Mastering Procedure and Software

[mountain]

After mixing, what is your software and procedure to do mastering?
Can you share what is your way and procedure to master a CD?

Do you think what is the MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENTS in mastering a CD?

[DMBDrummer]

After mixing, what is your software and procedure to do mastering?
Can you share what is your way and procedure to master a CD?

There is a lot to say on the subject; so much so that this thread really can't do it justice. Read the book by Bob Katz entitled Mastering Audio: The Art and the Science. He's also got a website where you can read up on the subject. Finally, you can also download or print out a booklet on mastering

Do you think what is the MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENTS in mastering a CD?

Good monitors, a good subwoofer, a good crossover, A PROPERLY TUNED ROOM and most importantly: your ears

[mountain]

Yes, really a BIG topic to discuss. I really read some books and thx drummer for your link on PDF, I print it out and read in this weekend
I just curiosity that We (DP) users
How to make this done!
I used Peak Pro 5 and Ozone to do the basic mastering, what else software and what procedure you will try?

[DMBDrummer]

As far as a procedure, there's not really one that will fit every scenario.

One possible (and EXTREMELY basic) signal flow for a simple rock song might look something like this:

Use a linear phase mastering equalizer and correct any major peaks or valleys that you notice in the RTA. You could roll off some lower frequencies between 40-60 Hz (this will prevent your limiter from working harder than it needs to). You could then initiate a multiband compressor and set the crossover to match your monitor setup (I would recommend saving that as a preset to save time later). Using the compressor I might lightly tap the separate bands to keep them under control. Then finally, your limiter will boost the signal as loud as you need it.

The above is just a tiny and very basic example of a possible mastering process. Now that I am rereading that, it seems very inadequate. But if anything, maybe I've given you at least a glimpse. I need to tell you that the book I mentioned in my last post is VERY good. It is an excellent resource and will give you many scenarios and processing techniques.

Hope this helps!

[kelldammit]

It really is a huge subject, and there are many different attitudes toward it....
If you're going to do it on your own, or at least just make one-off's to check mixes with in the car, etc, Elemental audio makes some wonderful tools that are pretty cheap...Inspector (free), or better yet, InspectorXL can really be enlightening. more or less, i end up doing what dmbdrummer described. i use InspectorXL to "look at" the overall picture, Firium to tweak eq, and Finis to bump up the overall level (i almost never actually limit).
InspectorXL clued me in to the current issue i'm struggling with: my aversion to treble. it's hardly surprising, and i'm sure it's a preference issue versus a monitoring chain one...as i tend to go for soft, "warm" sounds (i.e. rolled-off top end!). it's a preference i need to overcome for the betterment of my mixes, and at least i know exactly where to concentrate my efforts.
for giggles, i also used Firium to "learn" the eq curve of a project i'm working on, and surprisingly, what was there turned out to be pretty much flat. at least i know that generally, i'm headed in the right direction, and can pretty much trust my monitors/ears in my less than ideal room!

kell

[mountain]

Thanks for you2 ideas, I am now look at some book about mastering advice, really want to get more Real Experiences, let us to experiment some new method and new development

[MattC]

Good advice from everyone regarding recommended reading and software. There's one other element that's worth mentioning (and this is not to deny that many times, depending on the situation, you'll need to handle it yourself - I've certainly done it many times)...and that is the value in someone ELSE mastering for the simple reason that they have better prespective than you or I when we've lived with (maybe written and played), recorded, edited, and mixed a project from the beginning. It's really hard to be objective at that point. That's not even considering the really unique way of listening that mastering engineers have developed (which is kind of a mystery to me as a musician), also a great asset. So long story short, I'd always advocate a professional mastering engineer when possible, but if not, make sure you get some other, unbiased ears in on the process. Good luck!

Matt

[jerkrecords]

what matt said.
-pete andrews

[markwayne]

what matt said.

What Pete said about what matt said.

Having a second set of ears applied to your mix IS the most important part of the process!

Wayne

[leigh]

What Pete said about what matt said.

Having a second set of ears applied to your mix IS the most important part of the process!

What they all said--plus get the mastering engineer involved early in the mixing process. Send them a sample mix that is starting to work for you and ask them if they are hearing any problems. It's much easier and more efficient to fix things while mixing. Avoid the "We'll fix it in the mastering" syndrome.

**Leigh

[forsooth]

This is not a reply but another question....sorry!

kell, I've just bought InspectorXL and FINIS and have just installed them. Looking at the PDFs with them and the one one for InspectorXL is 198 pages long! Finis is 60 pages! I skimmed through the Finis PDF and it seems fine, looks very useful and I'm sure will help a lot in finishing the mixes I've got going just now. The Inspector XL is another kettle of fish though. I am going to have to wade through that when I get time.

Can you give me a sort of quick guide to how you set it up and use it? Do you use XL multimeter on each channel or what? A screenshot showing a board layout and where you have the plugs installed would be useful.
I've placed it on a few channels and I'm letting it run to see how it works, problem is.......... I don't know enough about it yet and the pre-sets are the same on every channel at the moment.

Any tips or suggestions would be useful at this point.

Thanks

forsooth