[ddots-l] Re: Brian's demo and mastering
- From: Bryan Smart <bryansmart@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:38:01 -0500
I also highly recommend that book!
People, me included, sometimes jokingly talk about putting a multi-band
compressor on your mix's master bus and squishing the mix as mastering. If we
were baking, though, that would be like cooking everything by putting it in the
oven at 450 degrees for 20 minutes. Obviously, that doesn't work for cooking.
Your bread would be fine in the middle, but burned to a crisp on the outside.
Meanwhile, your prime rib would be an under-cooked bloody mess. When you're
quick-mixing your own demo, it is better to use some main bus compression to
get a better idea of what it would sound like when mastered, just like how
eating burned bread will taste closer to the final product than raw doe, but
that last step of mastering takes a lot of subtlety guided by experience in
order to turn out well. It is also quite easy to ruin an otherwise great mix
with too much, or incorrect, compression settings. Depending on your listening
equipment, you might not even notice the problems until you happen to listen on
different equipment like a car stereo, tiny reception room speaker, television,
etc.
I've read several books on the subject, and feel like I know more than a little
bit about what I'm doing. I'd trust myself to manage a fairly good job in a
hurry, which is suitable for great sounding demos and low budget situations.
For anything major, though, I'd still send the work off to someone that has
mastering as a primary skill. If you haven't read up and practiced this stuff a
lot, you will absolutely end up with a better result by seeking help.
Just a word of caution, though. There aren't really industry certifications and
licenses for mastering. Anyone can claim to be a mastering engineer,
regardless if they have 30 years of experience and a million dollar gear list,
or if they're a 12 year old with a laptop and Gold Wave. The proof is in their
results. Ask to hear demos of their work. Also, try to get demos that match
your style of music. Even if the mastering engineer is experienced and has
great attention to fidelity, they may not be experienced with your style.
Someone with a long track record of excellent work on acoustic jazz projects is
unlikely to produce results in modern rock or dance that will stand up to other
contemporary projects, for example. It's a lot like finding someone to handle
your mix. Mixing Country is profoundly different to mixing modern R&B, and you
want to make sure that the person knows what is required.
Bryan
On Jan 13, 2012, at 12:02 PM, Mark Dew wrote:
> Thanks Chris for the info.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Chris Smart" <csmart8@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: <ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Friday, January 13, 2012 10:20 AM
> Subject: [ddots-l] Re: Brian's demo and mastering
>
>
>> If you're not sure what mastering is, you probably need to read a good
>> book on the subject. The best one by far is Bob Katz, Mastering Audio, 2nd
>> Edition. More info here:
>> http://www.digido.com/mastering-audio-book.html
>>
>> Here's the Wikipedia entry on audio mastering:
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_mastering
>>
>> Or the page on my Website called "What Is Mastering":
>> http://ctsmastering.com/WhatIsMastering.php
>>
>> If you're not sure how mastering differs from mixing, read "What is
>> Mixing" and compare it to "what is Mastering" mentioned above:
>> http://ctsmastering.com/WhatIsMixing.php
>>
>> Berklee Online offer a correspondence course in in mastering as well,
>> highly recommended:
>> http://www.berkleemusic.com/school/certificates/course/audio-mastering-techniques?area_item_id=1827493&program_id=12813855
>>
>> Yes you have the tools to do it, at least the software, but that's a less
>> important part compared to:
>> 1. Do you have full-range (not nearfield) monitors?
>> 2. Are they are in a room that doesn't resonate badly at various
>> frequencies? That is, you should have the acoustics controlled with
>> absorbers, bass traps, etc. and
>> 3. Do you have the ability to listen critically and detect small changes,
>> such as "hmm that could come down a dB around 2KHZ".
>>
>> If you you are planning on releasing your music to the public, selling it
>> etc. I'd be happy to master it for you. Please contact me off-list.
>> http://ctsmastering.com/MasteringProcess.php
>>
>> Chris
>> --------------------------------------------------
>> CTS MASTERING: PROFESSIONAL MIXING AND MASTERING! Clear True Sound:
>> www.ctsmastering.com --
>>
>> Always have your stuff when you need it with @Dropbox. Seamlessly share
>> with your friends and colleagues. 2GB account is free!
>> http://db.tt/bQ2GuIt
>>
>> PLEASE READ THIS FOOTER AT LEAST ONCE!
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>
> PLEASE READ THIS FOOTER AT LEAST ONCE!
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