mastering

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Member Since: Mar 15, 2008

i use pro tools LE and when i bounce to disk i use a limeter an eq and compressor on the master fader. is that the right way? or should i add the plug ins in a different session with a stereo mix? another question. it sounds like in certian parts of the song when the vocals are the strongest the music seems to lower and then rise up after the passage. is this a compression or limiting issue on the over all mix?

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Prince CZAR-ming
Member
Since: Apr 08, 2004


Mar 15, 2008 01:21 pm

I do it the second way, mix first, then render down to a stereo file.

Then in a new project, do my (pre)mastering work.

It keeps my tasks separate, so I don't try to think about mastering, when in the mix phase.

Sounds like compression, on the volume changing thing. Sidechain can do that: when one signal becomes present, another starts going lower. Is this on a project you've worked on? or one you're curious about?

Member
Since: Mar 03, 2008


Mar 15, 2008 01:36 pm

First of all, it sounds to me like you are talking about mixing. Second of all, mastering is not a chain of processes. It is a specialized field that intensely scrutinizes your existing mix for distortion,phase problems, continuity within a collection(audio montage. as in a cd project) and general noise among other things. In it's most basic form, mastering prepares a project for duplication creating a MASTER source.

In regards to compression and limiting. They are essentially one in the same. Limiting is the extreme version of compression and should only be used to prevent clipping. Yes you can use it to bring your mix into the loudness wars but why? This often results in what many consider "sucking the life out of a mix".

The lowering of volume or "pumping" that you're hearing, is because you have your compression ratio maxed or you're pushing your compressed and amplified signal to the limiter which has it's ratio maxed.

Before you use a tool you should learn how to use it.

Attack: defines how fast the compression kicks in.

Ratio: defines how much a signal is attenuated when it hits the threshold. IE.- 4:1 when a signal surpasses the threshold by 1 dB it is attenuated by 4dB.

Threshold: this defines at what amplitude the compressor will begin to attenuate.

Make up gain: this is where you can raise the overall level of the compressed signal.

Compressing and then limiting the stereo bus? The horse is dead. Leave it alone.

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