About to mastering my album and need a quick guide!

[YanKleber]

Hey fellows!

I am almost done with the mixing of my album (around 10 tunes) and the time for mastering is coming. I don't think that is possible to make the tunes to sound similar to each other because conceptually they weren't not recorded with this intention/concern -- I used different drum sets and different guitar rigs in each one. So at certain point they even seem to be played by different bands...

I don't have a lot of expectations; as you already know I am a self producer and this is just a hobby album that has absolutely no commercial intention (it will be offered to download for free on Sound Cloud and I also will press a few copies for friends). I just would like that it sounded interesting.

At the current point the mixes sound fine but they lack some 'salt' (if you can get me) and the levels are quite different.

What I expect from the mastered album is:

1) Get some spice (tunes are sounding flat and boring)
2) Maybe to get a more stereo aspect (that spatial thing)
3) Make the tunes to sound at the same level among themselves

PS: I don't care that the album play super loud as a lot of people is freak about nowadays.

Anyway, I have no idea where to start. Ideas? Suggestions?

 

[mjbphotos]

For 1) - work on your mixes more before getting them mastered. For 2) - again, work on your mixes fist. Work with the panning of the various instruments. The ME can add a stereo widener to the track, but you'll do better getting it right in mixing. If there's anything wrong with a particular song's sound to you during mixing - keep working on it, it's not ready for the mastering!

Considering your room situation (no acoustic treatment), you will not be able to master this project yourself with good results. Although the various songs may all be different, they should have the same overall volume and tonal characteristics - you don't want a listener having to constantly tweak the volume, bass and treble levels on the system. See if you can find a volunteer to master for you at a reduced rate (or even free).

 

[miroslav]

I don't think that is possible to make the tunes to sound similar to each other because conceptually they weren't not recorded with this intention/concern -- I used different drum sets and different guitar rigs in each one. So at certain point they even seem to be played by different bands...

I don't think that's a critical thing...unless you wanted all the songs to sound like they were done by one band, in the same space, etc....and now they don't...?

That said...IMO...from an *album* perspective...you would still maybe want the songs to have some flow, some global "unity", and that "album" feel, as opposed to a collection of unrelated songs and mixes...BUT...there have been many an album issued with multiple artists on it, done at different studios, as some collection...and they still sounded good and as an album should.

I mean...it depends on what your intention was and your expectations. If you like what you are hearing, and how the songs all fit together on the album...then you are good to go.

AFA the actual mastering. Don't expect miracles, and as MJB said...try to bring your mixes to a finished mix state, while leaving the mastering stuff for the ME, who can take care of some level and EQ balancing between the songs, and give them that final "lift" toward your original expectations.

 

[YanKleber]

Hi friends, as I said I really don't care about the tunes to have an 'unity' because they are really very different from each other and I sincerely doubt that someone could do them to look alike. LoL!

When I first dreamed about to record an album 30 years ago, I had nothing else than an electric guitar, a homemade cube and a set of 5 Boss pedals, so at that time my tunes would for sure to sound all the same! But I stepped away from music and kept off for a couple decades. When I came back with the determination of realize this dream things had changed a LOT. All those awesome VSTs, several virtual keyboards, a whole plethora of instruments, hundreds of different drum sets and some jaw fall guitar processors with dozens of different amps, cabs and stomp boxes. Well, I HAD to try all those spectacular stuff.

That's why the tunes ended so different. It was like I had a whole music shop only for me then I used different stuff for each music. In 10 tunes I may have used 10 different drum sets, 20 different guitar amps and 50 different stomp boxes! To not mention 10 different keyboards or so! LoL!

I am aware that from a professional musical perspective it is completely off and probably you guys are wanting to burn me in the fire pit. But be gentle with me... I was having a lot of fun! Now 5 years after I finally have this thing recorded and mixed, I am not absolutely going to revisit it. I just am very anxious to finish it and move forward. My friends are asking me in a regular basis 'WHEN the hell my album will be available?' so I cannot keep it anymore. Anyway, this stuff that I call an album will be more like a singles collection but I am totally OK with that. So no worries about this.

I got the point that to spice the tunes is something I have to do in the mixes -- sorry, I just thought that it was something done at mastering time -- my mistake. I am a total idiot. doh...

