hi my band have an album almost ready for release, i was wondering whether anyone could tell me anything about mastering audio for play on varying stereos etc. would it be possible to master using soundforge?? should i leave it to the professionals who charge through the roof for the service??
Can anyone help clear up a few of these concepts??
thanks
Mogiaw
Damned hamsters ate the first post. . .
If you already know the following, please ignore:
Mastering is the process of taking mixed recordings and applying the final EQs and dynamics processing (compression) in order to create a stereo track that will sound good on a wide range of stereos. This involves trying to get a good saturation of signal without clipping, EQ’ing which may involve compressing (rather than attuating/boosting) specific Freq. Ranges. It also involves the final trimming of the lead-in and lead-out space on each song, fadeouts, and the like.
Biggest pragmatic question - how much have you spent thus far, for what level of recording? Is this something you’ve dropped $500 on at some guys house? Or something you spent several thousand on at a studio? If the latter’s the case and you’re happy with the production/performance, etc, then don’t drop the ball now - dig deep and go the extra mile. If the former, then it’s probably not worth your money to have it professionally mastered.
Typically, professionals use ultra high-end components - the cleanest, most precise EQs and Compressors, and they have a lot of experience. While there do exist some plug ins and stand-alone software packages that will do a decent job, you will not get the same results doing it this way as having a pro doing it. Of course, that may not matter if you are starting with a DIY project in the first place.
Although SoundForge has many built-in filters and dynamics processors, ones that are designed for mastering are generally easier to use for mastering, especially if you’re a novice.
I’ve played with Prosonique’s Dynasone - a VST plug-in, and thought it did a pretty good job, considering. I’ve also heard a bit about T-Racks, and while I’ve only played with their compressor programs, they seem to make a good product. There are a lot of other packages (both stand alone and plug-in) out there, though, so poke around a bit.
Whatever you do, make many different samples and play them on as many different stereos as possible before you commit to one particular mastering job. Get as many outside opinions as possible, too.
So short form:
If you already spent a lot to get a pro recording, get pro mastering.
If you didn’t and want to DIY, then you’ll need 3rd party software.
Hope this helps -
The Home Recording BBS is an excellent place to ask that question. But the short answer is that having your music mastered by a professional is worth it. Your money pays for a (hopefully) well-trained and experienced ear for making the tiniest of adjustments that make all the difference in the world, as well as an objective point-of-view compared to the ear of the same person who wrote/performed/recorded/mixed the songs being mastered. You’re also paying for some very nice and very expensive equipment, including the several nice sets of monitors necessary to be able to prepare your music to be played on the wide variety of stereos out there.