"How to Master in Your DAW": Before and After Examples

At Sweetwater's GearFest 2015, I did a workshop called "How to Master in Your DAW" and asked for some files from the audience to master on the spot. The object was to show how a few tweaks could improve the sound of the mix, even without going through extensive mastering work. Of course, this was based on using SONAR . The seminar went long so wasn't able to do them before it was time for the next workshop, so I took the files home and mastered them under the same constraints of trying to do quick and simple tweaks.
 
This video (hosted on the Harmony Central YouTube channel) plays the "before" and "after" versions, and includes some screen shots of the processing used as well as some commentary on the techniques used for mastering. I hope you find it helpful.
 
https://www.youtube.com/embed/-VOl9bwKV_U
 
 

I like what you did to the first song, I think the improvement was noticeable and added to the overall listenability. I also thought you made a good call regarding the reverb, it did seem a touch dry (particularly the vocals, and your reverb made them sit better with the instruments). I thought the vocals on both songs were a touch low and could have been brought forward by a better mix, particularly on the second song.
I was particularly interested in your ideas regarding cuts and boosts of EQ bands, and your reasons for these. Thanks for sharing this.

Nice.thanks.

Excellent!

Thank you for sharing this!
 
I realize that you only had the tracks after the mix but if you had the mix, would the eq adjustments typically be made during mixing?
 
Thanks

sausy1981
Hi Craig, I've learned a lot from you and really appreciate all you do, With regards mastering in Sonar have you any advice on how to set up a mastering session within Sonar for mastering an EP or album. Is their a way using a screenset and setting it up in such a way that could replicate whats offered in Studio one for mastering?

 
Well as is usually the case, SONAR can do things Studio One can't do, and Studio One can do things SONAR can't do . I cover how to do what you're talking about in my seminars on mastering within a DAW, and IIRC Chapter 30 in the SONAR Advanced Workshop covers it as well. I've written various articles on the topic but can't find them online. So I guess I need to write an article and post it somewhere. Basically you can put cuts on the timeline, and alternate tracks or even have one cut per track if each one needs its own processing. Then you can add processing to the master bus if needed.
 
SONAR's main advantage over Studio One in this context is that there are more than two tracks, so if you're crossfading two songs but also need to add something to enhance the transition, you can do so. Also you can add automation beyond just SOPs fixed level/fades, and automate (for example) EQ which can be a life-saver. OTOH Studio One ties in with the song page, so changes made to a song are reflected on the mastering page.
 
However SONAR can't do DDP export and Studio One can. SONAR also doesn't have as much analytics, but ultimately you're going to listen so the analytics are helpful, but not essential. What I like to do is album assembly inside SONAR, then export as a WAV file. I then import it into SOP and add the track markers and from that point, can export as a DDP file.
 
I used to use Sony's CD Architect for album assembly but Studio One is a much better choice. What I find is having both Studio One and SONAR for mastering lets me do what I want, with none of the limitations inherent in either program by itself.

So would you use a different track for each song and line them up end to end and insert processing on each track. Or would you have one track and line up each song end to end and insert processing on the clips? I'm gonna try and set up my own mastering screen set in sonar just to see what I come up with. The big thing for me would be the ability to put in track markers and CD text and the like. As of now I just insert track and load a song onto that track, insert another track and insert my next song on that track but at the end of the preceding track and process each track. I then export each track separately.

sausy1981
The big thing for me would be the ability to put in track markers and CD text and the like.

SONAR doesn't do CD Text, so it's not relevant to what you want. To spare Jeff the effort of looking for another opportunity to mention Studio One , note that SOP does support CD Text. However, bear in mind SOP's mastering page isn't really a mastering page but a CD assembly page with processing capabilities. If you want to do hardcore mastering (e.g., restoration, "micro-mastering," or waveform surgery), a better choice would be Wavelab or Sound Forge, both of which support CD Text as well.

This is very interesting and useful. Thank you!  In the first track, I actually found the addition of the reverb immediately noticeable and a big improvement.  I underuse reverb and never put it on master, but it just goes to show you that you can't let your mind getting locked into a certain mode.

Jeff Evans
In response to Craig's points...
 
Crossfade works fine in Studio One.

 
I know that. I said AFAIK it isn't repeatable (at least not in V2, to which I qualified my comments) and you can't snap to a standard point of departure (like equal power, so you don't have a volume “hole” between clips).
 
FYI not all crossfades are transitions between songs. I've shortened many an overindulgent guitar solo  during the mastering process by crossfading (like the angle splices I used to do on tape). Equal power is what I want most of the time. When crossfading between songs, yes, it's often necessary to customize the curve, but that's another reason for using a track view environment because of its automation flexibility.
 

If you work in 64 bit and a higher res up sampling is not necessary anyway.  Why not just create a mastering session in 96K and be done with it.

