mastering in pro tools????

[mnoxious]

Here is a great thread about in the box mastering. mastering thread

As long as you have some EQ plugs (like EQ3 which comes with PT) and a Compressor/Limiter (Like Dynamics 3 which I believe is also included or at least free) then mastering in the box is possible with pretty good results, given that you have the time to experiment and tweak. As far as a graphic analyzer get the Roger Nichols Inspector Plug-in (available for free download) which is also a great metering tool.

[Phil Ogden]

Don't forget the option of renting high quality plugs form the Digi store. This might be a more cost effective option in the short term. A basic 'in the box' signal path using rented plugs should include a decent EQ (e.g MDW Hi-Res Parametric EQ v2.2), Multi-band compression (e.g Drawmer) and a Limiter (Maxim). Maybe also a bit of Tape Saturation.

http://www.myspace.com/philogg

[Whiteyguitar]

You could also grab the Waves Musician 2 Bundle from GC or Musicians friend for $150, not that it's the best waves puts out but it isn't that bad either, very easy to use and better than some of the stuff out there, It's got some easy to use compressors, EQ's and a pretty good Slap back Delay.
I have the full version of Izotope Ozone 3 and it's OK but it does color the sound a bit, you can adjust everything which is much nicer than the lite version, but I like to use it more for messing up things, Like a heavily distorted Vocal and stuff like that. I would never use it to master.

[zolimer]

This may not help at all, but a thought had occurred to me after i slept on this question. If you sent the right material to the right M.E who has connections in the business, Than could that be an open door for someone with the right talent? And obviously it would not be a good idea to send something to an A&R person that wasn't mastered professionally, That would be like asking a painter to just paint half of a wall! Why even spend the money to get it halfway done? A possible selling point for out of house mastering. But if your a hobbyist like me who doesn't seek fame, Than learn as much as you can. When you are trying to sell the idea you should be clear with the client that what they are trying to achieve may involve a few extra steps to get the desired effect. If they dont listen its on them! But if they're music does not display exceptional talent some things are better left unsaid! Ie.. Dont send them to the mastering house if the talent is lacking. Some people would be happy to just hear they're stuff mixed, and that is enough.

[Punkbarn]

I posted a similar thread about compression/and limiting and people recommended Massey Plug-ins. I downloaded the demos and they worked amazingly. I would recommend them because the price is rock bottom for an amazing set of plug-ins. For $444 you can get a compressor, limiter, EQ, Tape Saturation, and more.

[TOOT88]

WARNING REGARDING DUY PLUGINS!!!

I ordered the everypack and tape plugins from Xavier at DUY, $641.89. After getting the plugins, the next day I looked at my credit card and there was an additional charge of $19.26. I sent Xavier (owner of duy) what the charge was for. He said WorldPay charged that fee. I then contacted WorldPay and they told me they don't authorize making additional payments, they only process what companies like DUY send them.

In the mean time, it's been a month and Xavier at DUY is not responding to my emails. If you do buy from them, make sure you pay with paypal. DON'T USE A CREDIT CARD, otherwise you'll have to spend hours replacing the card to drop the additional charge.

DUY is from outside the USA, so it's not so easy to get your money back.

Steve
[email protected]

[sonny7]

Thanks for the advice. Quick response to zolimer, the band is talented, they are just broke lol
Also I have sold songs that were recorded on a 8 track cassete. Many times if you are selling music a "demo" will get you in the door if it is what they want (and like)

I was interested in all of your opinions (concernign mastering) for myself as well. What do many of you use for mastering. I would like to master even my own stuff (atleast have it sound better than just a plain mix) I understand mastering is an art among itself , but being new to Mac I could not rely on sound forge, which i have had some pretty pro sounding results. So i am trying gauge what path to take so I can atleast master some of my own projects, and hopefully even for some of my clients who don t want to spen an extra $1000 on top of pther costs for mastering.

I value all of your opinions , a great wealth of info here. But there is no "Mac" mastering program to get a CD ready like windows has sound forge which also has CD architec to arrange all the songs as well.


thanks again

[bzldzl]

I use the Waves mastering plug ins and they are superb.

Logic Studio comes with Waveburner which is an amazing program for making CDs. You have two stereo tracks which the program alternates tracks as you start adding songs. This allows you two overlap the songs if want to fade them together. It automatically puts fades in which you can adjust.

Totally great program, not sure if you can purchase it seperatly from logic studio.

[denka]

I value all of your opinions , a great wealth of info here. But there is no "Mac" mastering program to get a CD ready like windows has sound forge which also has CD architec to arrange all the songs as well.


thanks again

There are a few of them and the first that comes on my mind is Bias Peak Pro (XT) 5.2.1. You can also buy Logic Studio 8 (that is incredibly cheap for what you get) and use WaveBurner 1.5. The cheapest solution is Roxio Toast 8 Titanium. I have all of them but I found myself in using WaveBurner 1.5 the most.

[bukman]

I upgraded to Ozone 3 from the lite version that came with ignition pack.

I find its an awesome product and the presets are amazing as a starting point to fine tune your masters. Plus it is all in one meaning you have one place to access the various components of your mastering processes meaning eq, multi band compression etc
The big difference with the lite to full version is you can only use a set number of presets and no tweaking of parameters is possible.

With the Digi upgrade price for ozone 3 you can get the full version of an awesome product for what I believe is a great price.