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anonymous 14 February 2009

The time for me has come to master.

I have a few tools available to me.

1. Universal Audio UAD-1 card (loaded to the max)
2. Steinberg Wavelab
3. IK T-racks 24
4. Waves Diamond bundle

Which tool should I use to get the job done?

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Thomas W. Bethel Sun, 02/15/2009 - 03:22

rsp2rsp2 wrote: The time for me has come to master.

I have a few tools available to me.

1. Universal Audio UAD-1 card (loaded to the max)
2. Steinberg Wavelab
3. IK T-racks 24
4. Waves Diamond bundle

Which tool should I use to get the job done?

All or none of them. Depends on the music. If this is at all important to you seek out a good mastering engineer and pay him or her to do the mastering for you.

There are a ton of really good mastering engineers on this forum contact one of them. They usually hang out on the Mastering forum.

Alécio Costa Sun, 03/01/2009 - 21:03

Suggestions of great tools

Great Tools:

  • Bob Ludwig
  • Bob Katz
  • Ted Jensen
  • Chris Anthens
  • Brad Blackwood
  • Dave Collins
  • Specialized Mastering
  • Metropolis Mastering
  • AirShow Mastering
  • Adam Dempsey
  • Doug Sax
  • John Scripp
  • Vlado Meller
  • Joe Lambert
  • Jay Frigolleto
  • Darius van Helfteren
  • Bob Olhsson
  • Bernie Grundman
  • Steven Berson
  • Jerry Tub
  • Andrew Hamilton
  • Sonovo Mastering
  • Ed Littman
  • Turtle Tone Mastering
  • Jaakko Viitalähde
  • Tom Waltz
  • Trevor sadler
  • Jeff Lowes
  • Paul Gold
  • Noah Mintz
  • Phil Demetro
  • Rareform Mastering
  • Alexander jöchtl
  • Robin Schmidt
  • Bruce A. Brown
  • Velvet Room Mastering
  • Alan Silverman
  • Matt G
  • Thomas Bethel
  • Cass Anawaty
  • David Mcnair
  • Scott Hull
  • Bernie Grundman
  • Tom Volpicelli
  • Ricardo Garcia
  • Carlos Freitas
  • Homero Lotito
  • Alécio Costa

Tom Fodor Sat, 03/14/2009 - 21:35

You can be a great mastering tool too

I keep hearing guys here say, "get a good mastering engineer to do it for you" but then how the hell are you going to become a good mastering engineer yourself? I would say, go to the mastering forums, spend some time reading through as many posts as you can and apply what you learn there. Buy a few books on the subject and do the same. Then take your work to a "good" mastering engineer you know, and get some feedback. Repeat this process as many times as required. It's almost like nobody here really wants the less experienced engineers to progress to that level. Like Mastering engineers are Gods or something....They are just experienced and well practiced at what they do. There is no magic just practice.

anonymous Sun, 03/15/2009 - 14:36

Ted Jensen is responsible for the monstrosity which is 'Death Magnetic' by Metallica, with an RMS of less than -5.5db RMS. I lost a lot of respect for him over that, although it's probably something pushed on him by the band's representatives or record company.

Look - of course an ME with a good room is the best option if you have a budget for it - otherwise, you can use many other tools to good effect if you educate yourself on how to do it, but whichever outboard gear or plugins you use, without reasonable monitors in a good sounding room (usually involving some kinds of suitable treatment) it is a waste of time and money.

The majority of amateur musicians cannot afford a mastering budget, so educate yourself on how to mix properly, because any mastering job requires a great mix in the first place and with experience you can learn more about the mastering process. Bob Katz's http://www.digido.com site is a good place to start and his book 'Mastering Audio : The Art And The Science (2nd edition)' by Focal Press 2008 is a great read for the intermediate to experienced home recordist.

BobRogers Sun, 03/15/2009 - 15:54

Re: You can be a great mastering tool too

Tom Fodor wrote: I keep hearing guys here say, "get a good mastering engineer to do it for you" but then how the hell are you going to become a good mastering engineer yourself? ...

I don't think it's as bad as you are saying. People answer specific questions about specific problems all the time. But there are tons of posts that either explicitly or implicitly ask for a paint-by-numbers set of directions for mastering. The post that started this is pretty typical of the genre. I don't think anyone need apologize for the reaction.

Cucco Sun, 03/15/2009 - 17:53

FYI - Re: Ted Jensen -
I was on this very forum about 2 or 3 years ago bitching about his botch job on 2 completely unrelated albums - Liz Phair and Keane. Both are pushed so hard that the albums are beyond unlistenable. It's a shame - both are great CDs with the exception of the over-limited constantly distorting crap.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled weekly "I wanna master it myself but don't know how" topic.

:-)
J

anonymous Mon, 03/16/2009 - 09:09

speaking of poor mastering jobs the latest Beck album in collab with danger mouse ,sounded so muddy and bassy i was sad to see a good album go into the swamp

rsp sounds like you just got those wares (exept for uad) cracked by H20 and now you are asking the world how to use em. i may be wrong but being that i used to download the exact same ones you did (xept tracks, but then this was years ago. it may be out now) had to ask..
sorry but why would you spend so much on software and ask such a question. then again ,,, i dont have a job right now

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