Basically I understood that in the point where I am there are only two options for me: to hire a mastering professional to do the job OR simply forget about mastering my tunes -- otherwise if I try to do this myself everything I will do is to completely screw the whole thing. Correct me if I got it wrong. I really didn't think that it was so drastic. LoL! But that's OK, I can live with it either.

Now the terrible truth is that unfortunately I can NOT hire anyone for this. Beside this is nothing else than a realization of a silly dream for me I really don't have spare money to put on it at this time. I got a surgery two years ago that I barely finished to pay for and I am about to get another operation in a month or so that I still will have to find a way to pay. Also I am in the middle of the finishing of the house I built so money is really tight here. See, I am not complaining or cursing about my life at all, but just justifying why I cannot spend money with it.

Just for the records some time ago I have contacted a professional (that I really don't know if is really good or not) and he quoted me with $375 for mastering my 10 tunes. I imagine that this is a ridiculous amount for the job for who lives in Europe or USA but this is a LOT of money in Brasil. Just to give you an idea the minimum wage here is $225. OK, I don't earn minimum wage but it is still is a bunch of cash for me. Oh, and by the way, the guy that quoted me with the $375 is someone from HERE.

The option of find someone that could do the job in a pro bono basis is something that doesn't exist for me. I live in a small town and I don't know anyone that does that kind of job professionally. I just know a couple of guys that record at home exactly as I do, so they aren't more skilled than I am. Even if I knew someone I don't know if I would ask for this. It's not pride or so, I just don't think it's fair to ask someone to work for free for me (although I have worked for free several times along my life for others). Anyway...

Well, OK, I am thinking while I type. I guess that my way out at this point is to calm down and reduce my expectations way MORE. So here it is what I am willing to do after this shock of reality: I will just try to level the tunes among themselves and also find one of those 'master-it-yourself' plugins to use on the master channels and try to give them some shine. Let's see what happens. I really don't expect a super duper result, I just would like that my friends don't have to keep turning the volume knob while they listen to my crap!

Thanks for all the inputs, guys! Believe it or not you helped a lot because you made me think and see things from a realistic perspective!

 

[mjbphotos]

Check out fiverr.com - there are a bunch of people who offer $5 mastering. I can't guarantee what their work is, and most likely they will only do one song done at the bargain rate, but its worth a look.

 

[Massive Master]

I know a guy who dropped $50 (one song, 10 engineers) on Fiverr just as an experiment.

I heard the results.

He's better off doing it himself.

 

[mixsit]

.. I was having a lot of fun! Now 5 years after I finally have this thing recorded and mixed, I am not absolutely going to revisit it. I just am very anxious to finish it and move forward.

I got the point that to spice the tunes is something I have to do in the mixes -- sorry, I just thought that it was something done at mastering time -- ...

Here's how I see it and how it works for me.
Get them set up in a new proj for your finalizing (mastering'). Start with your best guess as to their order, each on their own track in order and on the time line.
Get the 'trims and rough song level between them.

Now step away, revisiting the next time listening to them, bounce around between them, as if this is your album.

If you're like me, this brings a new perspective- i.e. hearing them in this context- opens new cues as to what's right, what's not.

Then you get to apply where and just as important why or how things are coming up short (or not.
Use your eq's, comps, limiters, leveling whatever here on each of the masters tracks.
See how far that goes and how it works out.

Now each track also has plugs, other moves on them- that indicate 'solutions- or problems that may or may not have been 'solved here in the two track'.

1) Get some spice (tunes are sounding flat and boring)

You might find some things that don't 'fix' via the stereo mix.

.. For 1) - work on your mixes more before getting them mastered. For 2) - again, work on your mixes fist. Work with the panning of the various instruments. The ME can add a stereo widener to the track, but you'll do better getting it right in mixing. If there's anything wrong with a particular song's sound to you during mixing - keep working on it, it's not ready for the mastering!

Ding!

I get the 'I got to move on' thing but.. The fact is (ok, opinion here) you can do so much more back in the mix. And now, with what ever new observations and moves back in the master tracks as the guide, and track automations in the DAW, it's not that much harder to re-open a mix, 'save as, and apply and bounce it out again.

