The art of mastering...

[Black neon bob]

Or screwing it up, like i probably do...

But does anyone have anything to say about mastering a song? i mean, what do you guys use, what kind of plugins, hardware? software?

You see.. i am working with BBE sonic maximizer, Waves L2 and C4.. and sometimes a little bit of R-comp to get it to pump a bit more for agression...
Is that a lot of plugins on the master bus?

I mean, when i listen to the song mastered, and then have a listen with all the mastering plugins off.. it's scary what the difference is! the unmastered song sounds very dull and lifeless then... but i am almost certain that this is not a good thing...

I mean, i believe you should start with your basics, get them right and good sounding, then rely on mastering to polish it a bit.. to give it some "shine"... right? well, it seems i am not just giving it a polish and a shine, i looks like i am really upgrading the level of the sound through the master bus and all it's mastering plugins...

Please, let me know what you guys do when mastering and if i am doing the right or wrong thing...

 

[James Murphy]

Or screwing it up, like i probably do...

But does anyone have anything to say about mastering a song? i mean, what do you guys use, what kind of plugins, hardware? software?

You see.. i am working with BBE sonic maximizer, Waves L2 and C4.. and sometimes a little bit of R-comp to get it to pump a bit more for agression...
Is that a lot of plugins on the master bus?

I mean, when i listen to the song mastered, and then have a listen with all the mastering plugins off.. it's scary what the difference is! the unmastered song sounds very dull and lifeless then... but i am almost certain that this is not a good thing...

I mean, i believe you should start with your basics, get them right and good sounding, then rely on mastering to polish it a bit.. to give it some "shine"... right? well, it seems i am not just giving it a polish and a shine, i looks like i am really upgrading the level of the sound through the master bus and all it's mastering plugins...

Please, let me know what you guys do when mastering and if i am doing the right or wrong thing...

here's the best advice you will get this year on this subject: lose the BBE.

 

[Ermz]

Whenever I master here at home, I constantly A/B to similar tracks that have been professionally mastered. I find more often than not that my mix is usually in need of quite a bit of brightening to get it closer to that 'broadcast-quality' level.

My chain is usually just:
-Waves Paragraphic EQ
-Waves C4 Compressor
-Waves L2 or PSP Vintage Warmer

Mastering is still one aspect of course I'd like to better myself in, so I'm not entirely sure how 'correct' that chain is, but it tends to do the job for me. Haven't found myself needing anything more so far.

I still recall when the mix for 'Enemy of God' was leaked and then finally the album came out and we could A/B between the mix and the master. To be quite honest for you, the master did not sound drastically different to the mix at all. More pressed, sure, but Andy did a good enough job on the mix itself, that obviously the mastering engineer didn't have to do too much. I think that's what we want to strive for: to create the best possible mix and leave the mastering stage just to add that extra bit of sparkle.

 

[vile_ator]

My best advise, send it out. Haha. Really this is the best advice. But aside from that. Lose the BBE like James said. Since you are doing the mastering while you are mixing there is no reason to multiband anything. The chain I'd suggest is:

Waves Q6 Eq.
Waves Ren Comp or C1 comp.
Waves L2

Thats about it man. Should be able to get great results with those plugs if you know which way and how much to turn the knobs. If you cant get something to sound the way you need with 1 db or boost or cut on the eq, change your mix. Set the Comp to 2:1 or less ratio. Try to keep the L2 smacking less than 6db.

Colin

 

[dabhoys]

When I'm doing a quick mastering job at home I tend to go for

Waves Linear Phase EQ
Waves C1-Side Chain Compressor
Waves Linear Mutiband 5 band compressor
Waves L2

I am no mastering engineer by any stretch of the imangination. But sometime you just need to get a quick job done.

I love the Linear phase EQ. It uses delay to stop phase distortion when cutting or boosting frequencies. So the EQ is really transperant.

Thats just my 2cents....

 

[Black neon bob]

Thanks for the good advices!!

James and Colin... lose the BBE? is it really that bad then? i mean, it seems to up the dynamics on some instruments like the snare and kick.. but i will take this serious as hell though, you guys both know your stuff and have really great mixes.. so i won't argue or something, but i am curious why the BBE is avoided by you guys... is it a bad plugin?

