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Exploration of mastering
(let's do it again folks...)
After a huge resonance for the thread "exploration of sounds" I decided to create with your help the same for mastering, which is something concerning all of us somehow. 
I use T-Racks for mastering which is sometimes not satisfying, but I don't know about multiband compressing.
Perhaps we could post short samples of our tracks and ask the others how to improve mastering ?
Trancevision
well I'd say first off
Use as "flat" speakers as possible, like decent monitors, not computer speakers (if you only have computer speakers at least use headphones). Listen to a track you like by an artist you like in the style of music you make, for reference. No EQ-ing whatsoever of course, it's not about making it sound as good as possible, it's about making it sound as honest as possible. Then use this as a benchmark to EQ your own track.
ok first of all I would like to know all the different programs avaiable for mastering and then some different techniques and pros/cons for it......so post on folks, I myself doesn't know anything yet about it....or maybe a little tip...I've heard that it's best to start with the kick and bassline and get them to sound good with eachother and then work from there 
i found out that to sound good u need to work good, start making a track with a little compression on the master, then make the track, as i progress on the tracks building im addink eq's and compressions as needed, then comes the balancing, u bypass the main compressor and balance everything, and then put it up again, then check out the sound of the track, and put it out to a wav file, then if u still dont like the sound of it u can edit it with some program, like n-track... the master compression is important, cos u can hear the changes as u progress on the build, and adjust the sounds exactly, and above all, practice...
Ok, that's how I do it:
I arrange my track in Reason, and then move all faders of all mixers until there's no clipping anymore. After that I export it and master it in T-Racks...is works good for me, but it is far from High Quality ... Trancevision
Trancevision
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Trancevision Ok, that's how I do it: I arrange my track in Reason, and then move all faders of all mixers until there's no clipping anymore. After that I export it and master it in T-Racks...is works good for me, but it is far from High Quality ... Trancevision Trancevision |
so just work it...
What's more important than the actual mastering is how the mix sounds before mastering. If it doesn't sound good before mastering it wont sound good after mastering.
I don't think it's smart to add compression to the whole mix while you are making the song, but on the other hand adding compression to individual parts can be a smart move.
Here's a guide on how to master with Ozone (it's good reading even though if you don't use Ozone because a lot of it is pretty general)
Ozone Master Guide
All you need is a multicompressor for the basskick. No compression on anything else or your song will phase and sound muffled. The best of them all is a Stereo Spreader. I use Logic and its comes with its own stereo spreader and multicompressor. Im shure that ther is vst plugins that do the same.
Here are some of my tips for the mastering process:
1) Don't do it yourself if you can afford to let it being done...
2) If you mixed, don't master, after long mixing sessions, you're to intimate with the song, and you won't be able to have a general overview...
3) If you mixed, and still want to go ahead with mastering, leave the mix alone for a couple of days, and then come back for mastering.
4) Listen to your mastered mix on as many devices as possible. You'll be amazed how different your mix sounds on different systems
5) Don't master to 0 dB, rather to -0.1 dB, as some cheap cd players will distort @ 0 dB.
6) Unless you want to go "New Metal American Stylee", don't squash your mix to death... leave breathing space. Listening overcompressed / limited mixes for too long can be painfull to the ears.
7) Room accoustics are very important..., also get rid of any background noise, as this will dramatically alter your perception of the track.
8) There's other ways then compression and limiting to get smooth, even mixes. Using a master verb as an insert is one way. Don't overdo it, but the difference in levels will become smaller by using this technique.
9) Apply fade ins/outs only after the mastering process. If you do it before, your compressor will go mental, and your fade will sound absolutely unnatural.
10) Listen to what you do. Every track will need detailed attention, the one preset won't work all the time.
11) As Joe Meek said: "If it sounds right it IS right!".
Greetz,
CoolRunning
| quote: |
| Originally posted by xfer All you need is a multicompressor for the basskick. No compression on anything else or your song will phase and sound muffled. |
First of all, I make all my tracks with Fruity.
When I make a track, I put a Parametric Eq on the master fx channel and select the 'remove 20hz + 16khz+' preset, which will remove the part of the sound which our ears can't hear, but our headphones have problems with
Then I put some compression on the bassdrum only. It depends on which bassdrum I use, sometimes compression doens't sound right. Also the Parametric Eq can give some extra boost to the bassdrum.
Well, then I just make the track, use all kinds of effect etc. and save it. Next I make a wav-file of the track and put it throught the mastering program 'T-racks'. There I try to get the volume as close to 0dB without getting overs etc., apply some 'stereo enhancing' with the Tube Compressor which makes the sound richer. When all this is done, I save it again as a master wav-file...