 

[YanKleber]

MJB, Fiverr seems to be an unbeatable bargain.

I checked some of the top reviewed guys and if I got them right they just claim to master a whole 12-track album for as little as $50.

I just contacted 4 or 5 of them to confirm if it or if I misunderstood what they advertise (or even if i'ts something hidden in the offer that I wouldn't be surprised). Let's see what they say.

I don't know how good they are but the lesser reviewed has 300+ positives and the more reviewed 1000+. I even listened to a few before and after tunes and they sound good to me, but I am not an expert so my opinion about this is irrelevant.

Now it's just a matter of wait they start to answer my inquiries. If I got them right and they do a minimally decent job for such a nice price sincerely I don't know how they get it -- OR others are overpricing. Anyway, for $50 bucks for the album I definitively am not going to do it myself. Heck, I just need to level the tracks and get some spicing EQ, that's all... and I will happily pay this value to anyone that get it done.

 

[miroslav]

I just checked out some of the ads on Fiverr in the audio sections......man, if that's what's happening on the "commercial" studio front these days...I'm going to forever forget any ideas of doing commercial stuff in my studio.

There's like dozens and dozens of guys scrambling to get just.. !!! $5 !!! ..to mix or master a song...???
Yeah...I'm sure they cater to the home-rec crowd...but still...seems kinda hard-up to me.
Shit...I would PAY $5 bucks NOT to have to ever mix or master anyone's home-gown efforts.

How much time, effort and creative skill do you think anyone...I mean ANYONE...would spend on ANYTHING...for $5...???
I bet most of these guys are using some preset plugs and approaches, and it takes them maybe 15 minutes to "apply" that to your music.
The sad thing is...the more people that do this...the more people will think it's good stuff....like how the more people listen to crappy MP3 files and overblown mixes, the more they they think THAT's how "good" is supposed to sound.

I agree with Massive...just to it yourself.

 

[YanKleber]

Now this is official: I got at least three responses so far and yes, they will master my whole album for $50.

Miroslav, in life we always get what we pay for. Well... not really, but mostly yeah. I already passed for several situations where the more expensive wasn't the better (and vice-versa), but this is a philosophical subject and I won't go for this way...

The fact is that I really don't care what the guys at Fiverr will do to make my album sound good. For me it doesn't make any difference if they will use cheap plugins or top-notch physical equipment. If at the end of the day the album plays good for the non-trained ears of mine and my friends I will have reached my goal.

And being very realistic the big truth is that...

1) This is my first album and it is definitively full of mistakes.
2) After to record and mix it myself in home there is not a point on expect for a superior mastering job.
3) Quality is something subjective... I bet that if I show my mixes to a bunch of pros, some will say that it is not bad, some will say that it is so-so and the rest will say that it is crap.
4) I am not going to send it to radio -- at most it will be heard by my friends on their smartphones and home stereos.

You know, one of my hobbies is to assemble scale models and the critical part of the job is the painting. No matter how good is the quality of the paints you have or how you are skilled with a paint gun the result will be crap if the surface is not smooth enough. In case of my musical work I think that I have a rough surface. So...

Now, the big question is... why then I just don't do it myself? Because I wouldn't know where to start and it would be like when I begun to mix my stuff and all the suffering would start again! I would certainly do an herculean effort to learn how to if I had no other option to save $400... but for $50 I think I will pass. The only thing I really need is that someone put all of my tunes to play at the same level and give to it some EQ spice. I don't think that someone that is advertising mastering service cannot do THIS fairly well.

 

[miroslav]

I don't think that someone that is advertising mastering service cannot do THIS fairly well.

Really?

We're talking about the internet, where everyone knows everything and everyone is an expert...
...because they say so...on the internet.

Good luck.
I'm sure you will be pleased with the results.

 

[YanKleber]

Good luck.
I'm sure you will be pleased with the results.

LoL, thank you, I am sure too!

I am very confident about this. I have used some very good online services in the past and didn't regret.



