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Building A Mastering Suite - What Would You Suggest?
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Alex Roudos
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
33
Posts :
411
Posted : Nov 2, 2004 23:27
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Hello everyone.
I'm planning to set up my own record label in the near future and for that i want also to upgrade my existing studio equipment in terms of mastering equipment, in order to be able to have the best possible sounding result.
I already have some gear in my mind but i'd like to know what do you think is best or what would you buy if you were in a position like that.
To be more specific, what i need is a digital mixer, compressor, eq and limiter.
Regarding the last three they must be analog and nothing else. And let's say that there's no price limit.
What would you finally suggest?
Looking forward to your replies.
Thank you in advance for your time. |
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ii_Roman
Started Topics :
3
Posts :
17
Posted : Nov 3, 2004 03:37
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To my mind the best mixer will be Yamaha 02R96
it's an excellent console
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Colin OOOD
Moderator
Started Topics :
95
Posts :
5380
Posted : Nov 3, 2004 04:08
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UnderTow
Started Topics :
9
Posts :
1448
Posted : Nov 3, 2004 05:17
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Quote:
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On 2004-11-02 23:27, Alex Roudos wrote:
Hello everyone.
I'm planning to set up my own record label in the near future and for that i want also to upgrade my existing studio equipment in terms of mastering equipment, in order to be able to have the best possible sounding result.
I already have some gear in my mind but i'd like to know what do you think is best or what would you buy if you were in a position like that.
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I don't want to be rude or anything but if you have to ask the question, you probably shouldn't be doing the mastering.
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To be more specific, what i need is a digital mixer, compressor, eq and limiter.
Regarding the last three they must be analog and nothing else. And let's say that there's no price limit.
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First, why does the mixer HAVE to be digital and the rest HAVE to be analogue? At the very high end it doesn't make that much difference in quality. It is more a question of colour and taste.
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What would you finally suggest?
Looking forward to your replies.
Thank you in advance for your time.
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Well if the sky is the limit this is always a fun exercise so I'll join in. 
First you want a digital mixer, you could go "budget" *cough* with a Yamaha DM2000 or Sony DMX-100 or you could go high-end. Maybe a Sony "Oxford" OXF-R3 (Be prepared to spend the better part of a million dollars for a fully fledged system), AMEK 9098i, AMS Neve Aquarius/Libra/Capricorn, Soundtracs, etc etc or you could look at some of the nice digital mixers for live stuff: Midas Heritage 4000, InnovaSON SY80, Digico D5 ...The list goes on ...
You could also completely forgo the mixer part and get an audio router to access your outboard instead. Afterall, you don't need a mixer when mastering. Just a DAW and a routing system for your outboards and monitors.
For analogue dynamics, EQ and limiting, look at stuff like Manley, Cranesong, Prism Sound, Tube Tech, Pultec, Weiss, Chandler, Langevin, Toft Audio, Avalon, Thermionic Culture, Z-Systems, UA, Drawmer, AMS Neve, TL Audio, Focusrite red series, DBX ... And the list goes on ...
Then you have the monitoring system. Maybe a B&W Nautilus set? (Or the 801 set). Vince Christian, TAD, K&H ... actually one could fill a few pages with high-end speakers and amp brands ... I'd probably go with the B&W 801s for precision and a set of Alcon's Audio speakers for volume.
Spend a million on the room and it's accoustics, add cables, meters, converters etc and you should have a pretty nice setup for slightly less than 2 million US. A bargain!
Now, if you give us a budget we might be able to make some sensible recomendations.
UnderTow |
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Alex Roudos
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
33
Posts :
411
Posted : Nov 3, 2004 11:12
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UnderTow, yes i'm going to do the mastering.
Asking is about getting aware of other hardware that i maybe don't know and is good or for hardware i know and i want to know how good they are from people who already use them.
The mixer i need it cause i have a few things to connect on it. And i want it digital for all the relative advantages. Afterall having analog mastering processing the signal will get the warmth needed.
About the price limit i thought at the first place that it wasn't necessary to set a price tag because i never mentioned that i want a super high end mixer with infinite channels or anything else. I'm just like you guys, only planning to make a serious investement in the limits of possible.
