's throats

Let's ban together and prevent anymore of them from becoming members

All could be lost

Sean

[heylow]

Bear,

Ok....I see that. But I guess even that is arguable as "pro" is also a relative term. I believe there are records floating around out there done without the balance you speak of yet were mastered by "pros." (yikes....if you think about it...all you have to do is consistently make money doing it to be a pro....always ask for samples, people!!)

Ya know what....come to think of it...."balanced" is also relative term. For instance....a lot of new stuff on MTV and such does not sound balanced to me though I know it is by common standards. Some of it sounds "hyped" in the high and low frequencies....even "over-wide" sometimes!

I dont know...maybe it all comes down to a philisophical debate in the end.

Whether this argument ever gets ironed out or not, I would like it understood that Bear and i agree on one thing FO SHO....while progs like T-racks and Izotope are fun to play with (I use em on demos all the time), "mastering" gets done by pros with pro gear and and great ears.

Of course "great ears" can also be quite relative as can be "pro gear."

Nevermind....I'm apparently too philisophical today to fight.

death to newbies, it is then!!!!



heylow

[lofat]

i find t-racks to be useful when 'mastering' (i'll use that term loosely) digital tracks created in the digital domain so that there is an even sound and flow to the disc.
i went full circle with it, loved it, hated it, now i like it. but i wouldn't say that it could ever replace mastering by a professional. the pro has the gear sure, but they also have the skilled and schooled ears and can be completely impartial.

if i were to release something for the masses on a big scale i would mos def pay to have it mastered in a mastering room by a pro before running it through t-racks.

i think for demo's, mp3's etc on a budget it's cool tho - and for the curious, it is/can be a learning tool.

not sure that this post adds any value to this thread, but....

[Kramer]

Originally posted by lofat
i think for demo's, mp3's etc on a budget it's cool tho - and for the curious, it is/can be a learning tool.

Is it worth 300 dollars just for that purpose?

[mixmkr]

$300?....compared to what you could buy 15-20 years ago...I'd say yes in a heartbeat. Nowadays....a big NO. I'd rather have about 10 of those joints that Samicide smokes.... you know...those "spensive ones"