Need some advice on mastering :o)

[Guest psychonX]

Hi @all,

I have no clue how to "master" a song.

My songs are a little bit to flat, do not have enough loudness and sound a bit flat...

 

If you are interested you can listen to them here:

psychonX - Timothys Testament

(http://www2.mp3.de/musik/hqpreview.html?param=161213|140768|de|1|52|14)

psychonX - Trip to Putlitz

(http://www2.mp3.de/musik/hqpreview.html?param=161213|112521|de|1|52|14)

 

(artist page->http://www2.mp3.de/musik/bands/de/2/161213?param=52|14)

 

I JUST need advice on mastering and not how to build GoaTrance in the right way. I am new in music making so there would be to much advices for how to make things better... ;o)

 

If you are interested in Timothys Testament then there are good remixes from other artists on buzz-music (http://buzzmusic.wipe-records.org/):

For example:

psychonX - Timothys Testament - Shellyb's Wired Remix (http://buzzmusic.wipe-records.org/index.php?id=5&action=download&songid=217)

 

The source code for psychonX - Timothys Testament is here:

http://buzzmusic.wipe-records.org/index.ph...load&songid=119

 

All tracks are open source AND licensed under the creative commons commons deed licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/).

This means you are free to do anything with it as long as you don't try to make money with it ;o)

 

Hoping for advices

psychonX

[Guest Kenton Leeds]

Hmmmm... Well I would consider myself a novice as well and this might not help BUT I would try experimenting with your EQing for starters. Your asking a pretty broad question with, "tell me how to master". The best advice for a question like that is as stated before simply to experiment with your EQ's till it sounds the way you want it to. I use Logic Pro 6.4, with a korg triton 61 note workstation, SidStation. To get my sound right I apply a couple techniques. I usually EQ All tracks independently and then group similar instruments together by outputting say my leads to a single bus and then doing a general EQ on the bus and a final EQing on the master out. Because I personally arrange almost all my tracks using virtual instruments controlled Via MIDI by my triton once the sound is arranged and EQ'ed I bounce all the tracks out whole and independently then open all the audio in my audio lab LSO i set up in logic. Now I Give everything another go around on the EQs and Effects with full force proc power. Thats about the best advice I can give for that question I might be able help more if your more specific about what exactly your EQing.

namaste,

kenton

[Guest responsius]

The best way to master is to take your mix to a mastering studio, working with good technicians and high quality hardware equipement. But who can afford this? I suppose you want to do this task at home, and so do I!

I use to master using the following plug-ins: parametric eq (6 up to 10 bands), multiband compressor, limiter, harmonics exciter, maximizer, stereo imager, scope and sometimes de-esser. It doesn´ t mean that you have to use all of them and there´s not an appropiate order for these effects. I change it often. In the beginning, I was not able to improve my mixes, but it´s all a matter of practice (that can take a looooong time...). Having good monitors well adjusted is basic.

If your songs sound too flat, I don´t think you´re going to solve it while mastering, the problem could be in the mix. Check the chosen sounds (ex: the bass fits with the kick? Are they punchy enought? If not, try another sound, insert a compressor in these tracks before reverb etc), check the eq and effects on single tracks, the stereo image of each sound in the whole mix, try to reduce the shared frecuencies of the sounds to make it cleaner etc... It has to be as good as possible before mastering. If not, go back and restart everything that you don´ t like.

There are lots of mastering plug-ins, my favourites are Waves and Sonitus.

Visit the Izotope web, there´ s a guide for their mastering system that could be very helpful for theory. Good luck and patience!

[Guest IneAx]

Its really best to have some1 elese master your mixes.... I find that when i produce something new I know it too intimatly to master it.

[Guest Psysector]

Well first you should look for ps vintage warmer izotope ozone and waves ultramaximizer they are a must for home recording

 

 

www.psytrance.hostcubix.com

[Guest ASE]

1. YOU SHOULDENT MASTER YOUR OWN MATERIAL.

2.MASTERING IS ONLY A POLISHING TOUCH TWARDS ACHIEVING AN EVEN TEMPUTURE ON YOUR OVER ALL COMPILATION'S THAT ARE GOING TO BE ON THE SAME CD.

[Guest ASE]

MAIN RULE, IF YOU WRITE YOUR OWN SONGS AND MIX THEM AS WELL, YOU SHOULD HAVE SOMEONE ELSE MASTER YOUR STUFF.

[Guest djnemo]

1. YOU SHOULDENT MASTER YOUR OWN MATERIAL.

2.MASTERING IS ONLY A POLISHING TOUCH TWARDS ACHIEVING AN EVEN TEMPUTURE ON YOUR OVER ALL COMPILATION'S THAT ARE GOING TO BE ON THE SAME CD.

76671[/snapback]

What a load of bollox (sorry for my language).

 

1. You should always try to master your own material. If you cant, then let someone else do it. It is always better to use someone else to listen to your master, but at the end of the day, it is YOU that has to be happy with the output of your track, and not if someone else says to you that it sounds shit or not. Of course, it takes a lot of training to make a good master of your tracks, because you need to know a little bit about sound frequenzies and so on, but a good pair of Monitors will help you to start with.

 

T-Racks I have found to be a very handy tool during the years that I have been producing music.

 

2. Only a polishing TOUCH!? Mate, you make me angry with ignorant remarks like that. It takes a lot of work to master a track, a lot of fiddling about with the EQ and so on... Its not only for the CD, but also if you want to go live with your music, You dont want to blow the system of the party because you used too much low frequencies and so on....

 

My opinion, ALWAYS master your own stuff. Try it on diffrent speaker sets... What I do is that I master it on my Genelec 1029a's and then I put it on CD and then listen to it on my home stereo (That way I will hear what people at home will hear).

 

Well, just my opinion.....