Mastering Secret #23: (Recording Studio Bias) SoundOps Audio Mastering

[bribribri56]

very interesting thanks

[sharingan9000]

Are there any specific tips you can give on mastering with ribbon microphones? I have an MXL R144

[thegeffc]

love the video really good

[soundops]

@thegeffc Thanks! We'd like to see some videos from you! What's your email address, we'd like to send you a little gift!

[moyotte]

I always do my mastering with some one else

[NewRisingSong]

if a mix is bad then there is nothing that mastering can do. For me the best is to master and mix simultaneously 

[haruthacin]

Hello from Turkey .... (sorry for my bad english) ... I want to know when I recording music,vocals what format use, to save my file mp3,sony`s formats or wave,and how kbps and how khz 48.000 or higher .... THANKS FOR .. ... ..

[PhilosopherEight]

@haruthacin Anything below 24 bit 48 kHz is not pro. Anything below 16 bit 44.1 kHz is a joke, and that includes all MP3 formats. There is a huge quality difference between 24/48 and 16/44.1, and also between 16/44.1 and MP3.

[MoshroomFucktory]

how do you fix a dry and muddy record..?tips anyone?.

[allenheresy]

@MoshroomFucktory Quick and dirty... if you have the multitracks, clean up the mids by removing it from things that don't need it. If only the mixdown, just eq some of them out. 250hz is your mud range. Don't be afraid to tweak some things. Also, start using reverb... light reverb... on the mixdown. Oh, and a multiband compressor.

These things will take time to learn, but just keep at it.

[soundops]

@MoshroomFucktory In the idea that 'a picture paints a thousand words', also an audio sample does the same. it's hard to judge what 'dry' and 'muddy' means to each person. "Fixed" to one person might be worse to someone else. I agree with what Allenheresy said. -John Taylor

[haruthacin]

@soundops Hello from Turkey .... (sorry for my bad english) ... I want to know when I recording music,vocals what format use, to save my file mp3,sony`s formats or wave,and how kbps and how khz 48.000 or higher .... THANKS FOR .. ... ..

[whbjr0riginal]

Propaganda - Sure, adding more ears can help, but do you have the bucks to hire another set of ears? If so, knock yourself out. If not, then get yourself some discipline and learn to mix/master your own tracks. Congratulations, you just saved yourself a few thousand dollars.

[Audiowithalex]

@whbjr0riginal thats very ignorant.

[LydiaSfacefun]

Excellent Advice!

[TurKdiRty]

by the way, this is totally right. applies to all genres of music

[YGxSlade]

hey i jus stated watchin ur vids and i jus subscribed you get all into the info your sharing and i like that and i learned alot so i hope i learn more from you

[soundops]

@YGxSlade Thank you!!! That is why we do it! -John Taylor

[soundops]

@YGxSlade Thank you!!! That is why we do it! -John Taylor

[nsgutube]

Thanks for the advice! I was debating whether to just make a simple mixdown myself in Soundbooth or take it to smeone I know who can mix it down more professionally, and I need someone with 'different ears' to hear it and mix it down more professionally, cause I'm hearing the same sound all the time! lol So thanks for helping me with that decision! :)

[AllenElzy]

i know you said yall where mastering specialist but do yall know what the best mic to use is ? like CatalystThaSaint i to have a home studio but i use Sony Acid. My work sounds clear but its seems to be missing somthing.

[soundops]

@AllenElzy Hey AllenElzy, although this problem is not as simple in later phases (like Mastering) I think your issue is simply an EQ thing. try turning a couple of parametric EQs. one for the lows where you'll be adding NEGATIVE gain. try messing with the frequency and the Q to take out the "boom". and another for the highs, again, try messing with the frequency and the Q to add whatever seems to be missing with your ears. Be sure to take breaks from listening - compare your sound.

[CatalystThaSaint]

Im very curious to know if it is possible to get Studio Quality from home, without all the Hardwear, Just a good mic and some thing like Adobe Audition

[soundops]

@CatalystThaSaint - Many good sounding studios (both recording and mastering) are in homes. And we believe that it's not only about the gear... However, it's hard to get a commercially appealing sound without certain things. You can get a good start with software, but it depends on your ultimate goal.

Are you more interested in quality, artistic control, price, or the time to complete your project?

Every artist makes sacrifices somewhere...

If you wanna chat more, shoot us an email :)

[CatalystThaSaint]

@soundops Quality mostly, its the only thing im missing, so far i've gotten a pretty good sound with clear vocals, but theres some thing missing and i dont know what it is, Though it may just be a problem with the AT2020

[soundops]

@CatalystThaSaint - I see. Well, if you have time for us to take a listen and run some tests, we can at least point out some things that you can do (or that we could do for you) to improve what you have so far.

Just send a mixed-down file to studio@soundops.com...

All the best,

-Will

[CatalystThaSaint]

@soundops I really wish that i could but just yesterday everything on my laptop got whiped out, im still trying to find the reason behind it, So the only music i have left is what i have on my youtube page, unfortunetly.

[soundops]

@CatalystThaSaint - I'm very sorry to hear that - let us know if you retrieve it, or if there's anything else we can do for you.

