How to do mastering on master channel?

[johnsonsx]

Hey!
Can anyone tell me how to do mastering on the master channel! I know it's ussually used compressor and EQ but i would like to know what should i do to get nice sounding!
My finished tracks are sounding very quiet so i know that it's possible to correct it on master channel but i don't know how!
Thanx!

[cusis]

EQ (tweak to get best results)> Multiband compressor (boosts high, mid, low of your track> Limiter (brings volume of track up).

hope that helps

[thecontrolcentre]

I would advise you do your mastering in a wave editor after you finish mixing your tracks. This article explains the basics. http://audio.tutsplus.com/tutorials/mix ... s-or-less/

[johnsonsx]

Thanx! But what is the normal wolume on the master channel after mastering? It's about 0db or it can be louder than 0db?
EQ; Multiband compressor; Limiter - only these things we have to use for mastering?
But how can i know when it's sounding good. Maybe it sounds funny but when i have listened to my mix about 100 times i do not understand is it sounding good
omg..

[TankEyes]

It takes years, decades even to understand mastering John. Don't be put out that you can't do it straight away.

Sounds like you need to learn the basics before even going near mastering.

In digital audio, 0db is the limit. Any volume above that will "clip" your waveform (flattening out the tops of the wave, producing clicking and distortion).

You can maximise your tunes by a) mixing them well, and b) applying EQ and compression. A brickwall limiter will prevent waves from hard clipping, but can only be pushed so far before ruining the dynamics or distorting.

[johnsonsx]

It takes years, decades even to understand mastering John. Don't be put out that you can't do it straight away.

Sounds like you need to learn the basics before even going near mastering.

In digital audio, 0db is the limit. Any volume above that will "clip" your waveform (flattening out the tops of the wave, producing clicking and distortion).

You can maximise your tunes by a) mixing them well, and b) applying EQ and compression. A brickwall limiter will prevent waves from hard clipping, but can only be pushed so far before ruining the dynamics or distorting.

You are right! Yeah i should learn the basics. Maybe you know any good place to read these basics. Not forums but maybe some document in adobe so i could read it..
Thanx!
I think i will try to do the mastering with Logic Pro 8 with help of this tutorial:
http://audio.tutsplus.com/tutorials/mix ... s-or-less/

[Kim Lajoie]

You can read these for some ideas:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3305233

http://kimlajoie.wordpress.com/tag/mastering/

-Kim.

[Doug1978-OLD]

Another excellent tip is to buy Bob Katz's Mastering Audio: The Art and The Science book.
It'll give you some very good advice on the use (and dangers of) db / clipping / compression amongst other things.

[thesqueezer]

Or you could also check out this video from Robert Babicz http://vimeo.com/808485 He explains mastering and the science behind mastering, so that you know what you are really doing.

[Real Grooves Audio]

Thanx! But what is the normal wolume on the master channel after mastering? It's about 0db or it can be louder than 0db?
EQ; Multiband compressor; Limiter - only these things we have to use for mastering?
But how can i know when it's sounding good. Maybe it sounds funny but when i have listened to my mix about 100 times i do not understand is it sounding good
omg..

The latest trend in music mastering/production is to push your mix to the loudest point. This generally results in music that has no dynamic variations to it (see point #5).

If you want a "finished" quality to your tracks without spending the money and taking it to a professional for mastering (which you absolutely should do if you are putting your stuff out there for people to buy), my advice would be to first take a look at the following in your master fx chain (I've touched upon this in another Post, but it applies here):

1. REVERB: Some people feel comfortable applying reverb to the whole (final) mix, some steer clear of doing that. It's a personal choice.
2. COMPRESSION: Using something like PSP's Vintage Warmer will go a long way to impart some warmth to your tune, and can help balance out your lows, mids and highs.
3. MASTERING EQ: Check out Ozone. It's really good. So good that it might be the only thing you need in your chain after reverb to get "that" sound that is eluding you without the use of any other compression or eq plug-in.
4. SONIC ENHANCERS: Plugs like BBE Sonic Maximizer can do wonders for a mix, but it needs to be applied sparingly or your mix will sound awful- thin, and really harsh.
5. Use a Brickwall Limiter, and resist the temptation to get your final mix too loud, or hot. A loud/hot (and overly compressed) mix will make your songs sound like garbage, and wear out the listeners ear drums by taking away all of the dynamics you worked hard to capture in your recording.

