me for asking what may be a simple question. I don't post here very often as I find most of my info very easily on this board. You all have been instrumental (no pun intended) in getting my studio up and running in your own little ways (thanks!) but I am now at a point where I need some help. I have recorded and mixed enough songs for a CD but I have no idea how to master them, or even if my software does that. I am using Cakewalk Home Studio 2002 and so far everything has been working out great. I think I've mixed the CD very well but I think it just needs a little something extra. I've read several books about mastering but I don't have things like a compressor, limiter, etc. unless they may be hiding in Cakewalk and I don't know it. I would like to try my hand at this if I have the tools, but if not I would like to have someone else master a track for me so I can see what I'm missing. For all I know, my tracks are not even ready to be mastered and I just think they are. So if anyone can offer any advice I will be glad to listen. Thanks!
Please don't shoot
- Thread starter RoobaDoo
- Start date
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danny.guitar
Guest
In addition to that, a mastering engineer (ME) can make the songs sound cohesive on a CD, pick an appropriate song order (unless you've done that already), and make it sound like an actual album and not just a bunch of songs thrown on a CD. He can also make a master that's ready for duplication.
Like chessrock...erm...Daisy said, you may want to weigh the benefits of mastering against what your overall goal is with this CD. If you're trying to release it commercially, then it is probably worth it to pay a mastering engineer to do it.
If it's just a CD to give to friends & family, and you're already more-or-less happy with how everything sounds, then it probably isn't worth it.
Freudian Slip
New member
I would say that unless you are a prodigy, the fact that you do not seem to have ever used compression or limiting and have not gone threw the toils of learning how and when to use them...... Gives a pretty strong indication that your songs may not be ready for mastering.
It's possible with jazz, folk, orchastra and other types of music that you could go straight to mastering with no compression on the tracks with proper mic'ing and fantastic players in a great room. With rock & roll, not so likely.
I would get wat it takes to do some experimentation your self just for the learining experiance.
If you throw a limiter on your mixes just do a crude volume boost, you are likely to discover things that you need to work on in your mixes.
Just my opinion.
Good luck
F.S.
It's possible with jazz, folk, orchastra and other types of music that you could go straight to mastering with no compression on the tracks with proper mic'ing and fantastic players in a great room. With rock & roll, not so likely.
I would get wat it takes to do some experimentation your self just for the learining experiance.
If you throw a limiter on your mixes just do a crude volume boost, you are likely to discover things that you need to work on in your mixes.
Just my opinion.
Good luck
F.S.
Thanks everyone. I made the CD for friends to have and to give out or sell for cheap when I play out. I would also like to send copies out to record companies and other places just to see what response I get. I don't think I'll be hitting it big, I just want to try to get a the best possible sound without breaking the bank. Like I said before, I think I mixed it well but I have NO idea because everyone I know loves it; which is the problem. If I could get some guidance from a set of impartial ears that would be awesome. I am not sure how to post an mp3 here but I could email one to anybody who would be interested in helping me out. Or you could visit myspace.com/roobadoorecords, but I don't know how great of quality it would be. Please contact me and I'll send you whatever you like just to get me on track. Thanks again to you all.
talontsiawd
New member
I personally wouldn't get into mastering on a project that small. I also would try to master my own music. Lastly, i wouldn't try to master a project for the first time, right before you want to release it as you won't have enough time to do it a more than a few times to get it right.
If your music is mixed well, that will do it for most listeners. It might not compare to your favorite cd, but the average listener will probably be fine with it, as long as it has enough volume where they don't have to turn it way up, it maxes out the volume without being loud enough, etc. If it was a more major project, i would have a different oppinion. But that would most likely be to send it out to someone anyway.
If your music is mixed well, that will do it for most listeners. It might not compare to your favorite cd, but the average listener will probably be fine with it, as long as it has enough volume where they don't have to turn it way up, it maxes out the volume without being loud enough, etc. If it was a more major project, i would have a different oppinion. But that would most likely be to send it out to someone anyway.
We call those "vanity releases."
And I wouldn't advocate spending money on mastering for something like that. Just slap a limiter on the final mix to normalize and shave off some of the peaks. Leave a second or so of silence at the beginning and end of the song. Fade out at the end if necessary. Dither to 16 bits and burn it. There ya go -- simple as that.
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