Keeping transients in mastering

[jhanse]

Hi!

I've recorded a song and just before the last chorus, I've put in a break-down where everything gets kinda quiet and then just a step-sequencer plus a reverse cymbal come in... And while mastering (using a loudness maximizer), the reverse cymbal just seems to click in there... it doesn't increase in volume steadily... If anyone could please help me. I recorded at -10db so I added around 10db in the mastering process and I just want to know if it's a compressor issue or a "maximizer" issue.

I can post a sample:
http://www2.arnes.si/~jhanse/sample.mp3

Thanks for your support!
Jan

[richiebee]

A loudness maximizer is a limiter, which is a type of compressor. By its very nature, its aggressive.

One thing about them is that they really bring out issues in your mix. Turn down the aggressiveness of the maximizer, or do a better mix. I would think they're your options.

btw - I don't understand why you'd leave 10 db of overhead. I think you need to re-read the manual for your maximizer to understand what its purpose is.



R.

[jhanse]

Thanks for the reply. I'll try to correct it. And I'll get to reading the manual

[brandondrury]

I recorded at -10db so I added around 10db in the mastering process

This is not the way to master. You don't need a calculator. You need a pair of studio monitors. Even if you get lucky from time to time, I'd still recommend that you simply listen.

When you say you recorded @ -10dB, do you mean that you only recorded one track? 2 identical tracks (which is almost impossible except in the theoretical world) would stack up and you'd be at -7dB.

I listened to the sample, but I'm not really sure of your goal. It seems okay to me, but I have no creative reference.

A limiter ONLY effects the hot stuff (depending on how your set it). In this case, I guarantee you that the reverse cymbal is not hitting -10dB. My guess is you mix sounds the same way. Maybe you were mixing at loud levels and now you have turned it down while you do your "pretend mastering"?

Go back and check your mix and make sure because there is no reason a limiter would effect a reverse cymbal swell unless you were really crushing things.

Brandon

[jhanse]

I think I solved the problem... the thing about the "math" with adding and taking away was just a figure of speech. The mix itself is very clear and doesn't ever distort... It peaks at about -0.5 or so... (I've been mixing with all the tracks at -10db so that I have more headroom to work in... but a friend told me that's nonsense... so I re-imported the tracks into another project and mixed at normal levels) So now I get -0.5 and it sounds great before I "master"->vaguely defined... And maybe it's the compressor's fault, because I just use izotope ozone for mastering...

Ah, forget about it! I'll figure something out, and when I do I'll post the "solution" here

Thanks to everyone anyway (you can hear the whole thing in the song i upped a few days ago in the review section (everybody needs a second chance))

Cheers!

[brandondrury]

Okie dokie. I look forward to hearing the full version.

Brandon