treesbygb
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Is it worth paying for mastering?
Hi, I would very much appreciate some opinions regarding professional mastering. On HS7 XL, I run the final mix of each song through Boost 11 and adjust the EQ using Sonitus. This constitutes my final "mastering" and it gives me a pretty good result, given the budget recording equipment, lack of ability etc! However, I have now finished my "album", and as I've spent so much time on it over the years I wondered if it was worth getting it professionally mastered. I've tried 4 of these online free samples (sending them my unboosted and uneq'd mixes so I could compare with my "masters") and so far 2 were awful, 1 was difficult to tell if there was any difference, and 1 was slightly better when listened to on good quality stereo. What are other people's experiences? Did you think it was worth it? Thanks
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Kalle Rantaaho
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Re:Is it worth paying for mastering?
2011/03/25 06:20:24
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I believe the consensus here more or less is that if your stuff is (at least) close to a pro-quality what comes to recording (doesn't need to be close to TOP quality pro), performance and mixing it's worth it to give it to a professional engineer for mastering, if you intend to distribute it commercially. If it's just for your own use and family, it's hard to say. Depends on how much you're willing/able to spend on it. Bear in mind, that these online-engineers can be whatever. Some may just run all your songs through Izotope Ozone or something with the same settings whereas some concentrate on each piece using high quality hardware and software equipment. Other forumiters can surely give better info. I've never sent my music anywhere, and I'm not able to produce anything close to pro stuff.
SONAR PE 8.5.3, Asus P5B, 2,4 Ghz Dual Core, 4 Gb RAM, GF 7300, EMU 1820, Bluetube Pre - Kontakt4, Ozone, Addictive Drums, PSP Mixpack2, Melda Creative Pack, Melodyne Plugin etc. The benefit of being a middle aged amateur is the low number of years of frustration ahead of you.
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Slugbaby
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Re:Is it worth paying for mastering?
2011/03/25 08:25:43
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Kalle Rantaaho I believe the consensus here more or less is that if your stuff is (at least) close to a pro-quality what comes to recording (doesn't need to be close to TOP quality pro), performance and mixing it's worth it to give it to a professional engineer for mastering, if you intend to distribute it commercially. I agree with Kalle. If I was doing this for profit, i'd hire (and pay for) a mastering engineer. Maybe not online, as there are a couple of good local people, but if they're not available I'd research and pay for quality. I master myself, using Sony CD Architect, as I'm doing it for pleasure. I can pretty much get the tracks where I want them, but for mass consumption i'd have to hire someone better than myself. PS. There are much better tools for mastering than just Boost11 and Sonitus EQ. I'd be surprised if anyone was able to smooth out a track with just those tools.
post edited by Slugbaby - 2011/03/25 08:27:09
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treesbygb
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Re:Is it worth paying for mastering?
2011/03/25 10:32:35
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Thanks for the replies so far. It's not a commercial project, (if it was , I would of course pay) but as it's been such a labour of love it would seem a pity be penny pinching at this stage. Apart from CD architect what tools for mastering are you refering to? Is there something in HS7 XL that I'm not using? Cheers
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whack
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Re:Is it worth paying for mastering?
2011/03/25 11:05:28
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Like you, I try to do a little mastering on my own tracks using the tools you have + Ozone4. I dont know what kind of money you have but to put that much work into your whole album over the years I would give it the respect it deserves, you cannot compete with a proper mastering studio in terms of equipment, acoustics and most importantly a trained/experienced ear (even a third perspective your too close to your music). Get a few recommendations (online/studio) and then ring them,ask them for advice on YOUR tracks and if they need to be mixed differently from your end and then make sure you get a discount for all your tracks! The minute I can produce a track that I think has potential I ll get it properly mastered. Cian
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Slugbaby
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Re:Is it worth paying for mastering?
2011/03/25 11:20:33
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treesbygb Thanks for the replies so far. It's not a commercial project, (if it was , I would of course pay) but as it's been such a labour of love it would seem a pity be penny pinching at this stage. Apart from CD architect what tools for mastering are you refering to? Is there something in HS7 XL that I'm not using? Cheers T-Racks and Ozone are two popular applications that will give you more ability to master properly. Boost 11 has very little versatility, and mastering, along with skill and experience, requires more options than just an input and an output dial (attack time, release time, etc...).
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treesbygb
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Re:Is it worth paying for mastering?
2011/03/25 16:44:16
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Once again, thank you for your posts. It's always nice to get encouragement to spend a bit of extra cash! I'll have a look at T-Racks and Ozone too, because I am aware that Boost 11 is essentially a gimmick, it's just that I was speaking in relative terms, eg the difference between using it and not using it is quite marked. I wasn't comparing it to any kind of real mastering! Thanks again for answering my questions.
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