Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2003 9:02 pm
MASTERING PROCEDURES
First listen to your project to see how much needs to be done, taking into consideration your budget. Be happy to attend the session. It's fine for one person to attend the session, or a zillion - it's up to you - but generally the smaller the crowd, the more time-efficient the session will be (just because there's fewer questions and deliberation when there's fewer people in the studio). If several people working on your project have specific concerns, it can be handy to write out a list and have one or two people speak for everyone.
Begin sound enhancement using analog eq, compression, limiting, de-essing, phase correction, width enhancement, multiband compression and level correction. (Level correction is quite powerful. Discuss it.
You'll then load each track into the Sonic Solutions mastering system and mark down all the processing and eq settings in a database that can be quickly recalled.
You can process the songs in any order, but it works well to do it in the order it will end up being on the CD. It's good to know if you've found that there are any particularly good (or any hurting') songs in your project. If you can tell that you'll need to do complicated equalization or editing, you'll load the songs directly into Sonic prior to processing (in that case you'll use both the automated and manual eq).
Now we have a waveform in the Sonic digital editor. The Edit Decision List (EDL) is actually a visual display of your music. As the next few songs get loaded in, you can begin cleaning up the beginnings and endings of the songs at the same time. On the computer screen, you can zoom in and see the very beginning and create a fade-in that's appropriate for the song. We can listen to the song (via playback) while another song is loading in (via record). Get to know if there are any cross- fades you'd like, where you'd like the song ID's, and if you want any hidden tracks.
We never know up front how long equalization and enhancements will take. It depends on how consistent the mixes are, and how many songs. 20 short songs totalling 45 minutes takes longer than 10 songs totalling 45 minutes. As a minimum, you should listen 1-2 times to each song. Sometimes, after processing and loading in the whole album, you'll decide to re-eq one or two songs after getting to know the overall tone of the album. Every project has a life of it's own, and sometimes ONE song can influence the sound of the entire album!
As each songs goes to the Sonic, it makes it easier to check each song for consistency. Sometimes additional refinements aren't needed, but sometimes it's like putting an extra coat of wax on. Everything shines up and falls into place. Each song will now have an influence on the others. you can make everything as consistent as you need it to be, OR leave things unique and different if that's the vibe you're after. Think about these things before you come to mastering.
At this point, more editing and creative work can occur and we'll set the Track ID's (they can go anywhere you like) and handle any last minute creativity.
You'll cut a real-time master CD. It's a full-on master that is ready for you to reference deciding if you want any changes. Listen to the CD on several consumer systems (maybe even on a dj system). DO NOT take it back into the studio right away and see how it sounds there! Your CD have to be designed for the real world! Take it there first! Listen on boom boxes! Listen in the car but not while driving (moving car CD players can scratch the surface, making the master unusable by the pressing plant - make your own copy of the master if you want to drive and listen at the same time). Listen on a couple home systems. Compare it with other commercial cds.
You are now at a new level of objectivity where you will hear things you haven't heard before in your mixes. Put the CD on in the living room and go wash dishes in the kitchen and see how it feels at a distance. Play it at a party, in the garage, play it soft, loud, on your computer (certain PCs can have some weird default playback characteristics) etc. Keep listening to your "competitors" CDs and see if the over-all impression of your product comes across effectively, given the time and budget you had to work with.
Now your mixes have more clarity, consistency, and presence. You may hear subtle things revealed that you forgot about. Due to the big CD volume contest, you may hear less impact on the drums, or the eq may bring UP the impact of the drums. The vocal may be clearer, as well as the hi-hat or guitars, or you may hear more body in the middle instruments. The catch: you may hear distortion that was masked in the track before - mastering tends to reveal everything a little better.
Your cd may be perfect just the way it is. Or you may want some additional creative changes like spacing in between the songs, or a different fade. Be sure your key people listen to the end product, as well as some fresh new ears or other professionals who will listen.
KEY: Keep all the settings for your project in the computer, most changes at this point are EASY and FAST! With a few clicks and turns - voila! But some changes can be more involved.... it's depends on each project and how much detail is appropriate for your.
Whether a second master is made or the first one is perfect, make a backup master of the approved version just in case anything should happen between your hands and the pressing plant. Hey, the Fed Ex airplane could run over it, ya know...
Now you're on your way to having a superb CD that will sound great for a long time - and the ball is in your court to make it a HIT!
