Help- Need songs mastered by Friday by idiot who knows nothing of mastering-namely me

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Help-need songs mastered by Friday by idiot who knows nothing of mastering-namely me!

I have to master this stuff myself, never mastered a damn thing. I will be using either:

Waves L1
or
Sound Forge (wave hammer?)

Here is a link to the three songs I'm dealing with.
http://www.geocities.com/cmuller001/music.html?1028563751758

I have put these on several promotional CDs but now that we will be selling them I am realizing that on certain sound systems, usually the higher end ones, it sounds like crap. I myself do not own a decent sound system so this might be difficult to do. Any advise would be appreciated!!!!

Keep in mind I don't intend to change the mix- just the master!

Love,
rats:eek:
 
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Sorry Rats... I listened to the first 2 cuts.... mastering is not going to help them sound tighter or much better -- your biggest issue is the mixes themselves, which are awful considering you plan on selling them!

And you've got a performance problem with rhythm on the first song in a few spots....

Sorry dude... truth hurts, but I can't lie to ya -- I'm not trying to be mean, but these aren't even close to sellable quality... they're very sketchpad-demo-sounding.....

I know you said you're not planning on mixing them, that's EXACTLY what needs to happen!

Mastering can't polish a turd of a mix -- just like shoe-shining; adding polish and shining muddy shoes doesn't really work, right? Same thing with mastering..........

I seriously WOULD reconsider mixing them if I were you............

Cheers,

Bruce
 
hey rats,


I'm listening to j-o-n-a-t-h-n right now and Bruce pointed out the negatives, and I agree with a good part of it... especially the part about needing to be tweaked mix wise, and the timing things..


I would like to drop a few positive comments though..
I like the keyboard sounds that make this tune sound different.. I also like the acoustic guitar sound, and the freaky sound fx.. The melody is very catchy, and the vocals have a Janes Addiction quality to them imhop.. I like the part at 2:40 with the answer type response from the guitar.. (or keys)



If your going for it anyway, all I can say is I have no clue about anything having to do with mastering... I just figured I'd give you a shout and say there's some cool things in this tune imhop, and I have heard many recordings here that sound much worse, and the tune sucked, that isn't the case here.. This tune doesn't sound that bad to my ears.. I haven't checked out any of your others yet though! :eek:


late
 
coming from a non-pro (me...)...ha

i'd say these ARE sellable....i mean, its by no means "pro studio pop artist quality" or whatever you want to say, but (especially) if you are DIY doing it all yourself, then go for it. Perhaps you can call it a demo, hence not being top notch quality.

i've sold 100's of albums with DIY inserts (copied at kinkos), recording at your level of quality, and on one cd MUCH worse (i can't believe i sold it, and i cant believe it sold...ha over 200!!..FOR 3 BUCKS!!!...lol looking back it, it clipps like crazy, and I burnt the master CD using mp3s not knowing that .wavs were better...and i mixed on my comp speakers from hell...so you can see how bad it was).

in addition, I listen to many major bands with absolutely terrible recordings....and i guess you may not call it major - but for the scene they are in....and the music they play...they are pretty major.


hope that helps.
 
Bruce Bear you suck!!!!:D You of all people should be giving me the advice needed here to smooth it up nice like! If I want to sell polished shit, that's my perogative, so snap your nasty if you're not going to give up the goods!
(Brucey needs a check up from the neck up)
It's not that bad, and yes I AM going to be selling these so any advise on EQing, (too much 2k on the hi hat?) I know there's a bit too much low end somewhere...need some reverb? How about an exciter or some high end expansion?
Keep in mind that these are not created for radio airplay, it's just to get the music out to a few peep that like the music and want to hear it.
Thank you Sabbath for the kind words, you are obviously of a better upbringing than the previous savage jusdging by the response:rolleyes:
I've got to say that I don't care there are a few flubs on timing, and if the mix doesn't sound like matchbox 20. This is a creative project unique as anything else. At this point I'm looking to master for the intent of getting it sounding decent on a good stereo system as well as a car stereo or on PC speakers.
When we put out the full length it'll be mixed and mastered professionally, I'm just trying to do the best with what I have to work with.
Bruce you still have time to redeem yourself of your wicked ways so quit spanking it and start typing.