 
Because I wasn't talking about the sample rate of the mastering session. I said "SONAR offers upsampled rendering so when you create your stereo mix for mastering..." Many projects remain created in 44.1 and delivered as 44.1; it makes more sense to upsample render one or two tracks (or whatever) than sample-rate convert all your audio to a new sample rate. (Remember, I said this was about mixing. Of course if your recording projects were started at 96 kHz, then your mastering session would be in 96 kHz.)
 

Studio One has full clip by clip or event processing. Always has. (well V2 anyway)

 
You're mostly right - it does now, but it hasn't always (it was added in V2). And in the SOP V2 documentation, it says you can add effects to tracks or the master output, and it also says that ALL functions related to audio parts are accessed through the right-click context menu. Since the documentation I saw implied that per-clip effects weren't possible, and drag and drop on to a clip didn't work (a la Ableton Live), I never looked any further for it (but in case anyone else wonders, it's in the Inspector). Also note I said "I don't think SOP offers per-clip..." because I stopped using the Song page after V1, and use SOP only for the Project page (I still do). However, I do appreciate that you contributed a piece of information that was partially right, because it led me to do the research that revealed if I ever use the Song page again, I'll be able to do clip effects.
 

You dont need a playlist to hear transitions betwen songs. Just hit play instead and listen

 
I don't think you understand how playlists work. I wrote: "The playlist feature makes it fairly simple to test out song transitions before the songs have been rendered." I don't think Studio One can cue up multiple Songs (not rendered clips in the Project window) and play them sequentially so you can dip into one of those songs and make an adjustment to a track or whatever prior to rendering. (And yes, I know that you can bounce back and forth between individual songs on the Song and Project pages...that's not what I'm talking about.)
 

Tracks or clips (events) can be pitched up or down and sped up and down very quickly and easily. Those settings are in the inspector box.

 
I wrote: "With SOP, you have to go back and forth between the time-stretching and pitch-stretching parameters until you get it right." Those are the same parameters you describe in the Inspector box, but they do not provide "true tape-style varispeed on a per-clip basis where you can speed up tempo and pitch simultaneously, without any artifacts." That is why you have to go back and forth between them…preferably with a calculator handy so the pitch and speed correlate.
 

I would not be doing that in mastering anyway. It is a compromise no matter how you look at it.

 
It's okay that you prefer not to do it in mastering, but hundreds, if not thousands, of engineers had no problem bumping up the tape speed by a percent or two, or even a whole lot more (listen to Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll Part 2" - the tape speed shift is huge). Nor is a sonic compromise involved (beyond a timbre shift, which is what you’re trying to accomplish anyway) if no stretching algorithms are employed. Granted I may just be nostalgic for the sound of Ampex ATR tape varispeed, but if you ever doubt how common it was, ask guitar players why they have to tune their guitars slightly sharp when trying to learn a hit from the 60s or 70s 
 
I believe mastering is the last step in the creative process and no option should be off the table if it can enhance the artist’s vision.
 
I don't want to get into an argument, a question was asked about how to emulate SOP's mastering page in SONAR and I provided an answer as to why using the Track View was more flexible in some ways than SOP's mastering page and less flexible in others. You then changed the subject to Studio One, because that's what you know; as you said in May, you're a "full-time Studio One user," and have been promoting Studio One in these forums since at least 2013 (which makes me wonder why you hang out in a forum dedicated to SONAR users, other than to promote Studio One). But it's all moot anyway, because he wants to be able to do CD Text in SONAR, which it can't do. So he's going to have to find another solution anyway, and fortuitously, I had already mentioned CD Architect and SOP for doing the final prep work, and they both do CD Text. 

No problem. Just say "Varispeed RULES!!" ten times, and balance will be restored in the Force.

Jeff Evans
Good point about speeding up or slowing down analog masters. I did not think of that. Yes they did. Somehow I think the analog mechanical way does it is a rather elegant manner though you must admit.

Now that I think about it, it's very much like speeding up or slowing down the "analog sample rate." People think that analog tape has an "infinite sample rate" but that's not really true...let's assume an AC bias frequency of 100 kHz. This is mixed with the audio signal, so the 100 kHz signal is effectively representing the audio and is what the record head converts to magnetic fields. Unlike digital sampling the 100 kHz doesn't measure the audio pe se, but it embodies the audio's waveform as it's being recorded ("sampled").
 
As the magnetized particles go past the head gap, they play back at a certain rate. Slowing down the tape "samples" them more slowly, while speeding up the tape "samples" them more rapidly. As with digital, this "resampling" causes pitch changes that relate to the speed change. Of course the technology for implementing this "sampling" is very different for analog and digital, but with tape, the concept is at least somewhat similar. 
 
I guess I'm just nostalgic about varispeed. Couldn't do flanging without it, either. 

Anderton

sausy1981
The big thing for me would be the ability to put in track markers and CD text and the like.

SONAR doesn't do CD Text, so it's not relevant to what you want.

I wish Sonar would add in this ability....Would save me having to use another piece of software.
 
rafone

Loved the video, Craig.  Good stuff.  A little goes a long way.