Thinking about getting a mastering app... What do you use?

[bayswater]

Specifically than Studio One; that was all I said. Sorry if that isn't clear.

But you plan to do standalone mastering in Logic rather than DP? I've never considered that, and I do use Logic now and then for various miscellaneous reasons.

[mikehalloran]

Logic Studio used to include Wave Burner. It was abandoned with the unbundling of Logic Pro 9.

Is this functionality found again in Logic Pro X? I have it but use it for specific tasks.

[bayswater]

Don't know if it's as extensive as Wave Burner, but Logic X says it can bounce to Red Book CD, create CDDA, DVDA, etc. Edgar Rothermich's book, Logic X, How it Works, is a good place to look up specific questions like this on whether Logic can do something and how. There is a simple workflow picture for most operations. Much easier than ploughing through the manual or Logic's menus.

[mikehalloran]

Don't know if it's as extensive as Wave Burner, but Logic X says it can bounce to Red Book CD, create CDDA, DVDA, etc. Edgar Rothermich's book, Logic X, How it Works, is a good place to look up specific questions like this on whether Logic can do something and how. There is a simple workflow picture for most operations. Much easier than ploughing through the manual or Logic's menus.

Thanks. Not sure I'll check it out since DSP-Q works well for me but always to know it's there if I want to explore.

[billf]

Specifically than Studio One; that was all I said. Sorry if that isn't clear.

I think that is a good choice. Studio One gets a lot of buzz lately, but seems to be a work in progress and not something I would trust for production. But I wonder if the reason for the buzz is if there are a lot of Pro Tools defectors migrating to S1.

Anyway, Nugen audio has a mastering bundle on sale that work in both DP and Logic. I think the sale ends on the 31st.

http://www.nugenaudio.com/music-product ... -au-vst_56

[davedempsey]

For mastering (and the bulk of my studio income comes from mastering work) I'm still using DP, Peak & Waves plugs on my tower in 10.6.8 and DP, Waves and DSP Quattro on my Macbook Pro in Yosemite. In both cases I use DP and Waves for the bulk of the processing work and Peak or DSP Quattro for final editing, fades, playlist assembly, track to track comparitive volume adjustment etc.
I do like the way Quattro handles plugs and when it is 64 bit I believe it's all I'll need for mastering work (with the Waves plugs that is ).

[mhschmieder]

I started working with Logic Pro X late last night and immediately found it way more intuitive and easier to navigate than Studio One, but way less flexible in workflow than DP. For instance, you aren't allowed to have an empty project in Logic! A minor annoyance, but still...

I didn't get around to Mastering Mode yet via the separate e-book that I have, as I was focused first on some MIDI custom transformations (the reason I bought Logic; anything else is icing on the cake), but I think it will be a worthwhile experiment for the main reason mentioned earlier: a new perspective, which I can then translate back to DP (which I will probably still find a more flexible work environment for someone in multiple genres).

One thing I am noticing is that there is somewhat of a convergence between Logic Pro X and GarageBand -- did this start with Version 10? I suppose they share code, but don't know if that was always the case. It makes it feel like a professional app to me, to be frank.

[bayswater]

Apple made changes to Logic for Version X to make it easier for GB users to adopt it. If you turn off the "advanced" options in preferences, it looks a bit like GB, and has functional level that someone used to GB will be able to grasp. It starts up in that mode, so be sure to deal with it in preferences.

[mikehalloran]

I suppose they share code, but don't know if that was always the case.

According to a discussion I had with some Apple and Apogee engineers in 2012, GarageBand is a crippled version of Logic. This has been confirmed by other engineers I know. Sometimes when an upgrade happens, the code in one app or the other lags a version but, otherwise, at the core, they are the same.

[billf]

One thing I am noticing is that there is somewhat of a convergence between Logic Pro X and GarageBand -- did this start with Version 10? I suppose they share code, but don't know if that was always the case. It makes it feel like a professional app to me, to be frank.

I'm sure they do, but make sure to toggle on the Advanced feature set for Logic. The shipped version has that preference toggled off to make it more friendly looking for those upgrading from GarageBand.

[Phil O]

Please forgive my ignorance, folks. I use DP for mastering and is serves my purposes. What is it that a "mastering app" does that DP does not do?

Phil

[musicman691]

Please forgive my ignorance, folks. I use DP for mastering and is serves my purposes. What is it that a "mastering app" does that DP does not do?

Phil

I do my 'mastering' inside whatever daw software I am using. I use 'mastering' plugins like Ozone inside said daw and use DSP-Quattro for cd assemblage. But a separate mastering applications - never. I do have Adobe Audition but don't use that for mastering but for editing of audio files that I can do better inside it (like spectral editing) than in a daw.

Can't see the point in working in one daw and then moving to another to do mastering. Just takes a different mind-set and lessens the issues that could arise in going from one to the other.

[mikehalloran]

Please forgive my ignorance, folks. I use DP for mastering and is serves my purposes. What is it that a "mastering app" does that DP does not do?

Phil

DP cannot master to Red Book standards. There is no way to embed the ISRC codes and other informationn required for CD masters, iTunes, CD Baby etc.

Many of us use DSP-Q, some use Toast. Others use various shareware and there are some expensive apps, too, as well as services that will do this for you.

[Phil O]

Thanks for the replies, mm691 and Mike. Yeah, I use Toast for CD burning, but I do all my mastering (or is it technically pre-mastering - maybe that's where my confusion is) in DP.

Phil

[mikehalloran]

Thanks for the replies, mm691 and Mike. Yeah, I use Toast for CD burning, but I do all my mastering (or is it technically pre-mastering - maybe that's where my confusion is) in DP.

Phil

You can use Toast as a mastering app programming fades, inserting UPC and ISRC codes and use up to three AU plugins per track. I'm not saying that you should but you can.

I've not tried Toast 14 yet but previous versions have an issue. When you do a cross fade, it won't sound right when you play it from Toast. The CD you burn will sound correct, however.

Toast 12.1 has a bug in 10.10.4 for me. After I burn a CD, it doesn't appear to finish write-out and I need to force-quit. Again, the CD is fine. I have a feeling that, with Toast 14 out, this isn't going to be fixed.