On a side note, we are living new times and is silly to assume that online professionals are crappy just because. Anyone that ignore the Internet wave as a real competitor is in jeopardy of SUDDENLY look around and figure out that is talking alone. I am not saying that it will happen to you or anyone else here. I am just saying that things are changing fast and that's important to keep an open mind. I don't stop to surprise myself.

Also, there are excellent professionals that live in emergent economies and poor countries such as India, China, Russia, Bosnia, etc, where the cost of life is extremely low (I would include Brasil and other Latin America countries on it) and where $5 bucks is not something to despise. With $5 here in Brasil, for instances, you can buy a big an yummy roasted chicken to feed a whole family on a Sunday lunch.

Anyway, around 10 years ago the competition was in the next corner. Now it is in the next continent. Two decades ago a studio service depended on expensive and heavy electronic equipment and now everything can be done within a laptop. If I think that it is fair with small companies and self employed people living in rich/expensive countries? No, I don't. But that's the new world reality...

 

[miroslav]

On a side note, we are living new times and is silly to assume that online professionals are crappy just because. Anyone that ignore the Internet wave as a real competitor is in jeopardy of SUDDENLY look around and figure out that is talking alone. I am not saying that it will happen to you or anyone else here. I am just saying that things are changing fast and that's important to keep an open mind. I don't stop to surprise myself.

My comment really was not about that. The internet certainly has opened up a lot of options...but...there are a lot of good and bad ones, because the internet doesn't by default discriminate, and...everyone thinks their a star on the internet.

The real point was that I would never assume I would get something of any real quality or of a personalized nature...for $5.
Not saying you have to spend $5000, either...like the way some people think more expensive always = better.
Just saying that reality is somewhere in-between.

Look at it this way.
You keep recording, and you get really good at it, and you decide to offer your skills, time and energy providing some recording services to people.
Now tell me...what would you do for $5...?
Around here...that won't even get you a Happy Meal at Micky D's.

I believe these Fiverr guys work off of volume.
They say you will get your song mastered in 1 day...but that doesn't mean they spend a whole day on it, or even part of a day.

Hey, it's only $5 bucks, so you won't go in the hole even if you hate their services, and it's OK to feed your curiosity, and maybe even try 2-3 other guys, same song. So you spend $20...no big deal.
That way, you could at least find out which guy is more in-tune to how you like things to sound, and then go with him.

So I'm not trying to completely discourage you...rather I'm just looking at this new online approach and the motivation behind this type of thing, and wondering how much of it really IS "mastering" VS just a few quick "feel good" plugs added to a mix...?
IOW...I could take most home-rec mixes and in less than 5 minutes make them sound (or I should say, appear to sound) "better" than the original....but that's not really *Mastering* and I would never sell it as such...not even for $5.

Spend the $20 on one song, and see what you can get from a few guys.
Even if you don't get anything you like....you'll learn something, and that will be worth the $20.

 

[YanKleber]

Now tell me...what would you do for $5...?
Around here...that won't even get you a Happy Meal at Micky D's.

I got your point. That's why I mentioned poor corners of the planet. I know that $5 is a ridiculous amount on USA but it may be a considerable amount on other places. In Brasil the minimum wage is $225 to work 9 hours a day and still face 4 hours in a bus/train going back-and-forth home to work! If someone can 'master' a tune in one hour do the Math to see how much this guy can make working the same 9 hours a day without step out of the bedroom. He will be earning four times then in a regular job!

I am an online worker myself (coding and design industry) and I have worked for people around all over the world and also met workers from everywhere. I know an Indian guy that told me that monetary parameters in India is very similar to Brasil. I have met people from countries of the former Soviet Union in a similar position.

I know what you may thinking now 'heck, this guy still didn't understand that it is not a real mastering?'. LoL, yeah, I didn't forget that... just remember that this $5 master guy is not working for serious people. He is working for eventual hobby musician like me that has not really professional intentions, so at the end of the day everybody will be fine and happy.