Thanks again everyone.. interesting to see how others approach this mastering stuff.. i have never used a EQ on the master bus.. do you guys add or cut a lot of frequencies?

Cheers!

 

[Kenny Lee]

Thanks for the good advices!!

James and Colin... lose the BBE? is it really that bad then? i mean, it seems to up the dynamics on some instruments like the snare and kick.. but i will take this serious as hell though, you guys both know your stuff and have really great mixes.. so i won't argue or something, but i am curious why the BBE is avoided by you guys... is it a bad plugin?

Thanks again everyone.. interesting to see how others approach this mastering stuff.. i have never used a EQ on the master bus.. do you guys add or cut a lot of frequencies?

Cheers!

Hmm... I asked a couple (famous) engineers about the B.B.E. and they say. If you want use it on individual tracks /maybe/-sparringly-. But NEVER on your Master buss (((B.B.E.))).
We haven't put any serious FULL tunes out in awhile. But we now use PSP's mix satuator plug-in and iZotope's Ozone 3 on the master. That Mix Satuator brings out the thump and warmth!!! We're getting decent sounding mixes that translate awesome on everything from bad ass home systems to boom boxes. And no, we're not using each feature of the Ozone 3. I also seen elsewhere, can't remember where. But yeah, going into the red on individual tracks is NO BIG DEAL!!!! But going into the red on your master buss is a complete no-no. This is stuff I've been advised of from some pretty known names in the biz! And it works
I've been using a H.P.F. on the master buss at 38hz. And if I may ask..... how many of you all now track at 96k?

I wish I had the $$$$$ to send my mxes out, with nothing on the master buss. Just let the M.E. do his stuff!!!! If my pockets were deep.......I'd send my final mixes to one of two Andys!!! Sneap or Wallace!!!

 

[guitarguru777]

Actually i been using Ozone 3 recently I quite enjoy it but the presets suck.

 

[James Murphy]

Thanks for the good advices!!

James and Colin... lose the BBE? is it really that bad then? i mean, it seems to up the dynamics on some instruments like the snare and kick.. but i will take this serious as hell though, you guys both know your stuff and have really great mixes.. so i won't argue or something, but i am curious why the BBE is avoided by you guys... is it a bad plugin?

that thing basically splits the spectrum in two and, in addition to the dubious psychoacoustic processes it applies to each band, introduces a delay between them.

 

[Kazrog]

that thing basically spits the spectrum in two and, in addition to the dubious psychoacoustic processes it applies to each band, introduces a delay between them.

I never thought of using the BBE for mastering (seems a bit extreme), but for years I used it with my old amp (Line 6 Flextone II) before I finally realized that it was sucking my tone and doing weird things to it. Mustaine used to have one in his rig but I don't think he does anymore.

Anyone using BBE's for anything that sounds good? LOL

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

If my pockets were deep.......I'd send my final mixes to one of two Andys!!! Sneap or Wallace!!!

Andy Sneap doesn't master other people's mixes, so that would be useless

Anyone using BBE's for anything that sounds good? LOL

I used to use it (very sparingly) on guitars, bass, overheads, keyboards and sometimes on vocals and I loved it really...

 

[Exocaster]

Anyone using BBE's for anything that sounds good? LOL

My old bass player had one in his rig- he used it as an additional EQ, basically- and his tone ruled. Of course, given his rig- Conklin 5 string bass with Bartolinis, Ampeg SVT-3 head and Ampeg Classic 4x10 or 8x10 cab- his tone would have ruled anyway.

 

[James Murphy]

those things irritate me... especially when i play with someone who uses one on their guitars... they keep turning up the hi process, and then their ear fatigues on it and they turn it up more... just silly sounding and it destroys your mids. not to mention that people who use them invariably crank up the Lo Contour control until it's a mudfest. uke:

 

[vile_ator]

Yeah most of the time people put in in their rigs and think "Wow, its got that crunch now". But its really just sucking mids, mids that you need for note value. The only place I have heard it be acceptable is in a live bass rig.

Colin