Re-Master a Master

[whitehawk]

I have some songs that I recorded, mixed and mastered some time ago. I now want to put them on a CD. Problem is, when I mastered them I had not intended to put them on the same CD and they were all mastered at different settings. Some having more volume than others. I don't have the original tracks, so can I Re-Master the Masters using the same setting on each song in order to correct the volume problem ?

[Broadcaster]

You can do that. I can't promise that the results would be to promising. Usually I'd try to stay away from double mastering. It can be done though.

It sounds kind of scary hearing you say about using the same settings for every song to get the same sound/volume.

I run a recording/mastering studio and know from my experience that you have to use different settings for each song. Think about this...

When you record acoustic guitar changing the placement of the mic by just 2-3 inches will change the tone of the guitar drastically. The same goes for vocal/Electric Guitar/Bass/Drums...... Unless you are able to place the microphone in exactually the same spot as you did for the last song you will get a different tone. Not to mention playing different chord shapes will drastically change the over all tonal quality of the song.

My recommendation would be to send it to a professional (probably cost you about $75 and up) or if you can't afford a pro try finding someone who won't hurt your wallet so much. There are lots of talented Mastering engineers out there who don't charge half what the pros do.

Hope this helps,
God bless!

[whitehawk]

Thanks, I worded the question wrong when I said using the same settings for each song to get the same sound and volume. I know that would be bad news for sure.

All I need is to lower the output level of some so the sound will be level across the tracks on the CD.

I'll figure something out. Thanks again for your help.

[jrd]

Hay. I too had trouble with output levels so I mastered the tracks at the same level I recorded them. It seemed to work but if you have a different way to do it please let me know. Thanks. JRD