Jump to content

Final Mastering Tips Of A Fully Completed Mix


rchecka

Recommended Posts

Let's say you just finished a mix, now you want to share it with everyone but you want it to sound very professional and nice and loud (but not too loud)...

 

Let's also say that you were on point with the recording and there really aren't any overly loud parts to the mix, it's relatively well balanced as far as volumes go. (Frankly you gotta be really good to have that kind of luck, there always seems to be one or 2 tracks that are too loud compared to the rest of the mix that you don't even notice until you hear the recording.)

 

Last thing... You were smart and you didn't clip any songs they all live happily below zero DB.

 

What do you do next??

 

Here's the problem I run into. Sometimes, with certain genres, (like a rock mix for example) you want to have quieter parts for the natural crescendo effect. With those kind of mixes I am careful to not compress the whole mix. Other times, (like with a heavy Techno mix for example) you want all the songs pretty darn loud and fairly close in volume. Those are the times I use my Wave Hammer plug-in to drop all volumes to -6 db and then it maximizes the entire mixes volume. IMO, this can cause listener fatigue, sometimes people want highs and lows, not all one conformed volume throughout.

 

Do you normalize?

 

Do you normalize first, or second after adding compression, or does it matter which order you do it in?

 

After you master the wav file, do you again remaster it differently for the mp3 file that online listeners will hear? It seems to me that I have to tweak the mix slightly after changing the file to mp3, I usually ad just a touch more bass before uploading it to the world.

 

 

What are some of your tips? How do you do a loud but not overly loud mix? Do you maximize it all or do you leave the wav files in their natural state without any compression?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

By the way, after mastering all my mixes for years, I know how much of an artform it is and how hard it is to get it to sound just right. Now I know why music mastering engineers get paid so much, it is really a specialized skill. But, we can't all afford a professional engineer, so that's why I asked.

 

Good p0ast! This is often discussed on here but might be nice to get some answers from the OGs.

 

cool. Link me to any other relevant posts, I couldn't find any.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The less you do, the better IMO. I don't think there's any need to fuck with the sound in any way as long as you've got the levels/EQing right as you were recording. If people want it loud, they can turn their stereo up. :d

 

I only do some tweaking if I think it's necessary when I listen back through the whole mix, but if I have to do that I consider it a result of me having made a mistake earlier on. You mentioned studio engineers getting paid a lot to master tracks with skill, and I always think "why should an amateur like me fuck up their hard work"? lol.

 

BTW, that 79 mix I made sounded like crap in places because of the source files - one or two tracks were even ripped from YouTube because I couldn't find them anywhere - so please don't listen to that and think "Steve can talk! His mixes sound like shit". :d

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some relevant posts from a guy on here that gave me advice back when I posted my first multitracked mix (as I fucked up the sound quality by over-compressing it): -

 

seen, if you compress something thats already mastered you use such a small amount of compression (or none at all!) otherwise you give yourself problems - on cuts and juggles you can use a little more, other than that its not worth compressing a mix - the tracks have been mastered by someone with far better ears, in a far better room with way better speakers (and anyone who argues that is a dick LOL), i only compress drumming usually...

 

mastering's a bitch! you need years of work to get good at it, also a decent space and a hella mount of cash (i spent over 3 grand on a manley outboard tube eq thats used in mastering, but works amazing in the chain), put into that the speakers, compressors and you wont get an average mastering suite for much under a hundred grand,

 

still you should never attempt at mastering your own music...always use someone elses ears...

 

i would recommend using just a little compression on cuts and things because the levels are always changed on them and they will sit in the mix a lot better after, real low ratio tho - depends what compressor you use? i use digidesign in the box and out of the box i have a universal audio 1176 compressor - my baby, used by frank sinatra and nat king cole, having said that i dont use any of the outboard gear on multi-trck work - its not worth it, only production

 

He doesn't post here any more and hasn't in a looooong time, but he knew his shit when it came to mastering and all that stuff so he basically convinced me that most of this stuff is worse than a waste of time as it can be detrimental to the sound overall.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

seen, if you compress something thats already mastered you use such a small amount of compression (or none at all!) otherwise you give yourself problems - on cuts and juggles you can use a little more, other than that its not worth compressing a mix - the tracks have been mastered by someone with far better ears, in a far better room with way better speakers (and anyone who argues that is a dick LOL), i only compress drumming usually...

