psyraal
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
77
Posts :
768
Posted : Jan 24, 2011 19:26:55
Hey guys, i've come to you because i have a problem, a big and fat 'problemo', so here's the thing:
I make some slow spiritual trance music, talked to a netlabel, the guy told me my music was pretty good, BUT, they kinda don't sound like professional music, and that's a normal thing, because, i never mastered anything or whatsoever, call me want you want but i always made my ears my guidance to complete the tracks, so i really really need your help to start.. you know, mastering my tracks, i already searched, read, searched and read again about tips on how to master, but, i didn't understood where i should start, i have my tracks projects, of course, could you help get started, i really need a point to get going from..
Thank you very much for reading this dudes
willsanquil
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
93
Posts :
2822
Posted : Jan 24, 2011 19:30
Do you have acoustic treatment in your room? lots of good gear/software/listening epxerience specifically for mastering?
Mastering is just as if not more complex and time consuming to learn as production - and you won't be able to do it well without the gear/room/ears.
My advice is to find someone who has those things to master the tracks for you, as mastering it yourself without proper equipment will not translate into a professional result most likely.
However, if you are looking for good accessable software to give you a basic overview of the mastering process, I highly reccomend Izotope Ozone 4. It won't give you professional level results but a great tool and will teach you a lot.
If you want to make an apple pie from scratch...you must first invent the universe
www.soundcloud.com/tasp www.soundcloud.com/kinematic-records
orgytime
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
120
Posts :
1703
Posted : Jan 24, 2011 19:46
shouldnt the label master your tracks?
ppl will hate me for that comment, but imo most of this "professional" sounding is a multiband compressor.
learn how to use it.
izotope ozone is a good way to start. the harmonic exciter kick ass in this plug in.
Nectarios
Martian Arts
Started Topics :
187
Posts :
5292
Posted : Jan 24, 2011 21:41
1) Mastering is not what makes mixes sound professional. Really well mixed material sounds professional, be that at -20dBRMS or -6dBRMS
2) Multiband compressors are not the reason mixes sound professional. Really well mixed material sounds professional, be that into a broad band compressor, or multiband compressor.
aciduss
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
112
Posts :
1490
Posted : Jan 24, 2011 21:55
^
+1
A.Rosengren
Solid Snake
Started Topics :
266
Posts :
4139
Posted : Jan 24, 2011 23:20
Having the best possible draft-mix is the best way to ensure a good finalizing mastering. Mastering is not what makes tracks sounds fantastic, it's just part of the chain.
A
Padmapani
Started Topics :
2
Posts :
431
Posted : Jan 24, 2011 23:22
^^^
+2
forget mastering and improve your mixing skills.
Soundmagus
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
67
Posts :
633
Posted : Jan 25, 2011 00:05
Hey Dood,
Its all about your mixing, forget mastering, if your mix sounds bad then trying to fix it in the mastering stage is a no no.
Mastering takes time, experience, knowledge and money to get to grips with. Having all the best plugins really means nothing if you are not using a listening environment which allows you to hear the full spectrum IN DETAIL with the minumum amount of ROOM involvement.
You should have a room which is properly calibrated to deal with any listening nodes, standing waves and diffraction which costs a lot of money (if you want it done properly) and, offcourse, you need high end pro "mastering" monitors. This doesnt include things like Adam A7`s, Dynaudio BM6`A`s etc as Neirfields really shouldnt be used for monitoring in a mastering environment.
You also need to understand WHAT it is that your listening for, what asctually makes a good sounding tune and WHY. You also (especially when first starting out) need to know, understand and be able to use REFERENCE material properly.
Now having said all that you can master at home, in an un-treated room with Nearfiled monitors but to be able to do so effectively AND sunbjectively on your own music is very difficult.
If you spend months getting to really know your system/monitors/plugins/room and being able to test your mix in different stages on a plethora of different systems then you MIGHT be able to get something decent (and lets face it decent seems to cut it these days - especially for dance music - i disagree completely) sounding and maybe even something you are happy with.
