Could someone DEFINE "mastering"

BBB

BBB

Member
No, not "explain" mastering. Define mastering.

From all the posts I've seen, possible answers include:

- Mastering is the process of putting anything on your final mix to make it sound better.

- Mastering is an art form, acuired over years of experience, of applying what is right for music to the music.

- Mastering requires tons of equipment you could never afford and is something a peon like you would never understand.

So what is the true definition of "mastering?"



Matt
 
My definition has always been:

The last transfer from work in progress to finished product that is intended for the end consumer.
 
Mastering?

I found get it right in the mix first. Then you have less worries.

Then what is it called to get the time between songs right? Is this part of mastering?

I was going to be a brain surgen before i found out about recording.

TGA
 
Easy!.. Here is an analogy....

You know when you wash your car, and chamois the water droplets off... it looks nice....,

But then, you crack open a 3rd beer and decide to wax the fucker...... and then, put a final polish over the whole body..... Now it stands up against all the show cars.........

The waxing and polishing part is mastering.

Joe
 
George Lucas said of film...

"a movie is never finished, it is only abandoned..."

I feel the same can be said for a studio mix.

;)
 
Re: Easy!.. Here is an analogy....

VOXVENDOR said:
The waxing and polishing part is mastering.
Click to expand...

Nice analogy.

You can record and mix every instrument perfectly, but you can still add polish to the mix.
 
Gidge said:
https://homerecording.com/glossary.html
Click to expand...

Ok, "a process whereby a number of songs, after being mixed down, are EQ'd, compressed as necessary, and balanced in volume with each other, so that they will sound good when placed together on a CD."

Not bad. So that means we can perform mastering in our home studios without resorting to the expense of a mastering house.

All we need to do is compress the mix and scoop out the EQ like on our home stereo. :eek: ... Heh.
 
VOXVENDER

I love it -- "Wax the fucker"! That will be my new term for when I'm finally done tweaking my recordings and ready to move on to the mastering stage -- "Time to wax the fucker"!

Mwa- ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! 3rd beer's the charm!

spwee
 
BBB you forgot one thing

You have to set the final product to the right Db for radio. add that and you have a good definition.
 
Re: BBB you forgot one thing

darrin_h2000 said:
You have to set the final product to the right Db for radio. add that and you have a good definition.
Click to expand...

Thats under the general, heading of waxing and polishing...
 
Just trying to be specific here.

I dont understand when I put wax on my disc It didnt play anymore. and gunked up my cd player. Am I using the right kind of wax. What brand do you reccomend?:confused:
 
Disk Bastard
Disk Boring
Disk Bollocks
Disk Bugger (only for people with minute ones)
Disk Belching
Disk Bath
Use sex wax for a shure 57 footing and better grip
 
SJOKO?.....
Your hanging out with that Fleetwood guy too much..... It's going to your head...

Damn Bikers!!!!:D

DB for radio.. just means making the sound on the cd or whatever media it is on as loud as commercial albums.....

A good number is -13 to -12 db, but there are lots of personal preferences to this rule....

Joe
 
Quote: "making the sound on the cd or whatever media it is on as loud as commercial albums....."

Mr. Vox Sir, how loud do I have to make it for non-commercial albums? What do I do with a photo album?
I think -57 and 8 are cool numbers as well, so does SM, but Neumann, you know, the little guy with freckles from that mad mag, likes 47 better, u see?

Derek lost his Balls
 
10 years ago mastering was process of converting analog master into digital format, normalizing and pause gap editing ( look Sonic Solutions workstations )
generally, mastering is equalization of a mix - you want mix that equally translate to diffrent speaker systems
little speakers ( small full range speakers , like in the boomboxes ) are focused in midrange
so get a Fletcher curve ( human hearing sensivity curve ) and experiment with eq by dipping midrange ( for example -2dB at 1Khz with Q factor of 1 )
now you can apply compression ( Waves L1 Ultramaximizer is the best )
if low end becomes boomy low cut at 20 Hz and increase (frequency ) if neccesary
you can do all this in Waves C4 multiband compressor - frequency dependant compression
demon of dullness live at 315 Hz - notch eq -3 dB with narrow Q factor

my english is poor so i can´t write books :( but i will answer any question ;)
 
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