calling all mastering gurus

[jlcnyc]

Originally Posted by waltz mastering

In order to get things loud and still hold together, I think the single most important issue is frequency and energy distribution followed by gain staging...being able to hear what is going on through a full range system... I would put limiting near the bottom. ymmv.

I think I get the "energy distribution" concept. I understand what "gain staging" means...but could you maybe elaborate on common gain staging issues or mistakes?

thanks for your help

[waltz mastering]

Originally Posted by jlcnyc

I think I get the "energy distribution" concept. I understand what "gain staging" means...but could you maybe elaborate on common gain staging issues or mistakes?

In it's simplest form, proper gain staging is about optimizing your operating levels as your signal passes through one piece of gear to another.

It's important in the digital and analog domain and especially important when going from the digital to the analog domain and back again... Finding the sweet spot, where the gear will give you what you are looking for while incurring the least amount of damage.

[jlcnyc]

Originally Posted by waltz mastering

In it's simplest form, proper gain staging is about optimizing your operating levels as your signal passes through one piece of gear to another.

It's important in the digital and analog domain and especially important when going from the digital to the analog domain and back again... Finding the sweet spot, where the gear will give you what you are looking for while incurring the least amount of damage.

Tom
thanks for all of the info.

to be clear, when I say "mastering" - I guess I really mean "polishing" my material as best as i can.
I'm a musician/composer/producer with a project studio (I have NO intention of opening a mastering house) My material isn't intended for commercial release (usually). My target is mainly internet-based (MySpace, YouTube) or A&R/Publishers - if they still exist:)
My goal is that the listener doesn't have to reach for the volume knob (or worse yet - the "skip" button) for my track

All of my "mastering" (if we can still call it that) is done "in the box".
All plug-ins (dynamics/eq) - No analog hardware (and maybe that's my problem) I'm just having trouble getting the "sweet spots" to add up to a competitive volume.

the quest continues...
thanks for the help

[O.G. Killa]

gain staging can be just as important when passing audio from one plugin to the next as it is when passing audio between analog gear or going back and forth between analog and digital.

With plugins... you want to try and find ways to increase the volume of the material SLIGHTLY with each step. while at the same time changing the tonal or dynamic characteristics of the material.

You should never really be sending a very hot/loud signal into a plugin and having the output of that plugin be quiet.

The other part of WM's (Waltz Mastering) explanation about finding the sweet spot for each signal processor is also a key factor. Every process (analog or digital) does different things to the signal at different input and output levels. some try to be as linear as possible throughout the range of the process, others try NOT to be linear.

For example, a VariMu style compressor (Fairchild, Manley VariMu, etc) uses the tubes inside the device to do the actual gain reduction. This means that setting the input loud and output soft with 1dB of gain reduction will have a different "sound" to it than setting the input soft and output loud with 1dB of gain reduction.

But, a VCA compressor for example doesn't work like that... so there might be no significant change in the audio if the input is quiet and output is loud vs. input loud and output quiet.

You also have to be careful that you don't get unintentional clipping. You can clip a plugin on the ouptut, within the plugin's DSP calculations, or on the input (if there is an input gain control).

All of these things can effect the sound of the music.

Also understanding how something will effect everything else in the chain is also important. If you add a bunch of bottom end with an EQ before goign into a compressor, that compressor could end up reacting to the bottom end more than you want it to. Or other things like you might need to put a very "fast" almost limiter like compressor before a slower style compressor so fast transients don't cause the slow compressor to pump.

And so on and so forth...

[jlcnyc]

THANKS TO ALL
this has been a really informative thread (I also have it running in the HD section) The tips have already helped.

And again let me emphasize:
I am trying to POLISH my mixes
(I promise to never, ever call it "MASTERING" again )