CTW Members Mr Happy Posted September 8, 2003 CTW Members Share Posted September 8, 2003 mastering ur tunes: whats the best way to appoach this? Quote Mr Happy's fishy fish MangaFish munch munch MSN & e-mail - mangafish@mangafish.net AOL - MangaMorgan Online mixes - http://www.mangafish.net/mixes/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 8, 2003 Share Posted September 8, 2003 Its something that needs to be done by a pro, or someone who has a good knowledge and a good mixing desk imo. I take my tunes to a friend of mine, who has a propper "recording studio" and he masters them. Dont get it done half arsed, get it done properly. Otherwise some dick will just stick it through on a preset on the desk and it will sound wank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTW Members Mr Happy Posted September 8, 2003 Author CTW Members Share Posted September 8, 2003 fair enuf, but i would like to be able to atleast master it toa reasonable standard myself so i get an idea what the final product will sound like Quote Mr Happy's fishy fish MangaFish munch munch MSN & e-mail - mangafish@mangafish.net AOL - MangaMorgan Online mixes - http://www.mangafish.net/mixes/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 8, 2003 Share Posted September 8, 2003 You will need a decent desk then Some will say that software mixers will do the job but in my experience they dont sound as good as through a propper desk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTW Members Mr Happy Posted September 8, 2003 Author CTW Members Share Posted September 8, 2003 and what do i do when i have all this equipment? (i know nowt about production here) Quote Mr Happy's fishy fish MangaFish munch munch MSN & e-mail - mangafish@mangafish.net AOL - MangaMorgan Online mixes - http://www.mangafish.net/mixes/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 8, 2003 Share Posted September 8, 2003 Its not something i could explain in a post mate, you need to be taught. And experience will teach you to have a good ear for how it should sound. Hence the reason i take mine to an experienced friend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTW Members Blink Posted September 8, 2003 CTW Members Share Posted September 8, 2003 Mastering is the dark art of music, I wouldn't even know where to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTW Members Mr Happy Posted September 8, 2003 Author CTW Members Share Posted September 8, 2003 ah. bollox, wrong answers guys Quote Mr Happy's fishy fish MangaFish munch munch MSN & e-mail - mangafish@mangafish.net AOL - MangaMorgan Online mixes - http://www.mangafish.net/mixes/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTW DJs DJ Elemental Posted September 8, 2003 CTW DJs Share Posted September 8, 2003 T-Racks is an audio mastering program. Audio mastering is a final step in the recording process in the pro audio world. Mastering is a process of using things like EQ adjustment, Compression, and Limiting to make a recording sound its best. But what is best can vary between engineers, and segments of the music industry. In pop and rock music over the last decade mastering has been geared at creating ever increasing 'hot' mixes. Which basically means that quieter parts of a song are often close to, or even as loud as louder parts. Supposedly this is what listeners want. Barring debate on this subject, if you want a hot mix you need to employ mastering. Even if you don't the mastering process is a useful and arguably essential tool which can enhance the sound of your recordings (fixing uneveness in vocals for instance). T-racks is a software mastering solution. It consists of an attractive and easy to use interface which emulates the look of real world rack hardware (which seems to be a growing trend in audio software). You have an EQ, Compressor, and Limiter and the ability to mark fade in and out points anywhere in each individual track you load. The best thing about T-Racks aside from the interface is the presets which allow any novice to quickly achieve professional sounding mastering results. Also from what I have read audio pros that have used T-Racks also like the presets at very least as good starting points. You can of course save your own presets from scratch or save customized versions of the included presets. I usually try to focus on recording things at the proper levels so I don't have to waste time with compression and limiting (the only access to which is through VST and DX plugins which have questionable sound quality) so T-Racks was my first involved experience with audio mastering. I should mention T-Racks is engineered to sound like analog hardware, so it is supposed to cut out the harsh accuracy that digital sound can have. If you like the digital sound you won't like T-Racks. Loading one