 

I agree that it has already been mastered, and that standing alone each song can't hardly ever be improved on. But when you are recording a live mix (or a non-live mix for that matter) the DJ changes all that. Think about how many variables we are talking about with mixing records only for example. So many different pressings, the equipment it's mixed on, the weight on the tone arms, etc. The DJ is going to either consciously or unconsciously crank the volume on his or her favorite tracks. Blending 2 songs takes EQing to keep the blend more balanced. Not to mention, you would be going from analog to digital, that changes everything. All of these variables and a lot more take the original masterer's work and basically tosses it out the window IMO. And each song is more then likely mastered by someone else so some tracks will sound hotter bassier, whatever. You can't just not touch it at all and burn it to CD or turn it into an mp3 if you want it to sound professional (Good enough to sell) That's just talking about mixing with strictly records too, imagine throwing mp3s and CDs into that same mix, talk about a lot of variables. I got some old ass (from 1980s) CDs that sound so much worse then their record counterpart because when CDs came out engineers didn't even know how to master on them properly. So, I agree, the original mastering engineer can't be beat unless a DJ enters the picture, then you gotta compensate for the DJ by remastering the mix. If I could afford to, I'd hire someone else to do it, but this is a DIY thread for broke asses like me LOL.

 

I also agree that if you are going to compress the mix, you gotta be subtle with the effect. But if you record it at a lower volume it can do magic for the mix.

 

I guess I should clarify one thing, what I mean by "Professional Sounding". I don't know how many of you guys have heard any "Global Underground" but I would use their mastering techniques as the gold standard. I got a lot of those mixes and there is no way in HELL the DJ mixed any of those without someone getting behind the boards after the effect and making each song blend perfectly all at the right volume with the perfect amount of bass despite all the numerous crazy underground record labels used in the mix. I got a lot of respect for those jet-set DJs and their ability to mix live, but those mixes got lovingly tweaked by some highly paid sound geniuses. I must have hundreds of paid for CD mixes that don't even come close to the sound quality Global Underground mixes have. That being said, I'll never have their music degrees, experience in mastering, nor their budget for studio gear. So what's the best way to get as close as you can get to that caliber using basic professional software tricks and techniques?

 

Back to normalizing, do you guys use it? I don't, I find that it kills the crescendos completely, makes it all sound too unchanging. Seems like there is TONS of mixes out there that I have heard that are as loud as they can possibly be, either over compressed or over normalized. (Especially for Hip Hop) It doesn't have to be that loud all the way through, I can't bear those mixes for more then a few minutes. You can play some pretty cool tricks on the listener by starting your mix out quietly so they have to turn it loud right away, then just gradually build the volume as the songs get better and or faster. Then when shit gets mellow you can let it back down a hair and then bring em back up again. These tricks work when done subtly and not drastically, but it ultimately sounds more "human" in the end.

 

 

I usually use the these plug-ins accordingly in this order

 

1. I clean any overwhelming hiss or clicks or pops in the individual tracks. Only if it's very obvious, I kind of like that if it's not overly loud. Plus I like how It reminds the listener I'm mixing with records and an occasional click or slight pop is kind of romantic IMO.

2. If I normalize at all I do that next but on a very conservative setting.

3. Then I use the "volume" plug in to get the mix highs and lows somewhere between -1db and -4db if possible.

4. Then I check for clips that occurred after those 2 plug ins were run and correct if necessary using less of a volume boost or the "clip and peak repair" plug in if I must.

5. Then if it still sounds a little too quiet I use very conservative compression OR the Wave Hammer Plug in (which limits to -6 db, then maximizes the volume) This step can DEFINITELY kill the crescendos if the DJ didn't purposefully make some tracks louder then others, so again I do this only if absolutely necessary. Usually it is necessary for my Hip Hop mixes since I like the boom bap and if done subtle like then it still sounds dynamic.

 

After all that, I listen to my mix again, and even if I am happy with the mix, it NEVER EVER sounds as good my gold standard Global Underground mixes. :(

 

Even if I love the final mastering results of the wav file that I then burn to CD, if I take that same wav file and convert it to mp3, using a reasonable bitrate, I feel like it changed it again, and I have to add a touch more bass using an EQ plugin to the whole mix.

 

I think people that professionally master mp3s have a different technique for mp3 mastering then they do for mastering for CD or for vinyl, they all must be mastered differently if they are each going to sound professional.

 

So, this is why I asked incidentally, what do you guys do before you drop a mix on people?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So you normalize last, huh. I wonder if it even makes a difference in which order you do those things, I suppose it does.

 

I'm gonna throw one more worm into the can... Regarding the loss of "warmth" going from vinyl to digital, I've seen some newer tube compressors with pre amps out there, seems like they are pretty reasonably priced compared to what they used to be. Does anyone ever mess around with that kind of thing that can comment?

 

 

Like this.

 

Would putting that in the chain before burning bring back enough of the warmth to make a difference? Making digital sound "warm" is perdnt ner impossible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can't comment on the warmth thing, i'm not that precious about my mixes to go to that length.

 

Normalising at the end is probably because I'm not over careful with the compression, i just at a little, I don't try and squeeze it right up to 0db, so its just the final measure to make sure whatever I've done peaks at 0db. Like I say, I'm pretty careless with these things. The more mixes I started to do, the more selection took over from everything else. I really feel I need to do an interesting multigenre mix soon though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...