[Deco2k]

@soundops ,..see what u ppl of to understand its that mastering is not some u can teach its a natural skill that someone born with, so you can go all the top studio look for a certian sound if those studio dont have that natural mastering skill you not gonna fine it ..some produce have Ear for mastering and recording ..and it won't take them forever....

[foketesz]

@CatalystThaSaint hire a pro acoustician for an afternoon to check your room out, suggest some treatment and a very good pair of speakers, and use your ears.

[Deco2k]

@CatalystThaSaint ...yow wats wrong with u man not with just mac and AA,Ok u have a mac so you on a good start, dude talking in da video have a good point but don't listen to all that promotional talk,well if have some good studio monitor and good audio interface dont use the buildin sound card.i have a mac unibody i use a Mbox2 for ma sound card,its a lots of dem,next u need well i dont know wat u doin,if its music get u self protool or logic or both with good mastering plugin and a good Mic,

[Robotron9000]

Kiss my ass these days with downloading and Itunes bands cant afford shit.. us producers dont have a choice but to be a "Jack of all trades" when your in the indie music scene bands want a one stop shop, it sucks but thats just the way things are now days.

[soundops]

@Robotron9000 - I understand. There are still artists out there that want to know A) what will give them the best sound and/or B) how to reduce the risk of a single-engineer process. We like to focus on the mastering, but we could focus on the mixing if a client prefers. The most important thing, is that the person spending the money get's to hear the difference between one engineer's work and another, so they can be confident they've got the sound they wanted :)

Good luck out there dude!

[FingerstyleTV]

hi! will the audio quality of a wav file deteriorate when compressed to zip file?

[soundops]

@FingerstyleTV That's a good question - it won't be a problem to zip a .wav file, but converting to something like a .mp3 would of course degrade the quality.

Good luck out there - hit us up any time :)

-Will

SoundOps.com

[Skicolorado75]

How much would a typical mastering job cost for a single track, or an entire album? I've got sonar, and am happy with my mix, but would like someone else to master an album I'm working on. I can save tracks to a time stamped wave, or other formats. Thanks for the video.

[Threemicsrecords]

@joesimmons90 the easiest way to do that is add little bit of clean guitar underneath of distorted one. You can do it by recording guitar through DI and amp simultaneously and latter mix them together to the desire effect. However, you have to always if two signals are not out of phase. Best. Simon

[emielzier]

Thanks you.. I starting my own recording alone and every time i keep me hearing the same thing.. and then try to mix it, I really need a new pair of ear.

[Vanjal]

What are you saying here is ok if band has 20.000.000 $ to spend or something. So we can go for 17 studios, one for bass recording, one for drums, one for guitars, one is for mixing, one for mastering....common dude, this isn't how REAL world works. If you're not Metallica or Bon Jovi of course.

[kardoplay]

Even Mixing can be left to someone else then it might be another sound

[kardoplay]

Även Mixningen kan man lämna till någon annan då kan det bli annat ljud

[kind1277]

i agree and disagree ^_^ cuz i make the music and the mix and master and the engineering BUT I DONT DO IT ALL IN THE SAME DAY !!! thats the main key to secces with ur music.

[MrJayball]

i agree i hear my songs hundreds of times i dont know what is right or wrong

[beats4reason]

@MrJayball i agree man AMEN!

[TheStrugglingArtis]

to get those heave guitar tones you need to double track or even quadriple the tracks...DO NOT just duplicate a guitar track, to make it sound heavey you must not be lazy and play it over with a differnt guitar or amd then hard pan the 2 diferent takes..do the same for 4 tracks

[TheStrugglingArtis]

mixing on headphones is a no no!!!

[nblfyb]

good looks on the pointers. when i get my studio headphones let the mixing begin :D

(Benson and Tonic)

[impolding]

haha! i totally agree!

[soundops]

Thanks for the comment - and for subscribing to our videos. We'll try to keep 'em coming. If you want us to cover a specific topic next time, just let us know...

-The Studio Team

[joesimmons90]

I was wondering how to get a metal guitar tone to sound thick and meaty without being muddy, and what techniques you guys might use for that.

[soundops]

Great question Joe.

Obviously, it helps to have "metal" gear, but, in the studio, what makes guitars sound metal isn't only the guitars, the amps, or even the effects/processing...

Regardless of the specific style of metal you're looking for, it will most likely come to life within the context of the mix (and master) in which it's presented. Good engineers can adjust the levels of other instruments, spatial feel, reverb, etc. to make wimpy guitars sound more metal.

Let's talk more...

-Will

[Threemicsrecords]

@joesimmons90 the easiest way to do that is add little bit of clean guitar underneath of distorted one. You can do it by recording guitar through DI and amp simultaneously and latter mix them together to the desire effect. However, you have to always if two signals are not out of phase. Best. Simon

[soundops]

Thanks for the feedback guys - hit us up anytime with questions about your audio.

- Will

[PreziraManagement]

Great info. I completely agree.

I better send my songs somewhere. Instead of trying to master them myself :- )

[232laser]

genial brother, buen tutorial un saludo...

[geoffbarone603]

Hi Will

[soundops]

Hey :)

[surferdude1167]

really cool advice for indie bands will - hopefully someone takes your advice and makes ther music sound better than the crap on mysp