Re: Mastering before submission

[mixopenta]

Personally I couldn't manage without the Waves L2 Maximizer. It renders good enough results for Broadcast quality.I hardly ever use multi-band compression as I often find myself entangled in too much tech stuff...

[zircon]

IMO avoid Maximizers. Don't get caught in the "loudness war" (Google it).Mix properly first and get things as loud as you can in your sequencer w/o clipping. Then apply TRacks Compressor + Limiter. If you EQ the individual tracks right it is unlikely you will even need to do master track EQ - if you do, TRacks EQ or really any parametric before the comrpessor stage will work fine. I personally swear by TRacks when it comes to mastering and I write in a lot of different genres. Used properly you don't need to do any maximization at the end, you'll be plenty loud.

[matto]

FYI most music libraries prefer to do their own mastering, so if you submit to library listings you'll want to always also run a mix w/o any mastering plugs.I rarely do anything beyond a little compression on the 2 bus and it's served me well.I would definitely stay away from inserting any mastering plugs before the actual mixing is "done".matto

[mazz]

I touch mixes lightly with T-Racks if the genre dictates it. Some orchestral music gets a bit too flattened out and certain things get pushed a bit too forward if the compression isn't set just right.Mastering is not a panacea and a little bit goes a long way. The nice thing about T-Racks stand alone is that it creates a new file so your original mix is still intact. For some reason I prefer to deal with just the stereo mix for mastering and not do it inside my DAW.Matto's advice, as usual, is very astute and based in experience. If the client does their own mastering, then give just the mix to them, they do it all the time and know what their clients want.Mazz

[prez]

I would suggest just to forget about mastering altogether. Couple reasons why:1.) If you submit a song, in all likelihood, the client will have it mastered somewhere else if it comes down to that. (refer to Matt's comments)2.) A pair of fresh, objective ears can hear a lot of things that we tend to miss by being so close to a piece we've created.3.) People do mastering for a living. That experience is worth paying for.4.) Today's technology gives you sufficient tools to create music with the right levels. Plenty loud as Zircon says.For doing submissions to TAXI, it really isn't necessary to master a thing unless the listing specifically calls for it. Blessings.

[ernstinen]

I ALMOST got into the Mastering biz, until I realized that the projects that were given to me universally had one problem that I couldn't fix: A terrible mix. I decided it wasn't worth the grief, and that it would take too much time away from my own composing.So when I "master" my own stuff, I use a very small amount of compression through an Empirical Labs Fatso Jr., and a touch of T-Racks EQ in Pro Tools. I agree that T-Racks is cool because you need to save the EQ parameters as a separate file from your original mix. Just remember to RE-LOAD that EQ file if you're doing another pass at a later date --- I've forgotten before! Ern

[sgs4u]

Quote:I ALMOST got into the Mastering biz, until I realized that the projects that were given to me universally had one problem that I couldn't fix: A terrible mix. I decided it wasn't worth the grief, and that it would take too much time away from my own composing.Ern Funny thing about polishing turds is - they still smell. steve

[Casey H]

Quote:Quote:I ALMOST got into the Mastering biz, until I realized that the projects that were given to me universally had one problem that I couldn't fix: A terrible mix. I decided it wasn't worth the grief, and that it would take too much time away from my own composing.Ern Funny thing about polishing turds is - they still smell. steveMastering before submission? My wife is good at that... She demonstrates that she is the master of the house before I submit to doing whatever she says... Sorry, just feeling silly today...

[andreh]

Quote:Prez, I agree with your post. I should probably not use the term "mastering" but rather making my mixes better. I've gotten some good advice from here that has helped quite a bit.TAXI is a competitive environment, so I think we all want to do our best, within reason, to make our mixes sound good. I have gotten some good improvements by taking the master bus processing out of cubase and working on it separately.I'm with you, Songwriter...we should be doing everything we can to make our tracks sound as good as possible before we submit them, and there's almost always room for improvement on the 2-track mixdown even if the mix is spectacular.However, there are some things to consider in the process:1. The topic of overall loudness has come up here before, and the word from the wise (aka matto) seems to be that Taxi screeners and listing parties are not concerned about tracks matching today's commercial levels (unless specifically noted).2. Mastering in the same flawed room in which you mix will make it next to impossible to correct the frequency anomalies that your space is causing you to [not] hear - hence one of the benefits, as Ern points out, of using someone else to master your tracks.That being said, a bit (or a lot) of compression & some small EQ boosts or cuts here and there can smooth out the overall balance of a mix in a good way.On Dispatch listings with tight deadlines, I sometimes use multiband compressors to target specific problem frequencies on the 2-track...but if time allows these issues should be corrected in the multitrack mix prior to mastering.Andre

[jeffe]

Quote:Quote:I ALMOST got into the Mastering biz, until I realized that the projects that were given to me universally had one problem that I couldn't fix: A terrible mix. I decided it wasn't worth the grief, and that it would take too much time away from my own composing.Ern Funny thing about polishing turds is - they still smell. steveUnless you leave them for about twenty years. Then they smell like nothing and can be turned into a retro/modern hit.