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Mastering, do you do it?
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| Ibiza Dreams |
| I need some input from you guys here, do you "touch up" your mix after completing it? If so, can you explain the process and the program(s) you use and what benefits does this offer? Or rather, to what degree does it make the mix better? I never master any of my mixes, they're all raw from the turntables... mainly because I don't know how to do it, but curious to see as to how it can help. |
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| Shudder |
| i dont do it because i first misread your post subject to be something else and second i dont know how... im only in phases on mastering beat matching and sound level issues. but it might be a good idea. |
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| hooj1 |
| I only do it if I want a super clean mix. I throw my mix into soundforge and go though each mix and adjust the sound levels to get a even mix. Then I make a note of how high the VU meter reads from start to finish making sure the mix doesn't get louder as it goes on ( unless I want it to ). Then I just cut the ends and thats it. |
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| dj_inferno |
| I do, I use soundforge. I use Ozone. It makes my mixes sound cleaner and more upfront. |
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| Ibiza Dreams |
| Is there a tutorial for any of this on the internet? Or maybe a quick description of how it's done? |
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| SgtFoo |
There's no real specific way to do it.
Depending on what you have to work with... you can master your mix-sets to awesome quality with some decent EQing, compression and noise reduction.
I think more DJs who record sets should get into the habit of mastering or at least cleaning up their mix-sets... I've downloaded WAY TOO MANY sets off the amateur DJ forum and they all clip to distortion levels, or all the tracks aren't the same volume, or the recording is just thin and needs some EQing.
YOu can approach mastering a mix-set much like mastering songs for a CD or album..... aim for absolute clean audio signal and strive for audibility. |
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| Rememberence_ |
| I use soundforge to do some basic mastering on occasion, like if I have mixed a 2cd set that is split onto 2 disc and I want to fade in and out of it at the split point. I haven't used it to normalise VU levels before, as when I'm recording the set I am constantly looking at a couple of different VU meters (mixer and computer screen) to get it about right. Oh, and sometimes, since I mix a lot of sets on the computer and software DJing applications can only do so much... if I majorly screw up and can't recover from a transition then I'll stop the set, and start again from just before the screw up... then of course I join the two parts. |
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| Psiweaver |
| I use pro tools to do it and so i can do almost anything to it. I'm sure theres some places on the web that give you a how to guide for it but i learned from taking classes and talking with engineers at the recording studio i work at. |
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| DJAntSmith |
| I've never done it but I use SoundForge to record my mixes so i'm definately gonna give it a go next time. |
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| Choobak |
yup.. soundforge for equing and normalizing...
soundforge has a nice little function called wavehammer that's pretty good for maximizing volume... |
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| Matt Dixon |
'I've downloaded WAY TOO MANY sets off the amateur DJ forum and they all clip to distortion levels, or all the tracks aren't the same volume'
How do you sort out the latter problem? |
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| Thirteen |
Definition of Mastering:
mastering is the last process before a song or album goes to press. It is what makes sure that the music will sound good in everyones system, whether you listen on your laptop or your ipod, car stereo or at the club. It is also the process that adds loudness to the mix. Usually it involves compression/limiting and eq. Rarely anything else. All other processes are done during the mixing stage. The mixing stage is where tracks are combined to create one song. As a general rule the mastering stage is NOT where problems are fixed. You can fix small problems, but it is generally only a final polishing process.
Mastering requires a lot of experience as well as time. It also requires a really good reference monitor. You have to be able accurately hear what is happening with the source material. It also helps to check your mix on several different systems to make sure that it sounds good on a variety of different systems.
Every Mastering Engineer has a different process that they use. Secondly, it is also very very different for every type of material.
Here is the process that I generally use on almost every mastering project I have ever worked on.
I will normalize the project to make sure it is not clipping. I will then compress the mix to give the mix a more even volume. I will then eq the mix to make sure that it isn't too bass heavy, or screaming on the top end. I will then apply some sort of limiter to increase loudness. All along the way I will check to make sure it isn't clipping and that it still sounds good. Sometimes I have to go back and change things around. Its just a matter of listening carefully and learning what compression and eq do to the music.
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