Mastering opinion please

  • Thread starter Thread starter GuitardedMark
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GuitardedMark

GuitardedMark

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Hey guys! I'm pretty new to the mastering process and I have a lot to learn. I'm curious to what you guys think of the mastering/sound/mix of the song "My Curse" by Killswitch Engage. Please disregard the songwriting. I personally love it but I'm more interested in hearing your opinions of the production. To me this sounds AMAZING! The best metal sound I've ever heard by far. What do you guys think?

PS: Any ideas of how they got that sound would be helpful too!
 
Noting off the top -- No one can really comment on the mastering job without hearing the mixes...
 
GuitardedMark said:
What do you mean? Are you saying I should attach a file?
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no he is saying that the song you hear mastered is different than the song before it was mastered.

the mastering engineer could have done a lot to the mix, or done very little you'll never know unless hear the mixed (premastered) version and compare.
 
GuitardedMark said:
What do you mean?
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I mean that no one can tell how good (or bad) the mastering process was without hearing the original mix.

I've heard plenty (PLENTY) of 'mastered' versions that sound pretty horrible compared to the original mix (the vast majority of those being 'self-mastered' tracks, where the mix engineer mastered his own mixes - but that's for another thread).

In any case - You (anyone) can take any recording and say that it sounds "good" or sounds "bad" or what not. But *typically* the mastering process isn't going to do an awful lot sonically speaking to a good recording. Wondering "how they got that sound" and looking at the mastering process is like wondering how a car "got that color" and looking at what wax they used on it.
 
The final sound of an album is achieved through the cumulative contributions of the people (and gear) used to create it, not just the mastering process.

In this case the one thing that you could say is that the mastering process didn't seem to hurt the mix.

Mastering is often blamed and credited for a lot of the work that was done before it ever reached the mastering studio.
 
What these guys are saying is true all the way down the line. One cannot truly judge the master without hearing the mix, one cannot judge the mix without haring the raw tracks, and one cannot judge the raw tracking without hearing the performance.

G.
 
Got it! Well regardless of all the mastering talk, what do you guys think of the production and overall sound of this track? To my ears I hear almost no flaws. What do you guys think?

Here is the youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPdDFjvo0zs

Please do it justice and listen at 720 HD.
 
It's sounds like a typical bullshit modern fag "metal" mix that's kind of light in the bottom end. Not impressed.
 
Greg_L said:
It's sounds like a typical bullshit modern fag "metal" mix that's kind of light in the bottom end. Not impressed.
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WOW LOL!!! That is brutal! Hmmmm the bottom end sounds heavy as hell to me! Whats an example of a song that you think sounds amazing?
 
GuitardedMark said:
Got it! Well regardless of all the mastering talk, what do you guys think of the production and overall sound of this track? To my ears I hear almost no flaws. What do you guys think?
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Sounds to me like sample replacement on the drums, tuning on the vocals, and every single stroke on every single track nudged along the Protools grid into perfect alignment. Then it was mixed with an ear for "filling up all the space".

If you want to produce a song like that, count on moving your mouse a whole lot more than your microphones.
 
GuitardedMark said:
WOW LOL!!! That is brutal! Hmmmm the bottom end sounds heavy as hell to me! Whats an example of a song that you think sounds amazing?
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I dunno, but it aint that modern cookie-cutter mix. There are lots of songs that I think sound "amazing" and it has nothing to do with the production. The bottom end sounds "heavy as hell" to you probably because you don't really know any better. I'm gonna assume you're young and these modern digital mixes are all you know. I'm not knocking you and I like the modern sound too, to a degree, but it is what it is.
 
Chibi Nappa said:
Sounds to me like sample replacement on the drums, tuning on the vocals, and every single stroke on every single track nudged along the Protools grid into perfect alignment.
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Lol. Exactly. It sounds like fake and lifeless generic radio pap.
 
