master ur track proffesionaly?

N

n4eem

New member
hey just wondered, can a sound engineer master songs that are MP3 or WAV files? or do they need the whole mix in peices?? as in track layer by track layer? because ive made about 8songs, but they already have been mixed down, and i was wondering if some sound engineers could polish it up?? thanx
 
Mastering engineers typically only use the WAV file anyway. It'll only be "chopped up" if they're mastering with stems. But, I definitely wouldn't send off an mp3 to get mastered. If you have the stereo mixdown in the form of a WAV, you should be fine.
 
Side-noting - 24-bit PCM (.wav, .aiff, etc.) at the project's native sample rate is pretty much "universally ideal."
 
Yes, you want the track to be mixed the best it can be...then send the mixed 24bit wav to mastering.
 
n4eem said:
ok WAV files then, but it doesnt matter if they are already mixed down do they??
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Usually the tracks will be mixed to a stereo pair. If there things about the mix that you feel uncertain about, or could be better enhanced in mastering by attacking them on a more individual basis stems (stereo submixes) may be in order. For example you may want to send a mix with the vocals separated into another stereo pair so that the ME can provide vocal up/down versions of the songs. Of course you can also send multiple mixes of the songs this way as well.

The further you separate out the stereo mixes to other stems the more the ME will be involved in the mixing process. It just depends on your confidence in what you have produced, as well as having previous experience in having your music mastered properly.
 
n4eem said:
dam!! i have only MP3 format complete mix inc vocals! is that a huge factor?!!!?
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It *should* be a complete mix. It's the MP3 part that has you hung up. It's rather like asking if it's OK to send a stereo casette off to mastering.

It *can* be done, it's not physically impossible to master from MP3. But you're going to pay in a loss of audio quality.

MP3 is not a professional format. MP3 is to WAV what a pocket disposable camera is to an SLR camera. It's there for convenience for the consumer, but should never go anywhere near a studio (unless it's on it's way out via broadband modem or something ;) ).

G.
 
It shouldn't be a problem to export a wav of your mix.
Do you have access to the project?

MP3's are garbage...even for casual listening. ..can't stand em...
 
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