getting started on mastering

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DJ
Member Since: Feb 09, 2009

hi people..i've been looking around for mastering tips and bumped in ur forum which i find pretty helpful :)
so..i've been working as a dj for a few years and i just started making my own remixes. my first remix was pretty decent assuming that i made it all by myself. i'm now working on my 3d remix but i've noticed that the loops,vocals etc are not bonded together and do not sound really great.

i make the beatloops in fl, limit and compress them there and then in cubase i add the acapella with the beatloops and some synth loops i bought.
the question is what can i do to 'master' my mix so every sound is at the correct level,fix it with the eq and stuff and have a good final mix?

i'm not looking for perfect results since i just begun and i only use my pc but a decent mixdown not to play only in home but clubs too.

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MASSIVE Mastering, LLC
Member
Since: Aug 05, 2008


Feb 09, 2009 11:53 pm

That's still part of mixing. If your sounds aren't fitting together properly, trying to "fix it in mastering" is like trying to fix it in packaging - Fix the mix.

That all said - If the core sounds aren't going to work together (the core is 95% of everything), you can't really even fix it during the mix. You have to go even back even further.

DJ
Member
Since: Feb 09, 2009


Feb 10, 2009 03:26 am

i see but when u find that whats next? i mean take a listen at this. imho the sound with the vocal fits fine to put out a nice mix. my main issue though is how to 'polish' the eq and the sound levels between beatloops, vocal/acapella and the synth so to have a more bonded and solid final. i hope u understand what im talking about.

rapidshare.com/files/196287543/krazy.mp3

ps.even if i get wavelab,harbal or w/e how should i know which frequencies to adjust so that the result is good?

MASSIVE Mastering, LLC
Member
Since: Aug 05, 2008


Feb 10, 2009 09:37 am

I don't mean this to sound - unusual... But there's a reason why it literally makes front page news in the industry rags when a recording doesn't go through the "traditional" mastering process. It's very, very rare that an engineer will master his own mixes. It's almost unheard of for a mastering engineer to master his own mixes (and much of the time, they actually have the chain to do it).

Objectivity is everything.

Back to your situation - I completely understand what you're getting at. But the result isn't going to change. You have the same ears you have when you're mixing. Probably in the same space, likely on the same monitoring chain. Your aural acuity isn't going to change, and you aren't going to suddenly be aware of spectral imbalances you weren't aware of before. If you are, you'd go back and fix it in the mix.

Waiting for the mastering phase to fix balances in the mix is like waiting for a pizza to be delivered before you decide what you want on it.

Knowing the frequencies you need to adjust is just that - Knowing the frequencies you need to adjust. You need to listen to what you have and know what it needs. If you start "guessing" at it, it usually causes more trouble than it's worth. And in any case - Making these adjustments should be done much earlier in the process - generally at the source. That fine balancing is done in the mix.

Mastering is the detailing on a car - Not the car.

DJ
Member
Since: Feb 09, 2009


Feb 10, 2009 03:02 pm

btw thank you for ur time none has been that helpful through the internet. :)

i see and i have to agree with u..i've been working on my mix many hours and definetely another one's ear is needed to listen to it and find out what to adjust. thats why i put up a link to download a part of the file and tell me your opinion.

to be honest i'm not waiting for any mastering process to fix my mix since i've worked on it many times so even without mastering it will sound medium. the point is that i've heard and seen many medium tracks worked on through the process of mastering and became nearly excellent. i'm not looking for something excellent right now since i've just begun. but it seems weird to me how many other colleagues do some 'mastering' themselves and their result is very good.

i learn fast thats for sure (i know me lol) and since i'm going down that road of producing/editing/remixing etc. are there any suggestions or tips i can use so atleast by myself balance the sounds of the mix or compress it and stuff?

ps.i also uploaded a part of my remix in my profile so u can dl it easier and tell me what u think.

DJ
Member
Since: Feb 09, 2009


Feb 13, 2009 05:57 pm

not trying to be mean but since none answered me in 4 days i googled mastering some more and this is an answer i got from another guy..for a general audio mastering i should follow these steps:

1.export audio mixdown
2.normalise to -3db
3.load it in wavelab
4.load EQ,reverb,compressor and limiter plugins in wavelab
5.set compressor settings to:
Threshold : -30db
Ratio : 1:1.5
Attack : 30 ms
Release : 200 ms
6.set limiter settings to:
Threshold : -3db
Attack : 10 ms
Release : 50 ms
Ceiling : -0.1
7.reverb using some kind of ambience preset and modify to 75% dry and 25 %wet

and finally make some changes with the EQ to get the desired result.

so please if these are correct let me know.cheers

MASSIVE Mastering, LLC
Member
Since: Aug 05, 2008


Feb 13, 2009 07:47 pm

HOLY CRAP!!!

