On Mastering

[lapieuvre]

Hi,

I am new to Digital recording / mixing and mastering. I did two projects and learned a lot. I still don't really understand mastering. I use Sonar with the waves effects. When I use the L2 maximizer I get decent sound almost at 0db, no distortion at all. What more can mastering do? I heard L2 was not really mastering and normalizing just brings the highest peak close to 0db.

Here comes the 100$ question: How do I master my project myself ( I have sound Forge 6.0, but I heard Wavelab was a more professionnal software)?

Thanks,

Thierry Angers

[SPINSTERWUN]

When you get the chance....... here's some reading

http://www.studiocovers.com/

[Blue Bear Sound]

Originally posted by lapieuvre
Here comes the 100$ question: How do I master my project myself?

You don't...... you'll get much better results if you take it to someone else!

Even if you have some experience with mastering, there's a huge difference between having objective ears analyze your audio quality and doing your own subjective analysis on a project you're too close to and used to the way it sounds.

[Turnip]

Originally posted by Blue Bear Sound
You don't...... you'll get much better results if you take it to someone else!

Oh Bah...

Welcome to HomeRecording.com - where our name is self-explanatory. Given that, I wonder if there are any experts who'd be willing to lug their mastering equipment to your home.

It's true: if you want the best mastering results, take your mixes to a professional. Actually, if you want the best recording results, period, take them to a professional studio, as well. On that point, scrap your home studio, sell your equipment, and leave it to the professionals. Why stop with mastering?


Either that, or start experimenting with either the T-Racks or Waves mastering bundles. You'll find that even though your final masters may not be as crisp as those of a professional, you'll be quite pleased with the differences that YOU, AN UNTRAINED, UNCERTIFIED, NON-PROFESSIONAL can effect in your mixes!


P.S. - I really, really, really tire of the tendency to refer people to professionals, rather than given them the answer they need to begin experimenting on their own. If someone was interested in finding a mastering engineer, they wouldn't be asking for advice on here. Lend a hand, and spam the industry somewhere else; maybe consider a job with the RIAA

[Blue Bear Sound]

Originally posted by Turnip
Oh Bah...

Welcome to HomeRecording.com - where our name is self-explanatory. Given that, I wonder if there are any experts who'd be willing to lug their mastering equipment to your home.

It's true: if you want the best mastering results, take your mixes to a professional. Actually, if you want the best recording results, period, take them to a professional studio, as well. On that point, scrap your home studio, sell your equipment, and leave it to the professionals. Why stop with mastering?


Either that, or start experimenting with either the T-Racks or Waves mastering bundles. You'll find that even though your final masters may not be as crisp as those of a professional, you'll be quite pleased with the differences that YOU, AN UNTRAINED, UNCERTIFIED, NON-PROFESSIONAL can effect in your mixes!


P.S. - I really, really, really tire of the tendency to refer people to professionals, rather than given them the answer they need to begin experimenting on their own. If someone was interested in finding a mastering engineer, they wouldn't be asking for advice on here. Lend a hand, and spam the industry somewhere else; maybe consider a job with the RIAA

Nonsense........

If a novice really wants to improve their mixes - they should start with getting the tracking right - and then work on getting the mixing right. Then they wouldn't have to worry about "mastering" as much............ most amateurs want to "master" because they need a rescue operation on mixes they didn't get right in the first place!

And the reason I say mastering is such a different beast is that objectivity is required for critical analysis.... the person who tracked/mixed it is too subjective to be of any use, even if they themselves are professional MEs........

As to this being HomeRecording... the point is to help amateurs get better sound and follow appropriate techniques to improve the quality of their recordings - something self-mastering won't help with 90% of the time......

[Kramer]

Originally posted by Turnip

Either that, or start experimenting with either the T-Racks.....

Yeah,if you wanna totally destroy a mix,go with T-racks.

[Blue Bear Sound]

Originally posted by Turnip
Either that, or start experimenting with either the T-Racks or Waves mastering bundles. You'll find that even though your final masters may not be as crisp as those of a professional, you'll be quite pleased with the differences that YOU, AN UNTRAINED, UNCERTIFIED, NON-PROFESSIONAL can effect in your mixes!

