I don't like the results that I've gotten transferring my recordings to CD using my computer. I have an echo mia for the input and I've tried some inexpensive software-Magix Audio Studio. I hear pops and slight changes in level. I think I want to go back to a stand alone unit. Before, I had a consumer CD burner -Phillips-which I transferred my DAT mixes to. I got rid of that and planned to just use the computer. I really haven't enjoyed recording with a computer. Any benefit to having something like a more professional model of CD recorder like an HHB, Tascam or even a masterlink? Musician' Friend has a very inexpensive model while an HHB is 4 times as much. I'm very sceptical of any kind of consumer mastering gear and I've wondered how good the Masterlink is.
CD Burner
- Thread starter Apple
- Start date
Massive Master
www.massivemastering.com
"Consumer" and "Mastering gear" hardly belong in the same sentence... 
Otherwise, I don't own a Masterlink, but it is on my shortlist of stuff to grab over the next few months. Almost every M.E. I know has one (or three) lying around, whether they admit it or not.
Not much because of its "mastering" capabilites, as much as it will play 24-bit files from a disc. That's saying something. I don't know anyone who uses them for actually burning RedBook, but several who use them for reference purposes (as I will also to save uneccessary wear on my Plextor drives) and short term storage of rendered files.
Otherwise, I don't own a Masterlink, but it is on my shortlist of stuff to grab over the next few months. Almost every M.E. I know has one (or three) lying around, whether they admit it or not.
Not much because of its "mastering" capabilites, as much as it will play 24-bit files from a disc. That's saying something. I don't know anyone who uses them for actually burning RedBook, but several who use them for reference purposes (as I will also to save uneccessary wear on my Plextor drives) and short term storage of rendered files.
masteringhouse
www.masteringhouse.com
Apple said:
If you store your files on a data CD it can be in any format you wish. If you're burning an audio CD then it will be 16 bit.
I don't know that I see any real advantage in using a Masterlink over bouncing files in your DAW and burning a data CD.
If you're an analog based studio using DAT, then it's another story.
I don't have to use DAT. I'm assuming you said that the masterlink records in 24 bit. Which means a more realistic recording? I can't tell from your answer. I appreciate your response, but I'm more musician than engineer. I'm ready to learn if you will elaborate a little more. At this point, I'm ready to go back to using a stand alone CD burner. My consumer Phillips worked just fine. But, before I run out and buy something, I'm wondering if I would do better getting something more expensive. Like an HHB or a masterlink. One that lets me control the levels during recording. Can you offer any suggestions?
masteringhouse
www.masteringhouse.com
Apple said:
I'm not coming up with much for MAGIX audio studio in regards to a user manual, so it's a bit difficult to give you a direct answer.
Most likely the software records in 24 bit or 32 bit floating point. If so, saving the files in this format is better than reducing it to 16 bit. If you are recording and processing in 16 bit and storing it as 24 bit you haven't gained anything.
My first question is what are you trying to accomplish? If the goal is to send your material out for mastering I would sugggest that you bounce (mix) the tracks to the same format used to record and send the mixes out on a data CD instead of an audio CD.
If you are trying to create finished product (an audio CD) I would still bounce down as above, but then master the bounced files separately. That way you can work with various types of compression/limiting/EQ etc. processing on a given mix until you feel that you have it right. At this point you will still need to bounce to a set of "mastered" files.
From there you may want to invest in software that is more capable of creating and audio CD such as CD Architect. This will allow you to lay the disc out, perform some types of edits like fades, and hopefully provide dithering from 24 bit to the 16 bit format required for an audio CD.
Hope this helps a bit more ...
mshilarious
Banned
Speaking of CD burners one of my Yamaha drives completely refused to burn anything other than coasters last night (I even got the dreaded BSOD!). I fear it's finally done; I'll try a cleaning, but in the meantime I'm gonna pick up one of those Plextor drives Massive likes so much. I still have one functional Yammy, so I'll put its Audio Mastering Mode head-to-head with the Plextor & report back on results.
Best Buy and Amazon.com sell Magix if you want to look it up. You get a whole studio for 80 bucks. I have a Mackie board and an Alesis HD-24. I sometimes have songs played on the radio, but mainly I send stuff out to publishers. But I enjoy trying to make professional sounding records. I'm getting better at it. The first time I heard one of my recordings on the radio, with the multi band compression, I realized how much better it sounded and I've always strived for that. Having said that, I've heard two studio efforts pre and post mastering. The mastered versions sounded too bright at first and then, over time, My ears have acclamated. So, I decided, another pair of ears would be needed to master (and really to mix subjectively) because I wouldn't be able to do that to a recording. I thought the pre mastering was warmer. At this point, I still have a DAT because I can only get a fraction of its value and I haven't bothered to archive all the garbage I have on DAT. Just the good stuff. Anyway. What would replace my DAT? My consumer CD burner doesn't have enough features to be a convenient mix down deck. I don't think I'm going to be making commercial offerings, so 24 bit may not be my thing. If there was something out there that came close to some of the capablities of the professional mastering, I would probably buy it. But, I'm wary of any consumer gear that promises that. So, if I got a Masterlink with the hope of doing to a recording what I heard the radio station do to my recording, then I would probably be disappointed. I think computer recording is a bit of a hassle and I'm not hearing the quality. Maybe, I just bought cheap software. It doesn't seem to interact with the echo mia like I hoped. It's hard to get the levels right. Tascam and HHB offer professional CD recorders. Would that replace a DAT machine?
masteringhouse
www.masteringhouse.com
Apple said:
They could certainly be used in place of a DAT, but I think that your bad experience with a DAW is due to $80 software. You may want to investigate further before just replacing your mixdown deck. There's a world of editing capabilities (especially for a songwriter like yourself) to use for composition, comping a vocal, and the price of plug-ins are significantly less then the corresponding hardware.
Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater ...
I was thinking it may be the fault of the software. Anyone have good experience with Echo Mia and can you recommend software that will work well with it? (I even tried Roxio and though it records, you can't get the levels high enough). I initially want to replace my DAT and get my mixes to CD, but I do want to explore the editing capabilities at a later date. All the editing tools in Magix and Roxio seem like toys and I was amused by them but I didn't see any application I would use them for on my recordings. By the way, I have a pretty good computer. microsoft XPR, pentium 4.
lpdeluxe
The Precision Bass Guy
You might check out CD Architect. It's pricier than something like Nero or Roxio but miles ahead in terms of capability. $200 seems to be the going rate and it works with almost all CD burners, which is not always the case with premium burning software. It allows a lot of editing functions and you can adjust the relative levels of the songs and the spaces between songs and many other things as well. It will also burn a Red Book-compliant CD, which means that your CDs will play on practically any player. For another $80-90 you can add a Plextor Premium burner which includes software for testing your CDs for errors. That's close to $300 altogether but it's like buying a good mic: you won't be able to do what you want with anything less and once you get it you can't go back.