stuart3844
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'Alone' Mastering
Following on from a previous post of this song which I uploaded in an un-mastered state (because it basically sounded better than my previous attempts at mastering), I have now done some research and found some well regarded low cost / free plug-ins for this purpose. I have been playing around with compressors from Klanghelm and Variety of Sound. I have used these in line with ToneBooster's ReelBus tape sim and Barricade limiter, plus a little top and bottom lift using the standard Sonitus EQ. Out of the two compressors i think one is a clear winner, but i won't say which at this stage. I have found the Mastering process I have been doing gives a distinct but subtle improvement. I dont know whether i should expect more. I have put links to both attempts here. Hopefully SoundCloud will allow you to hear the difference. All comments welcome as usual. Klanghelm DC1A (Free cut-down version not the full DC8C) http://soundcloud.com/stuartbroughton/alone-4-dc1a-master Variety of Sound Density MkII http://soundcloud.com/stuartbroughton/alone-4-densitymkii-master Original Un-mastered version http://soundcloud.com/stuartbroughton/alone-chris-and-laurette
Sonar X1 Studio, ToneBooster Voxengo and Klanghelm plugins
Windows7 64bit on AthlonII x4 631, 8GB
Studio - Focusrite Saffire Pro40, krk Rokit 5s
sE2200, 2xsE4s, AKG112, GA R1 Ribbon and loads of SM57s
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radio
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Re:'Alone' Mastering
2012/05/13 13:00:41
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 WOW thats really cool ! Great lead guitar playing and that female singer has a great voice , thumbs up to both of you on this song project ! For me the Klanghelm sounded the best but your Sound Density MKll was pretty good too . I would stick with your first pick but again thats a choice you have to make . Very cool tune , your a good guitar player and again I loved her vocals in this song ! Radio
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daryl1968
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Re:'Alone' Mastering
2012/05/13 13:49:38
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liked this first time round - sounds even better now. Good stuff
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Old55
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Re:'Alone' Mastering
2012/05/13 13:52:35
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II like the song a lot. All three versions sound good.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot--hey, who the hell are you guys? X2(X3 pending hardware upgrade), Emulator X2, E-mu 1212M, Virtual String Machine
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stuart3844
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Re:'Alone' Mastering
2012/05/13 14:08:41
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radio
....your a good guitar player and again I loved her vocals in this song ! Thanks for you comment. Unfortunately I cant take credit for the guitar playing. I just twiddle the knobs, but i am very lucky to be working with a great musician and singer.
Sonar X1 Studio, ToneBooster Voxengo and Klanghelm plugins
Windows7 64bit on AthlonII x4 631, 8GB
Studio - Focusrite Saffire Pro40, krk Rokit 5s
sE2200, 2xsE4s, AKG112, GA R1 Ribbon and loads of SM57s
Home - Focusrite Saffire 6 USB, Alesis M1 Mk2s, DT990
Facebook - "York Road Studio"
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Razorwit
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Re:'Alone' Mastering
2012/05/13 14:24:25
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Hi Stuart,
Still really like this one...nice work.
Re: compressors, it seems to me that the DC1A is a bit louder than the Sound Density, so it's tough to make a good comparison without running into Fletcher-Munson problems and I can't easily get good metering/level matching when it's in Soundcloud. That said, I think that the DC1A is better in this comparison, but again, that may just be the outcome of inevitable F-M bias.
Dean
Intel Core i7; 32GB RAM; Win10 Pro x64;RME HDSPe MADI FX; Orion 32 and Lynx Aurora 16; Mics and other stuff...
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Lynn
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Re:'Alone' Mastering
2012/05/13 19:24:25
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I'm sure that I was one of the ones who said the overall volume level of this song was too low when I first heard it. At this point, it doesn't seem so important because the song and production are so darn beautiful. When I play my Steely Dan CDs, I have to crank them up quite a bit to be as loud as other commercial CDs, so it kind of a moot point. The main thing is that the song has room to breathe because it has good dynamics, and that's one of the most important things in a production like this. If your writing keeps up at this level, you have everything in the world going for you.
