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Mastering
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| philipio |
Hi everyone!
Im sure you have probably come across this question many times before but here goes...
I was just curious as to how a lot of you go about mixing/mastering? The volume from professional releases destroys that of mine when i use a preset (which i do tweak) master setting on one of my tunes. Im no mastering engineer but understand the basic theory of it all but just cant seem to match the volume of a professional.
So my question is...Do you guys tend to add ridiculous amounts of compression when mixing to get the extra volume when mastering? I have tried things this way but this tends to require drastic/surgical eq to stop my monitors overloading.
Or is this extra volume just down to a good mastering engineer?
Thanks in advance!
Phil |
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| MSZ |
Show us small samples of everything(your track, a track you're aiming at). Nobody likes an over-compressed track, well maybe some idiots do. I've seen some crazy ass mastering chains, at the same time i've seen some very simple ones. Its generally how you use the modules. You need full control of the basic principles of spreading and maximizing the sound. Research mang, tons of resources out there.
You cant rely on mastering the whole way, there may be a nuisance in your mix, something imbalanced, poor sound design decisions etc. |
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| Looney4Clooney |
| quote: | Originally posted by philipio
Or is this extra volume just down to a good mastering engineer?
Thanks in advance!
Phil |
in EDM, i would say this is something that is rather aesthetic and usually done in the mix. Mastering will usually make something 10% better. Was essential when you had to meet specific technical requirements for different forms of media but for beatport or Itunes.
Your master should be good enough without being mastered to pass as a "mastered" track. |
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| evo8 |
Main loudness of your track will come from the mix, if you can get the mix loud then the ME will be able to make it louder
As for getting the mix loud....you have to learn how to mix and choose sounds and an arrangement that will give you a loud sounding mix.... |
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| ChemTec |
In my opinion anyway a good mixdown is just as vital as a good master. If your track is not mixed well, the master will only accentuate the parts you didn't deal with in the mixdown.
The main problem today is that alot of tracks are being over compressed not because it is supposed to sound good, but because it has to be to compete with other tracks that are released. There have been many tests done on people to see which tracks they preferred an uncompressed track or compressed track and most people pick the compressed track simply because it sounds louder. People perceive a lot of loud tracks as better, which is what this whole "Loudness War" is about.
I don't agree with the over compressing of tracks and i think a track which isn't heavily compressed sounds much better but a track like that just wont be able to compete with the standard people look for today which is sad |
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| derail |
Loudness comes from a song's midrange. Human ears are designed to hear human speech, so respond to midrange frequencies much more than low bass sounds or high frequencies.
Digital audio has a limit of 0 dB. If your sub bass range is hitting 0 dB before your midrange gets there, you'll hold back the loudness of your song. (The same is true for the high end, but the high end is much less likely a culprit).
Check a few of your favourite songs in a frequency analyser, see where their bass range (50-100 Hz) is hitting, relative to their midrange and their high end. This will give you an idea of their overall frequency balance.
Then check your song and compare where these regions are at - it's likely your bass range will be much louder (relative to your midrange). If so, either turn your kick or bass down, or use different sounds which fit better at a lower volume, or as a last resort use EQ to reduce the low end (though I wouldn't recommend this - much easier to start with sounds which work together).
Your mix should already be very loud (if that's what you're after) before sending it off to a mastering engineer (my definition of mastering is "another set of ears", meaning that self-mastering is impossible. Everything I do to my song, at whatever stage, I call mixing). |
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| Nicolas Oliver |
| quote: | Originally posted by MSZ
Nobody likes an over-compressed track, well maybe some idiots do. |
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| derail |
| quote: | Originally posted by Euforix
Are you referring to latest commercial music with their loudness war? If so, I agree with you.
What do you think about genres where over-compressing is the main idea (ie. terror, speedcore, splittercore, industrial, extratone,... etc...)? |
Genres built mainly around use of a compressor? So rather than being primarily based around rhythmic elements/ tonalities/ sonic palettes/ lyrical themes, the main idea is compression? How odd.
To my ears, genres built primarily and obviously around an effect, with little regard for music, would fall into a category such as "noise", "glitch", "experimental", or some other description which makes it clear that music isn't the primary purpose. |
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| Nicolas Oliver |
| quote: | Originally posted by derail
Genres built mainly around use of a compressor? So rather than being primarily based around rhythmic elements/ tonalities/ sonic palettes/ lyrical themes, the main idea is compression? How odd.
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| philipio |
Thanks for all the replies!
I know the track im currently working on aint great due to the fact that im having to do such surgical EQ cuts etc and all ready the recent tracks ive just started are benefiting from those mistakes. Im gonna finish the mix anyway (as i hate just leaving stuff) and ill try and upload a sample when done.
Thanks again! |
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