Alexander Jamal
New member
Hello,
I have been lurking around the forums trying to learn about the 'Mastering' process. I have learned alot and wanted to throw out some ideas and see what people thought on home studio (software) mastering versus professional mastering.
I believe that the mastering equipment used, and the expertise of a professional can add a tangible amount of quality to a CD. But for a band just starting out, trying to get gigs and maybe sell/give out some cheap cd's.. it seems that a full blown professional studio/mastering session would not be needed (this IS the home-recording website right?).
The software available cannot truly emulate the existing professional harware..but it's getting closer and closer.. I believe you would hear a huge difference in a 'Mastered' CD if you were a professional band with great gear and tons of time in the studio.. but for all the rest of us (homestudio).. the difference in the software isn't that great
so my question is.. do the professional mastering engineer's believe the mastering software (used correctly and with a decent mixdown) out today can produce a good enough demo to hand out (ie. get shows at bars/clubs) to the point where the music is listenable ?
after all the music itself is at least as important (if not more) than the producing job
thanks,
alex jamal
-------below I put some observations from my home/mastering attempt
After messing around with mastering software and burning alot of cd's (aka coasters).. it seems that most home-studio people who can't get 'decent' recordings onto cd just don't understand the tools that they already have.
IF I had known that when you mixdown, that the high end (7k-10k) gets wayyy attenuated and needs to be boosted BEFORE any of the fine EQ/Compression/Limiting ect... then I would have saved alot of time and CD's
The high freq. boost was a boost that was necessary for my recording/mixing setup and that particualr song.. everyone's setup will be different and must be compensated for... this just takes time and attention to detail..not a $1000 mastering job..
HAR-BAL, or an 'EQ ripper' or the snapshot/realtime function in Ozone are NOT CRAP... and they are way more valuable than the 'Professional' mastering engineers let on. They are LEARNING TOOLS to help the newbies understand how the frequency response can drastically affect the recording/ AND how different processing steps (ie.. mixing,compression,ect..) can affect the frequency response..(people mastering should constantly be looking at the spectrum)
for all you home-recording people without the big bucks for mastering.. try this..
1. Use Har-Bal,Ozone, or a spectrum analyzer to compare your mixed down track with an older recording.. I've been using the old Black Sabbath records.. try early 80's and 70's recordings.. because those won't have all that 'excited high end' that modern stuff has added AFTER the initial EQ
2. After mixxing down your track.. compare the frequency analysis of your track with the older recording.. and EQ the mixdown until it is CLOSE to your reference.. up to 10KHz... (many of the old sabbath recordings cut off at 10K)..
3. what will probabaly happen is that the 7-10KHz freq range will need to be super boosted to match the shape of the reference..
4. once this is done the wave will actually shrink on the screen but become clearer.. everything will stand out.. some of the mud will be lifted
5. NOW comes the black magic voodoo where your monitors and your experience come into to play.. you need to adjust the EQ to preference..this is where every song is different and where more than one set of ears and speakers are helpful... my problem with 'professionals' is that at this stage it is up to thier opinion.. and they can drastically change a song.. sometimes good.. sometimes bad.. bottom line though it is usually out of the artists immediate control...(thats why Eddie. VH built 5150 studios)
6. if you can't eq it to a sweet position.. then go back to the mixing stage and find your problem instrument and fix the problem on that track..
7. After this perform your standard Mastering chain.. slightcompress/stereo/reverb/limit ect...
8. use an exciter to create harmonics in the 10k-16K range, you can try to mess with the EQ there but do it carefully and using your ears.. that is to give it the 'polished' sound (another way may be to run it through an analog processing stage..maybe some very slight tube saturation could create the right effect)..
9. If the software/hardware can't make it sound good then leave it alone..and just worry about up to 10K.. at that point people should be able to hear the music clearly enough to look past the "non-professional" tone...
10. My Theory on the 'HOT' recordings of today are that they are good for the radios/record companies and studios because they are so trebly that people will ear-fatigue to them much sooner than alot of the older recordings.. this makes people seek out more music (ie. more money for the record co., studios, new bands ect..).. where's my proof? where are the modern-day big-following mega bands of the 70's-early 80's... every new band these days is a 'fling of the month' then everyone is into somebody else.. why is this? I think partly to do with all the 'Hot' matering going on.. the last big bands with supportive followings were Pearljam and Nirvana..recorded earl 90's.. BEFORE the ultra limiting/level boosting really started kicking in..
10. give your music a chance to win people over..it doesn't need uber-polishing if the music is good
11. I think the professional mastering engineer's are generally very helpful on the forums..I just wish they weren't so biassed towards 'their way'... they should be supportive of newbies.. and let them know that Home-Studio people can make decent sounding music (just takes time/patience..like anything else) and maybe that $50,000 mastering studio setup should be payed for and used by the record company and their signed bands.. instead of an up and coming band who just wants to test the waters
ie.. instead of saying 'gotta have it done professionally or <insert generic sarcastic comment here> ', they should use their knowledge to find out why people are getting bad results, and help them find a happy medium that doesn't cost an arm and a leg..
encourage people.. and maybe someday one of us newbies will revolutionize the industry
I should have some songs up on myspace soon if there is any interest..or anyone wants to call out my home-mastered work
sorry for the long post had some thoughts I wanted to get out. !
