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mastering and tonal balance
 

offline Grahf from Manchester (United Kingdom) on 2007-06-04 14:58 [#02090453]
Points: 388 Status: Regular



hey guys

im working on a new track, and its come to the time to start
mastering it. now im not exactly an expert, ive been making
tracks for just over a year basically guessing my way
through it. my latest tune is deffinatly the best ive
written so far, and so i want to get it mastered as best i
can (as a learning experience as much as anything)... im
trying to make it sound less 'flat' basically. now ive heard
of several phrases that i understand in theory, but not in
practice... ive been using a program called Har-bal to try
and get tonal balance on the track (as tutorials have been
guiding me), but the song just doesn't sound as good when i
have balance.

basically on the spectral analysis, initially the track
starts heavy on lower frequencies, lesser on the higher
frequencies. when i correct this using methods that ive
learned, the effect is noticable, and it is easier to hear
more of the track, but as a trade off it loses a lot of its
atmosphere and sounds a lot more hissy (like its playing
through an old radio).

has anyone got any tips?


 

offline Taxidermist from Black Grass on 2007-06-04 15:51 [#02090490]
Points: 9958 Status: Lurker



Use which sounds best to your ears.

Why are you trying to tonally ballance it? Is it because you
think its expected or because you think it will actually
make the song sound better? The best way to make something
work and give yourself the headroom you need is to use
phasing tricks on the lower frequencies, and slight panning
on the higher frequencies. This way you can avoid over-EQing
your track just to stop it from clipping, and start
mastering your track so it sounds good.

Another thing, don't try to make it too loud. I like to
master quietly. You want to hear it loud so that you can
notice errors on louder systems, but in the end it should be
up to your listeners to decide how loud they want to hear it
at.


 

offline big from lsg on 2007-06-04 15:53 [#02090492]
Points: 23725 Status: Regular | Show recordbag



just slap on 2db or more with a maximizer and your done


 

offline Grahf from Manchester (United Kingdom) on 2007-06-04 15:56 [#02090498]
Points: 388 Status: Regular | Followup to Taxidermist: #02090490



to an extent i knew this was the answer i was going to get
:). after i clicked post i realised that it was pretty
bloody obvious!

i think to an extent i thought maybe balancing it would help
it to sound less flat... but then again, the results are
here for me to hear! lol

thanks for the advice, the track should be pretty much ready
soon enough, if you would like to hear it. its almost
pleasent, which is a first for me. heheh



 

offline OK on 2007-06-04 16:22 [#02090513]
Points: 4791 Status: Lurker



post it yeah


 

offline Drunken Mastah from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2007-06-04 17:29 [#02090533]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Show recordbag



Tip 1
Tip 2

Unfortunately there weren't too many more of these.


 

offline cygnus from nowhere and everyplace on 2007-06-04 17:46 [#02090540]
Points: 11920 Status: Regular



post the track man


 

offline Grahf from Manchester (United Kingdom) on 2007-06-04 17:48 [#02090542]
Points: 388 Status: Regular | Followup to OK: #02090513



ok, its up...

it's called 'nihilistics'it'll just play on this page. feedback welcome...


 

offline OK on 2007-06-04 17:55 [#02090545]
Points: 4791 Status: Lurker



it's cool i think the levels are ok. great writing there
buddy.


 

offline big from lsg on 2007-06-04 17:57 [#02090547]
Points: 23725 Status: Regular | Show recordbag



i think the panning of some instruments doesn't sound too
great on my headphones, too hard maybe, i don't know


 

offline cygnus from nowhere and everyplace on 2007-06-04 18:17 [#02090558]
Points: 11920 Status: Regular



get rid of that kick drum, get something a bit louder and
longer, woodier, put reverb on that sid-sounding lead.. take
the chorus off of the background-lead/string thingy...

just my $.02!


 

offline cygnus from nowhere and everyplace on 2007-06-04 18:21 [#02090561]
Points: 11920 Status: Regular



if it was my tack i'd also take the panning off of the
snare. i think that makes it hard to get into the track, i
dont know why. i think you should use more sounds in your
drum set, too. have them louder.

do you have all your drum sounds on one EQ? that's kinda
what it sounds like, that's kinda bad. i think you should go
back and seperate them all and kinda give them their own
"space"


 

offline oxygenfad from www.oxygenfad.com (Canada) on 2007-06-04 18:25 [#02090564]
Points: 4442 Status: Regular



Listen to as much music as you can from all walks of life!
And Practice !!!


