Mastering Question - Help appreciated

[Mvrphy]

I'm currently on the stages of mastering my tracks and a few things I'd like to point out before I begin:

- I know trying to master your own material isn't the brightest idea
- sending it to a mastering engineer would be better

However I can only work with what I've got for now so I will be doing my own...

My RMS value on my loudness meter is between -12 and -8 (which I believe to be the correct range where your loudness should be at). When I bounce the track out, the vocals are at a relatively good level compared to better produced mixes but the guitars and drums still sound quiet (however they sound great in my headphones and a good level on my monitors...)

If i turn up the guitars and drums in Pro Tools then I will peak the RMS meter and it will just be peak distortion. My point is that even with the music brought up to the neccessary RMS value, it STILL doesnt have that "in your face" production to it.

These are basement recordings... however, I am not expecting some grand commercial release but any help would be appreciated... here is a link to one of the songs:

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?pda0ss060f6ah23

This is Death Metal, I hope you don't mind for a few moments. The production itself isn't the greatest but once again any help is appreciated, thanks...

-M

[Mvrphy]

More info: I am using Ozone 4 as a mastering plugin, the chain on my master track looks like this:

API 2500 compressor
EQ7B
Ozone 4
Phasescope
PowrDither

Also, Do i master while in session then bounce? or do I bounce then import to master it?

Or: Can I do both, master pre bounced disk and then improt and master it again.... Thanks!

[guitar486]

First thing I noticed is there's quite a bit of reverb on the drums, which is why they FEEL like they are quieter. If you tone the verb down I think you could get away with making them louder.

[Mvrphy]

Will do, how about the guitars? They weren't tracked with D.I unfortunately... does re-amping also greatly affect the punch of guitars?

[guitar486]

When people think of punchy guitar sounds they are usually referring to a double tracked guitar sound. Also, the distortions are a little bit harsh in the high frequencies, maybe dial down the gain a bit and/or mess with EQ.

[Mvrphy]

Originally Posted by guitar486

When people think of punchy guitar sounds they are usually referring to a double tracked guitar sound. Also, the distortions are a little bit harsh in the high frequencies, maybe dial down the gain a bit and/or mess with EQ.

Okay well i tracked these guitars by dual micing the amps and then having both mics run into my interface, so two tracks during one take. Is this just as effective, thus eliminating the musician doing *two* takes with *one* microphone ?

Would you by chance suggest tracking a guitar double with D.I box and a mic, then running a virtual amplifier on the D.I track, whilst keeping these older guitar takes?

So to avoid confusion it would look like this:

Guitarist 1:

Mic 1 ( first take)
Mic 2 (first take)

Guitar D.I (Second take)
Mic 1 (Second take)

Guitarist 2 - same deal, so a total of 8 guitar tracks... or is that way too much to try and achieve "thickness"? thanks...

[guitar486]

Double tracking means two different takes of the same exact part (matching it absolutely as closely as possible). Just give it a shot and you will see what I'm talking about.

[albee1952]

Real double tracking, done well, will sound much better than fake BECAUSE of the subtle differences in the 2 passes. Also, because there are 2 separate passes, there will be way less phase issues. Now there are some ways of cheating, when there isn't time for double tracking, or maybe if the player just isn't consistent enough to do it well. Start with your 2 tracks, but maybe nudge one track later by 1200-1600 samples. Or set your 2 mics very different, like 1 on the grill, and the other out in the room for a totally different perspective. You can make 2 passes(real doubling) sound tighter by using Elastic Audio to move things around a bit(pick the best track as your guide and adjust the second track to follow tighter than the player was able to do). If you try this with your 2 tracks done in a single pass, you will hear all the phase ugliness. Lots of tricks and techniques, but in the end, you need to experiment and learn what/which works best for you

Back to the original question on Mastering; My 2 cents, but I generally leave it to a separate step. I bounce the mix at the original sample rate and bit depth. Then I open the 2mix in Wavelab(but this can be done in PT as well). That's where I will trim the head and tail. Add a fade if I need it. Then, I tend to keep my "mastering" simple, and for 2 good reasons. 1-I am not a mastering engineer(having scalpels and forceps doesn't make me a surgeon), and 2-I can do as much damage as I can make improvement! I start with a good EQ, set for hi-pass at 28Hz. Then a compressor(Softube Tube Tech CL1B on final mix warmer preset), then Waves L2(ceiling of -.02 with no more than 2db of GR) and finally, a dither plugin. If that isn't loud enough, I will add a second L2 right after the first(same settings). Subtle is good, and reference your results on several systems to see how it all transfers to other speakers.

[JFreak]

First of all, with all due respect, if you have RMS between -12...-8 your problem is just there. Below about -14 punch is lost. Loud movies are mastered to -20 -- and the sweet spot is between those two "magic" numbers.

Ease a little on your limiter and turn your monitors louder. That's the trick. If you have not calibrated your listening environment, you tend to turn that limiter too tight. Especially if you like your headphones.

Louder is not better, even if it tends to sound that way in the short term. But after a well slept night your last evening tight and nice squeezed track sounds flat and lifeless. It's just the way it is, and if you "master" anything this is the first lesson you need to learn.

Aim for about -14 dynamics to begin with, and listen again. Godspeed!

[bilug]

Any luck with the mastering of this track? I'm curious to hear what the final product sounds like since I do my own recording in the same genre of music.