I still don't get the real philosophy behind mastering.

Discussion in 'Education' started by foster911, Mar 29, 2018.

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  1. foster911

    foster911 Guest

    I almost know all the general processes, tools, terminologies, etc being done and used in the mastering phase but still can't make judgment on different parts of the mix. Just a simple question.

    How to make judgments? If it's subjective then what are your definitive judgment tips? Let's suppose there's no reference track.

    Thank you! :wink:
     
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  3. GodHimSelf

    GodHimSelf Platinum Record

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    Dear @foster911 , I've seen you are still struggling. I maintain my proposition to master a track of yours through all steps and post the changes here.

    It's about making what's good better, not what's bad, good...

    Love,
    GHS
     
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  4. Splicementality

    Splicementality Kapellmeister

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    "is it a foster-thread, IS IT A FOSTER THREAD? :woot: *page loads* You dang rite it is!!"


    :rofl:
     
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  5. foster911

    foster911 Guest

    Appreciate a lot. I'll do it at the end of this thread for sure but for now I need your ears and judgmental parts of your brain.:bow:

    I can cure every aspect of signal but the question is how do you find out what's nasty or bad? or what's good or better? Master guys usually don't talk about it.
     
  6. Baxter

    Baxter Audiosexual

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    I use my ears and analyzers. I listen for overlapping, un-eveness, Mid and Sides info (and EQ and compression on either, to create a good listening experience), dynamics, clarity, bite, presence, air, etc etc. Basically what the song/track needs in order to become as good as it can be. Like the finished car at the factory - sometimes it just needs a great paintjob.
    https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Audio-Art-Science/dp/B000KC8R8U
     
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  7. GodHimSelf

    GodHimSelf Platinum Record

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    That can be a tough question. I'll put here my simplified way of thinking (the order is not fixed but step 1 and 2 are tendencially gathered):
    1- what are you hearing? Is it from a known genre, is it a completely new game? Do I need a certain aesthetic? Is it an album? Is it a LP?
    Act accordingly.
    2- about the track itself, what is not good? Shitty frequencies can sometimes be removed, but I usually ask for re-mix. Is it lacking any freq. range? (not enough lows or mids, air or whatever) - if it takes more than 2-3 dB it's a mixing problem. Redo it. What about mid-side proportion?
    3- how about dynamic range? Is it too high? Is the track cohesive? Are there spikes (poor mixing again) - this can be solved by means of compression. Does it need imaging techniques or harmonic enhancement?
    4- reverb: this is where shit hits the fan: some like, some don't, none agrees. I do in more instrumental stuff.
    5- Is the track loud enough? Limit it.
    6- does it sound good in a lot of different systems?
    7- all the bureocracy behind mastering: DDP, registry, blah blah

    This the simplified way I do stuff. It may be good, it may be not. It may have extra steps. It's all about sounding better, not making a freaking new track.
     
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  8. Jaymz

    Jaymz Audiosexual

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    Think of it as an insurance policy >>> that your music will sound as good as it possibly can on all platforms... rather that be on the radio,cellphone,home system,earbuds,headphones,club system whatever the listening system is >>> it will translate very well on them all... Have you ever got a good mix or you perceived it as good on your monitors or headphones >>> only to find out it sounds like shit on a phone or in a car ;) a very well Mixed and Mastered piece of music will sound great on most any system's playback \m/
     
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  9. Spyfxmk2

    Spyfxmk2 Guest

    This is neither a bad or good mix/master........it is a foster mix.
    I made this a long time ago when i first met foster here.
    I had fun in the studio making both the track & vid.
    No living beings were harmed during the making of this :




    edit/note to @foster911 : i'm not trolling here good friend :wink::bow:
    my above ^ writings are only related to your question about mastering :wink:
    if in any way you feel bothered, let me know & i will remove my thoughts :winker::wink::bow:
     
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  10. PopstarKiller

    PopstarKiller Platinum Record

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    Mastering is a bullshit scam. Mastering engineers needed something to do when we moved from vinyl (which really had to be mastered) to CD, so they made up this whole story about bettering your sound with amazing gear and black magic.
    Each of those I do in the mix phase, I don't wait for mastering to decide what the production will sound like. If you can mix, you can master.
     
