Mastering Contest: The Sequel!!!

[bduffy]

Just got round to looking at this...the track seems to start rather abruptly...gets right into it. Not a problem if this is planned, but I just always feel better checking to be sure.

Hey Kilroy - yeah, it gets goin' from beat 1! You know, I probably should leave a blank bar at the start, I guess that's common practice? That might be a little tight for the audio engine, I don't know - does it sound clipped? Too much? This is the intro, I never really came up with an intro to the intro, but most of my other tunes have some kind of work-in...

[kilroy]

No problem here...I kind of figured it started right in.



Intros...who need em.

[dburgan]

Take 5 is uploading now ... give it about 20 minutes to finish uploading before you nab it.

The major change is I reduced the low end somewhat, and had to compensate for the loss in perceived volume by slamming it through the limiter a bit harder.

I will say that to my ears I somewhat prefer take 4 myself to take 5, but it's not my opinion that counts! Let me know if any further tweaks are needed ...

[bduffy]

No problem here...I kind of figured it started right in.



Intros...who need em.

[bduffy]

Take 5 is uploading now ... give it about 20 minutes to finish uploading before you nab it.

The major change is I reduced the low end somewhat, and had to compensate for the loss in perceived volume by slamming it through the limiter a bit harder.

I will say that to my ears I somewhat prefer take 4 myself to take 5, but it's not my opinion that counts! Let me know if any further tweaks are needed ...

dburgan! I was just about to write and ask if you could submit one like Take 4 but with a big reduction in bass; my brother said his sub almost hit the ceiling when he played that one! But I like the smoothness in the rest of the mix. You know, I wouldn't worry about the gain so much, but I'll download it and see. Thanks!

[bduffy]

Dburgan! That's sounding really good to me; let me play it for the boys and see what they say. The limiter sounds a little intense by the ending, but I really like the tone you're getting with the guitars, a real milky sort of sound...sweet! You're getting some good punch, the vocal is sitting well, except the "tell me did you see" distorted bit; I think that may be a mix thing, my guitar is precisely in his range. I like this quite a lot, I'll listen again tomorrow with fresh ears.

[kilroy]

Hey bduffy...how big a factor is level going to be to you? If you want lots of clean gain I will have to EQ for it. By clean gain I mean waaaay cleaner than that OLP sample but with similar loudness.

That OLP track is one distorted mess. Makes you wonder why these blokes use high profile studios.

[dburgan]

Take 5 is uploading now ... give it about 20 minutes to finish uploading before you nab it.

The major change is I reduced the low end somewhat, and had to compensate for the loss in perceived volume by slamming it through the limiter a bit harder.

I will say that to my ears I somewhat prefer take 4 myself to take 5, but it's not my opinion that counts! Let me know if any further tweaks are needed ...

dburgan! I was just about to write and ask if you could submit one like Take 4 but with a big reduction in bass; my brother said his sub almost hit the ceiling when he played that one! But I like the smoothness in the rest of the mix. You know, I wouldn't worry about the gain so much, but I'll download it and see. Thanks!

Well, if you're not worried about volume, I'd definitely suggest we reduce the gain on this thing about 3 dB. That would definitely loosen things up a little. But I assume you want to be radio-ready, so I used Dave Matthews track as a volume guide. Take 5 is in the same ballpark as that Matthews track, volume wise.

[kilroy]

Hey bduffy...how big a factor is level going to be to you?

Ah well...it's late...and I'm a bit knackered. May as well start high...we can always work our way back down. See what you think, anyroad.

http://www.headroomproductions.com/Mast ... Master.wav

This is about all I can manage after a long day, so if it sounds any good, all the credit goes to an enormous pot of *really* strong java.

[dburgan]

OK just for giggles, I tried mastering the track using all-free VST plugins (i.e. instead of the non-free ones I usually use). The result I uploaded as my "free" take. I didn't bother uploading a flac, because it's really just a curiosity, not a serious master. Listen to it and you'll hear why.

The lesson I learned: tools really do matter. All the talent in the world is not gonna make a crap limiter sound transparent, nor a crap EQ sound smooth.

Anyway it was an interesting exercise. I'm not gonna say who the authors were who wrote the free plugins I ended up using because I don't want them to think I disrespect them.

[bduffy]

Hey bduffy...how big a factor is level going to be to you?

Ah well...it's late...and I'm a bit knackered. May as well start high...we can always work our way back down. See what you think, anyroad.

http://www.headroomproductions.com/Mast ... Master.wav

This is about all I can manage after a long day, so if it sounds any good, all the credit goes to an enormous pot of *really* strong java.

My god, don't kill yourself, man! I'm downloading now.

As for loudness; I don't want to get carried away with loudness. What I liked best about the OLP track, really, is the bass and the mixing - I would have loved to hear that tune before the limiter got pulled down! It's too damn loud; you cannot rip that song without digital distortion; a travesty. So forget that. Don't get too hung up on bass boosts or loudness; I think my mix came out pretty well for low end content, and I'm just hoping for enough gain that I don't sound totally ameteurish next to a modern record.

But the other day, when I was looking for reference material, I was pretty shocked by the difference in levels in commercial recordings, when you really pay attention. So just see how loud you can get it. I think this song is prone to sounding 'pumping' too, because I was leaning on some compressors for the drum sound, and it's a pretty stuffed sonic pallette too!

Hell, just do loudness to taste. Surprise me.

[bduffy]

OK just for giggles, I tried mastering the track using all-free VST plugins (i.e. instead of the non-free ones I usually use). The result I uploaded as my "free" take. I didn't bother uploading a flac, because it's really just a curiosity, not a serious master. Listen to it and you'll hear why.

The lesson I learned: tools really do matter. All the talent in the world is not gonna make a crap limiter sound transparent, nor a crap EQ sound smooth.

Anyway it was an interesting exercise. I'm not gonna say who the authors were who wrote the free plugins I ended up using because I don't want them to think I disrespect them.

Holy jeez, this I gotta hear, cool idea! Downloading now...

[bduffy]

Well, if you're not worried about volume, I'd definitely suggest we reduce the gain on this thing about 3 dB. That would definitely loosen things up a little. But I assume you want to be radio-ready, so I used Dave Matthews track as a volume guide. Take 5 is in the same ballpark as that Matthews track, volume wise.

This is sounding good, I still find the bass is swallowing the track, though; even on smaller speakers. If you get around to another pass, I found that dialing down the low end, rolling of some high end and, for some reason, when I was fiddling with an EQ, boosting a bit in the 5.6k region sounded good. Sounds great though! Will check out the freebie master!

[bduffy]

Kilroy! This is sweet! Woo! Great job!!! You've really got a clean middle and highs on this one. Shit, fantastic. I need to check on some other speakers when I get a chance, but this is awesome.

[dburgan]

I have two new takes to peep, but the ftp server is inaccessible from here for some reason. I'll keep tryin ...