ORIGINAL: tor

In my experience, the way to go is hardware mastering units, they simply work better than software.
I used to do soft mastering, until I got a TC Electronic Finalizer 96K, it created a small revolution in my studio...
If you haven't tried any hardware mastering units before, I suggest you do that, there really is a difference...

The TC EF96K is a great unit! Looking at the specs it appears as if it is purely digital. Therefore, there is no theoretical difference between that and a really-nice plug-in. TC also produces the TC-PowerCore, which I've heard has some killer mastering plugs. Again, EXPENSIVE!

I would recommend sending out your tunes for mastering at another studio. That way, you get another ear on the music. That's what I plan to do with my band's current project anyway!

Good luck!

I agree, getting a second opinion should almost be considered a necessary tool...
About software and digital hardware, mathematically there should not be any
difference, however, a hardware unit is dedicated to one task whereas the pc is
often running loads of stuff.
When talking about reverb for instance, when a pc is pushed hard in processing,
small alterations in the pitch of the reverbed signal might occur.
It is of course inaudible to the ear, but can be audible as loss of transparency
in a mix.... Using external, hardware units minimalizes the potential for this....
I definitely hear the difference between a hardware unit such as the 96K and
high quality plugins such as the Powercore plugs, which I also have.
After I got the 96K I haven't used the Powercore once, its simply stunningly
good, often it's enough to find the right preset, no need for tweaking, it
sounds just like on a cd bought in the store...

When talking about reverb for instance, when a pc is pushed hard in processing, small alterations in the pitch of the reverbed signal might occur.

What evidence do you have for that? I don't believe it would be the case. The PC is processing samples. It will either process them or it will not. If it cannot process them in time due to some sort of massive load, it would just fail outright.

When researching an external reverb unit, more specifically the TC Electronic M3000, I came across that information
over at their site. You can find it in the technology bit about the M3000, if I remember correctly.

ORIGINAL: CJaysMusic

What plugs do you have and what version of sonar do you have... This would really help, because i left my crystal ball at work.
Cj

CJ... I know you're a helpful, thoughtful fellow but sometimes these remarks crack me up!!!
I just spit coffee on my damn monitor.... Heh Heh.....

Anyway... there were several fantastic articles on Mastering recently in the trade mags... EQ, EM, SOS...
if you want to email me direct to remind me, I'll look them up for you....

No offense here at all:

If you're asking about plug ins to master... maybe you need to read about the subject first....
I was amazed at some of the comments and advice I picked up and I still don't know what the hell they were saying!

Mastering is quite an art... I got lots to learn....

I have serious doubt... Why would such a thing happen w/ reverb and not with the actual tracks themselves? Unless it's a flaw that is particular to one actual plug-in - and even then, I doubt that it would depend on the CPU usage and that a plug-in could bypass the host itself to decide when there's too much going on. It seems the host would just drop-out...

Plus, this would have no effect on the final mix that is bounced offline.

ORIGINAL: tor

When researching an external reverb unit, more specifically the TC Electronic M3000, I came across that information
over at their site. You can find it in the technology bit about the M3000, if I remember correctly.

ORIGINAL: evansmalley

ok not trying to start some forum freak-out but I've found without a doubt by far that lots of mastering tasks- sonics-wise (not automations, edits, etc) is far better done with high quality analog processors. And I think if you search articles from some of the best, most experienced mastering engineers- you'll find they use analog paths lots- for their most critical masters.

This is just about the sonics, what I'm saying I've found... not editing...

I'd try some of your finest analog compessors and EQ's and compare that to the sound of your plug-ins- see what you find. There's no magic app (well maybe! haven't found it yet!) but you may be surprised with the musical-ness of the textures of analog devices. Lots of the world's best who have scritinized the crap out of everything think that's the way to go for them!

So, just a concept-
Ev
www.evanandnature.com

Spot On Mate !

this is the kind of advice I picked up in the magazine articles mentioned in my earlier post...

Mastering really is an interesting study...

ORIGINAL: musec07

ORIGINAL: CJaysMusic

What plugs do you have and what version of sonar do you have... This would really help, because i left my crystal ball at work.
Cj

CJ... I know you're a helpful, thoughtful fellow but sometimes these remarks crack me up!!!
I just spit coffee on my damn monitor.... Heh Heh.....

Anyway... there were several fantastic articles on Mastering recently in the trade mags... EQ, EM, SOS...
if you want to email me direct to remind me, I'll look them up for you....

No offense here at all:

If you're asking about plug ins to master... maybe you need to read about the subject first....
I was amazed at some of the comments and advice I picked up and I still don't know what the hell they were saying!

Mastering is quite an art... I got lots to learn....

LOL, i wanted to know so i know what plugs the person has and then i can tell him or her wich ones are meant and good for mastering. Im sorry about your monitor.
Cj

Before it degenerates...

Funny. When a fellow musician asks a question about mixing, no one will ever tell him/her to just hire a profesionnal mix engineer... We just assume that the person wishes/has to learn or can't afford big studio time and a star mix engineer. No one goes: of course you'd be better recording on analog gear at Abbey Road w/ Mutt Lange... Everyone knows that. But will you give up on music because you can't write something that'll top Electric Ladyland?

But when it comes to "mastering", maybe because the term is used loosely, there always someone to go all preachy about how mastering is this or that and you shouldn't do it yourself...

My best guess is that in 99% of the cases, the person asking questions is not expected to send his final master to Sony Music or EMI for mass-distribution tomorrow morning (i.e., they just want to polish their final mix/demo/small release).

If he/she is a seasoned mix engineer, he/she already knows the benefit of hiring a ME. If he/she is not a pro mix engineer but have managed to put together a mix that's worth being sent to a mastering engineer, most likely, he/she has read a few things about these topics already and knows about those benefits too.

Which leaves us one target audience - people who wish to learn or can't afford/don't intend to send out their mix to a Mastering House.

Of course you can always recommend a real ME, jsut in case... You can point them to JSaras who hangs out around here for a start. But I see no point in assuming that the person asking the question is that ignorant...

When researching an external reverb unit, more specifically the TC Electronic M3000, I came across that information
over at their site. You can find it in the technology bit about the M3000, if I remember correctly.

I.e. from a company that's selling a product whose future is probably not very bright unless more people think that external units are better. I'd take it with a grain of salt. As a software geek I find it highly improbable that any such thing would happen. Your machine either has the oomph required or it doesn't. If it doesn't, then it won't be able to process samples fast enough and SONAR will probably give you the DROPOUT error.