"1" (export audio mixdown) is right. The rest is - Well, I wouldn't really want to hear the mix that needs those settings.

The mix tells you the settings. You don't tell the mix the settings. You do what the mix asks you to do.

Normalize...?

Reverb? 25%?!?

*Finally* EQ to get the desired result?!?

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Feb 13, 2009 08:19 pm

I usually believe google is your friend.

Maybe not this time.

djvk, let me ask you a few things.

Can you tell me what instruments you used on the beat in your track?

How many vocalist's were you recording for that piece?

Are you going for an oldschool lo-fi kind of sound with that?

DJ
Member
Since: Feb 09, 2009


Feb 14, 2009 02:00 am

u can listen the mix in my profile, its not really that oldschool..as i wrote above i made my own loops in FL added an oldschool electro loop i bought and the acapella from krazy - pitbull mix'd in cubase and voila.

fyi.i just started toying around with that mix but some ppl liked it so i wanted to finish it and make it fine.

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Feb 14, 2009 07:25 pm

Cool, i was playing it on the streaming player here at HRC and it seemed to have a lot of noise and artifacts. So I down loaded the full on EQ mix and it does not have the artifacts the stream had.

Anyway, I liked the original of this a bit. But this remix has a couple interesting bits in it that make it run a little better and move it away from the dance feel the original has.

Pretty cool now that I can hear it on my player here. I think it turned out sounding really good. I'm not sure what I would change in it if anything. Maybe a just a little more in the bottom end, but then again, that may take away from the rest of the mix.

Either way, I thought it sounded pretty cool myself.

And no, I would not follow the rules that you found on the google search.

You need to use your ears or others ears to get it how you think it should be. Each piece of music will need a slightly different touch of something so there is no given set of presets that will work for everything out there.

DJ
Member
Since: Feb 09, 2009


Feb 14, 2009 09:47 pm

actually i think too that it has a bit noise and it is "crunchy" in the mid frequencies and i'd like to make it smoothier but since i dont know how to do it i'll leave it the way it is.

alright thx for ur comment. it's the 3d remix i made and i guess im going to the right way afterall.

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Feb 14, 2009 10:57 pm

What part exactly do you feel is crunchy or noisy in the mid frequencies? I didn't hear anything really outlandish. Are you thinking vocal track wise or is it in the loops somewhere?

DJ
Member
Since: Feb 09, 2009


Feb 15, 2009 04:07 am

loop wise...maybe i'm wrong but i feel it needs to be smoothier. i also checked the spectrum analyser and between 6000Hz-12000Hz the lines are going crazy. if u have time u can check it too and tell me if that's normal.

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Feb 15, 2009 02:51 pm

I'll try and give it another listen maybe later today or tomorrow. Kinda busy at the moment.

Czar of Turd Polish
Member
Since: Jun 20, 2006


Feb 17, 2009 01:14 pm

Normalize, 25% reverb?

Me, I would never ever normalize. On the reverb, I do use it a tad on the end result, but think I have never went past 7%, why? I don't want to hear the reverb, I just want to notice when it's not there.

I am not a crook's head
Member
Since: Mar 14, 2003


Feb 17, 2009 02:43 pm

And as a general rule, anybody who gives out numbers for effects parameters without even sitting down with the actual project is full of crap. There is NO way to just come up with "one size fits all" parameter settings for things like compressors or limiters. They are very dependant upon each individual mix.


DJ
Member
Since: Feb 09, 2009


Feb 17, 2009 02:55 pm

i agree guys i tried these settings for fun and the mix turned into crap...

but whats wrong with normalize? i used it and the mix came to the right level. i usually normalize to -0.3

I am not a crook's head
Member
Since: Mar 14, 2003


Feb 17, 2009 03:14 pm

Normalizing just takes the highest peak in the waveform and sets it to whatever you want (in this case, -.3). Its no different than adjusting the fader. Its just kind of a superfluous thing to put your mix through. You can get by fine without ever normalizing, or you can normalize everything. It really won't make any positive difference.

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