:p
 
Ha! Thank you shackrock, a forward thinking fellow! You sir can see where I'm coming from. Believe it or not, there are people out there that like to crank "Tender Golden Friend" on their car stereos even if it's not a top notch recording!

So take that Bruce you mix snob!:eek:
 
Hi rats

I've not yet listened carefully to the tunes themselves, but I have one immediate comment on the PollyEthelline track.

That's one of the wierdest waveforms I've ever seen! It looks like the first section (from 0 to 2:35) has a large positive DC offset (i.e. the waveform up to that point seems to have its centre well above the zero-point.

I've never actually seen this before, and I don't know much about it, but I think you should probably fix it. Syntrillium's Cool Edit 2000 has a "centre waveform" function that will fix it, and I suspect most other wave editors will do the same.

I don't really know what DC offset does to the sound, but presumably it can't be a good thing. I'm sure there are others on the board who can give you a much more expert opinion. I just noticed that the waveform looked funny. ;)

Cheers

Alastair
 
Bruce, Bruce, Bruce.....

there may be some mix issues, but "i don't intend to change the mix" was pretty plain English......after u rip him a new asshole, couldnt you at least offer one bit of advice?....in all your expertise, im sure you can find one ot two things to do to make it sound better.....these arent pro mixes, but they are far from turds.....

i think the mixes are decent enuff to sell.....maybe not 15.99, but Id buy one......

btw, if i buy a CD does it come with a free kick to the balls?....:D
 
Ok... I wasn't being mean -- just straight-forward..............

So say this client comes into my studio and says - "I need this mastered........."

I'll listen and say "what do YOU think's wrong with it..."

Client says "...well the drums sound phased and funny, the instruments could be balanced better, and the tones on certain tracks sound strange... and everything has this hyped EQ sound to it.... I need you to make it sound good!"

Yeah..... right........ I'm then thinking what THE FUCK am I supposed to do with that mess??????????

You get my point..........................................



Now in Rats' case, do you really think adding more EQ to hyped highs is going to do anything??? And how to get rid of phase-issues on individual tracks..........

Sure - tweak the bass if you think that's going to help.... squash it with a limiter - fine.... you'll end up with a bass-heavy, louder turd!

Seriously........... what did you expect me to say.... the answer ISN'T more eq or anything, the answer is to remix!

There are some thing you CAN do, and some you can't.............

(And I purposely didn't comment on the songs themselves as songs, because the artistic merit is for someone else to judge -- I just comment on sound quality..............!)

And if a remix is out of the question then the only advice I can offer is to listen on your home stereo and decide for yourself what you think it needs.... then see if you can tweak it to your liking...........

Oh yeah... one more thing.... you wanna pound a nail in the hall, you use a hammer -- you wanna master a song, then mix it right! If it's wrong to "fix it in the mix" (and it is!), then is even more wrong to "fix the mix at mastering!"
 
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shackrock said:


lol looking back it, it clipps like crazy, and I burnt the master CD using mp3s not knowing that .wavs were better...and i mixed on my comp speakers from hell...so you can see how bad it was).
Click to expand...

So, shack, you're saying that these techniques of yours are somehow wrong? :D :D :D

(btw-I'm having trouble listening...will listen and post some useless opinion later).

-chris
 
but this wasnt a client...this is someone with a home recording (i assume) asking for tips on how to polish a turd....:D
 
Gidge said:
but this wasnt a client...this is someone with a home recording (i assume) asking for tips on how to polish a turd....:D
Click to expand...
Right! And the answer to his question is to REMIX....... no amount of "mastering" will fix a bad mix.... period!
 
PollyEthelline

how could I refuse a man who has recurring hallucinations surrounding an old, chubby indian ice cream lady that smiles sideways? :(

Hmmm.... light on mids, eh? I like the music - kinda B-52s/Foo Fighters cross. Now this is going to sound highly technical so put on the 3d glasses :cool: The track sounds smooshy :)

Not enough separation between voice, guitars and drums. Needs contrast -- like the contrast on a TV set -- too many "greys" in this mix.