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jsaras
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Re:'Alone' Mastering
2012/05/15 17:47:34
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This is a quickie master I did of a portion of your song, though it may be a teensie bit too bright on the top end: http://tinyurl.com/82lwun2 In any event, this should give you an idea of what good compression and EQ sounds like.
Cheers, J
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Randall L
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Re:'Alone' Mastering
2012/05/15 19:05:04
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Yep great tune. I would say all the versions sound great, hard for me to pick one above the other - even the unmastered one was great.
The singers voice reminded me of Loreena McKennitt's voice.
Very cool.
-Randall
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stuart3844
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Re:'Alone' Mastering
2012/05/16 17:53:50
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jsaras
This is a quickie master I did of a portion of your song, though it may be a teensie bit too bright on the top end: http://tinyurl.com/82lwun2 In any event, this should give you an idea of what good compression and EQ sounds like.
Cheers,
J
Thanks J, That sounds realy good. It will provide a good bench mark. I think i need to do a lot more learning and mayby i shouldn't expect too much untill i have some experience under my belt
Sonar X1 Studio, ToneBooster Voxengo and Klanghelm plugins
Windows7 64bit on AthlonII x4 631, 8GB
Studio - Focusrite Saffire Pro40, krk Rokit 5s
sE2200, 2xsE4s, AKG112, GA R1 Ribbon and loads of SM57s
Home - Focusrite Saffire 6 USB, Alesis M1 Mk2s, DT990
Facebook - "York Road Studio"
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foxwolfen
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Re:'Alone' Mastering
2012/05/16 19:00:18
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I found the DCA1 had a warmer feel to it, but the Density MK11 better clarity. Personally, I do not think you are quite ready to master yet. The guitars are lacking energy, as is the bass. These things I would correct in the mixing stage, not mastering.
A scientist knows more & more about less & less till he knows everything about nothing, while a philosopher knows less & less about more & more till he knows nothing about everything. Composers Forum
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stuart3844
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Re:'Alone' Mastering
2012/05/17 09:10:38
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Thanks for all your comments. My preference was the DC1A and i have now bought and am using its big brother the DC8C. I have taken on board you comments for a re-mix of 'It must be Nice' which i will be posting soon. I look forward to your critique of that. Foxwolfen, you comment about guitars lacking 'energy' has got me thinking. This is a good term to use rather than 'not loud enough'. I have been trying to refining my understanding and use of compression and i will revisit the guitar tracks with this in mind. Thanks for that. I have also discovered some distortion issues with the base track. especially when trying to add some weight to the opening phrase. I think it is from the original amp settings though as the levels on the recording are ok and there is no peaking anywhere through the audio chain (the right term??) I think this track is gong to be a fight between dynamics and loudness due to the light vocal sections and heavy guitar/toms sections. I will keep struggling on
Sonar X1 Studio, ToneBooster Voxengo and Klanghelm plugins
Windows7 64bit on AthlonII x4 631, 8GB
Studio - Focusrite Saffire Pro40, krk Rokit 5s
sE2200, 2xsE4s, AKG112, GA R1 Ribbon and loads of SM57s
Home - Focusrite Saffire 6 USB, Alesis M1 Mk2s, DT990
Facebook - "York Road Studio"
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foxwolfen
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Re:'Alone' Mastering
2012/05/17 23:29:31
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Stuart, loud is only one component of sound, and highly misleading at times. I used the term energy because its not a matter of just making them louder, it a matter of making them "bigger" too. Fatter of you will. This can be done with careful compression on a good unit using the wet and dry settings in relation to the ratio. You are on the right track I think (no pun intended).
A scientist knows more & more about less & less till he knows everything about nothing, while a philosopher knows less & less about more & more till he knows nothing about everything. Composers Forum
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