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  #1  
Old 04-16-2013, 07:54 PM
mij sang mij sang is offline
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Default Mastering with one fell swoop

When I'm finished recording a song I do a basic mix , I take my computer to a different room and plug it into different speakers and display screen. From there I master the song by inserting mastering tools on the master track. I was getting tired of bouncing the song to two tracks and then walking it over to another computer to master and bounce again. I think it works great, ie….if I want to change my bass drum I can do it without having to go to my recording room where it sounds different and then re-bounce. What do I lose by doing this, volume?

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Last edited by mij sang; 04-16-2013 at 07:55 PM. Reason: forgot system info
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  #2  
Old 04-16-2013, 08:46 PM
Craig F Craig F is offline
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Default Re: Mastering with one fell swoop

and your question is? I can not tell what you want to, or are doing defiantly
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  #3  
Old 04-17-2013, 09:55 AM
mij sang mij sang is offline
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Default Re: Mastering with one fell swoop

My normal process to to bounce down to a stereo track and master it on a different computer in a different room. Now, after the recording is done I just unplug my computer and bring it over to a different room /speakers and add mastering tools to my Master track. I have more control over what I need to do. but I wonder what I may be loseing.
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Old 04-17-2013, 12:13 PM
Craig F Craig F is offline
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Default Re: Mastering with one fell swoop

don't know, I would guess it depends on the speakers and the room
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  #5  
Old 04-17-2013, 01:55 PM
BohoProAudio BohoProAudio is offline
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Default Re: Mastering with one fell swoop

It depends on your mastering project structure. What I use for mastering involves at least three levels of bus processing, as well as changing the bit depth and sample rate. If you are mixing in 16bit, 44.1kHz(not ideal), that's one thing. Most people don't, and for good reason. You want maximum dynamic range and frequency response in the mixing process, but it ultimately has to get down to what is playable on cd or mp3 format.

The point of mastering in a different room is to hear your mix in a fresh environment. The point of mastering in 16bit/44.1k is to hear the absolute final product as it will be heard by the general public. The full dynamic range that you want to mix in won't be in the final product. That is accounted for in mastering, but you want to go in with your loudest and quietest that can be squashed, then boosted across one stereo track as needed.

It would be better to master your project in the same room with properly bounced files than to master in a different room within the original mix file. I keep a multi-band compressor and limiter deactivated on my master mix bus so I can check dynamics while I'm mixing from time to time, but it doesn't replace the full process. Also, if you're mixing a full album, they'll have to be mastered together anyway, so you will need the bounced wav files.
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Old 04-18-2013, 04:02 PM
mij sang mij sang is offline
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Default Re: Mastering with one fell swoop

That makes a lot of sense. I still found that the mastered mix was different than what i was expecting on other speakers. I was just trying to cut down on the guess work.
What bit and sample rate do you like to bounce down from? Are you a fan of the 32 bit float?

Thanks Bohoproaudio bro
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Old 04-18-2013, 04:29 PM
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YYR123 YYR123 is offline
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Default Re: Mastering with one fell swoop

32 is only - on the grid or itb if you will its not the recorded quality

So he probably does 24/96 or 24/48 depending what the final is going to

24bit 96khz for CD or 24/48 for film

But basically he is saying that don't dither beforehand - after you bounce to 2 track file - master then dither for 16/44.1
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Old 04-18-2013, 04:30 PM
BohoProAudio BohoProAudio is offline
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Default Re: Mastering with one fell swoop

Well, that's why I play my masters through three pairs of headphones and three sets of speakers. You want your mix to translate to as many listening environments as possible, so I always take one down to the car, as well as cheapo speakers and earbuds. And it's all guess work until you hear it for yourself. The time you put into critical listening is what makes your time worth the money you're charging.

You can only down-convert from whatever the original session was tracked in. The standard(cd-compatible) end format is 16bit, 44.1kHz. These days, 48k, 88.2k, and 96k are more common rates for sessions, but 24bit depth is still the norm. I still don't know much about 32 bit float, but I think it's just a software spec that allows for higher headroom on the daw side. Most of my sessions are tracked in 24bit 44.1k and 24bit 48k, but everything bounces down to 16bit 44.1k. Sometimes the client will ask for higher sample rate, but if they don't ask for it, it's up to you. Higher rates mean larger files, fyi.
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  #9  
Old 04-18-2013, 05:44 PM
mij sang mij sang is offline
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Default Re: Mastering with one fell swoop

I thought Boho suggested to master in 44/16. This would bring us a closer reference to the finished product.
"The point of mastering in 16bit/44.1k is to hear the absolute final product as it will be heard by the general public."
You meant mastering down to? So 96 and 88 are foiled by the drop down to 44/16.
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Old 04-18-2013, 06:38 PM
CME CME is offline
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Default Re: Mastering with one fell swoop

You've got a few things that are working against you IMO. First why use different rooms? Are either room acoustically treated to be as neutral as possible? If neither is, then pick one and treat it. Seriously. That will go way further than anything else you can do. Which one and how to treat is impossible for me to answer. There are other great forums and resources on that subject. Check out some books by F. Alton Everest also.

Then understanding what you're doing matters too. Read up on bit-depth and sample rates. What they mean, how they affect sound, and what works when. But fwiw I always track in 24-bit. Mix in either 24-bit or 32-bit float. Master in whatever bit depth I mixed in. And then dither down to whatever you need the final file in. And use sample rate conversion if necessary at that point.

But seriously get you a room treated so you can hear the subtleties of the difference in 96khz vs 48khz sample rates. Or 1.5 db of gain at 1.6khz vs 2.5 db at 1.8. Or a compressor set at a 2:1 or 4:1 ratio. Once you can hear better your mixes will translate much better.


I don't mean to sound crass. But there's a reason the guys that do it for a living are called engineers. And no I'm not one that can say that. There's a lot of technical info that gets mixed with artistic choices to record/mix/master music. It's still a hobby mostly for me. But one I'm def addicted too.
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