Mix and Master in the same room?

[ofajen]

yeah, for homereccers different room would be tough. I don't even have a separate control room!

I think a different pair of speakers is a good goal, especially if you are using nearfields. Maybe stick a good pair of hifi speakers on the other side of the room, and spin your chair around to listen.

This is about what I do, minus the part about starting with near field monitors. I just use the big full-range monitors. Don't care for near fields with missing bass or inadequate dynamic range for my calibrated monitoring setup. Since they are on the far wall, I can listen with no console, desk, rack, etc, creating any early reflections or comb filtering. Of course, I have a small enough set up that I don't even use a console or rack any more.

The one change I'm thinking of is to shift the desk, keyboard, etc. over a few feet, so that I can have some TubeTraps directly behind the listening position to kill off first order reflections coming right back to my listening position. In a smaller room like mine, you can put the dead side toward the listener's back, and they give no direct reflections, while the reflecting side reflects and diffuses much of the reflections that do come off the back wall, to create a delayed, diffuse sound that is late enough to add to a little sense of spaciousness.

If I could afford it, I'd also like to have a huge computer monitor up on the wall behind the big audio monitors.

Cheers,

Otto

 

[NashBackslash]

Acoustically-speaking, what makes a mastering room different from a mixing room? Why is there a need for a separate, dedicated mastering room?

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

Acoustically-speaking, what makes a mastering room different from a mixing room? Why is there a need for a separate, dedicated mastering room?

Ideally, both types of room want to aim for great reproduction and acoustics. The main difference in acoustic design is a function of a different kind of physical layout. The physical layout is, in turn a function of both task and gear.

Take a look at a picture and a gear list of a typical mastering room (two good examples are, in random order, here and here.) Note that the mastering room has no big mixing desk, no glass overlooking a tracking room, no wall of gear behind the desk that doubles as a producers/artists listening table; in short it does not resmemble what one normally pictures as the stereotypical "recording studio". That's because no recording or mixing goes on here.

The ME studio is designed strictly to concentrate on quality reporduction of a stereo mix, with more emphasis on accomodating the sound than on accomodating people and all the other flotsam that can go on in a recording studio. This is reflected in the different room layout and in the entirely different nature of gear list used.

G.

G.

 

[flatfinger]

more emphasis on accomodating the sound than on accomodating people and all the other flotsam that can go on in a recording studio. G.

G.

Oh shucks, no extra room for groupies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

Oh shucks, no extra room for groupies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's what the green room/parlor are for!

Groupies and gear do not mix.

G.

 

[NashBackslash]

So... acoustically, control rooms and mastering rooms are pretty much the same, correct? As in, no reverb problems, standing waves, yada yada. A room that is built for accurate and critical listening.

Or is there something in the acoustics of a mastering room that is "better" than a control room?

(As for differences in gear, I pretty much understand and see the differences)

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

So... acoustically, control rooms and mastering rooms are pretty much the same, correct?

That depends upon your definition of "acoustically the same". I'm not sure just what you're asking here.

Are they acoustically the same? No. No two control rooms are acoustically the same. And the physical differences between a recording studio CR and a mastering suite are huge, therefore so are their acoustical treatment needs.

On the pro level, all efforts are made to optimize the acoustics in both studio CRs and mastering room; they both strive to attain "ideal" acoustics. It's a little easier to acheive that, I think, in a typical mastering room, because the physical layouts tend to be simpler. But that's not to slight the fact that pro CRs have excellent acoustic design. And again, there is a signifigant difference in gear type; e.g. the average mastering monitoring chain is likely to be much cleaner and more accurate than the average CR monitoring chain.

What's important as part of the mastering process is that the mix be moved to different (and well-trained) ears in a different (and well-treated) room. That's the main key. Because of the needs of the task, mastering rooms look different and are layed out different than studio CRs. Are they acoustically better? In some ways, yes they can be. But that's not the main point. The main point is that it's a second set of great ears in a second location with gear specific to the mastering task.

G.

 

[NashBackslash]

Okay, I think I understand. Thanks, Glen.

 

[YellowMatter]

If you are going to mix and master in the same room, that room better have some kickass monitoring and some even more kick acoustics.

 

[Robert D]

And that's just the transporter room!
G.

So that's what became of Chessrock! Who needs a restraining order when you have a friend with a transporter room.


Mastering in a mix room? One more element that makes it not really mastering, but if it's just assembling the track order and fades/spacing, getting the percieved levels from song to song appropriate, setting the codes, etc., and maybe going for a little extra loudness, then that's fine. Critical EQ work though needs a real mastering room, not to mention a real ME.

 

[TerraMortim]

I saw a picture of a pro mastering guy's room. It was awesome. A couple pieces of outboard gear in front of a plush couch and two sets of speakers. Simplicity, vibe, wonderful. I can't remember who's setup that was, but it was one of the well known guys. Seems that would give a fairly accurate "real world" experience rather than the usual lab room atmosphere.

 

[Vaquero Verbal]

I record , mix and master in the same room ..... :-( well I have no other possibility right now , so I try to get the best out of it.

Dirk