Mastering at home vs. professional studio
 

I'd like to know if anyone out there has much experience with mastering at home with software as well as using a professional mastering house. I'm just finishing a project and trying to decide how to tackle the mastering. I found a good pro studio but it's VERY expensive. Their minimum package would cost 4 times as much money as the software I'm considering - and of course that's a one-off, where as I'd own the software for as long as I wanted. However, they have many sets of golden ears, as well as experience and knowledge that I don't have...is it worth paying that much for?

Also, while any professional mastering house will boast an impressive collection of expensive gear, both vintage and otherwise, it seems to be more and more the case that audio software is getting so good as to render the hardware obsolete - or at least give it a run for its money at a fraction of the cost...

Waves?
Bias Peak?
T.C. Electronic's?

Thanks in advance!

Re: Mastering at home vs. professional studio
 

Render hardware obsolete? Hardly (no pun intended). I have yet to hear software package out perform a hardware mastering solution. 'Very expensive' is relative, how much were you qouted and for how many songs? You can't beat the experience of a pro mastering engineer. Not to mention a completely different set of ears, fully outside of the circle, listening to your mixes. Several DUCies will debate this item in to the ground. One thing is for sure...ME's are not going away anytime soon!

Re: Mastering at home vs. professional studio
 

I've got to agree with Lowfreq - the software bundles you mention won't come close to doing what a real mastering engineer can do with his outboard gear. They can definitely make your mixes sound better if you know how to use them, but it's still not a replacement for true mastering. Mastering is definitely expensive, but worth it for a professional product - if you don't have the cash then I'd look into the bundles you mentioned which will get you results, but don't expect it to be the same as what you'd get from a mastering house.

It all depends...
 

Big time loaded question...however there are some simple things to consider before going either pro or home-brew route.

Also, before I type anything else, repeat after me - There is NO magic bullet, there is NO magic bullet...

First off - this "project" - what's the overall budget for it and what are the general parameters (major label or indie release, 1000-unit projected seller or platinum-projected, etc.)? This will go a long way to answering your quetsion (i.e. if you had $1500 to spend on it, you probably shouldn't plop $1000 of it on mastering). I think so many people get caught up in the "pro" aspect of "pro audio" that they can sometimes let common business sense slip a little. (there's a whole lotta disclaimers that go along with the previous statement, but take me at my word that I'm neither for nor against either pro or home-brew mastering methodologies, it all depends on the project at hand).

With that being said, what you're REALLY paying for in a top-dollar mastering suite is the experience and the monitoring chain/room. Even if you had the same fairchild/pultec/weiss/manley/GML/Mytek/Pass/Dunlavy signal chain in your home studio, you would NOT be guaranteed the same results - because 1) you're not a fulltime professional mastering engineer and 2) your room (i'm guessing) was not designed specifically for the job.

Bottom line: I've heard many home-brew jobbies that suck and I've heard my share of pro-jobbies that also sucked. If you know what you're doing and try not to screw anything up, you can go a long way on your own. But if you've got the cash and the project actually warrants it, go ahead and drop $2k on mastering.

Re: It all depends...
 

I do mastering in my project studio as well as a work at a pro recoding studio.
Many people can not afford to have their project professionaly mastered. I master some radio commerecials also. It really depends on the project.
Most recording studios master now because they can not afford not to, but there is a big difference between a a master done by a recording engineer and a professional mastering house.
I can do a good job leveling things off and some of the basics but when I have been involved in my own projects I always had them done by a professional.
In todays world eveybody and their brother can engineer and master and in my humble opinion it sounds like it too.

Jimi

Re: It all depends...
 

I do mastering in my project studio as well as a work at a pro recoding studio.
Many people can not afford to have their project professionaly mastered. I master some radio commerecials also. It really depends on the project.
Most recording studios master now because they can not afford not to, but there is a big difference between a a master done by a recording engineer and a professional mastering house.
I can do a good job leveling things off and some of the basics but when I have been involved in my own projects I always had them done by a professional.
In todays world eveybody and their brother can engineer and master and in my humble opinion it sounds like it too.

Jimi

Re: It all depends...
 

Yes, the software is getting better and makes your mixes sound warmer, punchier, etc. However, it doesn't mean you, the artist, composer, mixer, engineer are in the correct headspace to properly master your works. Sure, it will sound good, but above and beyond comparing the gear that separates you from a Bob Katz, there is the room and monitors, which speak volumes in terms of 'corrective' and 'enhancement' mastering. I do love T-Racks and slap it across my mixes for the ever evolving demos, mp3's, jingle work, etc, but when I'm ready to string together a dozen tracks for an album release, I will most certainly leave it to a pro to sprinkle that dash of fairy dust over the whole thing, regardless of the cost. There's simply no comparison.

Re: Mastering at home vs. professional studio
 

Unless you know how to use the software - it's a waste of money. If its your first mastering project go to a pro and find out what they did. Then try to tackle it.

C

Re: Mastering at home vs. professional studio
 

Of course, my opinion is obviously a little biased….but here goes:

There isn’t a piece of “mastering” software that I’ve heard (and I’ve heard most products on the market) that can really compete with dedicated outboard gear.

That’s an opinion

BUT, each ME has a style and a sound, and likes working in certain ways. I know some ME’s who can do an EXCELLENT work strictly using software. I prefer outboard gear.

It’s worth mentioning that outboard gear doesn’t necessarily mean analog. In the last 2 years or so a lot of extremely impressive digital outboard gear has found it’s way into the mastering world. Someone mentioned Weiss; that’s one product line that’s in that category. Sintefex is another. The processing in the HEDD is another, etc.

Note, these digital processors are usually boxes that dedicate their ENTIRE DSP arsenal to performing one kind of specific processing and have been designed to do it well regardless of the amount of processing required. That’s one of the reasons why they can accomplish what they do. And why they cost what they do.

This doesn’t mean that **sometimes** software/plugins don’t play a role in my mastering chain; they occasionally do. But they are never used as main sweetening components; only to correct very specific issues, usually using automation to minimize their application to only those areas where they are truly needed. The only real exception is the Waves L2, which sees daylight more than most “mastering” plugs.

With all that said, in my experience, mastering is really about creative objectivity, relevant experience and EARS, not GEAR.

So, here are my recommendations:

If your goal is to save money:

Buy the Wave Mastering Bundle and Bob Katz’s book “Mastering Audio: The Art and The Science”. Find some CDs you like the sound of, monitor at 85 dB, and use the Waves products to attempt to match that sound. Practice. Be patient. Experiment.

If your goal is to have the best sounding album:

Find a professional ME. Not everyone costs $2K.

If your goal is to learn more about mastering:

Find a professional ME and pay them extra above their regular project rate, and have them slowly walk you through the process as they master your album. Ask questions, see if you can spend some hands on time with the gear. Make notes.

Hope this helps!

Damon

Re: Mastering at home vs. professional studio
 

I've always used professional mastering for serious projects...

With my band's first album, I went down to Ventura and sat next to John Golden as he mastered our disc. While certainly he has the equipment and the room to his advantage, his true gift was listening to our material and sweetening it in just the right places--something I could NEVER do as well, even with my T-Racks and $399 amp/monitor package. His services were well under $1000.

If the material is important enough, the money is better spent on an experienced mastering engineer.

Good Luck.