CD Mastering Software

[fndrbndr]

Hey!

I'm looking for some software to run on my Mac that will let me adjust the song spacing on my projects & burn "Red Book" master CD's suitable for sending to a CD duplication company like DiscMakers. I did some basic Googling on the subject & it looks like most people seem to use Roxio Jam or Bias Peak LE (or both).

Just wondering what you guys use (if anything). I know it's a better idea to have someone else master your recordings for you, but I'm looking for a lower-cost option for some of my recording clients who wouldn't mind just having me master them myself.

It looks like Roxio Jam isn't under development anymore...the latest version is still v6 or something like that...does that mean it's going away? Peak LE looks good, but is way overkill with features I don't need. I guess I'm wondering what the "industry standard" is for this in a home recording studio. Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Donnie

[richiebee]

I use DSP Quattro and Roxio Toast Titanium on the Mac, but Bias Peak LE is probably the best choice on a budget. I would have got this (or the full Bias Peak) if it was my choice.

R.

[brandondrury]

Well, there are 2 sides to this, I guess.

Burning cds without weird gaps and such is one thing. I'd guess the fancy high end cd burning software will handle that kind of stuff. Then again, in Vegas I could do the crossfades and such, so I guess may be the gaps weren't a problem.

(For all I know, Cubase can do this to, but I've never noticed either way).

The other side (and drastically more important, in my opinion) is the actual audio end. I never really understood why people thought they needed dedicated software for mastering. What is a piece of mastering software going to do that the recording software you mixed the thing on can't do.

The tools used in most mastering session come stock with most audio recording programs. Compression, EQ, and limiting are the big ones. Granted, I'm sure there is a difference between a hand made analog to digital converter vs the one in a M-Audio or Digidesign M-box, but the concepts are the same.

Sometimes mastering tools do get really crazy when you start dealing with the mid / side stuff (M-S). However, in a "pretend mastering" situation, these tools aren't needed.

In situations in the past where I had to master my own stuff, I'd always do in the program I mixed in. The big thing is being able to quickly A/B between the song you mastered 2 minutes ago and the one you are working on now.

Brandon

[fndrbndr]

Yeah...I'm with you, Brandon.

I use Pro Tools, and I'll be doing the actual "mastering" from there using iZotope Ozone. I just need a way to set the song spacing like I want, and then burn the disc in Red Book format (with all the track metadata included & stuff...to make the equivalent of a "glass master" or whatever).

I like the looks of Peak LE, but it includes all that extra processing & cross-fading stuff that I'll already be doing in Pro Tools.

Thanks,

Donnie

[brandondrury]

I use Pro Tools, and I'll be doing the actual "mastering" from there using iZotope Ozone

Out of curiosity, why do you use the iZotope Ozone as opposed to your other Pro Tools plugins? Does the compressors / EQ in the iZotop sound better? Just curious.

Vegas handles all my fancy cd burning needs, so I really don't know anything that side of things.

Brandon

[fndrbndr]

Ozone has multi-band compressors, para-graphic EQ, exciters, stereo imaging tools...it's analog modeled...a bit fancier & more "mastering-focused" than the standard plug-ins, and sounds great for the price.

But I like it mostly because of the all the cool presets. ;>) (just kidding)

Actually, they are a great starting point.

I just picked up a used copy of Peak 5 LE off eBay, so I think I'm good on the CD burning side now.

Thanks!

Donnie

[brandondrury]

Do you find all those fancy tools like multi-band compression, exciters, stereo imaging, etc really improve things?

I went to Nahville about a week and a half ago to attend a mastering session on my last producing gig. Eric Conn (Garth Brooks, Sebastian Bach, George Straight, and the Dixie Chicks) did his EQing with what appeared to be a fairly standard API parametric EQ and a Manley compressor.

I just wonder if some fancy plugin with quasi time alignment or whatever the hell it is, is really necessary for most mastering, especially when it is on the home recording side of things.

It just seams like these batch plugins would easily suck a person in to overusing them.

Maybe not.

Brandon

[richiebee]

I use a separate app because I find it easier. Using cubase to master is like going to the supermarket in a tank.

Working in a linear fashion, like in Sound Forge is good for preping your final audio.

I can't actually think of anything I can do in Sound Forge that I can't do in Cubase, but I still prefer to master in Sound Forge.

R.

[guitar junkie]

I run a Mac as well....

I used Roxio Toast with Jam for a while... Now I pretty much like to set my fades with a free program called XO Wave www.xowave.com it will burn CDs but only at 1x speed, they make a payware version that will burn faster speeds as well, but I still use the free one for setting gaps, fades... Then I go and use Toast for the duplication burning, still have redbook CDs none of my stuff has ever come back to me, not working on a CD player somewhere.

works for me, on a Budget.

[brandondrury]

Using cubase to master is like going to the supermarket in a tank.

As long as the tank can hold groceries, I agree with you.

When I pretend master in Cubase, I forget about the multitracking, VST instruments, and about 90% of the other features in Cubase. All I really need is a quality channel strip with compression, eq, and limiting. (I'm not big on the 3D crap. It does weird things to phasing and mono comptability. I do my 3D effect when I mix with delays and such.).

I never really put much thought into how much A/Bing from the last mastered song to the current song goes into mastering. While watching Eric Conn at Independent Mastering it was very obvious that you would need a system / program where you could A/B from the last song to the next song.

I'm not really sure what tool would be ideal for that.

Brandon