Mastering at home

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mjhigg

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OK, so mastering is like, the mysterious science, and only mastering gurus can truly do it right, right? Everywhere I turn, people say that do get a decent master, you have to send it to a pro. Well, that's what I bought SoundForge for!
Anyway, I've been using SoundForge for a few months, and feel pretty comfortable with it. I would like to do my mastering with it at home, and spare the expense. Anyone know of any good resources on the web for mastering techniques, tips and tricks, tutorials, etc. Just what is it that the pros do that is so darn mysterious, anyhow?!?
 
Mastering is finishing up the sound, which can only be done if you have a near perfect monitor system, including a monitor room that is near perfect. You will therefore never be able to master as good as the pros when you are at home, even if you have the ears, knowledge and experience.

That said, multi-band compression could definitely make things better when you do it yourself, even if it isn't perfect. If you were to make a commercial CD, I guess having it done at a pro mastering studio is worth the money.
 
multi-band compressor

Is there any tutorials or general guidelines on using a multi-band compressor? I've got a plug-in for one as part of something or other I bought, but really have no idea where to begin in using it. Actually, I rarely use EQ either unless there is something really obvious since I don't know where to really look to make things sound better and just spinning knobs and dials doesn't help much. Without a solid idea of what I'm trying to accomplish I feel kind of lost. My tracking is good and mixing of instrument levels across the stereo spectrum is solid, but my mastering needs some serious help. Any good places to start?
 
WWillis,
If you have a problem with EQ, you're going to have the same problem with a multiband compressor.
A multiband compresses acording to an isolated specific frequencie.

Maybe if you ask a specific question on Eq, you could start there.
 
"Without a solid idea of what I'm trying to accomplish I feel kind of lost."

No amount of tutorials and info on multiband compressors with give you that...
But you say your mastering needs serious help, so that means you aren't happy with the finished sound, right? Are you sure it's the mastering? In that case, son't you have an idea of how it should sound?

As with most things, you tweak the knobs until it sounds good. That goes for multiband compressors too. My limited experience is that you crank the compression up until you get a pumping sound. Then you try to minimize the pumping by adjusting the cutoff-frequencies, and then you lessen the compression ratio until the pumping is gone or nearly gone.

Now you should have a sound that is more compressed and "louder" than the original without any pumping and quality loss. Now please note that this is not "mastering" per se, but just a way to make the mix sound a bit louder and better. Mastering involves much more. I would be happy if we invented another word for this type of "home mastering" to differ it from the pro mastering. Anyone agree? What should it be? Finalizing?
 
Right, it's the finished product that leaves a lot to be desired IMHO. I can get things sounding good in a "demo" kind of way if you know what I mean, but I just can't figure out how to apply the polish that a commercial CD has. For example,
... I've got the parts recorded and mixed the way I want them, but there's just something lacking ... a sizzle if you will. What I don't know how to do is take this mix and polish it up to be of good enough sound quality to stick on a CD and not have people immediately think "some guy in his bedroom"

<--Will-->
 
Loads of experience + really good ears + really, really good gear + really, really good monitors = mastering.

Where would you like to begin, home recordist?
 
Great question.. And the answer is....

Record with a 200$ mic and a 300$ guitar through a 200$ preamp into a 100$ soundcard and after you add your 200$ worth of lessons to play it, it all adds up to this..

You dont need a a few 3k$ compressors and Preamps with multithousand$ monitors and pay 100$ an hour to master your compromised little signal. Get some cables first. Put some new strings on a new AMERICAN made Fender.

If it looks like shit, and it sounds like shit, then it must be shit.
Why do so many people think they know how to record (Basically MASTER 24 tracks individually), but think they cant master a stereo mix? and about the monitors...
A pro in a recording mag (eq or mix) said that monitors are not so important, its the TRANSLATION that is. If you know your event 20/20's are a little boomy, then you will mix or master accordingly. Listen to many familiar cd's through your monitors and TUNE YOUR EARS to them! Not the room to the mysterious FLAT response.

rj
 
I dig that, RJ! Thanks for the post. I mean, you HEAR a lot about do-it-yourselfers, well, doing it themself at home, and coming up with decent sound on a budget. I guess it's just the perfectionist in all of us that comes out when we're doing our own stuff, and you want it to sound like it could be on the radio, because, well, you would like for it to make its way onto the radio... so you feel like maybe you're missing something when the finished product lacks that elusive clarity and separation. Of course, the formula for a great sounding recording is always going to include lots of moo-lah, and a lot of it is going to reflect the quality of equipment, but I agree that a good deal of home recording is trial and error, and compensating for what you have... and what you don't.

I am having more success now than when I started this post, just using what I have learned from the BBS. Thanx all!
 
mjhigg: What the fuck are you talking about?
That mix sounds great.
What sort of "sizzle" are you looking for?
I think you're just mind-fucking yourself into believing that it sounds like a bedroom mix. I don't know how you recorded this but I'd say that any improvement possible for this mix will be found in the tracking and/or the arrangement and/or the performance. The drums sounded a little canned, but mastering won't fix that.
A real drummer might. :)
 
Alternatively, there's the Dave Fridmann (Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips producer/engineer) type train of thought that your mix should be finished at the mix stage, and if it's not good enough when you're done at that point, then keep the hell on mixing! :) Nice words to hear, esp if you can't afford to have your stuff airbrushed in a million dollar suite!
 
WWillis,

Just listened to a part of that mp3.
I know that drums... I got them too ;-)
I'd "play" this rhythm with flats on the snare - sounds much fatter... and more real.
 
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