One more thing.......... can you please explain to me how someone (with a good ear) - who just tracked and mixed their song in their bedroom - are going to recognize the fact that they've mixed "to their room" by overpumpingthe bass, sucking the mids out and boosting highs by trying to "master" in that very same room to clean-up sound problems they didn't even know they had in the first place?

But no - you'd rather I say self-mastering is a more appropriate path to rescue their recordings?!?!?!

How should I put this eloquently but in words you can understand -- gimme a fuckin' break.....

[Turnip]

Originally posted by Blue Bear Sound
One more thing.......... can you please explain to me how someone (with a good ear) - who just tracked and mixed their song in their bedroom - are going to recognize the fact that they've mixed "to their room" by overpumpingthe bass, sucking the mids out and boosting highs by trying to "master" in that very same room to clean-up sound problems they didn't even know they had in the first place?

But no - you'd rather I say self-mastering is a more appropriate path to rescue their recordings?!?!?!

How should I put this eloquently but in words you can understand -- gimme a fuckin' break.....

Here's the point, amigo. I agree with you - quality mastering should be done by a professional, with professional equipment. But then again, so should the recording, no?

We're all here trying to get advice on how to do things in our homes (or in our private studios); if someone's got questions about how to master at home, why not provide a legitimate answer?

You're insinuating that there are fundamental problems with their setup that prohibit them from mastering effectively; I'm suggesting that there are probably fundamental problems with EVERYTHING in a home studio (including miking techniques/placements, sound proofing, absorption, etc.). We need to take those imperfections for granted and try to help IN SPITE OF THEM.

Thus, if you don't have anything constructive to suggest for someone who is interested in learning to master at home, why not give US a fucking break, and avoid the reply button? Your points are well taken - but they've not contributed one iota to answering this individual's question.

Thanks.

[Blue Bear Sound]

Actually my comments have served to inform people that there's more to mastering than most believe.... and that a different set of skills and tools are necessary to analyze a mix for sound quality..............

YOUR comments, OTOH, have shown nothing but a willingness to argue.........

[Turnip]

Originally posted by Kramer
Yeah,if you wanna totally destroy a mix,go with T-racks.

Is T-Racks bogus? What would you suggest?

[Turnip]

Originally posted by Blue Bear Sound
Actually my comments have served to inform people that there's more to mastering than most believe.... and that a different set of skills and tools are necessary to analyze a mix for sound quality..............

YOUR comments, OTOH, have shown nothing but a willingness to argue.........

Very well. I've acknowledged, three times now, that you're right about the value of proper mastering environments and professionals.

Thank you for that input, again.

Now, as to the original question: what kind of options are there for mastering in one's home studio?

[Blue Bear Sound]

Originally posted by Turnip
Now, as to the original question: what kind of options are there for mastering in one's home studio?

Answer: good tracking and good mixing......

[cstockdale]

Patience, young Jedi!

I have to agree that using a pro mastering engineer is the best solution. However, many (most) of us cannot afford to do that. The best solution is time and practice.

First: "master" tracking, recording the best possible signals
Second: "master" editing, making the most of what you have tracked (compression, EQ, effects)
Third: "master" mixing
Fourth: "master" mastering.

If you screw up at 1, you are screwed. If you screw up at 2, you are screwed, if you screw up at 3 you are screwed etc etc etc. Start at the beginning.

Homerecording can be a lesson in humility. I got my system all set a year ago thinking that in 6 months I would have a great 6 song EP, I am still working on my first 3 songs, having finally learned good tracking skills, and currently am honing my editing skills and working on the mixing stuff too. Maybe, I will be lucky and by calendar year end finally have 6 songs I am proud of.

[therage!]

Originally posted by cstockdale


Homerecording can be a lesson in humility. I got my system all set a year ago thinking that in 6 months I would have a great 6 song EP, I am still working on my first 3 songs, having finally learned good tracking skills, and currently am honing my editing skills and working on the mixing stuff too. Maybe, I will be lucky and by calendar year end finally have 6 songs I am proud of.

Good points, Blue Bear just said it in a few less words. It takes fucking time, no way around that. It's amazing to me some of the good quality stuff I've heard from guys that has not been mastered. But I know this for sure....Them guys have worked their asses off in tracking and mixing to get there. That's my goal and when I reach it I want the final phase to be done by someone else.

Are there "any" pro studios doing tracking, mixing "and" mastering in the same place using the same gear? I doubt it....so learn something from the pros.