Mastering

[IB_Staff]

Waves for example, one of the programs in one of those bundles, has a fingerprint tool, such that the cd or wave you think comes close to what you are after, you can fingerprint it, apply that to your track.
Not always workable but it's a start for do it yourselfers.

I tend to view mastering as something best left to a neutral third party if you can afford it. The trick is finding someone, reasonable, knows their salt and is familar with your style. Some might say, the style is not all that imporatant but if you are close to others who do the same thing, that little edge might help.

Mastering to cd or dvd is differnet from mastering to mp3. Again, some might say, good mastering will make no difference, maybe true for some things. Mp3s for us, loose the very fine detail that is almost lost on the CD. If we stick to DVD, that fine detail is there, very noticeable.

Mastering is also good if they are close to you. You can visit, talk it over, hear many different versions. Long distance is the next bext thing. Long Distance, you don't have to stick to a Master in the same country.

Sometimes those little edges help set you apart from the masses.

dale

[Terrytown44]

I always wondered what matering guy's did because I'd never no how to explain my mix to them, def good thread

[malcolmfhill]

As I've been recording my tracks using SONAR 7, I've found the best Mastering software to use with it is T-racks.

I'm still learning with this though - I tried over 100 different mastering settings on one of my tracks before getting it to sound how I wanted it!

It certainly is a labour of love.

Regards, SOUNDTRAIN.

[yourockradio]

That's the problem... Settings.

Mastering is an art, not a "setting". Let someone else master your mix. There is a reason for this. Getting a new ear on it. People believe that all mastering involves is pumping up the volume and limiting the clipping. Then they call that "Mastering". Uh, uh.

Mastering is finishing. You look at the wave form and you listen to the mix and you decide where, what, and how you want to attack the mix. What is it that will make it "finished". That is mastering.

I manage a few artists and you have no idea what kind of abortions they send me that are supposedly mastered. They tell me some guru with 20 Gold records on the wall charged them 300 -1000 bucks for these monstrosities! I want to kick the crap out of these "gurus" because they are ripping us off! They don't care. "Oh, its just some stinking Indie guy, what does he know?" That is why mastering gets a bad rap and people skip it. Major error.

What we know as artists is how we want our finished product to shine. We may not know how to get it there, but each of us knows what we want. And what these turds are spitting out? I don't think so.

Any artist that I manage personally, I master their material. It is as much of an art as the rest of the process, if it is not treated this way you get these over compressed, over limited, unnatural sounding pieces of garbage that were the mainstay of music in the last 10 years. And it is too bad.

There is no "setting". Whenever I try to explain how to master it eludes me. I can't explain it, it is just something I have a knack for. Not everybody does, they really don't. Find someone in your circle that feels it. Master theirs, and they master yours. I believe that the results will amaze you!