Ok Lets Give Mastering a GO!

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get2sammyb

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Ok I tried to do a bit of mastering this afternoon. I played around with EQ and reverb mainly. The question is, have I improved the song any? Does it sound any better? I think it does slightly - but I also think the effects I put in could not be there at all. I guess that why you guys are pro's and I am a n00b (or that I applied them wrong).

Here is the "master"

Here is the original

What do you reckon, what did I do right and what did I do wrong, etc?
 
Sounds like you added just enough to the high end of the processed file to make it better balanced. My compliments for brightening it without making the nylon str gtr sound brittle (a common problem). And whatever reverb you added is subtle enough to not stand out with a fake quality.

It's a challenge to accompany voice w/nylon str because they compete for the same frequency range. But you've got it working pretty well.

I think each part needs some dynamics control (compression/limiting) to optimize the mix. Best thing for nylon string IME is a good multiband comp (waves lin multiband for mucho $, or slim slow slider C3 for freeware) on the track for a natural sound. The vocals have some "plosives" that need taming but that's standard popping/de-essing control that a broadband compressor can do on the track.

Tim
 
Thank you for the comments Timothy.

Compression is definitely, definitely the next thing I need to play about with.

I am glad it sounds ok.
 
The mastering you did makes it sound marginally better, but sounds like it could do with alot more work at the recording and mixing stage though. Nice tune by the way. Usually reverb isnt added at mastering, but it semmed fine on this ocassion cause you didnt add much and the style of music lets it work a bit. Another step in the mastering process (the last step) is boosting the levels so as it competes with commercial levels. Try and get your average RMS to be about -10dB at the loudest parts of your songs. (ie chorus, take an RMS average reading of the whole chorus to get a more acurate reading.) If using Wavelab go to analysis menu and choose global analysis. You have to highlight the section of the wave you want to check for the RMS average value.
Hope this helps.
 
ecktronic said:
The mastering you did makes it sound marginally better, but sounds like it could do with alot more work at the recording and mixing stage though. Nice tune by the way. Usually reverb isnt added at mastering, but it semmed fine on this ocassion cause you didnt add much and the style of music lets it work a bit. Another step in the mastering process (the last step) is boosting the levels so as it competes with commercial levels. Try and get your average RMS to be about -10dB at the loudest parts of your songs. (ie chorus, take an RMS average reading of the whole chorus to get a more acurate reading.) If using Wavelab go to analysis menu and choose global analysis. You have to highlight the section of the wave you want to check for the RMS average value.
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

So I need to work on getting the sound louder, right?

It goes into the "red" if I stick it up anymore. I am using Adobe Audition.
 
Stick a limiter on the master out and boost the level, but not too much or you will loose sound quality. The more you push the volume the worse the quality gets once it starts limiting. I use the Waves L2 which is really good as it has ARC automatic release control. All you do is set the threshold and it does the rest. YOu could use a mormal limiter but you would prob need a bit of practice geting used to how a limiter can effect the sound in a bad way. You can get a wavey sound (too much limiting release too slow i think), a distorted sound (far too much limiting) and a tremelo sound (too fast release and too much limiting) .
Play acout with limiting and try extreme settings to see what i mean.
 
While we are on the subject of mastering then, would you reccomend I get WaveLab for mastering, and mixed in Adobe Audition - or what?
 
Wavelab is an excellent tool. My favorite app actually and I use it for most of my stereo classical recording and editing. But since you're multitracking, you can do probably do everything you need within your multitrack app. Haven't used Audition except as a quick trial but I think as long as you've got the plug slots you need on the channels and master bus you can probably get what you want in one shot when you mix down. At least that’s been my experience with Cubase and N-track.

With compression and EQ, I'd recommend focusing on the individual tracks to finesse them so their characteristics combine well for a balanced sound. Once you've got that, then a little limiting on the mix can be a good thing as long as you use a plug that doesn't veil the sound. Most do! I'd suggest listening to xfinsterx's last several mixes posted here as an example of a good sound without over compressing or limiting. Different musical style than yours (or mine) but quite a good sound and production aesthetic. Main thing about learning compression, and any processing, is to ALWAYS keep the original unprocessed files so you can re-work them as your processing skills and tools get more sophisticated.

Tim
 
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