I've tried EQ on about half of my masters. I always feel strange doing it but think I probably would benefit. Sure, I've eq'd the individual tracks and that's already in the remix; however, I need to learn more about making all the tunes sound like they belong together. I've heard rough rule of thumb ideas about making cuts from 315 Hz to 500 Hz (3 DB or so). Wonder about the Q though. Also heard I should cut 1000 - 1250. Q?
Have also heard about adding 1 to 2 DB where needed for bass (80 or 100 Hz) and adding some 16 kHz -18 kHz for sheen. Shelving or peak? Q?
Ideas?
Thanks! I've got a lot to learn!
Comments
Nyaben: The entire focus behind mastering is to place yoursel
Nyaben:
The entire focus behind mastering is to place yourself in the hands of a person who has fresh ears for your work. Working in a cooperative manner with someone who can relate to your music & can bring the necessary tools & ideas that will result in a pleasing and saleable project is your goal.
Mastering is not about doing certain fixed things to all programs.
Feel is very important. Specific pieces of gear or settings are not.
Being in a room where you can depend on the playback system is also critical. You must be able to hear the entire recording, full range.
Try to attend the mastering session if you can; your "vision" of the sound of the finished project is an important input to the mastering engineer. Before the session compare your program to stuff you like that's already released. This might help focus your thinking.
Check out some of the past posts in this forum about how different engineers approach the overall job.
I do not yet know if this is universal between top mastering eng
I do not yet know if this is universal between top mastering engineers here that are moderators (me and the other cool cats) but I will do one track pro bono for you to feel my vibe.
I cannot speak for the other fine mastering engineers that have been assmbled at RO, but most houses do not mind giving a "sample" even if it is a unuseable snip of 2 mins. of a tune so you can get the feel of the house.
I for one, put a watermark on my demos of full tracks so that if someone uses my skills and makes a million dollars, I know it was my mastering.
I do it by putting a low level ultra low frequency into sample that you will never see, but cannot ever be erased, even with MP3 or sharp filters. It is there.
That said, I pull no punches, I deliver the goods in paying gigs without the watermark.
You would be very surprised at how low the cost is for each of our services, mine is Refundable if not liked, I expect the other cats to do guarantee of some sort as well.
I think you will find that mastering is not near as expensive as you think.
Usually less than $500 for running hour for RO members here. And we are Top pros.
YMMV of course.
Each track gets different rules and the way they fit in the orde
Each track gets different rules and the way they fit in the order of the album can change that too.
The key is to get someone that did not track and mix the album either do the mastering for you or have another critical listener with you after you establish your song order.
Without hearing your work, their is no telling how I would do it from an eq perspective. Your monitors, room, tracks, and order affect everything. Their is NO wholesale formula.