Also, there is a trick on those cheap services: to offer work on communities like Fiverr can really open doors. You never know when you can meet someone that will change positively your life. It happened to me. Fifteen years ago I joined one of those communities. It was called "Rent-A-Coder" and had their head quarters in Miami. It was everything done online. It was a kind of an offshore job agency that promoted the online meeting between workers and customers and they charged a small fee as a commission for jobs done. Well, at that time already there was a LOT of competition and was really hard to get the very first job because your chances were based on your ranking at the agency -- but how to get a ranking if no one gives you an opportunity? The solution was to offer almost free ratings, and that's how I started. After a little while making some very cheap jobs I could get better jobs and earn more. But that's not the best part: some time after I met a guy that was the owner of a big company in MN (USA) and after to make a couple jobs to him he ended hiring me as a regular employee in his company where I am till today after 10 years! What I mean is that I really don't believe that those guys at Fiverr live exclusively making $5 jobs. Maybe some do, but probably mostly of them do that as a side job. When I joined Rent-A-Coder I had a regular job in Brasil and started doing small works in my spare time to earn extra bucks for fun and it ended changing my life. Maybe to offer your services for $5 can give you the opportunity of being in a place where you can be seen. Perhaps mostly of those guys are betting on such chance?

So I'm not trying to completely discourage you...rather I'm just looking at this new online approach and the motivation behind this type of thing, and wondering how much of it really IS "mastering" VS just a few quick "feel good" plugs added to a mix...?
IOW...I could take most home-rec mixes and in less than 5 minutes make them sound (or I should say, appear to sound) "better" than the original....but that's not really *Mastering* and I would never sell it as such...not even for $5.

Probably I have mixed things myself and when I was saying 'mastering' maybe I was thinking on 'sound fine'. To tell you the truth being a self producer I cannot say that I know what mastering means in all its meaning. I am more to a listener (not a audiophile) that enjoys music and that's it. I have met people in my life that would be able to refuse to listen to tunes that didn't reach a minimum of quality. I never was able to do that. I still have tunes in my collection with a suffering quality and that put a smile on my face. As you can see my level of exigence is not that big. Now add to it a complete ignorance of what *mastering* means. That's me! LoL! Let's say that I am not really looking for a *mastering*, but more for something like a 'level-eq-mess-ing'... Haha!

Spend the $20 on one song, and see what you can get from a few guys.
Even if you don't get anything you like....you'll learn something, and that will be worth the $20.

That's really a good idea! Instead to pick the very first one certainly will be better to try the first FOUR ones with one tune and see what turns out better for my standards and THEN go for it! Thanks for this approach!

 

[mjbphotos]

I suspect if these guys offer 1 day mastering they aren't even listening to the songs! Just apply presets, render, deliver.

 

[mixsit]

I suspect if these guys offer 1 day mastering they aren't even listening to the songs! Just apply presets, render, deliver.

And here's another one. If you (OP) can 'make an album', well, actually no- not the 'not listening part, but at least why wouldn't you want to at least give it try?
Assuming you want to continue with this.

Oh well. Never mind.

 

[YanKleber]

And here's another one. If you (OP) can 'make an album', well, actually no- not the 'not listening part, but at least why wouldn't you want to at least give it try?
Assuming you want to continue with this.

Oh well. Never mind.

LoL! Who knows? My fear is to figure out that it is SO easy that maybe I want to join Fiverr and become a competitor of those guys.



---------- Update ----------

I suspect if these guys offer 1 day mastering they aren't even listening to the songs! Just apply presets, render, deliver.

They ask 4 days for master the whole album...

 

[mixsit]

Ye..ah, come in under', - 'Real Value Pricing!

 

[witzendoz]

My bands last album took a day to master, then a couple of hours more for a quick tweak a few days later after a listen. There was nothing wrong with the mixes we just wanted it to sound great at the end and so we budgeted for a good mastering job.

I can't see how you are going to get a good master for these prices, may as well do it yourself.

Alan.

 

[Chili]

My last CD took about 4 years to write and record all the songs. That's a lot of variation in recording and mixing over the years. Once I got about 16 songs, I picked the ones going on the CD, then I picked a "golden" song. The one I thought sounded the best and represented me. I saved all the settings of each channel for that song then applied them to all the channels in the remaining songs. At least for the channels that were similar. Lead vocals, same settings. Acoustic guitar, same settings... for each track on each song. Then I remixed each song, going back to reference the golden song. They came out pretty close. Then I sent it off to a mastering studio.

If you can, you should something like that first.