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mastering techniques

exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
edited March 2004 in Musicians and Gearheads
anyone got a good set of guidelines for mastering a two track mix?

i get everything all nice and dandy mixing down but my normalizing/compression just sucks.
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    Send it to someone who is much better than you.


    Of course, you could always take a few listens, add a touch of parametric EQ in a few choice places, and then hit it hard with a limiter/expander. Normalizers are great for amateurs, but if you really want the best results, knock the top 2-3 dB peaks off with a limiter, and then bring the make-up gain to unity.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    Originally posted by mccreadyisgod
    Send it to someone who is much better than you.

    i would if i was anything but a hobbyist.

    what i've been doing is normalizing the mix, then compressing a 3:1 at a threshold of 6db, then just normalizing the result.

    i've got sound forge if you know any good tricks in there.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    Limiter. I can't say it enough... a limiter/enhancer is best, if you have one. I'm not familiar with Sound Forge, or the plug-in options there, but if you have something like that, use it. Then use the make-up gain in the limiter plug-in to bring it back up. So, like, say instead of compressing 3:1 at 6dB, you limit (infinity:1) at 8 or 9 dB. It will help if you use a decent amount of compression on the tracks as they are mixed down. Then use make-up gain after the limit, to bring it up to Red Book.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    cool thanks. i'll try that next time around. i've got limiters and everything in the software.

    i think i need to bring my monitors up here when i do a large batch of mastering. what i've got up here for speakers isn't cutting it.

    ideally, i'd have a good computer in the studio but that's not going to happen any time soon.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    I was really glad that the project I just mixed got sent to a good mastering engineer... I know that it was the layer of professional sheen that the album needed. But for the hobbyist/home recordist, it's the hardest part of the whole process.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    thank you again. i thin k you've shown me the key thing i was missing in my work.

    i found out how to limit/master my stereo output on my recorder to get a pretty good "almost mastered" coming off the mix.

    i should only have to do some touchups in sound forge.

    things sound 200% better in the monitors as i'm mixing now.

    thank you.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    Yeah, that's a hard lesson to learn... and it took me quite a while to learn it, myself. Compression is for tracks, limiters are for masters.

    Glad to hear that it's made a difference...
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    it's a lot better now. things sound better. i'm still playing with it though trying to get the right settings etc. it's tough but i feel like i've learned a lot in the last couple days.
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