Sound on Sound errors???

[eledu]

I've just read an articlecalled "Keep your headroom".
In the article SOS Mag states "If you are going to bounce your mix into another track and want to export the bounced file to as a 16bits file ready for CD mastering dont apply dither in your final in your final plugin chain, as protools will automaticly dither the exported file without asking."
Is that true? If it is, is there any way to disable this feature (or any workaround)?

In another paragraph it states something that is clearly an error, as it says "However, with the master fader you need the insert to be post fader, so that any brick-wall limiters or dithering you might add are not afected by trimming the master fader"
If it's POST FADER (and master fader in protools actually is) then the master fader itself WILL vary the audio level the inserts are getting, or am I wrong????
Best regards.

[Mothlight]

I wonder if this is somehow taken out of context. I hope that. SOS allowing writers who've learned just enough lingo to string together a random 'audio' sentence would be really embarrassing. especially for the editor.

[Mothlight]

what he meant: for 24 bit files, pro tools WILL truncate (he uses "dither" incorrectly) values after 16 bits if you have 16 bit checked in your bounce window. If you do not want this to happen, by all means, use a dither plugin to gracefully step down to 16.

What he said in the second part actually is correct....technically...if the master fader was pre plugin, trimming it would obviously mess up your threshholds on ur compressors and limiters. Thanks for that jewel.

If clowns like this make it into sos, cut me a check and count me in!

[Rail Jon Rogut]

Export Regions to Files will dither if the bit resolution is reduced and there is no way to change that - would you prefer that the resolution just be truncated without dither? You can always export at the native resolution and dither later in a mastering session.

Master Fader inserts are POST fader, so input to the plugins will be affected by the gain of the master fader -- what the author should have said was that input to any master fader limiters or compressors will be affected by gain changes to the Master Fader. To put a master compressor pre the master fader, mix through a stereo Aux Bus first and then route that to a Master output.

Cheers,

Rail

[waltz mastering]

Originally Posted by eledu

I've just read an articlecalled "Keep your headroom".
In the article SOS Mag states "If you are going to bounce your mix into another track and want to export the bounced file to as a 16bits file ready for CD mastering dont apply dither in your final in your final plugin chain, as protools will automaticly dither the exported file without asking."
Is that true? If it is, is there any way to disable this feature (or any workaround)?

You are right. This is wrong advice. There is no reason you would want to reduce the sample rate or bit depth to prepare the files for mastering.

IME/O, any files for mastering should be left at the sample rate and bit depth that they were mixed at.

Reducing the bit depth and applying dither is almost always the last thing that is done in the mastering process, so theses statements make little sense when talking about "preparing" files for mastering, whether PT HD or LE would automatically dither on export or not.

[eledu]

Originally Posted by waltz mastering

You are right. This is wrong advice. There is no reason you would want to reduce the sample rate or bit depth to prepare the files for mastering.

IME/O, any files for mastering should be left at the sample rate and bit depth that they were mixed at.

Reducing the bit depth and applying dither is almost always the last thing that is done in the mastering process, so theses statements make little sense when talking about "preparing" files for mastering, whether PT HD or LE would automatically dither on export or not.

Yep. Thant´s what I always knew. But sometimes the client wants a CD of the mix you just finished, and as I usually allways print to another track, and then export to 16 bits, applying a dithering plugin before of course. But now I´ve learn something new, and is that I don´t have to dither it if I´m going to export to 16bits.
And about the master fader, I knew it was post, but after reading it made me doubt and so made some test (opened a session and played with master fader) and confirmed my knowledge :)
But just wanted to know if I was missing something here.
Thanks everybody!