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  #1  
Old 03-25-2002, 01:41 PM
Bob-sw Bob-sw is offline
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Default Calling all Masters, Need Help Mastering

This one's obvious. I need help mastering. i've had no experience mastering except my own tinkering. I bounce all the tracks to one stereo interleaved track and put a compressor and EQ on it. i like to bring out low end, but my masters never fail to come out too bassy. very muddy. i do all this with the EQ off, so it just takes some tweaking. then i use the Stereo comp 2 compressor pre-set and boost the gain and loosen up the limiter. i've gotten a compressor i'm happy with, but the EQ never seems quite bright enough. sometimes it seems like from my mix to my master, it gets worse, and it's very possible. any suggestions? also, if anyone can give me advice on how to get a really fat crunchy guitar sound, it would help out. we play a SO Cal style of punk/emo/rock i guess you could say if it helps.

bob
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  #2  
Old 03-25-2002, 02:53 PM
pk_hat pk_hat is offline
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Default Re: Calling all Masters, Need Help Mastering

If you're consistantly getting exagerated bass response, perhaps it's the first signs of getting to know your speakers and overall monitoring system.
What monitors are you using, how are they placed and more importantly, how is the room setup? All these factors can help us help you in getting better results.

Also, what compressors are you using. Plugins, external?

If you can get a hold of the Waves bundle or even the moderately priced Renaissance Pack, slap a C4 and L1 across your master fader.

With the C4, you can apply different compression settings across the frequency range, should you want a tighter low end without affecting the highs, etc.

The L1 (or L2) will boost your output volume without the 'roadkill squashing' effect.

A good way to add a bit of 'air' to a mix is to boost lightly around the 8-10khz, perhaps a 2 or 3db push should do the trick. Makes it breathe a little easier.

The mud you speak of often occurs in the 300-800hz, usually a result of the kick drum and bass fighting for space. Add in a few guitars and your mud is now getting thicker.

Trim some db's off without soloing each one, although soloing 2 at a time can be adviseable for layer referencing.

The eq'd guitar or bass may sound wimpy and thin on it's own, but may cut nicely through your mix with everything else, which is what matters.

Of course, your master will only be as good as your mix's weakest link. If you're struggling with the mastering process, go back to the drawing board and start over. Painful and tideous, but it's the best teacher.

Good luck

pk
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  #3  
Old 03-25-2002, 04:37 PM
pk_hat pk_hat is offline
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Default Re: Calling all Masters, Need Help Mastering

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Ian S:
Also T-Racks is a good stand alone mastering prog. It has lots of presets you can go through. You can get a demo on thier website.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Absolutely...

I completely forgot to mention T-racks, definetely a great mastering app that also puts your music by the fireplace.
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Old 03-25-2002, 04:59 PM
Bob-sw Bob-sw is offline
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Default Re: Calling all Masters, Need Help Mastering

I'm just using the basic compressor that came with my PT LE. now they offer the Bomb Factory package with LE. i wish i had that. i do plan to play quite a bit, and thanks for the help. for layering you meant to EQ each instrument in the mix right? i do that now for gtr's and i use it on the kick and snare to bring them out a bit. Tell me more about those bundles. how much are they, i might just go get them. i really need something like that. i don't have any external comps now, i wish i did. eventualy the songs i'm fixing up will be for Promo Packages for record labels. my band is trying hard to get picked up, so the more i know the better. i'll be a while mixing, i'm tweaking everything to perfection this time around, last time it wasn't all i wanted. i'm still open to any advice you have. thanks for your help so far so much guys!

bob
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  #5  
Old 03-25-2002, 11:37 PM
pk_hat pk_hat is offline
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Default Re: Calling all Masters, Need Help Mastering

www.waves.com

Hardware compressors can be great, but don't go thinking you absolutely need one. You can do great things with the Waves C1 and RCL compressors.

As for your layering question, yes, I was referring to EQ, as in don't go eq'ing a guitar on it's own because you're defeating the purpose. If it sounds like crap when soloed but your entire mix rocks, you've done your job.

In other words, if you find your mix is muddy and you're ready to tackle the culprits, you'll need to mute some of the unwanted noise in order to better hear the problem.
However, if you mute everything and focus on the guitar alone (or bass or kick), you have nothing to pair it with.
Solo and EQ 2 guitars and then see how they sound with the bass, etc.

A good way to start would be the kick drum and bass tracks together. Bring in the vocals next. Once you get those three sitting where you want 'em, the guitars will add colour to the song and therefore be easier to mix in with the rest.

Your dangerzone is the 400-800hz area. Mud happens a lot there so use your ears and do give them a break every few hours, otherwise they will turn to mud as well and the whole thing will be f***ed.

Go on now, get mixing...

pk
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Old 03-26-2002, 07:31 AM
marcusb marcusb is offline
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Default Re: Calling all Masters, Need Help Mastering

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Bob-sw:
the songs i'm fixing up will be for Promo Packages for record labels. my band is trying hard to get picked up, so the more i know the better.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Why not just spend a few hundred bucks with a professional mastering engineer to work on a couple of your best tunes to send to A&R and label folk.

Aside from having better ears, better gear, better knowledge of how to use the gear, and having an accurate monitoring environment, professional mastering engineers are mastering the stuff that sells and know how to make your tunes sound the way labels want them to sound they are in a much better position to help you achieve a marketable and professional sound than a few plugins are.

If you're doing demos to get gigs, or making records for friends and family by all means have a go yourself. Personally, and coming both from a professional engineering point of view and also a musician's point of view i'd never send anything to anyone of importance without it getting properly finished by a professional mastering engineer.

I know you will all disagree but it is after all my own opinion and my own fault for blowing cash on mastering when "I could do it all myself" [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Leave the music to the musicians, engineering to the engineers and the mastering to the Masters [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] I'm sure that plumber would do a great job of brain surgery too if he had the right plugin [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Cheers,
Marcus

PS. No disrespect to the plumbers, they do a great job of plumbing [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
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  #7  
Old 03-26-2002, 08:54 AM
homerg homerg is offline
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Default Re: Calling all Masters, Need Help Mastering

Nah, just get T-Racks. It will improve all aspects of your final mix by 30 to 40 percent. You can download the demo but you're gonna want it anyway so just get it now. By the way, they have a new version that works as a plug-in with ProTools now. I got mine used through harmony Central, in case anyone was thinking that I was trying to promote T-Racks or something.
If you can't afford it then use ProTools.
Import the Stereo Interleaved mix back into a new session, create a master fader, add a compressor and a limiter (in that order)to the master fader, and your mix will kick ass.
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  #8  
Old 03-26-2002, 09:00 AM
rfreeman rfreeman is offline
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Default Re: Calling all Masters, Need Help Mastering

It would be really cool to find someone you could email your PT sessions to and have them mastered and emailed back. Anyone heard of this? Even a CD in the mail I guess, if files are prohibitively large. Peace.
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  #9  
Old 03-26-2002, 09:45 AM
citi citi is offline
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Default Re: Calling all Masters, Need Help Mastering

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by homerg:

Import the Stereo Interleaved mix back into a new session, create a master fader, add a compressor and a limiter (in that order)to the master fader, and your mix will kick ass.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

if only it were that easy...
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  #10  
Old 03-26-2002, 10:13 AM
Mr_Seven Mr_Seven is offline
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Default Re: Calling all Masters, Need Help Mastering

Actually, the mail in mastering idea is pretty interesting.....
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