Mastering software advice

[jtman82]

I need to request some advice from all of you up on the latest technology. I record using a Tascam 788, and I'd like to master the finished songs on my computer. Some time ago, I had heard that T-Racks was a great mastering application. My questions are:

1. Is T-Racks worth the money or is there something better out there, in your opinion? I will only be doing 2-channel, stereo mastering, performing the basic multi-track master on the Tascam first. I'm looking for something that will brighten up and polish the finished sound.

2. Any suggestions on a good sound card? I am assuming I will need something better than that which comes with a standard Dell PC. But I also don't want to waste my money on a card with multi-track capacity, etc - again I will only be doing 2-channel mastering.

I've fallen behind on what's out there lately, since the untimely demise of Home Recording magazine last year. So I could really use someone's expertise. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Jeff

 

[Chris Shaeffer]

Welcome aboard, Neighbor!

I think I'm one of the few fans of T-RackS around here, but I don't really disagree with the many folks who thinks its a toy. Here's my take on it.

1) Its not a complete mastering tool.

It offers so good bang-for-buck tools for mastering, but its not the whole story. I like what it offers (though I rarely use its limiter) and I like the sound it offers- limited in range though it is. You can't do exact fades with it (the standalone version does do fades, but doesn't offer much control) and you can't do all the things needed to burn Redbook CD's. That all important mastering stuff that T-Racks doesn't do. Also no noise redux tools, expansion, etc.

Its pretty much a limited set of processing tools that are commonly used at the mastering stage.

2) One trick pony.

T-Racks has its own sound. You have to be pretty subtle with it to get clear sound out of it...but you shouldn't be doing much drastic with it anyway.

Can I repeat that? You shouldn't be doing much drastic at the mastering stage anyway. As such, I think T-racks is a decent tool for home mastering.

I haven't looked into prices recently, so I don't know how much anything costs. Waves plugins are generally considered among the best deals in processing plugins, but they are quite a bit more expensive than T-racks. I'm not sure what other software there is (soundforge, goldwave, etc.) and what plugs they offer.

I do know that Audacity seems to be a pretty kickin' free audio editing tool. The effects aren't realtime, but it'll give you a chance to play around with mastering and see what you like without spending any cash. I don't do much effects work with it, but I've used it quite a bit for basic editting, fades, and file format conversion.

Take care,
Chris

 

[Chris Shaeffer]

Whoa. I just realized you registered 3 years ago but this is listed as your first post.

Welcome... back?

-C

 

[iratecaller666]

mastering / sound card

If I may be bold and speak about 'mastering' software for a bit.

A mastering engineer, can more-or-less master a CD with a good EQ, Compressor, Limitter, a spectrum analyzer, and perhaps a hint of reverb now and again. (I'm not an engineer, so take that list with a grain of salt.)

(Essentially, if you can't do it without T-Racks, then you won't be able to with T-Racks. T-Racks could be a time-saver, but only if you already know the ropes.)

Mastering engineers rarely purchase integrated software that does it 'all'.

It's much more important to understand the process of mastering prior to spending money on a do-it-all box.

Also think of your goal not as 'mastering' , but perhaps pre-mastering, or making the mix sound as good as you can.

Leave mastering to the master-ers hehe. By all means, try the best you can though!

Just my advice.

K. The soundcard:

The m-audio 2496 is a fine card. Cheap and effective. 130$ USD Supports 2 mono inputs. (Or single stereo.)

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Audiophile2496-main.html

It also has midi connections in case you want to connect a keyboard or controller of sorts.


Tristan

(Of course, I own it. hehe. That's why I love it so much.)

 

[Massive Master]

(I'm not an engineer, so take that list with a grain of salt.)

Except for the spectrum analyzer, yeah. Pretty rare on the verb also... But it's good to have around.

 

[jtman82]

Thanks to all of you for your input. I was already looking at the Audiophile 2496 card, so it's good to get an endorsement. I guess I may need to do a little more research on T-Racks/mastering software. I do try to master my recordings as well as possible with my existing gear, but I had read a couple of years ago that an application like T-Racks could give your final stereo mix a little something extra - brighten up the sound, give it a more professional level of compression, and in general give it a more polished sound. T-Racks may or may not deliver this, but it seems to at least be the type of product I'm looking for. I'm sure this discussion has come up many times before, so I'll look around. If anyone knows of any good relevant threads, I'd appreciate your passing them my way. Thanks again.

Jeff