First listen to your project to see how much needs to be done, taking into consideration your budget. Be happy to attend the session. It's fine for one person to attend the session, or a zillion - it's up to you - but generally the smaller the crowd, the more time-efficient the session will be (just because there's fewer questions and deliberation when there's fewer people in the studio). If several people working on your project have specific concerns, it can be handy to write out a list and have one or two people speak for everyone.
Begin sound enhancement using analog eq, compression, limiting, de-essing, phase correction, width enhancement, multiband compression and level correction. (Level correction is quite powerful. Discuss it.
You'll then load each track into the Sonic Solutions mastering system and mark down all the processing and eq settings in a database that can be quickly recalled.
You can process the songs in any order, but it works well to do it in the order it will end up being on the CD. It's good to know if you've found that there are any particularly good (or any hurting') songs in your project. If you can tell that you'll need to do complicated equalization or editing, you'll load the songs directly into Sonic prior to processing (in that case you'll use both the automated and manual eq).
Now we have a waveform in the Sonic digital editor. The Edit Decision List (EDL) is actually a visual display of your music. As the next few songs get loaded in, you can begin cleaning up the beginnings and endings of the songs at the same time. On the computer screen, you can zoom in and see the very beginning and create a fade-in that's appropriate for the song. We can listen to the song (via playback) while another song is loading in (via record). Get to know if there are any cross- fades you'd like, where you'd like the song ID's, and if you want any hidden tracks.
We never know up front how long equalization and enhancements will take. It depends on how consistent the mixes are, and how many songs. 20 short songs totalling 45 minutes takes longer than 10 songs totalling 45 minutes. As a minimum, you should listen 1-2 times to each song. Sometimes, after processing and loading in the whole album, you'll decide to re-eq one or two songs after getting to know the overall tone of the album. Every project has a life of it's own, and sometimes ONE song can influence the sound of the entire album!
As each songs goes to the Sonic, it makes it easier to check each song for consistency. Sometimes additional refinements aren't needed, but sometimes it's like putting an extra coat of wax on. Everything shines up and falls into place. Each song will now have an influence on the others. you can make everything as consistent as you need it to be, OR leave things unique and different if that's the vibe you're after. Think about these things before you come to mastering.
At this point, more editing and creative work can occur and we'll set the Track ID's (they can go anywhere you like) and handle any last minute creativity.
You'll cut a real-time master CD. It's a full-on master that is ready for you to reference deciding if you want any changes. Listen to the CD on several consumer systems (maybe even on a dj system). DO NOT take it back into the studio right away and see how it sounds there! Your CD have to be designed for the real world! Take it there first! Listen on boom boxes! Listen in the car but not while driving (moving car CD players can scratch the surface, making the master unusable by the pressing plant - make your own copy of the master if you want to drive and listen at the same time). Listen on a couple home systems. Compare it with other commercial cds.
You are now at a new level of objectivity where you will hear things you haven't heard before in your mixes. Put the CD on in the living room and go wash dishes in the kitchen and see how it feels at a distance. Play it at a party, in the garage, play it soft, loud, on your computer (certain PCs can have some weird default playback characteristics) etc. Keep listening to your "competitors" CDs and see if the over-all impression of your product comes across effectively, given the time and budget you had to work with.
Now your mixes have more clarity, consistency, and presence. You may hear subtle things revealed that you forgot about. Due to the big CD volume contest, you may hear less impact on the drums, or the eq may bring UP the impact of the drums. The vocal may be clearer, as well as the hi-hat or guitars, or you may hear more body in the middle instruments. The catch: you may hear distortion that was masked in the track before - mastering tends to reveal everything a little better.
Your cd may be perfect just the way it is. Or you may want some additional creative changes like spacing in between the songs, or a different fade. Be sure your key people listen to the end product, as well as some fresh new ears or other professionals who will listen.
KEY: Keep all the settings for your project in the computer, most changes at this point are EASY and FAST! With a few clicks and turns - voila! But some changes can be more involved.... it's depends on each project and how much detail is appropriate for your.
Whether a second master is made or the first one is perfect, make a backup master of the approved version just in case anything should happen between your hands and the pressing plant. Hey, the Fed Ex airplane could run over it, ya know...
Now you're on your way to having a superb CD that will sound great for a long time - and the ball is in your court to make it a HIT!