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A friend of mine made a suggestion for mastering. That suggestion consists of the following.

1. EQ
2. BBE Sonic Maximizer
3. Readjust
4. Antares Tube
5. Waves Ultramaximizer
6. Listen and Tweek

This seems to really work well for the tracks that I am doing, and I really like what I am getting out of it. What I am trying to figure out now, is why does this sound so good. What is going on that is giving me what I think will work for a master? Please if you have any ideas explain. I just want to know why this is giving me the wave forms that are comparable to any CD on the market that I have compared things to and why it is giving me the sound that I envision for my CD.

Thanks.

Comments

AudioGaff Thu, 09/18/2003 - 16:57

Those seem unusual tools and methods to me but if it works for you, great. Have you compared these results on many different speakers? Having both eq and the BBE in there and liking the results tells me that you may have a cluttered and/or undefined mix that still needs work. After your done, sit on them for a while then come back and listen to see if you feel the same way. What may appear as joy today may be much different several days from now.

anonymous Thu, 09/18/2003 - 17:30

Good point generally I do not EQ only in the case of a very low end sounding track but these are infact the steps.

Originally posted by AudioGaff:
Those seem unusual tools and methods to me but if it works for you, great. Have you compared these results on many different speakers? Having both eq and the BBE in there and liking the results tells me that you may have a cluttered and/or undefined mix that still needs work. After your done, sit on them for a while then come back and listen to see if you feel the same way. What may appear as joy today may be much different several days from now.

mjones4th Tue, 09/23/2003 - 08:16

In my finished songs, I try to stay away from exciters like the BBE. I used to use the PSP MixTreble a lot, but it made the highs a little harsh. I do use it on individual tracks tho, when needed, or desired.

Try a multiband compressor, like Waves C4, but bypass everything but the highs (above 8-10kHz) and compress them. Replace the BBE with this and see how it works. This leaves my top end much smoother and brings things out.

I go by the adage 'if it ain't broke....' so if it works for you, then.... However, after two years as my own mix and mastering engineer, I have learned that... shit I learned a lot. The mixes and masters I did a year ago that I thought sounded fantastic now sound harsh, brittle, and too amped up. So I've stepped back, and I like my results much more now.

king mitz

mjones4th Tue, 09/23/2003 - 08:22

And also, step #6, listen and tweak, should be inserted several times between each step. Try and listen to the effect of the EQ before you add the BBE. Tweak, and then when you like that result move on and add the BBE. Then listen to the result of the two processors on your song and tweak just the BBE. If, at that point, it doesn't sound like you want, turn the BBE off and go back an fix the EQ.... And on until you're finished.

When I'm mixing vocals, I usually know I'm gonna de-ess, EQ and compress, in that order. So I insert them, but bypass all bu the first. When satisfactory, I move on to the next.

king mitz.