dnlfacundo
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how to master
i have got just a few songs like i would like to fully finishing and turn to mp2 so i can post on the internet but want it to sound awesome and i dont really know how to master.So were or how would be the best resource of learning to master a whole song and will it be alot of trial and error?
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Legion
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Re:how to master
2010/02/20 11:06:50
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Izotope's Ozone guide to mastering is a great start and for more in depth look at Bob Katz book Mastering Audio.
Sadly very reduced studio equipment as it is... ASUS G750J, 8 gb RAM, Win8, Roland Quad Capture.
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Guitarhacker
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Re:how to master
2010/02/20 19:49:23
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A lot of learning goes into mastering.... but Ozone's guide is a fine place to start.
My website & music: www.herbhartley.com MC4/5/6/X1e.c, on a Custom DAW Focusrite Firewire Saffire Interface BMI/NSAI "Just as the blade chooses the warrior, so too, the song chooses the writer "
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35mm
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Re:how to master
2010/02/20 20:48:33
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There are plenty of good mastering engineers out there, with all the gear and specialised mastering studios. In fact you can have Abbey Road Studios master your tracks for £90 per track. While "Mastered by xxxxxx at Abbey Road Studios" can look pretty cool on your CD sleave, and sound pretty good, there are plenty of others who will do just as good a job for less dosh.
Mastering is a specialised skill. Most recording/mixing engineers, are not mastering engineers and visa versa. So it's really best left to a pro if you can afford it. If you can't afford it, there are some tutorials around that will help you get started, but that's all they will do.
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gamblerschoice
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Re:how to master
2010/02/21 00:50:14
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An echo to what has been stated above, mastering is a science, and therefore can not be addressed as, "do this first, then this, and lastly do this". In fact, the definition of "mastering" has changed a bit since the advent of downloadable singles and mp3 conversions.
I think what you are really asking is, "How do I maximize my tracks/tunes to compete with the commercial or semi-pro quality I hear on download sites?"
This can be done with compressors and limiters available as plugins inside sonar/cakewalk or maybe some third party pluggins, some for free. The above mentioned Ozone is an excellent "cheater", it does all the work for you.
Even at this level, the "awesomeness" of the final tune will be subject to your final mix. So, the first step is to get a mix that is above acceptable, and then maybe run it thru a limiter or a compressor and limiter sequence to maximize the volume. But the first step is that superior mix.
Later
Albert
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LJB
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Re:how to master
2010/02/21 05:17:16
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Agreed as above, BUT:
though mastering is a very scientific field, it is also an art in my opinion. As an experiment, I just had the same track mastered by my own ME (Mastering Engineer) as well as two very well known ME's (cost me a fortune), one in the USA, one in Australia. Though they were all good, they were definitely not the same. I strongly suggest you also watch the videos and articles on Google under "The Loudness War" to educate yourself on the pro's and cons of maximizing volume at the expense of dynamics. Take your time and suss it well, mastering can make or break a great song/mix. And, the better the song is, and the better the mix is, the less an ME has to work on it to make it pop (or even rock :O).
Ludwig Bouwer, One Big Room Studios.
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Cakewalk with all the trimmings / Win 10Pro 64 / Intel i7-7700 / Asus Prime Z270k / 16GB DDR4 / RME HDSP9652 / RME UFX / Black Lion Audio ADA8000 / ART MPA & ART Pro Channel / Focusrite Voicemaster Pro / Aphex 107
Check out my work at www.onebigroom.co.za
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Legion
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Re:how to master
2010/02/21 15:48:29
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Agreeing with the above I just remembered one thing... If you are mastering the song yourself (or sending it away) it can be a good thing to bounce the song as stems or at least vox up and down versions. One reason for this is if you want to squash the living hell out of your mix and turn it into a squarewave box the relative percieved loudness between parts of the mix can change a lot. Having the song in stems (for example one for music and one for vox or maybe one for vox, one for drums and bass and one for the rest of the music) will let you correct some of that at the mastering stage and not having to go back to the mix. With this in mind though never think you can fix a problem in the mastering stage, strive to make the mix perfect and then just enhance it even more while mastering 
Sadly very reduced studio equipment as it is... ASUS G750J, 8 gb RAM, Win8, Roland Quad Capture.
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ChuckC
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Re:how to master
2010/02/23 21:25:08
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While in other pro studios with my past bands over the years we'd get cd's from the engineer as the project was going along & they'd sound pretty good. Maybe the mix was a little off here & there & we'd note it for the next session to address it then. Then we'd finish the album, & they'd master it..... & compress the crap out of it til the performance sounded like it had no dynamics what so ever. I'd had this happen in several studios & in 1 big time mastering suite. I have grown a real distaste for compression myself. I think I'd rather have dynamics & feel the energy of the songs than ultimate maxed out volume. Just my humble opinion & I am sure I am about to hear what those engineers did wrong to give me such a strong dislike of compression as a tool.
ADK Built DAW, W7, Sonar Platinum, Studio One Pro,Yamaha HS8's & HS8S Presonus Studio/Live 24.4.2, A few decent mic pre's, lots of mics, 57's,58 betas, Sm7b, LD Condensors, Small condensors, Senn 421's, DI's, Sans Amp, A few guitar amps etc. Guitars : Gib. LP, Epi. Lp, Dillion Tele, Ibanez beater, Ibanez Ergodyne 4 String bass, Mapex Mars series 6 pc. studio kit, cymbals and other sh*t. http://www.everythingiam.net/ http://www.stormroomstudios.com Some of my productions: http://soundcloud.com/stormroomstudios
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