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 (nobody)...and 496 guests Last 5 registered Oplandisks nothingstar N_loop yipe foxtrotromeo Browse members... |
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So I've had the opportunity to listen to a couple of my own tracks on some really good speakers (I believe they're called loudspeakers), and the music sounds like ... well, it sounds like shit. The mastering is ... off. Perhaps because my own speakers really can't compare, or perhaps because the masterer*(?) isn't really that good on mastering. Perhaps, perhaps ... So what am I suppose to do? Master the whole track, as such, or messing around with the separate elements? Or a combination? I've always thought I did both... Help a fellow xltronican out. Thanks. * that would be me. Is masterer a real word? What do you call the person who master music? |
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Do you have mastering suite software? (Much expensives). I did a (pretty pointless) music technology course at Uni, and we never even touched on mastering, its a whole other ting. It sounds like maybe you are just mixing? I just put a maximizer on my stuff, using Waves. It's not ideal, but it's the nearest thing I can do to mastering. Maybe they are called master-bator's? Sorry shit joke. |
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people who can master = master other people = slaves |
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read this buy good monitors (genelec, dynaudio). listen on many set ups (car, outside the room, boombox, loud, quiet)- make notes- do your best to get close. then pay a professional. |
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Hi, md_geist. Well, I really don't have much to master with other than the music program, as such, as well as Sound Forge 7.0. Hm, perhaps I'm just mixing. I must've gotten the concepts mixed up together. What's a maximizer? |
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Thanks, lupus! |
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Try to download (or buy if u r very rich!) the Waves Diamond bundle. There's torrents floating about...I tried to find you one but couldn't find one which was cracked. It has Maximizers, Ultra-maximizers and the like. They just basically compress all the elements of your track, and boost it as loud as it can go without clipping. Just gives it a nice professional sheen. It's not really mastering, but there's so much stuff in that bundle, just have a play around and see what you can do! |
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people do things very differently and you don't always need the top of the range equipment to master a track, but it does help! Just remember the fuller the frequency range you fill the more richer the sound will be, i've heard allot of great composed tracks on here but they sound sort of muddy and definitely need more attention. The sound quality will depend on what sample rate you are going to record at, my audio interface allows me to record at 192kHz But I have to record one thing at a time other wise i get latency issues some people say that can't tell the difference between 192kHz and 96kHz but you put a few people in a pro control room and play them a few samples on each sample rate and you will hear the difference. I am in no way professional, i studied at Uni but i learned more at home using my own equipment and i'm still struggling with getting a good sound myself. I think you just need patience and attention to detail A maximizer sort of enhances the frequencies and brings them forward giving a little more brightness and clarity, i don't use one, but i have software which does something similar |
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I'm no expert, not even close, but my current technique involves... On the master bus stick in an EQ, cut below 20Hz Stick in a good master bus compressor next... theres nice SSL emulations going around. Fiddle with the settings to taste... Theres guides on the internet but its a difficult area that can break or make your mix. Basically the idea is to "make the needle dance" in time to the music. probably a ratio of 4:1 is acceptable, but i tend to go for 2:1. next add some harmonic excitation, stereo widening at higher frequencies. Then max it out by putting it through a limiter - I dont let it clip. Izotope ozone offers quite a nice suite for doing all this. The thing about mastering is that if it sounds better, it is better. it'll never be its best though. ever. |
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go easy on compression. it's the modern day equivalent of big reverbs on 80's snare drums. . . . don't need to get into the 'loudness war' debate again tho. . . |
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Some nice advice Grahf. |
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i second larn about frequency range. poorly mastered electronic music often has a lack of higher frequencies imo. open your music (lossless files) in a spectrogram and check the frequency range. ideally you'd want to see frequencies spread all across the spectrum (0 hz - 22 hz). you do not want a cut off at, say, 14 hz. adobe audition has a good spectrogram. open up file i edit mode -> window -> workspace -> frequency space editing. |
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Advocate - i take it you mean Khz my understanding is that 0 - 20 Hz are such low frequencies not even the very best subwoofers can produce these frequencies so you should cut them off lupus right about compression - its both a curse and a blessing. its best used to gel the mix; over use can cause your mix to sound like a squished big mac splatting against a wall. basically it depends on the song - if it sounds good it is good the loudness war is also a big topic. generally if you maximise your mix to the point, but not over, clipping you dont lose so much of the dynamics. unfortunately you'll find your mix still isnt as loud as most commercial songs as these tend to be limited beyond clipping |
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yes, khz of course. |
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kHz my Az |
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stop being shit at mixing and stuff! eventually it will sort it out. if not, stop. |
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Spend some money on external gear dude! Like a tape deck or a 4 track just to get a different sound than just regular old digital. You'll be suprised how coloring your sound can make you want to change your sounds you're working from/with. |
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good monitors is the answer i guess..but expensive |
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I got a couple of ex-display KRK Rokit 5's for just over £200 on ebay last year. They're small but very decent, and flat response. Flat response is very important. Tannoy Reveal's are pretty good for that. Damn...I remember when making music was just shitty fun. |
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Thanks people! Will read all your comments. I've been busy. But thanks! |
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