mastering for beginners

[paresh]

Can anyone recomment an easy to use, basic mastering program for a beginner? I looked at direct x plug ins but only saw seperate ones for mastering eq or compression. Thanks

 

[Stealthtech]

Can anyone recomment an easy to use, basic mastering program for a beginner? I looked at direct x plug ins but only saw seperate ones for mastering eq or compression. Thanks

Give the Izotope Ozone demo a whirl. Although this is just a tool, it can add a nice touch.

 

[Ace_TX]

oxymoron

 

[Kryogh]

I'll second Stealthtech...

iZotope Ozone 2 is a good software

 

[kevellus]

is there such a thing!?!

 

[kevellus]

mastering for beginners that is

 

[masteringhouse]

oxymoron

Funny, the EXACT word I was thinking of before I clicked to see the posts.

 

[pdlstl]

Funny, the EXACT word I was thinking of before I clicked to see the posts.

Well I can certainly understand how those of you who have "mastered" mastering feel, but remember everyone is a beginner at some point.

Earl

 

[masteringhouse]

Well I can certainly understand how those of you who have "mastered" mastering feel, but remember everyone is a beginner at some point.

Earl

Sorry, didn't mean to be condescending. You are correct everyone is a beginner at some point, but the term "mastering for a beginner" is like saying do you know any experienced musicians who started playing last year?

Mastering requires a few years of working in the audio field. You need to have an intimate knowledge of what your equipment can and cannot do along with what is possible with a piece of audio. There is no box, preset, or other magic bullet that will allow you to do this and get truly professional results. If you are looking for software that will give you unprofessional results there is a wide variety to choose from.

If you are serious about mastering, the first place to look is your monitoring system, not a plugin. If you can't hear the results of processing properly, you may be making matters worse rather than helping.

 

[greggybud]

As mentioned its very much an oxymoron, and the sad thing is companies will take advantage of newbies by trying to convince them they can have it all in one amazing box.

Go here www.studiocovers.com

Read absolutely everything you can on the subject including anything by Bob Katz, Denny Purcel, or Glen Meadows.

Then go into your "mastering room" and listen as hard as you can to different recordings. Try to hear the differences between recordings. Then play those recordings through a boom box, and a cheap car stereo. Listen LOUD......and soft. What frequencies drop out when played soft?

Also learn your recording environment. Expierement with monitor placement. Know your sweet spot, and know your dead spots. The single most important gear is your monitors. Buy the best you can. Computer speakers, and $400 monitors from Guitar Center wont cut it. You might as well work on home stereo speakers.

Next, unless you want to purchase Waves Mastering Plug-Ins or a PSP, I would pretend to master using just an EQ plug, and a compressor plug. Expirement until you know your compressor inside out. Learn how loud you can make things and the trade-offs it creates. Note that I havent mentioned any limiter because Im thinking 9 out of 10 times that will just spoil you with immediate gratification until down the road when you discover unnatural artifacts by overusing it. Then you will be forced to use your compressor more effectively.

Once you gain some expierence, I would invest in Waves Mastering Plugs. I havent found anything else better for the price. PSP is nice, but sometimes you need more. Ozone is good for the price, but if you can afford Waves, I think its a much better in the long run. I still cant beat the EQ into the LinBM (C-4) plug into an L-2 or PSP.

And last but not least, dont ever be fooled into thinking what you are doing is any substitute for the real thing done by guys with a lifetime of expierence and equipment that costs as much as a Lotus.

 

[paresh]

Thanks for all the astute advice!

 

[DaveDrummer]

your ears are the most important plugin.. PLEASE dont look that up.

 

[nicholas]

try (t-racks 24)

 

[malcolm123]

Learn your environment and all of it's short comings.

I agree with the Monitor quality though.

I have used NS10s, York passives, and Tannoys.

They all had to be approached differently when I attempted to process,, as well as mix.

I then got a pair of 824s. They are no where near quality monitors for mastering, but they are a lot more accurate than the ones above ( to me that is)

My easiest processing back in the day was done on a pair of Bose 301s. LOL I guess cause I knew them so well. Not monitors, but they worked well for me for all of it. Mixing, playback, Chillin, blasting people's ears out, etc.


Good Luck

Malcolm

 

[homeuser]

I've read you can master using any speaker system as long as you have good reference material to compare/listen to. Is this not correct?

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

I've read you can master using any speaker system as long as you have good reference material to compare/listen to. Is this not correct?

I would disagree with that... from a professional perspective, you need the right tools for the job -- if your monitors and the room they're in aren't of sufficient quality to let you hear any sonic issues, how are you going to be able to compensate?

OTOH, for the guy mucking around in his basement with his own projects, it's probably good enough for that purpose.

 

[barefoot]

Whether you're in the basement or a professional, I would say mastering requires significantly better gear - relative to what you use to record and mix. You need less gear, but better gear.

So your short list of mastering speakers, room acoustics, EQ, compressor, limiter, (and maybe reverb) might cost you nearly as much as you spent on all of your other recording and mixing equipment combined. That would be a reasonable budget in my opinion.

Thomas

http://barefootsound.com

 

[Son of Mixerman]

Can anyone recomment an easy to use, basic mastering program for a beginner? I looked at direct x plug ins but only saw seperate ones for mastering eq or compression. Thanks

Im gonna say CD Architect 5.0 $150 bucks, decent homestyle eq and compressor. PQ Editing and Burns CD's, does a prerender check for possible clipping. Its great for learning the basics and won't bog you down. Its better to start now I guess with that.... Not every pilot starts on a 747, some start with Piper Cherokees and work their way as time and money permits.

Monitors
Room
ears
and lastly gear.

Id rather learn something before spending lots of money on something that may not be what I expected or should be done by specialized people.

Who here learned the hard way?

SoMm