Sounds ok, but not as good as I want to! What am I doing wrong? Anyone has more tips and stuff?
before loading your track into some decent mastering program, make sure that all sounds in your song/mix souds right... that there is no part where something is too loud/quiet.
try to prepare your drum/bass to sound right before you add melody or whatever.
i use fruity and piano roll fe. you know those lines down there where you choose cut/res/vol... well the volume is the most important for me. i can keep the main volume of a sound at one level and use that to adjust it to fit the mix...
make sure you eq your samples/synths/bass right. fe you dont need those high frequencies in bass or drum. remove it. with eq you should remove ALL the frequencies your sound doesn't use from ALL your samples..
i usually do all this stuff, add a little compression to master, eq the master if needs eq-ing, export it to wave not too loud (using the master volume) and then load it in wavelab and/or use waves C1 compressor (neat thing 
). finally if it needs more eq-ing i use that cheap one from cooledit (30 band)... normalize and that's it.
finally listen to your master on some good speakers, or better many of them, LOUD. i usually go to few of my friends and listen it there too.
hope this helps...
| quote: |
| Originally posted by dj dimwit First of all, I make all my tracks with Fruity. When I make a track, I put a Parametric Eq on the master fx channel and select the 'remove 20hz + 16khz+' preset, which will remove the part of the sound which our ears can't hear, but our headphones have problems with |
| quote: |
| I don't think it's smart to add compression to the whole mix while you are making the song, but on the other hand adding compression to individual parts can be a smart move. |
| quote: |
| 2) If you mixed, don't master, after long mixing sessions, you're to intimate with the song, and you won't be able to have a general overview... |
| quote: |
| 5) Don't master to 0 dB, rather to -0.1 dB, as some cheap cd players will distort @ 0 dB. |
| quote: |
| Listening overcompressed / limited mixes for too long can be painfull to the ears. |
| quote: |
| Ok there goes the "spark" in your track out of the window. The part below 20hz I can understand, but cutting everything about 16 khz???? noooo |
| quote: |
| make sure you eq your samples/synths/bass right. fe you dont need those high frequencies in bass or drum. remove it. with eq you should remove ALL the frequencies your sound doesn't use from ALL your samples.. |
Which one of you is right? I always thought that the part above 16 khz could be removed to, why else would this preset be in Fruity? Ms_Bug seems to think that too..... But I know Pjotr is an experienced man , so what should I do? I could try to keep the high frequencies...maybe it works. More tips?
I'm not saying the other quote is wrong. there's nothing wrong with cleaning your hihats up from any "mud" that doesn't belong in it (i.e. low frequencies). But as far as I know the human ear is capable to pick up frequencies from 20hz to 20khz. And even then, cutting things the human ear can't hear can very well change the sound of the total mix.
i didn't say that you said the other quote was wrong
But what shoudl i do? Keep the freqs or remove them? Seems that the guys here have different opinions about this...
not necessarily. The one doesn't exclude the other. You can filter out high stuff from a bassline for example if you feel it's unneeded there. And you can still let the high end untouched for leads and hihats etc.
Hi people !
best thing is to compare your track with professional ones using a spectral analyzer. So you can often recognize at once, what frequencies are missing or too much.
For example, nearly all club tunes have the hight above 16Khz cut strongly because in a discotheque these high frequencies are bad ( and annoying ) for your ears...
Next hint: It is difficult to get something real loud if it contains much low unaudible frequencies -> so you better compresss the bassline and bassdrum separetly from the rest of your track...
Trancevision
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Pjotr G there's nothing wrong with cleaning your hihats up from any "mud" that doesn't belong in it (i.e. low frequencies). |
ok how aout this....
when i'm trying to get the sounds the way that i want i use effects and sometimes eq and compression. should i wait until i finish the track to make these changes and make them later or should i make them as i go?? oh and as far as the frequencies people can hear... i agree with Pjotr thats what i was always lead to believe.
well, first you should get your bass & drum done and then move to the rest. you can do it the way you want, it's really not important. i usually eq as i add a new sample, and change it later if it needs adjusting.
compression. how do u use it? do u put it on anything besides bass, drum, and sometimes main lead?? what are the results?
Hi people !
perhaps we should make this sticky thread...we all need mastering skills if we want quality to send out to the labels...
what programms do you use for mastering...
a) T-Racks
b) Ozone
c) other ...?
Trancevision
T-racks
Ozone
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