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Mastering
Hi guys,
I lurk on here and I see people discussing mastering and people sometimes getting confused and asking questions without replies, so I thought I would share this with you!
this is the sorta thing I read..
"How will mastering change my sound? and is it worth doing?"
The question is kinda open ended, it depends on how much is NEEDED to be enhanced and the MEs subjective opinion of what sounds good relating to your music!
Just to make it clear, if you sent a track to me, as an example, this is what I would do on delivery, and then in each circumstance what I would do to correct and enhance.
On first listen:
Listen to overall tone, is one area (such as lower mids, a common problem) taking up more room in the mix, and making elements at the other end of the scale sound dull.
Listen to the stereo image, check that where needed, the bass isnt moving between the speakers too much, make sure there isn't any gaps or "wide mono" pyschoacoustic problems happening here.
Listen to the dynamics of the track, both MACRO (over the whole song) and MICRO (the dynamic between the elements within the phrases of music themselves)
Listen for any noise, or distorton caused on output, or within elements of the mix.
Then when it comes to application...
Tonal differences are adjusted by complex and varied EQ techniques, depending on the way the music is mixed, and the elements inside the mix, for example, I can't brighten a tune around 10Khz when there is a really loud hi hat peaking just above that, mastering is the art of compromise
The tone is sometimes enhanced, or "mix glue" is added, this is sometime the case of running the master through a piece of equipment which as a nice saturation or by adding plug-ins such as PSP Vintage Warmer or URS Saturation as the pen-ultimate stage in the box.
Stereo imaging can be affected in two main ways, Mid/Side EQ and multiband stereo imaging (such as the one inside the Ozone 4 plugin) You have to be very careful when applying these because the knock on effects are not as closely related to what you are listening to as say, when you boost and EQ the tone changes.
Mid Side EQ is a godsend, it can help to bring out wide reverbs which are hiden by a loud bright vocal in the centre, it can make your kick drum punch hard, without crossing over into your stereo synth sounds etc
The final one, noise, can only really be fixed to make a decent musical result, at the point of mixing, in this case I would email the client and explain what I was hearing and suggest ways of combating this.
RIGHT
so now you know what WE do, you can work what YOU do to help us, and we both get a better result!
and remember, there is a reason why people pay other people to maser their work.
You get a second pair of ears, skills targeted at the areas required and soeone to bounce ideas off...
you wouldn't cut your own hair for an imporant job interview would you?!
Joe, Subsequent Mastering
http://www.subsequentmastering.com
OMG!
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Thanks, though.
Re: Mastering
| quote: |
| Originally posted by subsequent Hi guys, I lurk on here |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by alanzo OMG! Line Spacing! Form Complete Paragraphs!! Thanks, though. |
Re: Re: Mastering
| quote: |
| Originally posted by floyd741 To lurk is to read without posting. This is a post so you are no longer lurking. Hell, you were no longer lurking 7 posts ago. |
Re: Re: Re: Mastering
| quote: |
| Originally posted by subsequent I apologise profusely |
But I cut my own hair;-)
Most issues lie within the mixdowns. I've seen plenty of cases where people mixed their tracks like garbage and then expected miracles after mastering, and were utterly dissapointed with the results.
I'd bet that more than half bedroom producers don't even know how a mixdown for mastering should actually sound, and just cramp the hell out of it, leaving hardly any headroom in loundess / eq'ing, which then make any serious mastering magic impossible.
But there's a lot of the insta-mastering online studios which don't give a fuck, and just take those 70+ euros and don't care to talk over the mixdown with the producer, and in a way it's understandable, the bad thing then is, that the producer starts bragging about having his track professionally mastered, even though it's still just mastered crap.
I do some masters for my friends here and then, and before I could knock the how's of mixing in their heads, I rather did the mixdowns myself, so I could get the maximum out of the track while mastering, not having to tell them "well that's it for this kind of mix, I could do a better job if you'd mix it better, but nobody cares, here buy me a box of beer now", since I care about the music I get my hands on 
Slightly offtopic, but that's some of my views with mastering issues.
The mastering market builds off the fact that no one knows how to mix, or knows what mastering is for. As long as mastering is "that thing that turns my shit song into gold"..everyone is happy. Myself, mastering is simply a stage that is optional, if you do your mix right, meh..mastering won't change it much. Its funny, the worse a mix is, the less effective mastering is [and the mastering usually makes it sound worse], the better the mix, the more effective mastering is, but the less its needed. A perfect mix won't need any aftertouches. Desgin your sounds right, don't clip and set your levels correctly, and mastering won't be needed. I don't know why people have imaginary delusions that there is something more that a mastering engineer does. Most of the time its a rip-off. You could have made the track gold yourself...as for a new set of ears. Get a friend to listen. Or, use the internet, the internet has millions of ears.
Thought I would add my thoughts:
Sure you wouldn't cut your own hair for the job interview. That's a decent analogy but not totally comprehensive. If you send in your track for mastering so that someone else can do it, the overall track will lose your personal touch. However, if there is a studio or someone you trust to master and it does sound good to your ear and you have no major complaints, then do it. However, most of the major EQ work should have been done in the mixdown before mastering. If there is a part of your production mixdown where the frequencies aren't adjusted properly then someone who is mastering cannot make your track sound better.
Mastering is something only a seasoned producer should worry about since it's the next feasible step to moving the song to the dance floor.
I think the debate (if any) is not about the feasibility of professional mastering in general.
Each person can perfectly justify for himself if he wants professional mastering done. I don't need to justify my work. I'll give one something back that one can't get to himrself, otherwise no one would not pay me. BTW I don't have any summer promotions going on.
Basically, I couldn't care less whether a bedroom producer is happy with his waves/Ozone/T-REX results (which can do a reasonable job if engineered well) If that works for you? fine.
However a good mastering engineer will look at stuff that you would never consider looking at. and that's where you get the difference between a homebrew Ozone session and a prof. master. The prof. master will translate well everywhere. Only the artist himself can decide for himself whether that's worth investing in.
regarding the mix prerequisites: I've posted those about 3 weeks ago in another topic. How to prepare a mix for mastering
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Raphie However a good mastering engineer will look at stuff that you would never consider looking at. and that's where you get the difference between a homebrew Ozone session and a prof. master. The prof. master will translate well everywhere. Only the artist himself can decide for himself whether that's worth investing in. |
The only thing sperating homebrew and titled mastering engineers is one has a peice of paper justifying himself. 
| quote: |
| Originally posted by sixofour.604 The only thing sperating homebrew and titled mastering engineers is one has a peice of paper justifying himself. |
i know that mastering can sharpen a track and a poor mixdown can be saved by professional mastering by bob katz. I've seen good mastering done and it does make a difference. I usually make track and just to know what it will sound like after the mastering.
eh i don't really give it much though, bob katz is my room mate so whenever i finish a track i give it to him
thanks to a couple of friends in the industry bob katz does my mastering for free 
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