Mastering game

  • Thread starter Thread starter macle
  • Start date Start date

Which was mastered by a pro?

  • Joke 1

    Votes: 9 75.0%

  • Joke 2

    Votes: 3 25.0%

  • Joke 3

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    12
macle

macle

New member
Hey there,
Thought I'd play the mastering game that Daschay(sp?) played a while ago. There are 3 snippets of the song Joke, which some of you may have heard before. One is the original without any mastering, one has been mastered at a professional place, and one is a shit mastering job by me.

Thanks to anyone who takes the time.

http://angelfire.lycos.com/rock2/3songs

new alternate site! ;)

http://angelfire.lycos.com/music5/macle

Thanks,
Macle

P.S. no cheating by looking at some spectroscope or something, btw, please use your ears. What you monitor on, would be interesting to know, too.
 
1. is the pro job(at least it sounds the best)

2. is way to hot and overcompressed(could be a shitty pro job or your job:eek: )

3. is the Original of course.
 
Well see, I am getting thrown off, because I had Joke a long time ago...and I remember the sound well...from what I recall

Joke1 = Actually I think this was your original mix...

Joke2 = Your Mastering- Dear god man, stick to mixing ;)

definitely sounds like the old 'BBE Sonic Maximizer' approach. No offense buddy...your mixes kick ass. heh. Unless it was a very bad pro.

Jokes3 = the pro job...I think it has a little more element of punch and balance perhaps than Joke1 - however it doesn't have the same volume...which is weird...you'd think the mastered job would have more.

In theory - I would agree that 1 would be the pro job, and 3 would be your mix...however, unless you had it mastered WAY back when, when you posted Joke...then, it isn't.

Also ,Joke1 is consistent with your other stuff...and as far as I know you didn't have it all mastered.

Lots of mind games going on here. I'll go on a limb and say you outshined the "pros" though. Joke1 is by far the best.
 
on second thought...you must have had it mastered way back when.

Joke1 is the pro master....3 *has* to be the original. just doesn't make any sense otherwise.
 
Wait up, stop the game! My mistake. I'll be right back. Sorry. (I'm not saying you guys are right at all, btw, but I put up the wrong files though, something's not right. Sorry.)

Macle
 
well, i am gonna get some food.

maybe the correct versions will be up when i get back.
 
I haven't heard this song before - sounds good.

1 is clearly the best. And very sensitive to the sound you're going for, so it's either by you, or by a pro who really understands what you're about. Apart from being a bit louder than 3, it seems to me the percussion is a little clearer, and the vocal sounds a bit more solid.

2 is terrible - over compressed/limited so it's distorting, and it sounds like it's got some over-zealous EQ or harmonic exciter/enhancer going on - yuck. I really doubt whether this was you - your ears are far too good to do this! But surely not a pro?

3 is the original.

I'll pop by again later, to see if you've changed the versions you posted!

Cheers

AB
 
1 is yours
2 is original
3 is the pro

Just guessing of course. I'd kinda like to hear the whole thing, nice song.

Listening on crappy pc speakers. Will listen again on monitors at home.
 
Last edited:
Idunno, I like the first one the best of course. I'm trying to A/B it to the original... But the levels are all outta whack.. so it's a bit tough..... Of course the song kicks ass. That goes without saying.. and so Does the Mix. .. WHAT ELSE...

-Peace

Oh.. I forgot to mention.. I'm using a set of 200watt MIDILAND 5.1 speakers-digital . They're set in stereo mode.... so it's 2 front speakers and a subwoofer. (Killer for games.. pretty for music)

L8R
 
Dammit...I wanna' play!!!

But I'm at work.

I don't care, I'm gonna' play anyway.

Joke 1 = Pro
Joke 2 = You
Joke 3 = original

All I'm basing this on is the fact that the overall level is so much lower on Joke 3.

I'm "monitoring" on computer speaks, at work, with constant interruptions, and I really cannot tell a great difference between 1 & 2.

Hadn't heard the tune...like it,
Chris
 
I'm torn.

Mix 1 sounds a little less clear in the high end/air/detail range. But this gives it a bit more of a "retro" feel, which makes me think it might be yours.

Mix 2 (the new one!) is very similar, but sounds a little clearer, a wee bit more "detailed". I reckon it's the pro mix.

Mix 3 is the original.

But both 1 and 2 sound good (hell, 3 sounds *good*) so what do I know?

Looking forward to finding out the truth.

Cheers

AB

PS I'm listening on Sennheiser HD 200 headphones.

PPS What the *hell* was the previous version 2?
 
1 = pro
2 = yours
3 = original


somewhat subtle difference between the pro master and your master...but it seems a bit smoother.

i'd be curious to know where you had it mastered at the end of this ($).

I have a feeling the difference may be a bit more dramatic in the WAV files.
 
i listened again just to be sure...

at first listen, 2 appears to be "punchier"...but i think it wears on your ears a lot more than 1 does.

I'll stand by my original guess...2 seems like the homerecers way of just slightly overdoing it.
 
I haven't read any replies yet.. so if you've already given out the answers then I'll prolly look like a moron... :p

but I don't mind demonstrating just how bad my ears are... :p

I went back and forth between these a couple times... basically 1 and 2 are pretty close, and it's almost a matter of "taste". It depends on what the taste of the "pro" engineer was... My first thought was that a "pro" wouldn't make it so "bright" and "overcompressed" (as Joke 2 is)... but then I though that the typical "pro" engineer might want to give it that super compressed, "bright" sound,... but then I thought.. well maybe the "pro" knew how to compress it just right without making it too bright... so after much debate with myself (on a topic which I pretty much know nothing aboot... :p ) I decided on this order.

Joke 1: Macle

Joke 2: "Pro"

Joke 3: Original

Joke 2 was a bit more bright and "lively", and I finally concluded that the "pro" might go for that kind of sound. But what the hell do I know... :D


WATYF
 
Dang it... :mad:


I just read the replies.. and it looks like I should gone with my initial gut feeling. The pro wouldn't make it as "bright" as Joke 2 was.... *sigh* oh well... I guess I need to spend more time around pros so I can get better scores on all these "tests". :p

anywhey... my monitors are M-Audio Studiophile 8B's.


WATYF
 
hmm...maybe because im not a professional or something (but i think i have pretty good ears)...but I dont see why number 2 is so terrible

it does distort a little more and isnt as smooth, but I highly doubt 99% of regular listeners would tell the difference

I would agree that 1 is the pro, and 3 the original, but I dont think number 2 is all that bad
 
3 would fit for original... As it's not even normalized... Most pros, and yourself would know better.

Betwen 1 and 2 I hear slight differences on the high end, 1 being a muddier mix, 2 being the clearer and more spacious. If I were to pick what I would put on an album, 2 would be the bet. As to whether a 'pro' did one or two, who knows. I've heard absolute shit from the 'best' of the pros.

Listening flat on Sansui studio monitors...

W.
 
I felt both 1 AND 2 had distortion in them, and were fairly close to make a decision. 2 sounded "cleaner" to me with less clipping. If I had to choose, I'd pick 1 as Macle, 2 as the pro....but I'd be kinda disappointed with the pro results.
3 HAD to be the original, unless you and the pro REALLY sucked.;)
 
hey macle, off subject but...just thought of

The Wallflowers - I Started A Joke

great song. you should check it out.
 
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