mastering problem

Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2005 3:01 pm

When I master to get a good level, the levels do rise around -0.3, but the sound gets harsh, the music gets forceful, even when volume is low. Especially when using (Me loudmaximiser). Is there any way to keep the smoothness of the music, when raising the volume level up on your final mix, or should i turn things down in the mix, so when I do master, it automatically comes out. When I turn up the levels. I am using,

2 Avalon vt737's
Dbx 786 Mic pre
Crane Ibis EQ
Prism Sound Mla-2 Mastering Compressor
A lot of wave plugins in Wavelab 5

Moderator Joined: Sep 12, 2002 Posts: 1847 Location: NYC

why are you using mic pre's in mastering?

Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 1:12 am

And why would you be using plugins in WaveLab with an Ibis and an MLA2?

Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 6:19 am

I'm sorry, I'm not using the Mic Pre In mastering, I was just stating my gear, So do you only use plugins to mix with and not master?

Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2005 4:42 pm

IMO, you should be able to do just about anything you need to with just the Ibis, Prism and a software Limiter...

Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2005 6:17 pm

Thank you, appreciate the feedback!!!!!!!!!!

Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2005 7:21 pm

Wow...

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 2:19 am

grandpiano wrote:

...appreciate the feedback!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, you probably have a lot of negative feedback in your equipment.

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 4:35 pm

leonardkravitz wrote:

Wow...

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 4:47 pm

Massive Mastering wrote:

leonardkravitz wrote:

Wow...

Yeah, maybe he smoked a whole beatle in his pipe?
...I guess that would make people say "Wow..."

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 8:02 pm

Massive Mastering wrote:

leonardkravitz wrote:

Wow...

That was a sarcastic "wow." I guess that wasn't obvious in the way I typed it.

Really though, I mean, who are these people. These questions are ridiculous and this board lately seems to be flooded with SPAM. The first reply was "Why are you using mic pres in mastering?" This kind of thread is a little absurd, no?

I guess I'm the one missing something... at least these threads are comical! hey, carry on!

Moderator Joined: Sep 12, 2002 Posts: 1847 Location: NYC

Well there are different levels of experienced people posting here. Some know some things and others don't know as much. They are here to try and learn. Most of us learned by watching other do it and listening. Most of the new people don't have this kind of mentoring because there just isn't that many studios around and there are more and more students of audio every month. I and we are here to learn from each other if we can. So let's not be too harsh on newbies. It doesn't mean they don't have to do their homework. There is a ton of info in these threads, one just has to sit and read. I spend 2 hours a day researching, reading, and trying to learn new things. It's never ending. The more you learn, the more you find that you have to learn.

sometimes people get caught up in the "if i buy the right gear, I'll be able to do it."

So don't rush into something that you aren't quite ready for. Take your time. Listen to a ton of stuff. read, study, tweek. repeat until happy.

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 2:12 pm

Michael Fossenkemper wrote:

Most of us learned by watching other do it and listening. Most of the new people don't have this kind of mentoring because there just isn't that many studios around and there are more and more students of audio every month.

There must be a lot of old and very experienced vinyl cutting mastering engineers that would love to pass on their knowledge to younger engineers that would appreciate the opportunity?

Best Regards

Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2005 5:49 am

Why is it that everyone wants to do it all? Be the performer, the recording engineer, the mastering engineer, the A&R guy, the graphic's designer and the sales rep?

In my experience no one person is so talented that they can do all of these with the same level of competency,

Have computer software companies and everyone concerned with the music business finally convinced the general public that they can "do it all?" and that it is all soooooo simple that the rest of us in the music business has been ripping people off for all these years?

He at Acoustik Musik, we do mastering and restoration. We leave the writing of songs, the performing of songs, the mixing of songs, the graphics and all the rest to other professionals in allied fields.

I am simply amazed at what I hear at GC and Sam Ash. People are told that for a couple of thousand dollars they can become instant record companies and turn out professional sounding hit cds and that with an "all-in-one" unit from AKAI or Roland they can become a recording engineer, a mastering engineer and if they spend an additional $295.00 they can replicated their music as well.

Having a word processor on your computer does not make you a writer. Have a computer full of music software does not make you a recording engineer or a mastering engineer let alone a musician or arranger overnight but many people assume that by taking home this bundle of equipment that by the weekend they will have their first "million seller" album.

Recently I have noticed that a lot of the music I am hearing is poorly recorded, poorly mixed, poorly written and poorly played and that many people have no idea of how really bad there stuff is. I always thought that one basic principal of music was that it was a way for the musician to communicate their feelings and passions to others. The message is getting garbled by the process as of late and I am not sure that most people are good at critiquing their own attempts at creating music. They wrongly assume that the M.E. can take this mess and by passing their magic wand over it the music will suddenly come to life. We are doing more and more "sonic surgery" and less and less real mastering.

MTCW and FWIW

Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2005 10:30 am

Ammitsboel wrote:

Michael Fossenkemper wrote:

Most of us learned by watching other do it and listening. Most of the new people don't have this kind of mentoring because there just isn't that many studios around and there are more and more students of audio every month.

There must be a lot of old and very experienced vinyl cutting mastering engineers that would love to pass on their knowledge to younger engineers that would appreciate the opportunity?

Best Regards

I can't speak for all the nubies here but I have a passion for everything that has to do with audio engineering, from editing to producing to mixing to mastering. Hoping that one day I will be able to make a little money to justify all the time and effort spent learning what I love to do, and if I can't then I'll still be happy because I was doing somthing I enjoy the whole time.

niros

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