Anyone up for mastering a track?

hey Splatt, how did you get those vox fx at 1:11? sounds like a reverse and some delay, but i'm sure its more than that. either way, kick ass!
 
jrt12 said:
first of all, great track! i really dig this song and thought your original mix and master was top notch. but this is incredibly informative for me, getting the chance to see how mastering can vary the end result of the track. its really eye opening, so thanks to all of you who are tackling this! :kickass:
Click to expand...

Cool! I'm glad you're getting something out of this.
 
jrt12 said:
hey Splatt, how did you get those vox fx at 1:11? sounds like a reverse and some delay, but i'm sure its more than that. either way, kick ass!
Click to expand...

Its just a reverse reverb. I reversed the file, added some verb, reversed it back again and viola!
 
thanks for sharing, i'm really digging your stuff on soundclick... cant wait to you guys get it available for distribution. i'm def picking it up!
 
I don't have a master to offer....I just wanted to say that this song kick ass.
Also, I'm really glad you decided to go with the rockmaster.
I'm definitely buying your album.
 
hey matt!

i will give this a shot tomorrow after tracking vocals for a band,
but one thing i would like to know :

do you have any special band/song in mind as a reference for the final master?
 
dcb said:
hey matt!

i will give this a shot tomorrow after tracking vocals for a band,
but one thing i would like to know :

do you have any special band/song in mind as a reference for the final master?
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That would be awesome, Danny!

I don't really have a song in mind for a reference, but one album that I absolutely love the sound on is Around the Fur by the Deftones. That album still has my favorite guitar sound on it. The volume of that album is just perfect to my ears and it lets the drums punch through while everything else stays crystal clear. Every time I've analyzed that album, it looks like the hot parts are right around -10.5dbs RMS.

Katatonia's TGCD and Opeth's last album also seem perfectly mastered. It doesn't seem that compressed to me and it sounds very natural. Of course those albums sound a lot more organic than my mix here, but hey, I do with what I've got!
 
Splat88 said:
Katatonia's TGCD and Opeth's last album also seem perfectly mastered. It doesn't seem that compressed to me and it sounds very natural. Of course those albums sound a lot more organic than my mix here, but hey, I do with what I've got!
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That takes me by surprise man! If anything your productions have always sounded in an opposite direction to me. Very clear, cut, refined, hi-fi, bright, a little brittle if anything.

Jens' stuff is commonly rather muddy, full, warm etc. sounding.

You could probably alter your mixing approach a little bit and try to emulate those qualities. Unfortunately there's only so much that can be done in a master. I tried to warm things up a bit, but I think what you might consider is bringing the bass guitar up a touch and letting it fill out the midbass frequencies more naturally. Also dial your rhythm guitars with more chunky mids on the amp and record them that way, and try not to overprocess! Main vocals felt a little bit too loud as well. All these things I believe might get you closer to where you want to be!

Otherwise man, after you're done with your next mix, just stem it down and send it over and I'll be happy to have a play around with the Opals, and you can take it or leave it after.
 
Yeah Ermz, I agree with you 100% on my mixes sounding very opposite to the type of mix on Katatonia's TGCD and Watershed. I just meant that I like the perceived conservative way they are mastered. They are not hot compared to other professional releases, and they have a very organic quality. My stuff on the other hand does not sound organic at all, and I'm not sure such a warm sounding mix would work well with this type of material. As a reference for my mix, Around the Fur would be much more appropriate. That album does not sound very organic to me at all, but I absolutely love it. I love the way the drums poke out and as I stated earlier, those bright, cutting guitars are my absolute favorite. If I had the opportunity to go back in time and sit in on a recording session, this would be the one I would choose. On a side note, The Deftones' Saturday Night Wrist does sound very organic, especially since the way the drums were mixed, but I do not think it sounds very good at all for them. Perhaps that's just because Terry Date was not at the wheel. Plus, its mastered WAY too hot. I can hardly stand to listen to that album.
 
Ever hear Bloodbath's "The Fathomless Mastery" Matt? Softest metal master I've heard on any album released in years!
 
Ermz said:
I tried to warm things up a bit, but I think what you might consider is bringing the bass guitar up a touch and letting it fill out the midbass frequencies more naturally. Also dial your rhythm guitars with more chunky mids on the amp and record them that way, and try not to overprocess! Main vocals felt a little bit too loud as well. All these things I believe might get you closer to where you want to be!

Otherwise man, after you're done with your next mix, just stem it down and send it over and I'll be happy to have a play around with the Opals, and you can take it or leave it after.
Click to expand...

I think I may try those tips you pointed out. Actually today I reamped the guitars with a tubescreamer to try and thin the guitars out a bit. They were super heavy in the low end w/o the TS9 and I had to cut 3dbs of low shelf at 300hz. Other than that, then only other EQ I used was the standard HP LP at 60Hz and 12k. The new guitars with the TS9 don't seem to need a low shelf, so that's good.

As far as the vox volume is concerned, I really tried to get that right by A/Bing with a lot of stuff, but perhaps its a touch too loud. I start with a 1db drop.

For the chunk mids on the guitar amp, I'm not sure that the Rockmaster's EQ will help me much there. I have the mids scooped out a bit and the mid shift button pushed in. Its kind of a cold sound with the knob pressed in and raising the mids does not sound good. What frequency do you think the guitars could benefit from in the post EQ?
 
Splat88 said:
I think I may try those tips you pointed out. Actually today I reamped the guitars with a tubescreamer to try and thin the guitars out a bit. They were super heavy in the low end w/o the TS9 and I had to cut 3dbs of low shelf at 300hz. Other than that, then only other EQ I used was the standard HP LP at 60Hz and 12k. The new guitars with the TS9 don't seem to need a low shelf, so that's good.

As far as the vox volume is concerned, I really tried to get that right by A/Bing with a lot of stuff, but perhaps its a touch too loud. I start with a 1db drop.

For the chunk mids on the guitar amp, I'm not sure that the Rockmaster's EQ will help me much there. I have the mids scooped out a bit and the mid shift button pushed in. Its kind of a cold sound with the knob pressed in and raising the mids does not sound good. What frequency do you think the guitars could benefit from in the post EQ?
Click to expand...

In mastering I was teetering towards 500 to 1k, but settled on 5/600hz probably being the core area where you need a bit more meat in the guitars.

I also boosted around 180hz on the V-series, of all places to get some more midbass going, but had to compensate by cutting 250hz after to avoid too much muddying.

@Bernhard: When you get me to do something for free, I do it my way. HULKSMAAAASHHH master. :)
 
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