does anyone here have experience of mastering? we at andrymi are experiencing this as a stop in the workflow. That is, lack of someone to master stuff. Also for mixing, as it's sometimes better to get someone from outside the particular band to do this.
Andrymi, a collection of music nerds » Songwriting
mastering
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Posted 2 years ago # Login to Send PM
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Steelbones
MemberYes I have fairly extensive experience of mixing and mastering.
What do you have in mind?
Posted 2 years ago # Login to Send PM -
Mastering is one area of the process that can REALLY "make it or break it"...sure, there's lots of people who have the Pro tools (or similar) program to do this...but it's better to get somebody who's done more records than they can remember. Having a friend do it for free with his new computer, well...it might just sound like you had your friend do it for free with his new computer, if you get my drift.
Mastering is the stage wher the final mix is brought up to industry standards, volume -wise, EQ-wise, etc. In the old days, it was a 'mystery' stage, being performed by engineers with legitimate technical backgrounds. These guys wouldn't even LISTEN to the recording, and would perform all their adjustments by watching meters as the tape rolled. In a truly professional op[eration, a different 'master' was prepared for each format: LP. cass, or CD-due to the different technical limitations of each format.
Seriously, 25 years ago, you could count the number of mastering operations in the US on one hand.More recently, the computer age has put "mastering programs" into the hands of anybody...but that doesn't mean they are qualified to handle the process properly.
The right tools in the wrong hands can do more harm than good!Ideally, you want to bring it to somebody who just does mastering, and has never heard your record before. The reason for this? Well, you (or your artist) has heard the record a million times by now, and are aware of every little detail in there. Hand it to a fresh set of (experienced) ears, and let the pro take over from there. I don't see any problem in an artist recording and mixing his own work. But any artist worth his salt (or any who has heard what a lousy mastering job can do)would wisely hand the final mix over to an experienced mastering pro.
I liken this stage of the process to doing an album cover: an artist does the design, and ideally hands it off to somebody experienced in the printing process to do the color seperations and deal with the specifications of the cover. Sure, you might have your little brother draw the album art...but are you sure you want him to do the color seperations and then print the cover itself? hell no, you want to leave that to somebody who does that professionally.
On a recording, an artist writes the songs and records them...and then (ideally) hands it off to somebody with lots of experience in getting THAT to the next stage, (i.e. mastering) because that's a whole 'nother set of technical demands.
One of the drawbacks of the 'liberating' DIY recording ethic that's been made possible by the digital revoloution is that nowadays, there's a flood of new, independently released CDs out there. 20 years ago, there would be maybe 30 new titles released every week. Seriously. Now, there's at least 30 new titles released every HOUR. Seriously. One way to rise above the crowd is to have a professional looking and sounding product, and a hard-working marketing team to back it up.
so, you don't want to skimp on this part of the process...
Posted 2 years ago # Login to Send PM -
This is interesting: Did BT just cockblock Steelbones ? ;D
Posted 2 years ago # Login to Send PM -
thanks. i am handing this record i did to somebody tomorrow, but it would be ideal to have someone available, when we at andrymi are going to put something out. So thanks steelbones, I will let you know.
Breakfasttime, thanks for the remarks, I am sure this is the right way to go.Posted 2 years ago # Login to Send PM -
Yeah. I for one am anxious to hear Steel's console chops. =)
Given the age of Andrymi and our limited resources, I doubt any similar label has the level of expertise at its disposal through friends and benefactors like Andrymi does through this community.
Posted 2 years ago # Login to Send PM -
No, that was no jab at Steelbones' expertise. I'm not doubting that he knows what he's doing. What I'm saying is: most people don't know what they're doing when it comes to this area of audio engineering.
I've seen studios advertise that they'll do it all in-house: from sticking the mic in the bass drum through mixing and into the mastering stage.
I would never want the same guy who engineered the record to master it. For a lot of reasons. Not just because it's a whole 'nother deal, but because when it comes time to master a project, you want an engineer who specializes in mastering, and has never heard the project before. You want fresh ears, and experienced ones at that.
Posted 2 years ago # Login to Send PM -
I wish I had something to offer here, but sadly all I can say is that what BT makes sense and Bones could master my album anytime :P
Posted 2 years ago # Login to Send PM -
I definitely don't want projects to get stuck because of technical details. that said, it is important not to stop the flow of the music being created, to the availability of the finished product, whatever form it will take. it is important to put together a good team. for example bergur e. sigurðsson takes care of all the graphic design, giving the cd's a unified look.
Posted 2 years ago # Login to Send PM -
Steelbones
MemberIf BT was going to "cockblock" me (decorously put Henry, most tasteful) he'd either come straight out with it on the forum, or send me an email saying "Hey! What up?"
And I totally endorse what he has said.
The technical side of mastering is indeed a balancing act between what the meters/displays are reading and what your ears tell you.
The reason for this is that there are some aspects of the sound that the meters can read better than your ears, and vice versa.And I don't have any formal qualifications, but I do have at least 15 years of hands on experience, most of which was gained in 4 professional recording studios, working with engineers that had years of experience themselves. (BTW I'm not saying this in answer to BT, but rather to explain my qualifications to Vardi et al)
I won't go into the potential processes involved in any given mastering situation, but rather explain my professional ethos.
When mastering my own recordings I might say "that's good enough", and leave a few perceptible imperfections in the final product.
But I never do that with other peoples work, what would be the point. I'll have to live with the final product just as surely as the artist will, and my professional and personal reputation will suffer if I do a bad job.And although much of the mastering process is purely technical, there are areas where imagination, creativity and taste are essential.
In these areas I usually provide the artist with a number of different mastered versions, and then let them decide what they like best.One final point that I'll make is that mixing and mastering might be related processes, but they are most definitely seperate.
I believe that mixing should take place in a multi-track recording studio, and the benefits that can be gained from a program like Pro-Tools are by and large only useful in that setting.
The mastering process I would offer you would only be for the final stereo mix, I really wouldn't like to mix anything without the hands on input of the artist involved.
Mastering on the other hand is very much like the final polish on a piece of high class wooden furniture, or the final road set-up and tuning of a new car, and the creative input of the artist is usually nowhere near as important.I'll blow my trumpet about only one area of my work, and that is my work rate.
I work much faster than anyone I've met, so you won't have to wait long for your finished product, or for any further changes you might require if you're dissatisfied with my initial work.Posted 2 years ago # Login to Send PM -
I was joking with the cockblock thing, ofcourse. :)
What I meant was that BT said, if I understood correctly, is that the best people for the job are people who specialize in mastering, and don't mix at all. That is if I understood him correctly.
I don't necessarily agree with that. I think a sculptor can make a good painter aswell (see Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel). :)
Posted 2 years ago # Login to Send PM -
Steelbones
MemberI think it's a matter of how fresh you can keep your ears.
There are a few techniques for doing that, the most obvious of which is to not listen to your recording for a while, and go listen to something very different.
It's amazing how well and quickly that can work.I think BT's right about what he said, it's probably best to get the mastering done by someone who wasn't involved in the recording and mixing.
Having said that most mastering is done in recording studios, and it involves the same techniques and skills as mixing, they're just applied in different ways.
Posted 2 years ago # Login to Send PM -
sound like music to my ears!
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