Greg_L said:
I dunno, but it aint that modern cookie-cutter mix. There are lots of songs that I think sound "amazing" and it has nothing to do with the production. The bottom end sounds "heavy as hell" to you probably because you don't really know any better. I'm gonna assume you're young and these modern digital mixes are all you know. I'm not knocking you and I like the modern sound too, to a degree, but it is what it is.
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Greg, I know you are respected around here but your negativity really isnt helpful sometimes. Less bash of the band/style/genre and more analyzation of the production please. I know you are a harsh person but this just isnt helpful at all. I'm trying to calibrate my ear with others. Thats it. If you say something has no bottom end and I ask for an example of something that does, do you really think this response is helpful at all?

Now I will make an assumption and say that you are here to help people and make this community a better place. If thats not true, than completely disregard this post.
 
Greg_L said:
Lol. Exactly. It sounds like fake and lifeless generic radio pap.
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To be fair, this style of production can work, and can work extremely well. You just have to have song titles like "It's Time to Party", "Party 'til you Puke", and "Party Hard" (one of my favorite albums of all time). When you bring the cheese, be sure to bring ALL of the cheese.

But if your tongue is anywhere other than entirely in your cheek, this style of machine perfection can really fall flat.
 
Chibi Nappa said:
To be fair, this style of production can work, and can work extremely well. You just have to title your songs "It's Time to Party", "Party 'til you Puke", and "Party Hard" (one of my favorite albums of all time). When you bring the cheese, be sure to bring ALL of the cheese.
But if your tongue is anywhere other than entirely in your cheek, this style of machine perfection can really fall flat.
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Lol. I liked AWK when he hit the scene. That was indeed a fun album. :D
 
Chibi Nappa said:
Sounds to me like sample replacement on the drums, tuning on the vocals, and every single stroke on every single track nudged along the Protools grid into perfect alignment. Then it was mixed with an ear for "filling up all the space".

If you want to produce a song like that, count on moving your mouse a whole lot more than your microphones.
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Hmmmm... I guess I'm less concerned with "cheating" and more concerned with the final product. Is this bad? The only thing I really care about is getting the most massive and powerful sound I can. To me this song is as close as I've heard yet.

Granted IM TALKING ABOUT METAL. If I was listening to the Floyd's Run Like Hell (one of my favorite sounding songs of all time) I would not want it to sound like this.

I'm more or less asking for opinions from people who know metal and are comparing this mix TO OTHER METAL... not a classic Pink Floyd album which sounds amazing in its own right. If Killswitch was to make this album the same way dark side of the moon was made people who say it sounds like shit (for metal) because the techniques are so much different. If you don't appreciate or know metal, people refrain from bashing on this post.

To be honest, I think Killswitch does for metal what the Floyd did for rock (in regards to album sound) and I LOVE Pink Floyd. Probably the greatest band ever (besides the beatles :))
 
GuitardedMark said:
Greg, I know you are respected around here but your negativity really isnt helpful sometimes. Less bash of the band/style/genre and more analyzation of the production please. I know you are a harsh person but this just isnt helpful at all. I'm trying to calibrate my ear with others. Thats it. If you say something has no bottom end and I ask for an example of something that does, do you really think this response is helpful at all?

Now I will make an assumption and say that you are here to help people and make this community a better place. If thats not true, than completely disregard this post.
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Calm down. I didn't say it had no bottom end. I said it is kind of light in the bottom end for something that's supposed to be "heavy" and aggressive. Big difference. Chibi Nappa already pointed out what makes this mix sterile and uninteresting. I agree with him. I hate to play the vinyl card, but I remember listening to records. They didn't sound like this. And I'm totally not an analog snob. I love digital recording. I guess, off the top of my head, Green Day's "American Idiot" album is a pretty good example of a modern slick production that has a pretty big bottom end. Listen to the kick and bass. They're pretty big yet not muddy.

As far as me being too harsh, negative, or not helpful enough for you, put me on ignore. I don't give a shit. :laughings:
 
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