I have been lurking around the forums trying to learn about the 'Mastering' process. I have learned alot and wanted to throw out some ideas and see what people thought on home studio (software) mastering versus professional mastering.
I believe that the mastering equipment used, and the expertise of a professional can add a tangible amount of quality to a CD. But for a band just starting out, trying to get gigs and maybe sell/give out some cheap cd's.. it seems that a full blown professional studio/mastering session would not be needed (this IS the home-recording website right?).
The software available cannot truly emulate the existing professional harware..but it's getting closer and closer.. I believe you would hear a huge difference in a 'Mastered' CD if you were a professional band with great gear and tons of time in the studio.. but for all the rest of us (homestudio).. the difference in the software isn't that great
so my question is.. do the professional mastering engineer's believe the mastering software (used correctly and with a decent mixdown) out today can produce a good enough demo to hand out (ie. get shows at bars/clubs) to the point where the music is listenable ?
after all the music itself is at least as important (if not more) than the producing job
thanks,
alex jamal
-------below I put some observations from my home/mastering attempt
After messing around with mastering software and burning alot of cd's (aka coasters).. it seems that most home-studio people who can't get 'decent' recordings onto cd just don't understand the tools that they already have.
IF I had known that when you mixdown, that the high end (7k-10k) gets wayyy attenuated and needs to be boosted BEFORE any of the fine EQ/Compression/Limiting ect... then I would have saved alot of time and CD's
The high freq. boost was a boost that was necessary for my recording/mixing setup and that particualr song.. everyone's setup will be different and must be compensated for... this just takes time and attention to detail..not a $1000 mastering job..
HAR-BAL, or an 'EQ ripper' or the snapshot/realtime function in Ozone are NOT CRAP... and they are way more valuable than the 'Professional' mastering engineers let on. They are LEARNING TOOLS to help the newbies understand how the frequency response can drastically affect the recording/ AND how different processing steps (ie.. mixing,compression,ect..) can affect the frequency response..(people mastering should constantly be looking at the spectrum)
for all you home-recording people without the big bucks for mastering.. try this..
1. Use Har-Bal,Ozone, or a spectrum analyzer to compare your mixed down track with an older recording.. I've been using the old Black Sabbath records.. try early 80's and 70's recordings.. because those won't have all that 'excited high end' that modern stuff has added AFTER the initial EQ
2. After mixxing down your track.. compare the frequency analysis of your track with the older recording.. and EQ the mixdown until it is CLOSE to your reference.. up to 10KHz... (many of the old sabbath recordings cut off at 10K)..
3. what will probabaly happen is that the 7-10KHz freq range will need to be super boosted to match the shape of the reference..
4. once this is done the wave will actually shrink on the screen but become clearer.. everything will stand out.. some of the mud will be lifted
5. NOW comes the black magic voodoo where your monitors and your experience come into to play.. you need to adjust the EQ to preference..this is where every song is different and where more than one set of ears and speakers are helpful... my problem with 'professionals' is that at this stage it is up to thier opinion.. and they can drastically change a song.. sometimes good.. sometimes bad.. bottom line though it is usually out of the artists immediate control...(thats why Eddie. VH built 5150 studios)
6. if you can't eq it to a sweet position.. then go back to the mixing stage and find your problem instrument and fix the problem on that track..
7. After this perform your standard Mastering chain.. slightcompress/stereo/reverb/limit ect...
8. use an exciter to create harmonics in the 10k-16K range, you can try to mess with the EQ there but do it carefully and using your ears.. that is to give it the 'polished' sound (another way may be to run it through an analog processing stage..maybe some very slight tube saturation could create the right effect)..
9. If the software/hardware can't make it sound good then leave it alone..and just worry about up to 10K.. at that point people should be able to hear the music clearly enough to look past the "non-professional" tone...
10. My Theory on the 'HOT' recordings of today are that they are good for the radios/record companies and studios because they are so trebly that people will ear-fatigue to them much sooner than alot of the older recordings.. this makes people seek out more music (ie. more money for the record co., studios, new bands ect..).. where's my proof? where are the modern-day big-following mega bands of the 70's-early 80's... every new band these days is a 'fling of the month' then everyone is into somebody else.. why is this? I think partly to do with all the 'Hot' matering going on.. the last big bands with supportive followings were Pearljam and Nirvana..recorded earl 90's.. BEFORE the ultra limiting/level boosting really started kicking in..
10. give your music a chance to win people over..it doesn't need uber-polishing if the music is good
11. I think the professional mastering engineer's are generally very helpful on the forums..I just wish they weren't so biassed towards 'their way'... they should be supportive of newbies.. and let them know that Home-Studio people can make decent sounding music (just takes time/patience..like anything else) and maybe that $50,000 mastering studio setup should be payed for and used by the record company and their signed bands.. instead of an up and coming band who just wants to test the waters
ie.. instead of saying 'gotta have it done professionally or <insert generic sarcastic comment here> ', they should use their knowledge to find out why people are getting bad results, and help them find a happy medium that doesn't cost an arm and a leg..
encourage people.. and maybe someday one of us newbies will revolutionize the industry
I should have some songs up on myspace soon if there is any interest..or anyone wants to call out my home-mastered work
sorry for the long post had some thoughts I wanted to get out. !