joeym
New member
Jan, once again you did a great job here....I wish I had your magic dust!
You certainly made my CD shine!
Jan, once again you did a great job here....I wish I had your magic dust!
You certainly made my CD shine!
rayc
retroreprobate
Jan,
I think it'd be great if you gave us all a little insight into the magic that you do. You certainly may post stuff for comparison's sake - no worries! I maight see if I can get this thread redirected to the Mastering section as it'll be more relevant there now.
GREAT job Jan.
I think it'd be great if you gave us all a little insight into the magic that you do. You certainly may post stuff for comparison's sake - no worries! I maight see if I can get this thread redirected to the Mastering section as it'll be more relevant there now.
GREAT job Jan.
ido1957
9K Gold Member
Good idea! Any mixing pointers to help mastering in general would be helpful too. (Like my cross fades )
)
kcearl
I see deaf people
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
It's hard to make a fair comparison on dinky computer speakers...but the mastered version does appear to have some more depth/width. The vocal sounds nice and big without being in your face, but I'm not sure if I like what it did to the rhythm guitars though...they seem a bit too forward and brittle, but again...
*I'm listening on dinky computer speakers at the moment*.
So Ray...were/are you a Uriah Heep fan?
*I'm listening on dinky computer speakers at the moment*.
So Ray...were/are you a Uriah Heep fan?
rayc
retroreprobate
Miroslav,
Not a Heep fan! I didn't bother with UH at the time because the Wizard on Roger Dean's LP cover art wasn't any good. Mind you that was the case with most humanesque figures Dean did. I've since acquired a couple of LPs but I failed to shake my neg. position.
The brittle guitar sound is me & something I required - it's what my Bruno Royal Artist sounds like when I play it -well it's part the guitar, part my amp/DI settings & part how I play it. Yep, the vocals are exactly where I want them, almost IYF but not. I you get a chance to listen on better speakers please do as there's some detail beyond the brittle guitars. Thanks for your insight.
Not a Heep fan! I didn't bother with UH at the time because the Wizard on Roger Dean's LP cover art wasn't any good. Mind you that was the case with most humanesque figures Dean did. I've since acquired a couple of LPs but I failed to shake my neg. position.
The brittle guitar sound is me & something I required - it's what my Bruno Royal Artist sounds like when I play it -well it's part the guitar, part my amp/DI settings & part how I play it. Yep, the vocals are exactly where I want them, almost IYF but not. I you get a chance to listen on better speakers please do as there's some detail beyond the brittle guitars. Thanks for your insight.
karumba
New member
ok, i'll prepare some insight into what i did during the stem-mastering including unprocessed & processed sound files within next days.
i'm coming from the electronic production area, since i produced electronic music myself years ago & i still have some analog synths here in the studio which sound i like very much. so i'm also mastering music for various electronic artists & labels. i hope i answered your question
how are you with electronic music?
i'm coming from the electronic production area, since i produced electronic music myself years ago & i still have some analog synths here in the studio which sound i like very much. so i'm also mastering music for various electronic artists & labels. i hope i answered your question
rayc
retroreprobate
Karumba/Jan,
My 1st request would be regarding the bass guitar. When I mixed I did the old Motown thing of - 6 at 100hz, + 5 at 200hz & an added bit for me was to throw 4 or so dbs at 3khz. I needed that to get it to sit up in the mix. Now I removed those to give you a raw track to work with. Now the bass sit really well in the mix. Any secrets?
My 1st request would be regarding the bass guitar. When I mixed I did the old Motown thing of - 6 at 100hz, + 5 at 200hz & an added bit for me was to throw 4 or so dbs at 3khz. I needed that to get it to sit up in the mix. Now I removed those to give you a raw track to work with. Now the bass sit really well in the mix. Any secrets?
Nakatira
That Norwegian Bastard
Wow I really liked the mastered version of this song, it was great allready as in I dig the tune, but this brought that extra shine to it.
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
I listened to it them on my studio monitors...