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  11. Von_Steyr

    Von_Steyr Guest

    Mastering? If Timbaland knew i use only Ezmix...
    [​IMG]
     
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  12. Sylenth.Will.Fall

    Sylenth.Will.Fall Audiosexual

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    The problem with your question Foster is that there must be more than 10,000 ways of getting to a finished master, but with no two tracks being the same, nuances will cause what you have to do to be different for every track!

    This is why you get the very best mastered track you can find in the genre you wish to master. You then go to you tube and type in 'mastering tracks (genre)' Watch and learn. You know you have access to virtually everything you need. Practice practice and more practice. Then ask everyone for their opinions and learn bit by bit.

    There really aren't any shortcuts buddy!

    As for that? Are you telling me you don't have one professionally mastered track on your computer? Don't tell me it's filled up with porn ?:O
     
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  13. mozee

    mozee Audiosexual

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    There is no magic it's just about training your ears. If you can't hear what someone else is telling you should hear, chances are 50/50 they are either full of shit or you need to learn to listen better.

    50/50 might seem like bad odds and you can just assume they are full of shit, but let me put it a different way.

    If I give you a 50/50 chance when walking through one of two doors to either get a delicious organic ice cream sundae made with cruelty free milk and sustainable harvested chocolate, vanilla and bananas spoon fed to you by a half naked model (gender of your choice) or having a hand-grenade shoved up you ass (minus the pin of course) how good do those odds look now.

    Trolling about it will not help and neither will listening in a substandard environment, good equipment helps of course and can't be ignored but what really makes a mastering room is the room. The difference is really quite substantial, it is a bit like when you were younger and you imagined how it would be like to get laid... and then contrasted with how it actually felt like to get laid.

    I am writing this is as a man - I am sorry for the women because it's probably the complete opposite - those 12 seconds were definitely how most of you imagined it...

    At the end of the day it really helps not to overthink things...
     
    Last edited: Mar 29, 2018
  14. No Avenger

    No Avenger Moderator Staff Member

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    My suggestion is, make the best mix you can, ask someone of this great community to master it and listen very thoroughly to the differences.
     
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  15. Baxter

    Baxter Audiosexual

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    I'm talking about other people's work, who don't think/know about these things (during their mixing). That is part of my job as a mastering engineer, which you totally discredit. :)
    So..."Black magic", huh. :D
    You sound like you are stuck in a fixed mindset. Or maybe you are just trolling and having a laugh.
    Cheers!
     
    Last edited: Mar 29, 2018
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  16. Jaymz

    Jaymz Audiosexual

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    maybe i should give EZ a spin !!!!! hahaha
     
  17. Recoil

    Recoil Guest

    @foster911 I can not mastering well, but I'm catching up with mix :keys: :disco:
     
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  18. solo83

    solo83 Platinum Record

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    I think, despite the consensus belief, that mastering is actually fixing a lot of errors that happened or were ignored in the mixing stage. I've seen so many sessions where the ME is like "I'm going to give a 4.5 db boost at 125hz to give the vocals some warmth and thickness" or "I'm going to use a small bell and cut out some frequencies of the instruments, in mono, at around 500-900hz, so that the vocals sit in the mix a bit better." etc etc.
     
  19. Burninstar

    Burninstar Platinum Record

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    Mixing is creative and artful, once the mixer is done making it to their liking, a mastering process ensures that it transfers well to all media.

    Mastering is not so creative or artful. With today's audio tools and a talented engineer both can be done simultaneously.

    If a the music ends up as a mass produced CD it will need additional mastering (red book compatible, Meta data, format album ect).

    Even for internet use you might need to optimize the digital file for playback on youtube, spotify, or soundcloud ect.

    In the analogue past, recording studios were incapable of mastering, so your tape was sent off after manual editing. Often the mastering process would fix problems the mixing engineer was unaware of. Just a second refinement of the sound with another set of pro ears gave the reinsurance of a great product. Before digital was wide spread almost all album releases went through this process.

    hope this helps. Just an old studio guys input.
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2018
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  20. MMJ2017

    MMJ2017 Audiosexual

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    Once you finish a song, then you will.
     
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  21. foster911

    foster911 Guest

    I'll spend the whole April poring over this startling stuff and report the result.:wink:
     
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