Oct 18, 2005 01:42 pm Waves L1 Ultramaximizer and HarBal
Welcome to the wonderful world of mastering, don't do it in Cubase, get a mastering app like WaveLab, Sound Forge or something...
Mastering Volumes
Posted on Oct 18, 2005 01:39 pm
Snake_Bite
Wannabe Producer/Tech Student
Member Since: Aug 11, 2005
im sure this topic has been on here before but i cant find it so im gonna ask it agian:
Problem:
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When i master on cubase i put the master volume up as much as i can without it peaking, then i export to audio file, but the volume is alot lower than commercial releases. i think ppl menionted some programmes or techniques tht alow u to boost the volumes without peaking but like i said i couldnt find the old post so could some very nice ppl repeat themselves and let me know. thanks alot
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Oct 18, 2005 01:42 pm Waves L1 Ultramaximizer and HarBal
Welcome to the wonderful world of mastering, don't do it in Cubase, get a mastering app like WaveLab, Sound Forge or something...
Oct 19, 2005 02:06 am What difference does it make if he masters in Cubase or Wavelab?
I'm a Vegas guy and I also have Soundforge. In the end, what matters is how you set your plugin chain. It's not like Wavelab will sound any better than Cubase.
I abandon mastering in Soundforge a long time ago.
I recommend that you rip some pro cds and look at their waveforms compared to yours. You'll quickly understand what the pro guys are doing wrong.
Brandon
Oct 19, 2005 02:08 am Oh yeah, I recommend using a compressor before your limiter. You'll want to use the L1 maximizer as little as you can. I'm always more happy with using about 3dB of gain reduction on my compressor than I am using 3dB of reduction/maximizing on the limiter.
Just a thought.
Brandon
Oct 19, 2005 02:29 am I'm not sure if it makes any difference to the sound but doesn't wavelab run all audio files at 32 bit uncompressed PCM or something?
Also, mastering isn't just about levels. Its about the flow from song to song as well as many other things that I don't know anything about. Thats where wavelab excels compared to cubase IMO. But that said, level wise, as stated above theres no reason not to do it in cubase.... wavelab just makes it easier with more functions etc.
Take a look at www.kvraudio.com for 'mastering', 'exciter' and 'dynamics' plug ins to put over your mix.
I would start with some light compresion from VST dynamics. Set the ratio to about 1:3, the attack to 10 ms and the release on auto, then adjust the threshold so your getting 3-4 dB of gain reduction over the loudest parts of your song. Then you could try experimenting with EQ's, reverbs, exciters etc. over your whole mix. Finish it off with a limiter (theres one in VST dynamics, but there are better ones on www.kvraudio.com) with the output set at about -0.2 dB. Adjust the threshold on your limiter (or make up gain on your first compressor) till you see a little bit of limiting going on. Too much will sound unnatural, like breathing and pumping.
Oct 19, 2005 06:33 am T-racks and Harbal... thanks db for telling about that! :-)
Oct 19, 2005 06:57 am If you are happy mastering in your tracking app that's fine, it's not the way I like to do things, so I recommend use a mastering app...mastering, as CS said, isn't just levels, it's stereo imaging, it's fadeins and fadeouts, it's time between songs, it's harmonic balancing, it sometimes is manually redrawing wave forms...things such as these are FAR easier to do in a dedicated wave editor than in a multitracking app...
And I rarely touch a compressor in mastering, even less so a limiter and almost always use the L1 and a saturator.
Oct 19, 2005 11:34 am percieved volume is all about RMS levels...you need to get meters that show RMS. then grab all the dynamics processors you can and see which ones help the most....this dosn't mean "louder is better" you have to pay attention to how and when the sound breaks up...the goal is to not be able to hear the compression/limiting that is gooin' on.....pay attention to the drums to hear it the most.
Oct 20, 2005 08:59 pm And heres my 2 cents worth as well.
[begin rant]
I strongly recomend against comparing your finished work to most of todays CD's. Yes they are loud as hell. And the life has all but been crushed out of them to get them that way. They are maximized far past anything I would ever let leave this place. And I am not the only one who feels this way. Listen to something by Mathew Sweet or other artists of that nature. There is plenty of head room for the heavy parts, but there is still life in the recording, its gets softer and louder as it should. Even bands like Slipknot have gotten away from having their CD's blasted in that fashion. Yes it is heavy music, and yes it is being played loud by lots of kids. But it still has volume that rises and falls with the music , not just one big loud blast to the sides of your head.
[/end rant]
Anyway, as dB said using a dedicated wave editer (even a freeware one) will get you much better results and make it much easier to get the job done with the tools they provide.
Oct 23, 2005 01:22 am my two cents would be that "loud isn't always better, most of the time it's just loud" It's all in how it's EQ'd so that everything has it's place in the mix. Then if you have more than one song for the project, work to normalize them. I hate cd's when I'm constantly reaching for a volume knob between songs.
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