Mid to High End Mastering Soft/Hardware

[Count Zero]

Researching solutions for mastering. Need suggestions and guidance. Computer Platform doesn't matter as we will be starting from scratch.

What is used in all the pro mastering shops and what else is worth considering ?

We will have a decent budget and may even buy more than one type of system. i.e one more expensive system and several less expensive ones.

BTW I am working at a school for audio recording hence the multiple solutions....

So far what I have come up with myself is Sadie for the high end and Soundforge/Wavelab/CoolEditPro/Sequoia for the less expensive systems

I dont feel too bad about posting this here especially after the demise of Masterlist.

Help gratefully received

[tenkproductions]

This is what most mastering houses use and it's not cheap but this is the real deal!

http://www.cube-tec.com/AudioCube.html


Phil Plaskon
[img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
www.tenkproductions.com

[fifthcircle]

Traditionally, Sonic Solutions and SADiE have been the front-runners in mastering. Recently, though, Sequoia, Pyramix and Wavelab (or the Cube) have been appearing more and more...

Cube-Tech is not what "most mastering houses" use... I'll agree that it is an amazing platform, but let's not go too far.

Sequoia is less expensive than SADiE or Sonic, but certainly not a mid-level platform. It is an amazing deal for what you get, really. Sonic Solutions style editing (4-point editing and fade editor), multi-track mixing (unlimited tracks- whatever your PC can handle), DDP exports, full red-book CD burning capabilities, tons of other options... I'll add here that Sequoia is my DAW of choice. I do 50 channel mixes on it and high-end mastering as well... I keep a PT rig around so that I can deal with PT sessions easier. (Nothing will export plugins and automation yet...)

Wavelab presents a decent 2-track editing and mastering interface. IMO, though, it doesn't have anywhere near the same capabilities as a program like Sequoia that can still work in the multi-track domain. Also, once you start adding options like DDP, it isn't so cheap anymore.

Cool Edit and Sonic Foundry's stuff is geared towards the low-end consumer. Cool Edit has some pretty cool capabilities, but it isn't in the same league as one of the "real" mastering DAWs. They don't even have options for the needed high-end features.

I have a lot of info about Sequoia so if you contact me off the board, I'll be happy to share it with you ([email protected])

--Ben

[narcoman]

Most of the major mastering centres use Sadie for play back but do not use that many plugins - in fact Ian Cooper (my fave - did lust for life and all that mid 70's malarkey) still sweeten mixes through many many bucks of hardware and use (although software internally) hardware limiters. Finally its recorded back to sadie and set up for CD. o if you're really looking hi end then (from the look of Metropolis) then you'll be looking at £80000 to £100000 on a few compressors and EQ.

Plug in city is currently the mainstay of the cheaper (yet still good) mastering suites. This is obviously on the way to changing as more pro's become atisfied with DAW - but currently "that sound" is the home of hardware.

cheers

[MusicTrax]

Originally posted by Count Zero: Researching solutions for mastering. Need suggestions and guidance. Computer Platform doesn't matter as we will be starting from scratch.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Run, don't walk, to your nearest bookstore (like Amazon.com) and get this book:

MASTERING AUDIO: THE ART AND THE SCIENCE
by Bob Katz

Paperback: 319 pages
Publisher: Focal Press (ISBN: 0240805453)

This will give you much information on what's currently going on in the mastering business, and shows the wide range of software and hardware being used by leading mastering engineers.

Also, you should know up front that the ROOM used for mastering is one of the most important components. I know of a mastering engineer in NYC who spent $250K just on one room and his monitor speakers, and it's far from the most expensive ever built.

--Marc W.