mastering program

[18Duffs]

Hello again all.. I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions
on a good standalone program for mastering.

Ive taken to mixing and then dropping my protools sessions into .wav format
and then was looking for something that I could use to take over from there.

any ideas??

[rickthestick]

Sound Forge does a decent job for a decent price. IMHO

[meltdown5]

I havent used it much, other then the demo version, but I hear GREAT GREAT things about Harbal. I liked it when i was using it, and its very very cheap, $100.

-melty

[meltdown5]

I havent used it much, other then the demo version, but I hear GREAT GREAT things about Harbal. I liked it when i was using it, and its very very cheap, $100.

-melty

[Matt Whritenour]

any ideas??

Just import your songs into a new Pro Tools Session, and Master it in pro tools.

I don't have any special mastering plugin's but I can do a pretty good job with the free bombfactory compressor, EQ3, Dynamics3, and the Digi Dither

[Noviisi]

I use Steinberg WaveLab for mastering and it works fine. I also like Waves Masters bundle.

[18Duffs]

Just import your songs into a new Pro Tools Session, and Master it in pro tools.

I don't have any special mastering plugin's but I can do a pretty good job with the free bombfactory compressor, EQ3, Dynamics3, and the Digi Dither

Holy crap I never even thought of that !! thats actually a pretty good idea
I take it you can boost the levels and everything

[Chris Cavell]

There are a number of respectable mastering facilities that use pro tools as their primary DAW for playback/transport.

Wavelab is pretty decent and gets the job done without breaking the bank, but has a few isiosyncrasies...what program doesn't?

There are a couple more, like SaDie and Sequoia, but probably more than you want to spend if not looking for a career in mastering.

Remember that processing the audio is less than half the battle in mastering. You still need good authoring software and QC. I almost forgot: don't forget to get your ISRC codes!!!

[IntelDoc]

what program doesn't?

C'mon Chris..... WINDOWS...

Doc

[3JDamon]

I've taken to mastering in the Protools session, just with plugs in the master fader. Sure, it must be done with other songs in mind that aren't present in the session, but the settings should be pretty close from song to song, and there's nothing stopping you from burning a CD to listen to for context while you test it on other systems, nor is there anything stopping you from making changes later, like anything else in the mix.

IMO if you're mastering it yourself in the box, there's no point in mastering it any other way, and it also doesn't hurt to mix with mastering plugs engaged either, even if you're sending it off for mastering (just disengage the mastering plugs before bouncing the finals).