The Definition of Mastering

[jmather]

Hey all, glad someone brought this up. A couple Qs:Do you all master your songs before you submit them to taxi or any other pitches? OR, is mastering necessary for the complete album?And, do you think that an unmastered song is at a disadvantage as far as being considered for a forward?thanks,Mather

[nickfever]

Quote:Hey all, glad someone brought this up. A couple Qs:Do you all master your songs before you submit them to taxi or any other pitches? OR, is mastering necessary for the complete album?And, do you think that an unmastered song is at a disadvantage as far as being considered for a forward?thanks,MatherI haven't mastered any of the tracks that I've submitted to Taxi, but I've gotten a handful of forwards so far.Nick

[ibanez468]

Quote:Do you all master your songs before you submit them to taxi or any other pitches? OR, is mastering necessary for the complete album?I do. I master them before each submittal, but I've also learned to keep a copy of the unprocessed original. I think at that point, mastering a complete album would be a job for the professional mastering engineer. I wouldn't try and tackle that one myself.Quote:And, do you think that an unmastered song is at a disadvantage as far as being considered for a forward?I don't think so. I've submitted those too. Just a straight mix that I was happy with, without any mastering processing at all. Sometimes, when I think I've nailed it soundwise, and without any type of further processing, it's best to just leave it alone, IMO. In other cases, if I think the overall mix ends up sounding weak, then I'll try and do a little sound enhancing. So, often it just depends, for me, on the final mix as to whether to leave it as is, or to do further processing. HTHI-468

[milfus]

well esspecially with tv, almost without fail there is a sound guy present when inserting your music, if it was compressed flat (over limited and such) hed have to crank you all the way under everything else, a good mix that he can compress down and size would be more convienient than a bad master, tho a good master would hold its dynamics and not get in the way as much, but it makes sense in both cases.

[nickfever]

Quote:Quote:Do you all master your songs before you submit them to taxi or any other pitches? OR, is mastering necessary for the complete album?I do. I master them before each submittal, but I've also learned to keep a copy of the unprocessed original. I think at that point, mastering a complete album would be a job for the professional mastering engineer. I wouldn't try and tackle that one myself.Quote:And, do you think that an unmastered song is at a disadvantage as far as being considered for a forward?I don't think so. I've submitted those too. Just a straight mix that I was happy with, without any mastering processing at all. Sometimes, when I think I've nailed it soundwise, and without any type of further processing, it's best to just leave it alone, IMO. In other cases, if I think the overall mix ends up sounding weak, then I'll try and do a little sound enhancing. So, often it just depends, for me, on the final mix as to whether to leave it as is, or to do further processing. HTHI-468Good point Ibanez.Also, to clarify, I do process my stereo signal to enhance the sound. I don't consider that "mastering." That is someone with much more expensive gear, a great room and amazing ears job. Nick