of my notoriously bad songs I expected to get possibly a better sound but with that fake radio 'hot' mix, type feel. But trying out some of the presets my bad song actually sounded better and even more realistic. T-Racks has a bypass switch that lets you in realtime switch between the original sound and the mastered sound. T-Racks raised all the instruments sounds that were a little too low (without losing quality), and made the vocals sound more realistic while still keeping them at the same level. My conclusion is that mastering is a good thing and that T-Racks is a must have program. It might seem expensive at about £150 since it just does mastering. But keep in mind professional mastering costs up to £250 an hour. If you cannot afford this program I highly recommend downloading the demo and getting a feel for what good mastering can do to your tracks and learn what kind of settings in the EQ, Compressor, and Limiter affect what kind of results. http://www.t-racks.com/ Quote http://bos.abavagada.net/oddfiles/djelementalonline.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTW Members Claire DC Posted September 9, 2003 CTW Members Share Posted September 9, 2003 Also you might wana register on these sites as they are very good for production help etc www.serious-sounds.net www.generoproject.com www.samplecity.net They have tutorials on there and also a lot of knowledgable people for if u do want some knowledge of mastering ur own tracks!! Quote You Can Never Have Too Much Of A Good Thing It'd Be Rude Not 2!! *I Need A Tissue* MSN: Claire___DC @hotmail.com Email: clairedc @ dsl .pipex .com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTW Members Mr Happy Posted September 9, 2003 Author CTW Members Share Posted September 9, 2003 lol i completely 4got i'm registered to genoroprogect Quote Mr Happy's fishy fish MangaFish munch munch MSN & e-mail - mangafish@mangafish.net AOL - MangaMorgan Online mixes - http://www.mangafish.net/mixes/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTW Members Claire DC Posted September 9, 2003 CTW Members Share Posted September 9, 2003 LOL doh!! Quote You Can Never Have Too Much Of A Good Thing It'd Be Rude Not 2!! *I Need A Tissue* MSN: Claire___DC @hotmail.com Email: clairedc @ dsl .pipex .com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTW Members LiquidEyes Posted September 10, 2003 CTW Members Share Posted September 10, 2003 Mr Happy, this is my advice: There are a lot of bullshitters out there who will over-hype the mastering process. Sure, it ain't trivial, it definitely takes experience, but it's more important to focus on your general production abilities. If your tune sounds wank at the production stage, then there is no "magic mastering wand" that will make it sound professional! Focus on EQing/panning each individual part so that they all stand out without dominating the mix. Experiment with delays and reverbs on each part. Get your mates to listen and see if any transitions sound too sudden. Once you have something "almost perfect", that's when you should worry about getting someone more experienced to master it for you. But I don't quite agree that it is a complete "black art" which you have no chance of doing yourself. There is a lot to be said for experimenting with different EQ/compression settings until it sounds good. If it sounds good then it is good, surely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTW Members LiquidEyes Posted September 10, 2003 CTW Members Share Posted September 10, 2003 DJ_Elemental said: Mastering is a process of using things like EQ adjustment, Compression, and Limiting to make a recording sound its best. But what is best can vary between engineers, and segments of the music industry... Elemental mate, I think you should at least acknowledge your sources. That review is probably copyrighted. (P.S. you still haven't changed the "force not to be reckoned with" bit in your signature! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTW Members LiquidEyes Posted September 10, 2003 CTW Members Share Posted September 10, 2003 DJ_Elemental said: I usually try to focus on recording things at the proper levels so I don't have to waste time with compression and limiting I disagree. Compression has nothing to do with the level you record something at. It is about the dynamics of the recording. E.g. you can play a snare drum really quietly, but it might still need compressing to "iron out" a sudden "spike" in the attack part of the envelope. (the only access to which is through VST and DX plugins which have questionable sound quality) I disagree: there are loads of high quality VST and DX plugins. Why your bias towards this T-Racks product? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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