Mastering Tips

[PsyCoNo]

If this has been posted too recently disregard it, lol.

I need help with mastering. I know its best to send it off to a mastering plant and let them do it, but I don't have enough money. Can someone give me a rundown of what I'm supposed to be looking for (and doing) when I go to master a project? Any help is appreciated, thanks!

 

[Son of Mixerman]

I need help with mastering.

Who doesn't

I know its best to send it off to a mastering plant and let them do it, but I don't have enough money.

How much money do you have? Duplication costs are usually more than mastering.

Can someone give me a rundown of what I'm supposed to be looking for (and doing) when I go to master a project? Any help is appreciated, thanks![/B][/QUOTE]

Bob Katz wrote a book. Read it, and then go back and remix the project based upon what you have learned. Listen to lots of music on your system that is as close as possible to what you trying to master. Keep trying. One you get it close as you can, see if it translates well to other things like boomboxes, car stereos...if not..try again repeat process until you do have enough money to send it out to a real mastering engineer with a good room, and good monitors. It not as simple as easy as it might seem. There are no quick fixes. Ive been studying this "Mastering" thing for a few years and I did trial and error at home in several environments. Learning to remix is usually a better goal than trying to learn how to master it, unless your goal is to be a mastering engineer in the end. I know of alot of people who slack on the mix thinking the mastering can fix it. Rarely happens that they can do cpr on slack mixes. Be patient and learn by listening. Im still doing that and believe it never really ends.

My new motto:
If its 1/2 ass mixed + 1/2 assed mastered = total ass of a project.


SoMm

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

I agree - pick-up Bob's book -- it's excellent.

But he also wrote a "primer" brochure before he did the book:

http://www.tcelectronic.com/media/bobkatz.pdf

 

[DDev]

Thanks for that link, Bruce. Just printed it out for some light weekend reading.

I go through what I call "imitation mastering" on the stuff I work with. Basically, since all my recordings are live performances I try to get the best mixes I can while still creating a disc that sounds like a live recording. My mixes go straight from my mixer into my PC where they are recorded in a 2-track editing program. Once there, I review the waveforms for any stray spikes that are out of character with the rest of the song and apply some gentle compression to bring them in line. I then go through a volume maximizing process to bring the level up without going into digital clipping and maintaining the dynamics of the original as much as possible (no brick wall limiting for me). I use this process to balance the levels between the different songs. If I intend to have no audible breaks between songs I mix the whole set at once and do the above to the entire set as one waveform (mixing a 30 minute set continuously can be FUN, over and over until you stop forgetting that one spot that needs to be muted because someone kicked a mic stand). Then I place markers to split up the tracks.

As I said this is a pale imitation that is only a small piece of what is considered real mastering. It does what I need, and the results are pretty good usually (as long as the material was good to start with and my ears are working). I don't have a good way to apply any outboard EQ at this time, and I don't like what I get with the software I've got, so I rely on my mixes to be EQ'd as well as possible from the board. This is an approach that can be utilized by a homerecr, but it has taken me 2 years to finally start getting the quality of results that I want, and those who are listening to what I'm doing are fairly pleased with the results.

Anyway, just thought I'd drop this in. Mastering really is an art form, and I hope someday I'll actually get to go through the process with a pro just for the education it will provide.

Darryl.....

 

[masteringhouse]

In addition to the great advice given above, another book to check out is Bobby Owsinski's "The Mastering Engineer's Handbook".

Lots of good interviews, advice, and info on general concepts.

 

[shackrock]

I don't consider what i do mastering, but it still sounds better after it.

my mixes are often a lot of low mids. aka, they sound muddy. I clean them up while mixing pretty nicely. However, it still doesnt shine. my mastering consists of putting a TINY bit of reverb on it all - sometimes a LITTLE compression, always a brickwall to make sure it NEVER clips (don't want to burn with any digital clips), and lastly an overall EQ to just make it shine a bit more. I never EQ the mix over 1db - unless it's dying. (all this stuff with ozone usually)

most importantly though, is to try a lot of stuff out on one song. Then, burn it all to a cd, and scroll through your different mixes/masters of the same song, and peep it on different systems. see what works the best.

in my experiance, it really helps out. brings it alive a little more - just sounds less home - and makes it more listenable.

 

[skyy38]

Why do you feel the need to "send off" for Mastering?
Are there no quality recording studios in your area that could do it for you?

FYI

 

[mallcore pop]

There is one, but I spilled beer all over their Eurorack. . .

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

Are there no quality recording studios in your area that could do it for you?

If a recording studio has a dedicated mastering room (with appropriate signal chain), then that's viable - but general recording studios, quality or otherwise, are not set-up for proper mastering.