Oct 11, 2005 10:26 pm both I think... When I mix, i usually go by feel, and I don't usually listen to a reference until near the end when I'm making final adjustments on where things are sitting in the mix, and mastering.
Listening to References
Posted on Oct 11, 2005 09:21 pm
peterparker
The Beat Keeper
Member Since: Dec 16, 2004
Alright.... Basically when listening to a reference mix on monitor speakers is one just trying to get an idea of the mix. As in where the drums sit in with the bass. Or try to match that sound over all?
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Oct 11, 2005 10:26 pm both I think... When I mix, i usually go by feel, and I don't usually listen to a reference until near the end when I'm making final adjustments on where things are sitting in the mix, and mastering.
Oct 11, 2005 10:55 pm And with mastering the track that just makes the mix one cohesive piece where things are nice and tidy correct?
Oct 13, 2005 06:47 pm there's several things that get addressed when mastering....think of the mix as a bunch of tracks mixed down to two channels (left and right).....when mastering, you don't mess with all the individual tracks, you polish the stereo mix. this could involve eqing the whole mix so that it sounds good on many different stereos, also the overall volume of the track is addressed, to get it hot AND so all the songs on the album are the same percieved volume...that way you don't rush for the volume knob for 'that loud song'......also mastering involves putting together (authoring) the final cd....two second gaps inbetween songs, fade ins and outs, and song order are taken care of here too....
i just got into the world of mastering a few months ago, and it's ALOT more involved that i thought.
cheers
Oct 14, 2005 04:27 pm Mixing and mastering are two entirely different animals, as WYD mentions.
I've just got through mastering a friend's CD, and while it was good fun, and a cool experience, I missed having the flexibility of the pre-mastering/mixing phase. With my friend's music, it had already been mixed, so I had no control over the placement of sounds in the mix. I found this really frustrating at times. However, the "polishing" part was great fun. The CD they gave me was made in a hurry, and I couldn't believe it was recorded on a PC. Sounded like an 8-track tape. They'd got gigs with it, including a TV soundtrack. They're now using my master, and are very happy with it. Very cool. They're going to send me the individual *.wav files next time, so I can mix too. Fun, fun, fun.
On the whole, I think I prefer the mixing, pre-mastering phase. Getting everything nice and tidy. More fun, and flexibility. Of course, when I get HarBal(2), I may change my tune.... (Did anyone notice dB-wan's ears prick up there when I mentioned HarBal? He's a maniac for it...).
Actually, dB-wan once gave a wonderful piece of advice ; listen to your mix in mono. It does make a huge difference. You can hear where everything sits in the mix.
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