Since re-mixing is out, and ya just wanna sell a demo - know anybody with a Finalizer Express? :eek: (naughty) :p

Good songs, but I want kick drum thump, a more banging, round bassline, and some mids back in them vox. That said, you could sell some frisbees with this on it.

Given all this information, just understand I know exactly JACK about mastering, so you're screwed:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:


Chad
 
Mastering?? Yo no comprende el mastering....but...

rats, I checked out the first one, I thought it was pretty cool. I might listen to some more later.
 
ha chris...yes definately wrong...lol

if i want a good laugh, i go back and listen to that stuff now...lol



but also - can you hear phase problems without listening in mono?
 
shackrock said:
but also - can you hear phase problems without listening in mono?
Click to expand...
Of course....... there's a distiinctive swirling/flanging sound that occurs...
 
No words of wisdom here,but I think they all sound pretty darn good,definatly sellable!

Don't know if this will help,but if you download the EAC ripper,it has a function where you can load a wav. and fix the D.C. offsets in it.-

http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/

Best of luck,
Pete
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
Of course....... there's a distiinctive swirling/flanging sound that occurs...
Click to expand...


oh..lol i definately hear that, i thought it was just an effect though...haha
 
Hey Rats........
Oh shit, its a mastering conversation......... I aint droppin my pants around that one.:D I will comment on the song though....... I listened to Dipinmychip...... Im not sure what that dissonant wash sound is in the rhythm/bass area, maybe its phasing, ......i dunno. ......reminds me of old Sonic Youth though, so I choose to percieve it as intensional and artistic. Now i wanna hear ya play a solo w/ a screwdriver:D
cool stuff rats:)
 
I use a lot of odd effects processing, samples from old 50's sci-fi flicks, guitar solos sampled and played backwards, err, let's just leave it at I like to experiment OK? And Bruce, you are a mix snob! I think you're just pissed because you're faced with a challenge that you can't do anything with! Haha!!!!

Guernica- Sonic Youth- Love 'em! Wouldn't be here if weren't for them! Dip pff my chip consists of:
drums
distorted, over-compressed bass guitar
normal bass guitar
keyboard sample of an old moog analog synth
sample of a xylophone sweep alternating loop between forward and backward
acoustic guitar
lead distorted electric guitar (w/phaser)
rythym distorted electric guitar (no phaser)
my vocals (double tracked)
other singer's vocals processed with a crazy delay where the decay speeds up and slows down in odd intervals causing the pitch of the delayed signal to rise and fall
vocal at the end of the song (jonathn!) sung through a toy alien voice changer

Given all of this alternative instrumentation I've thrown conventional recording methods out the window. Then again I never really knew any conventional methods to begin with! I just want to make it sound good that's all.

muzeman- thanks for the kind words! Yeah I will definitely check out that software. I was trying to address that DC offset thing is a few posts going back 4 or 5 months but no one seemed to be able to tell me how to give it the ixnay!

Nave: thanks! let me knoiw if you get a chance to listen in later!

participant:Hmmm.... light on mids, eh? I like the music - kinda B-52s/Foo Fighters cross. Now this is going to sound highly technical so put on the 3d glasses The track sounds smooshy Not enough separation between voice, guitars and drums. Needs contrast -- like the contrast on a TV set -- too many "greys" in this mix.

I agree. You put me feelings into words! The more instrumentation I add the harder it is to get it all defined! The sounds end up bleeding together! I'm nit totally sure if this is bad, it's different, but I'd like to hear it sound a little better! What is a Finalizer Express? It sounds fun!

Gidge- like I said in my post a few months back you are welcome to a free CD at no additional charge at no cost to you! Just send me your mailing address! And the kick in the balls is optional!

allbish- the DC offset thing had me worried a while back, but I could hear no effect on teh sound! Weird stuff that DC offset! Yeah I have cool edit pro 1.2, but I don't see any centering crap in there! Taking a look at the waveforms I thought they were all getting erections!

Thank you good peeps for your comments, this helps!
 
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