I have been mastering for about 2 years and been producing music for over 15 years and am still learning new stuff every day in the mastering field, reading more books, studying different techniques etc.
The most difficult thing (for me) is i have a less than perfect room (but its probably better than most as its treated) and the monitors i use are not great for mastering imo (Mackie HR824`s & Adam A7`s).
I am lucky that i get to check my tunes out on many different systems including large PA systems which helps enormously.
So my advice to you is find a record label who master your tunes for you (this should be a given in my opinion) but learn the mix process inside and out (a great track should require minimum mastering) and once you have managed this then read everything you can on mastering (on mixing also), try out the techniques you learn, think creatively and remember that experience counts for loads and trust your ears.
hope this helps you a bit,
Mark
Check out my site for Video tutorials and other tips & Tricks
that's really powerful, but I'm not sure if it a good idea to mimic other songs EQ curves every songs song has it's own sounds and dynamics..
I think that the starting point is to:
1.carefully clean up (EQ) every sound as you go along.
2. do group compression to glue things together ,if needed.
3. be carefull not to clip sounds.
4. at the end, on the master, you just need to add an overall EQ to remove the unecessary very low and high end, boost the highs to brighten. and a compressor (vintage warmer or so) and a limiter..
psyraal
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
77
Posts :
768
Posted : Jan 25, 2011 01:14
The guy from the netlabel specifically talked about balanced sounds and better EQing, and i assumed he was talking about overall mastering, anyway, i have been reading all of your posts and i'm gonna take a look at that izotope ozone software, i'm going to leave the link to my soundcloud tracks (only 4 tracks, the ones i showed to the netlabel dude), so this way you can see.. i mean hear for yourself, if my tracks are a total wreck or not, but i swear, i never thought the mastering thing would get to me, thank you for your replies, and more of them are welcome
(this is not any kind of propaganda, no, it's just for you guys to listen and see how much it needs to be arranged.)
Nectarios
Martian Arts
Started Topics :
187
Posts :
5292
Posted : Jan 25, 2011 09:48
Had a quick listen to the first two tunes. The sounds in the mix are all over the place mate. Start by using your kick as a reference and mix everything according to that. You have sounds coming in and out way too loud, the kick and bass are not the elements that drive the track along, they are there but the whole thing sounds like a mish mash of careless mixed samples thrown in to fill up the empty space in the mix.
Forget about mastering at this point, it will not help these mixes get any better. Careful mixing will help these mixes get better.
psyraal
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
77
Posts :
768
Posted : Jan 25, 2011 12:29
Quote:
On 2011-01-25 09:48, disco hooligans wrote:
Had a quick listen to the first two tunes. The sounds in the mix are all over the place mate. Start by using your kick as a reference and mix everything according to that. You have sounds coming in and out way too loud, the kick and bass are not the elements that drive the track along, they are there but the whole thing sounds like a mish mash of careless mixed samples thrown in to fill up the empty space in the mix.
Forget about mastering at this point, it will not help these mixes get any better. Careful mixing will help these mixes get better.
Peace out.
Well, you're right, but could tell what do you mean when you say to use the kick and bass as a reference? I had a little ideia, listen to the tracks with a complete different sound system, i already listened to one of them, and damn they were messy, all i heard was the deep and loud kick, the bass wouldn't let me listen to the rest of the melodies, some sounds were just out of place, was that what you're talking about mate ?
orgytime
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
120
Posts :
1703
Posted : Jan 25, 2011 12:59
^^ forget the izotope at this point.
learn: eq, mixing volume, pan etc.
look for some tutorials... check the forum.
probably the real mastering thing never will get you.
but it helps to understand it a little bit, so you can
improve your mixing skills.
psyraal
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
77
Posts :
768
Posted : Jan 25, 2011 13:10
I know what they are, eq, pan and mix volume, the thing is when do i know i'm doing the right things with my tracks? i mean, i open up my projects, they sound good in my ears, with my headphones, i already know i have to eq the entire track and it's components, but, how should i know i'm doing the right thing?