If i was a millionaire, i really wouldn't ask in this or any other forum a question like this. I'd just hire a super pro guy to set and build my "super high end state of the art" personal studio from zero. That's why i didn't set a price tag.
But if it helps you to make some sensible recommendations then lets's say again that the budget is $100.000 only for the hardware. |
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Boobytrip
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
39
Posts :
988
Posted : Nov 3, 2004 11:19
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Undertow, C'mon ! of course there's mastering and MASTERING. It's nice if psytrance is mastered at a multi-million dollar mastering studio, by an engineer who specializes in audiophile jazz and classical recordings, but most psytrance is weird underground music, and imho an experienced engineer who's familiar with dance music in a reasonable mastering studio can do a pretty good mastering job.
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psypox
Psypox / Bufo
Started Topics :
53
Posts :
768
Posted : Nov 3, 2004 12:54
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UnderTow
Started Topics :
9
Posts :
1448
Posted : Nov 3, 2004 16:55
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Boobytrip Oh I agree completely. My point was just that I found it a bit weird that someone that knows how to do mastering would ask for gear suggestions here ...
Frankly, I would stick to plugins to do mastering of psytrance. Sure a nice analogue stage can add something to the mix but even renown engineers like Bob Katz use digital gear for mastering. I think that wanting analogue gear just because it is analogue (rather than a specific product for it's own merits) reveals a lack of knowledge and understanding.
Using Oxford or Massenburg plugins (amongst others) to do the job digitaly will give you extremely good results if you know what you are doing.
Ok here are some more reasonable suggestions:
Budget: PC with Wavelab and some Voxengo and maybe PSP plugins. RME soundcard. I won't suggest any monitors as I don't think there are any budget monitors good enough to do the job.
Less budget: PC running Wavelab with PowerCore and UAD-1 cards. The plugins mentioned above plus the specific UAD and PowerCore plugs. Lynx 2 soundcard. ADAM, K&H or Dynaudio monitors.
Another step up: Same as above plus something like a Z-system router, Pultec, Tube Tech or Weiss EQ, Manley or Cranesong dynamics. CraneSong HEDD as a warmifier and A/D converter.
We are allready getting into the range of gear that you choose because of it's sound or ease of use or even just looks. Go to a high-end pro audio store and listen to the gear.
UnderTow |
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PsYx
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
12
Posts :
339
Posted : Nov 4, 2004 01:10
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mono mono
Onnomon
Started Topics :
5
Posts :
314
Posted : Nov 4, 2004 01:53
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some things in general about mastering studios:
Typically, a mastering studio has a very different physical layout than a control-room-based recording studio. Mastering studio don't usually have mixers per-se, they'll have a means switching between different sets of monitors, and different playback sources very quickly. Generally you'd be A-B'ing between tracks on the project, plus other reference tracks. Anyway most mastering-only suites have very simple, clean, control panels.
Hope you've got a fairly large room, at least 20' a side. In this room you'll have a couple of sets of monitors, i.e. nearfields and mid-to-large field monitors, not to mention a crappy boombox. A lot of studios have a the control station plus a couch for the clients. Naturally the room needs to be properly dampened, probably want to pay an expert to do this. There are so many choices for monitors, at the higher end, companies like Genelec offer 3 and 4-way. We're talking in the US$20000 and up.
From what i've heard out there, the Manley and Avalon products (EQ, compression/limiting) seem to have a good rep. If you've got the bucks get more than one of each. There's classic gear (or reproductions) like the UA-1176 compressor. These products are typically US$3000 to US$5000 each. Also, you're better off with an exceptional set stereo of D-A converters than a multitude of less-than-exceptional ones.
Also, for last-ditch surgery on marginal mixes, something like a TC Electronic Finalizer (96K) seems to be standard.
Don't forget a good set of calibrated meters, you want to see how much energy's in the track. Metric Halo claims to have super-accurate software based metering. Other tools: spectral analyzer, wave editor: Sound Forge (PC), Spark (Mac), a real CD-burner app (like toast titanium).
I think when you add it up: $20000 for signal processing, $30000 for monitoring, $5000 to $10000 for room prep, you can't spend less than $50000 for a good mastering setup.
good luck!
-dean
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Elad
Tsabeat/Sattel Battle
Started Topics :
158
Posts :
5306
Posted : Nov 4, 2004 09:01
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