Mastering advice

Discussion in 'Mixing and Mastering' started by R.S, Oct 11, 2017.

  1. R.S

    R.S Producer

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    Can you gurus tell me what's wrong with my mix? It's kinda dry and harsh.. Tapesaturation needed?
    Many Thanks :)
     
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  3. thantrax

    thantrax Audiosexual

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    Is the low-end in mono? It seems not.
     
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  4. R.S

    R.S Producer

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    Your're right it is not.. Should I mix the kick and synthbass in mono? Thanks :)
     
  5. Seedz

    Seedz Rock Star

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    Try something like NuGens monoiser, there are others.
     
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  6. thantrax

    thantrax Audiosexual

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    I'm not a guru (not at all) but I know is usefull use a mid-side eq applying a hp fileter on side so the low end sounds mono.
    I use bx_digital v3 but you can use any eq that support mid-side.
     
  7. No Avenger

    No Avenger Moderator Staff Member

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    Hello,

    it's a bit off topic but anyway:

    There are severe differences between arranging, mixing and mastering.

    If you're mastering your own mix and the mix is good - which it should be before you master it - you will only need to adjust the peaks and the rms level with a compressor and/or limiter. Both single banded!
    Everything else (dry and harsh) is better to be done with arranging and/or mixing!

    So, concerning mastering this way it's quite good.

    Mixing/arranging:
    The bassdrum should be mono of course it's reverb as far as there is one doesn't have to be.
    The synthbass can be mono or stereo, there are lots of examples for both.
    In both cases you should make a clear decision! (the bassdrums' reverb can be more or less stereo and you can affect the dryness with it too)
    I would significantly lower the very deep frequencies (43Hz) and emphasise 56Hz to 76Hz. This will make the bd more audible on smaller systems and at lower volume too.
    Soundwise I'm not a great fan of the bd and sn. For me they lack character and/or style. Similar with the hh. It has highs and mids. I would lower one of these to give it more character. Bd and sn I would change completely and not fix it with mixing - but that's only my personl taste.
    I wouldn't use that reverse cym so often and reduce its volume a bit.
    I would make the rhythm more interesting with some variations on bd sn and hh. Don't change the sn and hh figure at the same time. Alternate this focus.
    Lower the orchestral break sound and make the bass louder.

    Let's hear the difference.

    Ah, before i forget: I like this track though.
     
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  8. digitaldragon

    digitaldragon Audiosexual

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    Tone Projects BassLane is a free one.
     
  9. korte1975

    korte1975 Guest

    very nice. bit harsh on the top end, put a deesser on it it will soft thing out. otherwise, perfect master - good job !
     
  10. Sam

    Sam Member

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    Here's someone who's giving great advice!
    I would add to reduce volume of reverse cymbal like No Avenger suggested but also to place it further in the mix to make it blend with the rest. It feels too detached and upfront.
     
  11. R.S

    R.S Producer

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    Yes I got a much more snappy sound. I used NuGen Monofilter as suggested. Will post the result shortly.. Thanks again :)
     
  12. digitaldragon

    digitaldragon Audiosexual

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    Anyone who hasn't tried this (monoizer or basslane or similar type plugin) should. It helps define the low end. It actually seemed to make my tracks sound a bit wider too.
     
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  13. No Avenger

    No Avenger Moderator Staff Member

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    Reversed cyms are also great to play along with. For instance left <-> right, mid -> side, very quick extrem pan changes so it almost sounds like coming from both sides, playing kind of staccato with fade in, timestretch & highcut with a lot of reverb and of course apply a forward cym at the end.
     
  14. R.S

    R.S Producer

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    Result of suggested advices. A billion thanks! :)
     
  15. No Avenger

    No Avenger Moderator Staff Member

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    Better :wink: and quickly done, respect!

    Maybe two more technical hints:
    1.: render it with 320kbps the difference is audible
    2.: don't go higher than -0,3dBFS in mainout and normalizing, it prevents intersample clipping
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2017
  16. R.S

    R.S Producer

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    Thank you all ! I just realize that I haven't used EQ in the mix AT ALL! Bit funny:) :) Only on master I used some treble and bass LOL
     
  17. Utada Hikaru

    Utada Hikaru Producer

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    I know that there is always this suggestion, but I wonder why?
    For example, this song was mastered by Anders Peterson, a mastering engineer whom has a very big portfolio, and yet the kick of the song is very wide.

    If you hear it in mono you clearly can hear how the kick loses a lot of volume and transient, so is this an error?
    I don't know about you but I think this wide kick has a particular sound that sounds good for me, obviously if you hear this music in mono for whatever reason then you will not enjoy it.
     
  18. No Avenger

    No Avenger Moderator Staff Member

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    Yep, extremely panned to left and right. Very unusual and quite washy. These are either two quite similar bds or only one delayed and maybe phase twisted (due to reverb?) which would explain it's distiction in mono.
    Because of the afrorementioned: It is washy and not mono compatible.
     
  19. Utada Hikaru

    Utada Hikaru Producer

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    But couldn't be that "washy" sound an aesthetic choice? I get that the song wont be mono compatible, but who hears music in mono currently? Maybe smartphone listeners, and if your target audience is people that cares about hearing their music with decent quality audio equipment then this should not be an issue, does it?
    If I were making EDM House/Trap/Big Room music that is meant be heard among kids that just want to hear music at the loudest volume possible, wherever they are with their mono speakers then I surely would pay attention to that.
    I am just curious, not trying to say that mixing as wide as possible is always good.
     
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  20. No Avenger

    No Avenger Moderator Staff Member

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    Yes of course it could and in Glossata's case it surley is and everybody is of course allowed to do it this way, but there are some more reasons not to do it:
    The origin of bass drums. A single acoustic instrument lying on the floor in the middle of the drum set. I other words we are simply used to hear it this way.
    Another one is that we can't hear the direction deep frequencies are comming from very good. We recognize more the high kick sound of the bass drum and know about it's connection to the deep sound of it.
    Further more there are a lot of 2.1 speaker settings with the 2 not being capable to reproduce such deep frequencies at all and don't forget about the filter seperating the deep freqs to the subwoofer.
    And last not least quite some clubs play their music in mono.

    But I think it's always interesting to go different ways, and in Glossata's case I enjoyed it.
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2017
  21. Jaymz

    Jaymz Audiosexual

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    Second much better \m/
     
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