The trend according to what I've read is going back to more civilized levels. Also vinyl is making a comeback so that is something to watch out for. A lot of the super loud mixes wont transfer to vinyl very well. 

John
The trend according to what I've read is going back to more civilized levels. Also vinyl is making a comeback so that is something to watch out for. A lot of the super loud mixes wont transfer to vinyl very well. 

Vinyl is making a comeback and im glad. I have an old console model with an 8 track player in it.
my wife makes me keep it in the man cave downstairs. the kids just don't know what to think.
Now if only Tape does as well :-)

chuckebaby
 
I have an old console model with an 8 track player in it.

As a kid I can recall seeing many 8 track tape cartridges along the roadside, with massive balls of tape spaghetti hanging out.

chuckebaby
There's nothing wrong with Sonars mastering templates but I find creating your own mastering chain produces better results (that's if you have better plug ins of course).
 
1- Start by opening a new blank project
2- Drag/drop your finished mix on to the audio track
3- Insert your mastering plug ins / mastering chain in to the "Tracks" FX bin.
4- Drop your analyzing, metering plug ins in the master bus.
5- Listen and make adjustments.
6- Export
 
Mastering is an art form. Its almost as if it is a totally different animal compared to recording and mixing.
It takes a good ear and even better judgment. It may literally take years to perfect the craft.
However one can achieve good results as long as following a few guidelines.
 
Create a mastering chain using your own plug ins. The order of which you use these plug ins is also very important.
For Example:
 
My Mastering Chain consists of:
1- Linear EQ to drop off/filter APPROX 30HZ and under.
2- CA-2A for Analog coloring= a 1 to 1.5 db push / very subtle.
3- The SSL Bus compressor.
4- The L3.
5- Followed by the L2.
6- Some more light Analog coloring.
7-The Secret sauce.

Great info. just wondering... When you mix down to two tracks do you export as a wav file? you said drag and drop. so? I'm just exporting a stereo wav file to master. Still I'm just winging it all at this point.

Any files within Sonar are generally .wav files.

You can either export your stereo mix and import it to 2 tracks. Or

Mix down your project to 2 new tracks inside the project and mute the project files. That's just a few of the basic ways.

mudgel
Any files within Sonar are generally .wav files.

You can either export your stereo mix and import it to 2 tracks. Or

Mix down your project to 2 new tracks inside the project and mute the project files. That's just a few of the basic ways.

So I'm kind of on the right track. :)
Thank you!

11Dreams

mudgel
Any files within Sonar are generally .wav files.

You can either export your stereo mix and import it to 2 tracks. Or

Mix down your project to 2 new tracks inside the project and mute the project files. That's just a few of the basic ways.

So I'm kind of on the right track. :)
Thank you!

You are on the right track. I used to export 90% of my mixes to a 44 /16 stereo wave file.
But now opt for the more dynamic and better quality 48/24.
Recorded in 24/48 bit, export in 24/48, master export in 24/48 or 24/44. 
 
When I began recording in 24 bit is was as if someone turned a light bulb on in my head.
I was like hey "Who turned on the headroom". Sometimes you may not hear the differences between 44 and 48 but there is. (There are 4000 more samples are made per second).
 
I have explored the benefits of recording in 96 but just don't see the benefit for the amount of disk space it chews through.
 
Rock on !
 

abacab

chuckebaby
 
I have an old console model with an 8 track player in it.

As a kid I can recall seeing many 8 track tape cartridges along the roadside, with massive balls of tape spaghetti hanging out.

 
Same here. Remember back in the early 90's on trash day you could drive by any given neighborhood and see a box of them out on the sidewalk. . I found every Beetle album on 8 trk that way. My first 8 trk was "The Knack / Get the Knack" The My Sharona Album. What a great album that was. Still the only 8 trk I've ever worn out to the point it didn't work anymore.

chuckebaby

ceemusic

chuckebaby

ceemusic

chuckebaby

Sanderxpander
FWIW, linear phase EQ isn't always the best choice for low frequency cuts. But use your ears of course.

well then what is ? (and remember we are talking about the mastering stage.)

min. phase

Hey what ever floats your boat. IMO, linear EQ is always the best choice. then again im not here for a debate, I was simply trying to leave some helpful info for the OP but I guess I should have known better that some of us cant have their morning coffee without trying to have sort of debate. the typical.. "I believe you are wrong".
Regular EQ’s have phase shift between the different bands. When you boost or cut 30 Hz, that frequency range is technically delayed by a tiny amount, which can in effect cause smearing.
Linear-phase EQ keeps all the frequencies 100% in phase. In other words, all the frequencies pass through the EQ at the same speed, resulting in zero phase issues between bands. If its good enough for YOAD NEVO (look it up) then its good enough for me.
 
With that said, use what ever you want. have a nice day.

well you asked...

yes and you gave a very detailed well thought answer.
I especially like the part where you abbreviated minimum (min.) that was cool. 
 
Its my fault really, I probably should have ignored the last 2 posts and told you guys to use a boss pedal board EQ if you want.
Good luck

Why the superior & bratty attitude?
 
I gave you an answer  that you obviously weren't aware of.
Yes, I used the abbreviation min. phase, which it's commonly referred too by most. And FYI there's a good reason why mix & master engineers use it as an option & alternative to LP.
 
 I won't bother to answer any more of your questions. Good luck.

So the Boss pedal EQ isn't working then ? .
Hey im all about learning new things all the time and sometimes I am (without a doubt) just plain ignorant.
 
However it seemed to me as you were  not putting forth much effort in to your reply's.
If you have a different way, share it. Im not afraid to try new things. I even gave a shot to the minimum phase EQ.
I didn't like it, but I tried it. so im not all that stubborn.
 
But the one liner, 2 - 3 word sentences I personally find lazy.
You want to add to the conversation and add your 2 cents. hey that's what its all about. im all ears.
But you didn't really do that and your last comment reeks of "im still not going to tell you".
So maybe (in this case) we are both being a bit superior & bratty.
 
maybe I lost out on an opportunity to learn something new from you.
And maybe you lost out on an opportunity to learn something from me.
My apology's.
 
No hard feelings