Mastering tricks pls?...

[marymark]

Can anybody give me at least the basic tricks in mastering? Thaks a lot!!!

[willjrockstar]

What do you mean?

[garageband]

Sure. Look through all the posts under Mastering in Audio Engineering in the forum and read them. Tons of excellent info. No need to re-invent the wheel and type it all again.

[willjrockstar]

Originally Posted by garageband

Sure. Look through all the posts under Mastering in Audio Engineering in the forum and read them. Tons of excellent info. No need to re-invent the wheel and type it all again.

Well said by a man of experience

[Danny Danzi]

Originally Posted by marymark

Can anybody give me at least the basic tricks in mastering? Thaks a lot!!!

Extremely loaded question there and it would be way too much to type. Here's what I do for my clients when I do a "basic" mastering session.

Leveling of all audio for consistency
Fade ins
Fade outs
Stereo wideness and separation
Stereo narrowing
Noise, hiss, hum, crackle removal
Eqing
Compression
Over-all loudness maximization
Professional Dithering: higher audio projects from 24/96, 24/48 down to CD format at 16/44
DC Offset removal

To do the above stuff, you need the right ears, the right monitors, the right room tuning and the right programs to get the jobs done. Those "mastering" suites are not the answer. Like T-Raxx, Ozone etc...that is not the proper way to master. Those tools are for consumers and they don't allow you to perform surgery on material the way you need to. There is more to mastering than just adding extreme volume and limiting. It's an art all in itself.

[willjrockstar]

Originally Posted by Danny Danzi

Extremely loaded question there and it would be way too much to type. Here's what I do for my clients when I do a "basic" mastering session.

Leveling of all audio for consistency
Fade ins
Fade outs
Stereo wideness and separation
Stereo narrowing
Noise, hiss, hum, crackle removal
Eqing
Compression
Over-all loudness maximization
Professional Dithering: higher audio projects from 24/96, 24/48 down to CD format at 16/44
DC Offset removal

To do the above stuff, you need the right ears, the right monitors, the right room tuning and the right programs to get the jobs done. Those "mastering" suites are not the answer. Like T-Raxx, Ozone etc...that is not the proper way to master. Those tools are for consumers and they don't allow you to perform surgery on material the way you need to. There is more to mastering than just adding extreme volume and limiting. It's an art all in itself.

What kind of surgery needs performed that ozone cant do? Because its inexpensive? Im thinkin if im having my album mastered i dont want major surgery, just fine touch up.

[Danny Danzi]

Originally Posted by willjrockstar

What kind of surgery needs performed that ozone cant do? Because its inexpensive? Im thinkin if im having my album mastered i dont want major surgery, just fine touch up.

Most times you don't need major surgery if your mix is done correctly...other times you do.

Real mastering sometimes intails the need of the actual recorded audio tracks to mix in with the 2 track master. Ozone's suite is limited....the compressors and eq's are not very good. If it were all that, Bob Ludwig and Bob Katz would use it. You can't dial in on enough specific things with it. Proper multiband limiting, leveling on the actual audio if needed, eq in sections....there are specific tools used for stuff like this that will give you way better results. If that program works for you, that's fine. But it's not very lush or transparent in the way it renders. Use a real compressor like an API or even a Waves SSL or NEVE and run a few Q-10's in line....it's not the name that makes them sound better, it's the product doing a better job at what it was intended to do.

Remember, in this field there are certain things where price will make a difference. You'll use less of an eq curve and less compression with the right eq's and compressors. The reason being, they are more sensitive in how they react. You'll notice subtle changes where with lower end stuff, you may have to really jump on something to notice a difference. I'm not trying to be confrontational with you, but it does make a difference. If you had/have some of the gear I'm talking about, try it in comparisson to using Ozone. Use individual processors for the right job like the stuff I've mentioned before without using a suite of Ozone and it's "preset" mastering agenda. It's not the right way to go about it if you're serious about the sound of your album.

And you're also correct with the surgery thing. A mastering engineers job is not to alter your mix to where it sounds like something different when you get it back. However, there are times when you have to operate. Sometimes a client is stuck with a project that can't be remixed. Sometimes it is what it is and you have to do the best you can with it. Ozone would not be what I'd want to use either for a client in need of surgery, or a client that has presented a perfect mix to me. Try it for yourself if you haven't already. If you know what you're doing, you'll notice the difference in 10 seconds or less.

[willjrockstar]

Originally Posted by Danny Danzi

I'm not trying to be confrontational with you, but it does make a difference.

Never even came off that way, i appreciate your getting right to the point with an informative reply.

[willjrockstar]

Originally Posted by Danny Danzi

Use a real compressor like an API or even a Waves SSL or NEVE and run a few Q-10's in line

Are we talikn software or hard im assuming soft.

[Danny Danzi]

Originally Posted by willjrockstar

Never even came off that way, i appreciate your getting right to the point with an informative reply.

Cool, ya never know in some places...just making sure as it wasn't my intention to be upsetting.

Originally Posted by willjrockstar

Are we talikn software or hard im assuming soft.

Yes sir, software. Here's a general idea. In the first pic, these are some compressors I use on track inserts and other are used on busses. The NEVE compressor I'm talking about is at the top left, a Fairchild (which in my humble opinion is one of the best drum buss compressors of all time) middle right and an LA2A is on top of it. Sometimes you can use these in mastering but it depends on the source material and what type of compression sound you're looking for on that particular piece. It's amazing....some people will say "look, don't try to tell me that a compressor is going to make a difference....it's job is to compress and you can't really tell a difference." For the untrained ear, this may be the case...and in some cases, even the trained ear may have a problem....I can't lie there. However, when you are the producer or the engineer and you are looking for a specific attack, release time or the difference a compressor can make on a track, you'll find that certain ones just make certain situations sound incredible better due to how they sound and most of all, how they react.



In this next one, you'll see the Q-10's and the API I was telling you about. Honest when I tell ya Will, they make an incredible difference when you use the right ones for the right jobs. Very transparent, and super sensitive to where you can hear differences with slight turns of the parameters. I don't ever master using Sonar, but a friend of mine was asking me to show him some of the stuff I use to master and when he had asked, I was in the middle of a project so I just loaded up some of the stuff I use. I usually master in WaveLab 6. Hope this helps a bit.