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 Now online (1)recycle ...and 160 guests Last 5 registered Oplandisks nothingstar N_loop yipe foxtrotromeo Browse members... |
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The last couple of years I've have been working with mastering music. It's only on a semi-pro level, but I've gathered extensive knowledge about the subject, and already used it on several project, with great success. So what I wanted to give you xlt'ers, is a step by step guide, that hopefully could help some of you musicmakers. This is only a vague guide into how you can control your overall sound, but I think the most of you will find it helpful. I will not go into specifics on frequencies etc. (sorry, PC only) Step 1: The export When you do a track it's actually a rule of thumb to NOT use any effects on the master-channel. Of course, if your sound is supposed to be highly compressed, it's not really the thing to avoid. But for "regular" (ie. rock) music, you basically just do your best to make the mix as good-sounding as possible. Then you have to export the master-track to a file. The quality of this file is important, and the industry standard has been 48Khz/24bit for years. If you can do 32bit float, then go ahead, but as far as frequency goes, you'll do fine with 48Khz. This export will also give you a good catalogue for future remasters, if you came to fame and fortune, and wanted somebody more professional and skilled to master your works. So, the bottom line is: Export your mixed track in 48Khz/24bit(or 32bit) wav or aiff - we'll call that the "premaster". |
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Step 2: The software You'll first of all need a DAW that can do VST's. If you wanna go totally free then Reaper is really good, but Ableton Live works well for me. Your favorite DAW will probably be more than adaquite. Get Reaper free (60 day trial) here: Step 3: 1st plugin: Analyzer+EQ Ok, so you load your premaster into your DAW (be sure that all timestretching is turned off). The first thing we do is adding a frequency analyser and a EQ. Reaper and FLstudio has the frequency analyser build in to the EQ, so that's really handy, but for Ableton (8) we'll have to add the Spectrum plugin first, and then the EQ afterwards. What we are doing here is giving a chance to correct any frequencies that is destroying the overall sound. If all else fails, you might have to go back to the mix to correct any unwiched disharmonics. Alternate analyzer+EQ combos: |
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Step 4: 2nd plugin: Compressor If you have a compressor that you know or prefer, go ahead and use that, but for all you other kids; try the Audiocation Compressor! This is one of the best sounding mastering-compressors IMO, and it's free. Download it here: Leave it at the default setting to start with, and play areound untill you get the full sound of what you want. Step 5: 3rd plugin: Another compressor + Limiter Some people don't use more than one compressor for mastering, but I like to top it all off by using a kind of tape-compressor together with a limiter. This free plugin does both, and very well: Play around with the settings until you get the warmth you want. Be sure only to use the limiter for small peaks. You can adjust the input volume for that. Step 6: Listen + Export So, know you have a mastering setup, so what you need to do know is listen, watch, learn, and for gods sake, don't go up into the red meter - see if you can stay below -0.30db. When you're done you can export to the CD-format (44.1khz/16bit), or/and a higher quality if desired. But be aware that not all combinations of audioplayers/soundcard support higher than 44.1khz/16bit. Listen to your product on as many different speakers as possible, and go back into the mix/master/export process as many time as it's needed to get your sound right. |
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Subjects also worth mentioning: - DC Offset - Mastering to vinyl - Keeping dynamics vs. loudness Sorry for any misspelling. I just wrote this in 30 minutes. |
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And it's all bollocks. |
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Dick |
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one calls bollocks, the other dick |
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yes - I think we got ourselves a conundrum |
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is also a good analyzer |
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somebody cares |
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There is only enough room on this message board for one software product: DUBturbo |
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Hahahaha... oh Dethpeel, you're so fuuunnnnaaay! Can you bump some other posts with DUBturbo? Can you? Huh? I'll bet everybody will find it hilarious. |
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hot tip compose music as pieces meant to be interpreted by theoretical musicians and don't care about sound production |
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Sorry, didn't mean to belittle your effort, this is useful, but, just, you know |
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I'm watching a documentary on Susan Boyle. The only positive thing about it is that every second passing i'm getting closer to death. I send all my tracks for mastering to the audio lab at CERN. |
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yeah. if you can manage a shit at 128kbits, you're already ahead of a planet mu footwork vinyl. and those sell like hotcakes. |
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Gotta have some eq and compression on the master track. I only do a separate project for mastering if doing a release, then I put them all in one to do cross fades, balance levels etc. |
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unwiched disharmonic |
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im gonna be unable to get 'unwiching' out of my brain when listening to kick/bass now |
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Yeah, I do the same with album/ep length, but the master efx on your mix-track can really fuck up your perception of the actual mix. I mean, if you switch the master EQ and master comp off, and it all sounds like shit, then you might have tried to compensate a bad mix with effects. I don't think that's the best solution, fidelity speaking. Of course, it's also about where you feel comfortable vs. good practice. |
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exorcistic disharmonies |
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For does of you who didn't read this, and might find it helpful |
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Leave it at the default setting to start with, and play areound untill you get the full sound of what you want. for this to be very useful you would need to go a bit more into detail. what settings, why, how,...etc...(ofcourse this is different for each track but you know what I mean. as a general guide). |
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intersting ideas and resources, thanks for sharing |
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well, I will direct you to google compressor-functionality instead :) It's basically the same kind of knobs on all compressors - both hardware and software. |
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