All of this is a good starting point, but is absolutely no substitute for a professional Proper mastering job by someone with years of experience.

Good luck.

[tranel]

But how can i know when it's sounding good. Maybe it sounds funny but when i have listened to my mix about 100 times i do not understand is it sounding good
omg..

I think we've all been there. It's very easy to become "deaf" to your own mix. Two solutions: 1) let others listen to it, and learn to become receptive to sometimes some pretty stinging, ego-destroying critique 2) work on another song or a while, and leave the mastering of Song 1 for later.

Raising the volume of a mix and compressing it nicely without odd artefacts is a black art. But, luckily, most of the factors influencing the result occur at the mixing stage.

You've heard it before probably: Fix it in the mix. If you find that you cannot push your mix as high as you want to go, it could be because you have excessive "mud" in your mix. By this I mean frequencies that overlap to the effect that sounds become indistinct and that there is (or are) "inaudible" peaks that eat your headroom. Most notably this happens in the kick/bass area, but it could occur elsewhere as well. There could also be excessive sub-bass content that you don't hear but nevertheless eats up headroom.

How to check your mix:

1)Listen to your mix carefully. Can you "home in" on each separate element when you listen? Can you clearly, distinctly pick out the bass, the lead, the strings, the whatnot? If you cannot, have you chosen the right sounds. If you have, but it is still indistinct, adjust with eq, pan and volume. Make good use of the Track Solo button on your mixing desk at this stage.

2) Once you're happy with all the elements, play the mix at an average volume - not too loud. Go and do something else while you listen to the music. You'll notice that sudden peaks, too-loud or jarring notes, "boomy" bits and other things jump out when you are not concentrating on the music. It is also very useful to listen from another room.

3) Listen to your mix over different sets of speakers + headphones at both loud and low volumes.


Once you're happy with the result of these three stages, you can be reasonably sure that your mix sounds good.

[tranel]

... resist the temptation to get your final mix too loud, or hot. A loud/hot (and overly compressed) mix will make your songs sound like garbage, and wear out the listeners ear drums by taking away all of the dynamics you worked hard to capture in your recording.

To the OP: please print out the above in obesely bold, intrusively large text, frame it and put on the wall in your studio. The part from "... taking away" should be on page 1 of every textbook on music production and mastering.

Just joking, don't mean to say that you're guilty of the heinous crime of overcompressing mixes. But, these are wise words indeed and should be reflected upon.

Music execs* worldwide, take note. Not that you care, anyway...

* Blaming the music execs rather than the mastering engineers here, as it's (usually) the execs' insistence that "louder is better" that leads to squashed, fatiguing masters...

[johnsonsx]

Thanx everybody for your feedback!
My tracks are sounding like in a barrel. i don't know how to get it sounding as almost all songs! I know i have to spend a lot of time to learn all this but i know that not all producers are paying money for matering their track , they do it themselves and they are not professionals they just now all EQ and compression tips
Thanx!

[Real Grooves Audio]

... resist the temptation to get your final mix too loud, or hot. A loud/hot (and overly compressed) mix will make your songs sound like garbage, and wear out the listeners ear drums by taking away all of the dynamics you worked hard to capture in your recording.

To the OP: please print out the above in obesely bold, intrusively large text, frame it and put on the wall in your studio. The part from "... taking away" should be on page 1 of every textbook on music production and mastering.

Just joking, don't mean to say that you're guilty of the heinous crime of overcompressing mixes. But, these are wise words indeed and should be reflected upon.

Music execs* worldwide, take note. Not that you care, anyway...

* Blaming the music execs rather than the mastering engineers here, as it's (usually) the execs' insistence that "louder is better" that leads to squashed, fatiguing masters...

I am the OP, and it's true- "Louder Is Not Better" are words to live by, and every dumb-ass record exec should have this tattooed on their forehead.

No worries about the joke, I didn't feel it was directed at me at all.

-D

[eduardo_b]

You don't really need to concern yourself with mastering, a process that has nothing to do with a finished mix but a number of finished mixes that need to work together as an album. None of the issues you have with mixes can be fixed by mastering, which is for production of groups of songs, not a process applied to one mix. Mastering engineers do not mix albums. Their function is completely separate from the mixing process. I suggest Bobby Owsinski's The Mixing Engineer's Handbook.