Yup...the mastered version is certainly deeper & wider, though I noticed that there may have also been some "stem mixing" that occurred, since there are elements in the mastered version that have come substantially forward in the mix balance compared to the other version.
That's always going to be a personal thing...so if you like the difference...you're good to go.
I think your other version could benefit from some EQ and balance at the mix level that might get you a lot closer to the mastered version sound...though obviously formal mastering is always going to add a little something to enhance things even further.
Personally...I wouldn't want my EQ & mix balance dramatically altered at the mastering stage...rather just to get some of that "little something to enhance things"...but it's always a personal/subjective decision on what gets done or not, and you are the final judge.
karumba
New member
here are the dry stem-tracks as ray delivered them (as requested by me) & also the processed (wet) tracks prior stereobus mastering:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2216927/misc/the_master_stems.zip (73MB) (upload should be finished within 25minutes.)
"dry" signals are the delivered stem-tracks unprocessed
"wet" are the processed tracks prior processing on the stereobus.
pls note, that vox & backing vox are processed individually and also on a bus. same for bassdrum & bass. i only included the "bus" wet-track to avoid confusion. if you combine all wet-tracks, you get the stem-mix prior stereobus mastering.
ray, i didn't do much to the bass, but a bit more to the bassdrum. the key to make them consistent is subgroup compression of both. here are some screenshots including the processing on the tracks:
bass:
bassdrum:
bassdrum + bass (subgroup):
if you have further questions, pls let me know.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2216927/misc/the_master_stems.zip (73MB) (upload should be finished within 25minutes.)
"dry" signals are the delivered stem-tracks unprocessed
"wet" are the processed tracks prior processing on the stereobus.
pls note, that vox & backing vox are processed individually and also on a bus. same for bassdrum & bass. i only included the "bus" wet-track to avoid confusion. if you combine all wet-tracks, you get the stem-mix prior stereobus mastering.
ray, i didn't do much to the bass, but a bit more to the bassdrum. the key to make them consistent is subgroup compression of both. here are some screenshots including the processing on the tracks:
bass:
bassdrum:
bassdrum + bass (subgroup):
if you have further questions, pls let me know.
rayc
retroreprobate
Wow, thanks for a look in your tool kit Jan.
EQ wise you've done almost the opposite of me - interesting that we went opposite from the same raw file! then again - I fiddle & hope - sometimes successfully. Your result is much better.
I haven't done any side chaining as my old version of Cakewalk Pro Audio 9.3 doesn't facilitate it as far as I can tell.
Miroslav,
I requested a stem mastering process. There was detailed communication & revision done with this mastering process. Jan took care to ensure that I received what I was after. The differences between the end result of the stem master and the stereo master done a few months ago were a matter of discussion and consensus amongst the collaborators on the song.
The advantage, for me, in this process was a fresh set of ears and a little flexibility when it came to reconstructing the songs from the stems. I can see why you're an ME - good ears & an holistic approach.
EQ wise you've done almost the opposite of me - interesting that we went opposite from the same raw file! then again - I fiddle & hope - sometimes successfully. Your result is much better.
I haven't done any side chaining as my old version of Cakewalk Pro Audio 9.3 doesn't facilitate it as far as I can tell.
Miroslav,
I requested a stem mastering process. There was detailed communication & revision done with this mastering process. Jan took care to ensure that I received what I was after. The differences between the end result of the stem master and the stereo master done a few months ago were a matter of discussion and consensus amongst the collaborators on the song.
The advantage, for me, in this process was a fresh set of ears and a little flexibility when it came to reconstructing the songs from the stems. I can see why you're an ME - good ears & an holistic approach.
kcearl
I see deaf people
ok, i'll prepare some insight into what i did during the stem-mastering including unprocessed & processed sound files within next days.
i'm coming from the electronic production area, since i produced electronic music myself years ago & i still have some analog synths here in the studio which sound i like very much. so i'm also mastering music for various electronic artists & labels. i hope i answered your question
great, ill speak to you when i get back from europe
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
That's the way to do it.
As long as you are getting what YOU want...and yes, sometimes a fresh set of ears can help you get what YOU want.