 

offline Grahf from Manchester (United Kingdom) on 2007-06-04 19:08 [#02090580]
Points: 388 Status: Regular | Followup to cygnus: #02090561



cheers for the feedback... nothings final like, i'm
deffinatly willing to backtrack if ya it will help...
although not tonight obviously! haha

ill post how it goes eventually. nice one



 

offline Grahf from Manchester (United Kingdom) on 2007-06-04 19:09 [#02090581]
Points: 388 Status: Regular



*think


 

offline marlowe from Antarctica on 2007-06-04 19:11 [#02090584]
Points: 24588 Status: Lurker | Followup to oxygenfad: #02090564



Shuddup.


 

offline Drunken Mastah from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2007-06-05 03:38 [#02090666]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Show recordbag



Snare more to the centre of the mix or a compensation sound
on the other side could help a bit.


 

offline Taxidermist from Black Grass on 2007-06-05 03:49 [#02090667]
Points: 9958 Status: Lurker



IMO, your foundations should never really be panned around
much. Its the audio equivalent of having a moving star
background on a web page. If you are going to be panning any
of your beats, either try to stick mostly with your
rhythm/percussive sounds (cymbals, hats, rides, toms), or
keep the panning consistent (like if it starts at 25% right,
keep it 25% right through the song, and use the same amount
for the kick and snare at the same time).

IMO, beats should mainly create a foundation for the other
sounds to fall into, so shouldn't steal the attention away
from the listener, therefor should stay relatively simple.


 

offline Drunken Mastah from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2007-06-05 03:53 [#02090668]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to Taxidermist: #02090667 | Show recordbag



You can pan drums, but always make sure you
compensate on the other side or else each hit can make you
feel like you're being dragged to it... listen to old
"stereo-was-just-invented!!!" recordings: they work just
fine even though all the drums are on one side...


 

offline Taxidermist from Black Grass on 2007-06-05 04:05 [#02090670]
Points: 9958 Status: Lurker



You can do whatever you want. That doesn't make it
tasteful.

I did mention that whole "stereo-was-just-invented!!!" style
of production as the second bit in my first paragraph.
Personally, I love hearing it. You don't hear people getting
that excited over technology anymore (or if you do it seems
to be done because its expected, not because the producer
wants to do it).

My criticism was more for things that are panned left to
right and all over the place.


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2007-06-05 05:25 [#02090678]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to Taxidermist: #02090670 | Show recordbag



Yes, Cyrus' (of Random Trio) new album uses this on a few
tracks. Essentially the bass and drums (even HH and other
higher pitched drums) are pretty much centred, but with a
bit of stereo field. Then, every once in a while, there'll
be some unique sound that crops up hard panned and it sounds
like it's coming from miles away and it's magical.


 

offline Grahf from Manchester (United Kingdom) on 2007-06-05 06:45 [#02090684]
Points: 388 Status: Regular



right... less panning (esp on certain drums)... reverb on
lead... less chorus... drums on channel each... stronger
kick...

this is all good feedback! cheers. i like it because i only
have to change bits of the production rather massive chunks
of the tune.


 

offline Grahf from Manchester (United Kingdom) on 2007-06-05 09:28 [#02090707]
Points: 388 Status: Regular



right.. ive made some of the changes people have
suggested... ive move the core drums so that they have their
own space, ive removed the panning from the core drums, put
some reverb on the lead, less chorus on the strings in the
background... calmed some of the panning on the instruments
down.

i tried to find a stronger kick but they all sounded far too
... overwhelming, personally i prefered the old one so i
left it in :)

anyway, its up at the same place. to be honest, ive no idea
if it sounds better. ive heard it so many times now its all
just merging into one in my head. haha. enjoy.


 

offline Taxidermist from Black Grass on 2007-06-06 00:20 [#02091003]
Points: 9958 Status: Lurker



You seem to really like Plaid.

I think the kick drum sounds fine, it doesn't need to be any
louder or heavier.


 

offline Grahf from Manchester (United Kingdom) on 2007-06-06 04:09 [#02091029]
Points: 388 Status: Regular | Followup to Taxidermist: #02091003



to be honest i dont listen to all that much plaid... maybe i
should


 

offline Taxidermist from Black Grass on 2007-06-06 13:37 [#02091126]
Points: 9958 Status: Lurker | Followup to Grahf: #02091029



Yes. I think it might give you some inspiration in the right
direction for your style. Listen to rest proof clockwork.


 


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