are they blowing smoke???

  • Thread starter Thread starter jugalo180
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jugalo180

jugalo180

www.moneyistherecipe.com
this is what i snatched off of a web page from a mastering company that has been around for a while, i decided to leave out the name.





"All our editing is done on computers using digital technology; this allows precise edits not possible by traditional methods. In general, all audio remains in the digital domain throughout the mastering process; this ensures a clean signal path with no loss of sound quality. Some of the digital tools we use perform similar functions to their analog counterparts but in most cases, they do a better job. A digital limiter, for example, performs its calculations on a static digital audio file. This eliminates the peaks and distortion of an analog limiter which reacts to real time events. The digital limiter delivers a stronger signal with fewer audible side effects. Our engineers listen to your music with a different perspective and with a fresh set of ears, not to mention Pen & Pixel's state-of-the-art equipment. We offer the fastest turnaround time in the industry."




should i not go to them and try another place with traditional methods?
 
mastering a digital project entirely in the digital domain is not necessarily a bad thing. it all depends on the sound you are going for. (For instance, I doubt most of the music released by Sony Classical ever "sees" a D/A conversion until it hits your speakers.)

In my experience, the mastering engineer and the client decide on whether the project would benefit from analog processing or not. A good mastering house usually has both options. Obviously, if you are using this particular place, your options are limited.
 
thanks littledog

i'm not sure if i would get an honest opinion from the company if i asked them if i would benifit. i'm sure they would say yes, because they want to make the money. i am not looking for anything that sounds sterile. i'm doing my own mixing and it is sterile enough, i would prefer some warmth to be added.
 
I gotta be leery of this part

"A digital limiter, for example, performs its calculations on a static digital audio file. This eliminates the peaks and distortion of an analog limiter which reacts to real time events. The digital limiter delivers a stronger signal with fewer audible side effects"

now, that is EXACTLY how non linear audio SHOULD work but in most cases, for some weird reason audio software manufacturers use a realtime paradigm that is actually at odds with this seemingly intuitive way of working. Too many of them have NO idea what its like in the real world so they make all this buck rodgers crap that looks good on paper but is total garbage to use in front of a client. Not thayt this really has anything to do with your question :)
 
cool

thanks camn, and pipelineaudio. i guess what you guys are saying is, unless they are using state of the art digital, i'll be better off with an analog mastering house?
 
Like Littledog said, most places offer both analog and digital because not all projects are the same. I know several ME's who do not like the current digital limiters because of the harshness that they add. Its a matter of taste I suppose. There are alot of variations out there in the world of mastering, I would focus more on the experience and the monitoring, because those are the weakest link in the chain.
Don't be afraid to call them up and ask some questions if something doesn't seem right to you. Im still wondering how
a digital limiter can work on a digital audio file in static mode?
For any limiter to work properly it needs to be reactive, and to get around this alot of analog ones use "look ahead" to their benefit. If its not real time, then how do you make adjustments? I now guy who actually have the limiters set up with some automation and mark the regions needing this or that. Its like hand off mixing, or using preset number 2. Its monday..maybe Im just missing it...but audio is never static.

SoMm
 
See if they will give you a Minute or so of their work.

Listen to it,, then go from there.

Good Luck
Malcolm
 
Son of Mixerman said:
...Im still wondering how
a digital limiter can work on a digital audio file in static mode?
For any limiter to work properly it needs to be reactive, and to get around this alot of analog ones use "look ahead" to their benefit. If its not real time, then how do you make adjustments?....
I guess you could imagine there might be something like a normalizer integrated with the limiter. In this case the software needs to look at the whole file, or at least big chunks of the file, before "deciding" how to process. Normalization is inherently non-real time.

Still, from that paragraph jugalo quoted, it doesn't sound like these guys have a terribly firm grip on how all this stuff works.:rolleyes:

Thomas
 
great

thanks for that advice, they do offer to master a portion of your material for free and send it back to you, i might check that out. thanks everyone.
 
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