mastering

[Rob D]

I completely agree. I effect things while making the track, continually keeping the mix balanced and tight, and then you only need minimal tweeking on the master output - normally a bit of compression and dither. If the track sounds good, why change it. As someone said in a recent dj mag interview (Frankie Knuckles?) regarding effects and finishing tracks, if it aint broke etc... which I am sure is a view most people hold.

 

I play a new track in a mini mix and have a listen. If it sits nicely in a set, it will be fine.

[Blink]

liquideyes said:

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.

 

Good advice, but I understand nothing about compression, and I would much rather spend time writing music, than pissing about with EQ's. I said it is a dark art, because the majority of "mastering" is done in the writing stage, especially in modern, computer based systems (such as Reason), as you already have the audio there, so, theorhetically, when you export it to a .wav file, it should sound just as it sounds when you are listening to it as you write it. However, there are tweaks and stuff you can do, which will make it all sit just that bit better, and make all the parts that bit clearer, that is the "dark art" part.

 

liquideyes said:

If it sounds good then it is good, surely?

 

That is the singular best bit of advice you can give to ANY musician of ANY genre, because, at the end of the day, that is what it is all about

[LiquidEyes]

Rob D said:

I completely agree. I effect things while making the track, continually keeping the mix balanced and tight, and then you only need minimal tweeking on the master output

Well said.

 

I tend to use Fruityloops (don't laugh) as an "ideas machine" for making the drum loops and basslines for my techno tracks. I then use Cubase to arrange my songs. But my policy is never to export my loops from Fruity until they sound absolutely polished. That way I can concentrate on arranging in Cubase, and also save processing power because a lot of the fine EQing etc has already been done.

 

I find it is good, right from the early stages, to only add one element at a time (e.g. just start with kick and bassline), and fine-tune those parts until they sound totally balanced. Only then add further parts. Also experiment with different combinations of parts, muting everything else, to check that all the sounds "bounce off" one another in the way you want.

[Guest]

In my experience tho, a finished track that sounds good in your studio will not sound the same in a club and on vinyl. Thats is why, for me, extra mastering is required from a pro.

 

[Claire DC]

Guyver says...

ive always said that its best to get your sounds sounding the best they can before you do any mastering to the whole track.

 

i generally master my tracks as i go along in fruity therefore dont need to do much at the end, sometimes even nothing.

 

 

From here.