• Software
  • Auto Audio mastering System (AAMS)
2016/03/03 22:44:19
mikedocy
All this talk about LANDR and self Mastering reminded me of this software: AAMS.
AAMS is a stand-alone, automatic mastering program. It analyses your song, performs corrective EQ, compresses and Limits.
You can download a working demo for free:
 http://www.curioza.com/index.php/en/
 
It works better than expected. I played with the demo version for about one month. 
The hardest part is that you have to choose an EQ curve from the included database that will be used to EQ match your song.
There is no easy way to do this. You have to use the trial-and-error method of choosing an EQ curve.
The one that worked best for me was named "Girl Group" or something like that. The final output from AAMS was -13dB RMS average volume. It had a nice punch from the compression and it didn't sound overly compressed or limited.
I wish I could turn off the EQ matching. This was the one thing that prevented me from purchasing the full version.
Try it if you feel adventurous.
 
2016/03/05 14:39:34
bitflipper
Just wanted to give this thread a bump, since it's apparently been greeted by yawns.
 
I'd tried this out (version 1) a few years ago, and although I wasn't exactly blown away, I have to say that it gets results at least comparable to LANDR, but with GOBS more helpful information provided.
 
Spurred by Mike's post, I've re-downloaded the free version, which is now at version 3. There have been many UI improvements since I last looked at it, but it still does not score highly in terms of user-friendliness. 
 
One downside is that it's still agonizingly slow. A file analysis on a 104 MB 32-bit wave file took about 5 minutes. I meant to just let it analyzing an existing (gently mastered) file, but inadvertently let AAMS auto-master it instead. This took awhile, but I now see why. It included a "conversion" step, saying it was converting it to a 32-bit file (from what? I thought...the source file was already 32 bits). When I looked in the folder, it had left me 3 versions of the file: MP3 (192 kb/s), 16-bit and 32-bit.
 
Then I was given a report that compared my master against a generic "progressive rock" reference (one of 700 [!] references provided) and multiple reports showing what it had done. The good news is that AAMS chose very subtle changes, which is what you'd hope for on an already-mastered file. Like LANDR, you can't specify a LUFS target.
 
A/Bing the original and AAMS versions, there wasn't a huge difference between them. This I interpret as a good thing. The auto-mastered version was a little louder (-14.5 ave. RMS vs -16 db) and slightly brighter. The overall song dynamics were preserved and the bass wasn't hyped. All in all, perfectly acceptable results, using only default options. 
 
What's nice about this software is that you don't have to use it to actually do your mastering, but rather to perform an analysis, let it report what it thinks you need to do, and then do it yourself. Or not.
 
The free version lacks a few controls (e.g. file conversion), but is quite usable. The full version is $71.50 and you can demo it.
2016/03/06 13:07:34
bitflipper
After more experimentation, I have to retract my statement that the free version is usable. It is not. If you attempt to load a song that's 5 minutes long, the program aborts. It's not a bug, but a limitation of the free version. Given that much of my stuff averages around 5 minutes in duration, that makes it unusable. There are also more restrictions than I noticed at first. You cannot, for example, analyse a single file.
 
So once again, AAMS, though it looks intriguing, gets uninstalled. The full version might be more useful, but you'll have to fork over some money to find out. Curiously, the website explicitly states that "AAMS is windows freeware", perhaps an unintentional leftover from when it was.
 
2016/03/06 14:15:12
Leadfoot
Thinking about buying this...
2016/03/06 17:19:21
mikedocy
bitflipper
After more experimentation, I have to retract my statement that the free version is usable. It is not. If you attempt to load a song that's 5 minutes long, the program aborts. It's not a bug, but a limitation of the free version. Given that much of my stuff averages around 5 minutes in duration, that makes it unusable. There are also more restrictions than I noticed at first. You cannot, for example, analyse a single file.
 
So once again, AAMS, though it looks intriguing, gets uninstalled. The full version might be more useful, but you'll have to fork over some money to find out. Curiously, the website explicitly states that "AAMS is windows freeware", perhaps an unintentional leftover from when it was.



I had an earlier version (3.1 maybe?).
It was freeware with an honor system of paying if you like it. It had some features removed such as batch processing. It would master one song at a time. I don't remember the 5 minute song length limit so maybe the dev added that.
If it was a little cheaper (say 29 US dollars) I might purchase it.
 
2016/03/06 19:02:02
Leadfoot
I'm really liking what I'm hearing so far with AAMS. The depth of this program is very impressive. Every song I've run through it so far has sounded better and smoother after AAMS. I'm very close to purchasing.
2016/03/06 22:20:02
mikedocy
Leadfoot
I'm really liking what I'm hearing so far with AAMS. The depth of this program is very impressive. Every song I've run through it so far has sounded better and smoother after AAMS. I'm very close to purchasing.


I had some good luck with it too except I didn't like what the EQ was doing. It made my songs too bright.
Perhaps I hadn't worked with it enough to get the full benefit.
I really liked what the compressors did. They took the sharp edge off but kept the punchy attacks.
The program is sort of amazing from the amount of work that the dev put into it.
He needs someone to help with his English since it is not his first language. :-)
I'm going to download the latest and give it a try again.
2016/03/06 23:20:27
Leadfoot
mikedocy
It made my songs too bright.
Perhaps I hadn't worked with it enough to get the full benefit.


See, it took some of the brightness out for me, in a good way. It must have been the reference file I used.

mikedocy
He needs someone to help with his English since it is not his first language. :-)


Yeah, I noticed that, too.
2016/03/06 23:23:39
Leadfoot
The thing I also like about it is that it's a stand alone program. My DAW is offline, so I wouldn't be able to use LANDR.
2016/03/07 11:33:41
Leadfoot
I purchased the full version today. Just waiting on the key code. Can't wait to try it out.
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