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Most of the projects I do don't go to be mastered. I'm thinking it is about time to give mastering a try since even a little mastering done here might improve the quality of the songs.

I've heard the arguments about sending work out to be done by a pro with the ears, the equipment and the expertise - I agree; I would be doing it for the experience and "out of desperation".

What software should I consider? How hard is it to improve a song by mastering "at home"?

Thanks.

carl

DP 5.1.1 Mac dual 2.3 6.5 GB of Ram OS 10.4.8 Ivory Motu Symphonic Orchestra DA7 Rosetta 200 Motu 2408MkIII etc.

Izotope offers a free PDF primer on mastering. It features their mastering app, Ozone, of course. Nevertheless, much of its info is generally applicable. You might want to read through it before jumping in.

IZOTOPE MASTERING PDF - LINK HERE

I use UAD-1 Precision plug-ins for most of my in-house mastering needs, but think Ozone can be a good place to start.

last months Electronic musician has an article about mastering that had a lot of useful info in it.

The most important thing you can do is get your room right. Even Clearmountain can't mix in a tin can or a pillow room.

I prefer Bias Peak Pro XT... Clone some eqs from CDs you like (not mp3s). Then use those curves on your mixes and see how they sound. If it sounds good your good if it sounds whacked then you fix the room.

Make friends with compression. Try to resist stomping on everything.

Try your stuff in a bunch of places. Some times I go to Best Buy or Ciruit city and play it through 10 systems. Also they have HD TV rooms that you can pop in your CD and check it out. Obviously your car...

Find an audiophile friend you can send mixes too that will tell you if it sucks.

YES YES YES the Emuscian article was good...

Thanks very much for the information. I will look at it all. Keep the info coming!!

carl

You can't go wrong with the master of mastering, Bob Katz:

http://www.digido.com/modules.php?name= ... page&pid=4

One of the reasons a lot of us start mastering our own stuff is financial - we simply can't afford expensive outside mastering for every single project we do. Another good reason is time constraints/ deadlines - there are many times when something needs to be delivered "master-quality" literally the day after you finish mixing it, and there is just no way you can schedule an outside mastering house visit that quickly.

I would always prefer to have mastering done by a pro mastering engineer -
for the reasons I mentioned above, I started getting into mastering. Or should I say, "pre-mastering" - that is the term for applying mastering processing to individual tracks. A true "mastering" job includes creating a contiguous file with all the tracks for a project within the one file, with gaps, crossfades, fade-ins and fade-outs and digital black and codes set in the appropriate places. If I can't afford to have an outside mastering house do all the mastering, I will try to at least have them do the final mastering after I pre-master.

The more you work at mastering processing, the better you'll get at it, hopefully. A lot of it is common sense - don't master at high volume levels, try to use the best monitors you can afford, try to get your room balanced and treated, compare to other CD's you admire or that sound like the music you are mastering, etc. Don't forget that the midrange is where all the elements get their identity. Use meters to check what's happening. Don't over-do it with loudness maximizers just for the sake of getting things loud loud loud. Good use of EQ can affect a track's apparent loudness more than a maximizer will. Be careful of your bass - low end is still the hardest thing to get right. Don't work when you're tired and don't work more than 8 hours a day, and take 20 minute breaks for every two hours work (if you can - I know, heavy metal bands can get impatient).

Numero uno - your master's quality is directly a function of the quality of your mix. You really should NEVER have to "fix it in mastering". The best compliments I've ever gotten from mastering engineers are "I don't have to do anything to this".

Your mix is still much more important than your mastering. As your mixing skills improve, so will your mastering work.

And if you can afford to send it out to a pro - do it.

It helps me to have a few reference CDs around -- things with sounds that contain something I want to emulate or include in my own sound, or even a previous recording I've made. With a tangible goal to compare it to, you stand a better chance of getting it right. Of course, the same can be said of mixing. Mastering is a lot more technical. Clipping to avoid or eliminate, levels to make consistent, gaps between tracks, track order, that final sound... plenty of things to keep you occupied.

Shooshie

I appreciate all this good information.

carl

The biggest thing I aim for with mastering my personal projects is achieving a comfortable range between peak and average dB levels. Too much sounds spikey and annoying, too little sound flat and lifeless.

Overall loudness is over-rated.

I used Isotope Ozone and I also purchased the SWA DVD on mastering with it. It is very good and takes you into the software. Check the Isotope site. www.isotope.com