KVR Audio

louki · Post by **louki** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 5:42 pm

I'm working on some very short samples and I'm trying to master them in T-Racks (the stand-alone version). It seems to hang when I preview the clip if the sample is very short(I assume it's got a minimum clip length).

I thought of adding some space at the end of the clip assuming there wouldn't need to be too much since I don't know what the minimum would be to work in T-Racks yet.

I'm weary of making a longer file, mastering, then cutting it up in Tracktion since I'm worried the quality might be reduced (I like T-Racks to be the last step in the chain) but is this an accurate concern? Any ideas?

Thanks!

greendoor · Post by **greendoor** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 11:10 am

Why are you 'mastering' samples in the first place? They are best left in pristine original condition, so they can be best shaped and eq'd by the sampler and/or mix channel. If you squash and eq them now, they can't be un-squashed later and it's a shame to have to undo eq'ing ... Some of the best sample I own are dry, effect's free. Some of the worst samples I own have been 'mastered' to death ...

greendoor · Post by **greendoor** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 11:13 am

If you need to master them, adding silence and later trimming it off is probably your best bet. How short are these samples - like milliseconds? Sounds bizarre that T-racks can't cope ...

Jesse J · Post by **Jesse J** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 11:22 am

greendoor wrote:Why are you 'mastering' samples in the first place? They are best left in pristine original condition, so they can be best shaped and eq'd by the sampler and/or mix channel. If you squash and eq them now, they can't be un-squashed later and it's a shame to have to undo eq'ing ... Some of the best sample I own are dry, effect's free. Some of the worst samples I own have been 'mastered' to death ...

I could not agree more.

However, I do 'master' my samples for my Akai MPC200XL for consistency from song to song for live performances. But that is just for live, not for production...

louki · Post by **louki** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 3:57 pm

I hadn't thought of the "don't over-master"... I want to fix the EQ a little but you're right, greendoor. I'll make sure they're not overly mastered.

The one that's particularly giving me problems is less than a second long and T-Racks support mentioned that looping it might help. It's not perfect but it works.

Thanks Jesse as well for the confirmation

Mastering very short samples in T-Racks