)]]>When you are normalizing your master you want to get rid of unwanted peaks. The track will normalize itself to the highest peak in the track, so it's probably a good idea to put a hard compressor (or limiter) last in the mastering chain.
]]>wedanced wrote:i find that the listener gets the best experience if the music volume is all the way down. the best part is that by doing so you avoid all chances of clipping and spikes. silence is the new loud.
The listener gets the best experience when your track plays and he doesn't think about mixing or mastering whatsoever. Mastering should be transparent, meaning, if they need to adjust their settings, or raise the volume, thats taking away focus from your COMPOSITION.
Word. In fact, I've noticed sometimes over-attention to dynamic range can be really annoying sometimes. I notice this especially in early Genesis records where the dynamic shifts have me changing volumes constantly and this makes it near IMPOSSIBLE to actively listen while doing something like driving, for instance.
It's like COMEON, i just wanna hear Peter Gabriel sing in crazy outfits!
]]>i find that the listener gets the best experience if the music volume is all the way down. the best part is that by doing so you avoid all chances of clipping and spikes. silence is the new loud.
The listener gets the best experience when your track plays and he doesn't think about mixing or mastering whatsoever. Mastering should be transparent, meaning, if they need to adjust their settings, or raise the volume, thats taking away focus from your COMPOSITION.
I master my songs so that if they're on a mix CD, or playlist, or car stereo or whatever, they fit in without any sort of jolt. I also master them so the bass is sexy. By the grace of god, LSDJ sounds huge enough on its own (provided your sound design is good) that you really only need to give it a tiny bit of love during mastering. It's surprising really. The complete lack of offensive high end frequencies helps immensely.
Here's the difference between my raw track and the mastered track. I alternate back and forth. What sounds better to you?
]]>)]]>Also if your master is at -INF you don't have to worry about your music offending anyone, or SoundCloud ruining your tune's epic entrance by showing the peaks (since the waveform will look like a line.)
Seriously though, the volume column is there for a reason, so don't forget to use it!
]]>Are there any good articles someone can recommend on this subject?
Mastering Audio by Bob Katz - all you ever need to know.
]]>Forget the red signals. Does it sound like it's clipping?
Mix with your ears, not with your eyes.
It doesn't sound like it's clipping, so that may mean I can pull the volume up more than what the meter says.
Are there any good articles someone can recommend on this subject?
For instance:
i was, but now ive seen the light
mastering to -3dB and very mild compression now
most of the new album falls between the 1983-1991 ranges
What does mastering to -3dB mean? I've read that dance music is often mastered to 0dB. I'm not making dance music, but I'd like to know what these terms mean.
]]>Mix with your ears, not with your eyes.
]]>lol loudness wars, I'm part of the problem.
i was, but now ive seen the light
mastering to -3dB and very mild compression now
most of the new album falls between the 1983-1991 ranges
The way I do it, I usually go source->{effect chain->limiter->mixer (3-band eq)->}limter->compression->10 band peak eq. The stuff in {} is only for multitrack recording. Limiting takes care of spikes, compression boosts the quiet stuff, 10 band eq to accentuate. Settings on limiter and compressor will determine how 'loud' your track is.
During master phase I often have a waveform/histogram plotter running, so I can see how to fix things.
Disclamer: I also often struggle with mixing/mastering, so I don't claim absolute knowledge on this.
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