N
newcomputeruser
New member
why not
stems give the master engineer more flexibility to fix things
especially when some home recording guy does the mixes instead of an experienced mix engineer and hands over a terrible stereo track where the damage can't be undone.
you can always make a maximum level master that is good and simply turn down/up the amp depending on your preference. I find that by normalising everything i never have to change the volume on my amp. And I tend to keep the SPL at home rather lower than others may want.
I am not fighting the loudness war by compressing and trying to get the highest perceived sound level.
I'd also ask why he's narrowing in on stem mastering and not 2mix mastering.I don't have many links for mastering procedures outside of what Masteringhouse and Massive Master have on their sites, but to give my own answer to the rest of those questions:
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The biggest trick IMHO is knowing when to stop, and that is all in the ears. When pushing apparent volume in mastering, It'll reach a point where you'll start trading sound quality for volume. At some point the mix will start sounding "pushed"; i.e. the loss of volume dynamics in the mix ill start revealing itself as sounding unnatural.
It's your own personal choice as to how much quality you wish to trade for volume, and as to whether you want that pushed sound or not. Personally I hate that pushed sound, but everybody has their own personal thresholds for that. But it takes ears to hear that stuff, combining that with personal preference, and what sounds "pushed" to one person does not to another.
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My own personal recommendation would be that if you're not sure, it's better to err on the conservative side than to overdo it. An "under-pushed" master will still sound good to everybody, and can simply be turned up on playback. An "over-pushed" master will sound over-pushed to those who can hear those things and will never sound good to everybody, and cannot be corrected by turning down the playback volume.
G.
stems give the master engineer more flexibility to fix things
especially when some home recording guy does the mixes instead of an experienced mix engineer and hands over a terrible stereo track where the damage can't be undone.
you can always make a maximum level master that is good and simply turn down/up the amp depending on your preference. I find that by normalising everything i never have to change the volume on my amp. And I tend to keep the SPL at home rather lower than others may want.
I am not fighting the loudness war by compressing and trying to get the highest perceived sound level.