I'm a noob to all of this producing/mixing/mastering stuff. I really want to start learning about all of this. What exactly is mastering? I've always thought of it as the last process the music goes through to get that "studio" quality sound. What can I use to get that "studio" sound for my guitar on recordings? I'm using one Shure SM57 mic, and Adobe Audition 1.5. My amp is a Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ connected to a Mesa 2x12 Rectifier cabinet. Thanks!
Mastering??
- Thread starter kirkpetrucci
- Start date
kirkpetrucci said:
Mastering is the last step of a production:
After doing the Mixdown of all your tracks(with EQ's, Compressors, Reverb, Delay, etc.) to a stereo track. You take this stereo track and add (insert-) effects like EQ, (multiband-)Compressor and Limiter to it. By doing this, you increase the loudness of a recording and you can "finetune" the sound of your track.
But this alone doesn't make that "studio quality sound". Someone said "You can't polish shit", and I believe he was right! There are many factors that have an influence on this. If the musicians play bad and if they use crappy equipment, you can't expect a good sound. Moreover you need good studio equipment and someone who knows how to use it.
IMO Mastering can make a good thing better, but not add a "studio quality sound" to a bad recording.
If you want to know how to get a good sound, browse this forum and learn!
This topic is too extensively to explain it in a few words...
Sinister Mephisto
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- Sep 20, 2005
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You can polish shit, but then it's just shiny shit.
Anyway, if you're just starting I don't think that mastering is a big deal. Much of the time the point of mastering (other then making your track loud as hell) is to get a fresh perspective on it (have someone else master a track you mixed). At least for newer eingineers. So you probably don't need to worry about it too much.
Anyway, if you're just starting I don't think that mastering is a big deal. Much of the time the point of mastering (other then making your track loud as hell) is to get a fresh perspective on it (have someone else master a track you mixed). At least for newer eingineers. So you probably don't need to worry about it too much.
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