Affordable Mastering for the Home Studio

[londomogic]

Oh Chesty, you are a fun responder.

[ChestyMcGee]

i come back to this video every few months and it never ceases to make me smile. no idea what the video is about. i only play the first two seconds

[TheeAldeen]

"Oh Hello" HA!! What a Boss, so calm and modest : : this guy ROCKS!! Great videos- Thank You!!

[bdubrecords]

@TheeAldeen Haha, favorite comment ever!  Thanks!!!

[HesleyCapey]

Shouldn't there be safety silence (for CD-players etc) of 0.6s added in the beginning?

[bdubrecords]

@HesleyCapey Yes, on the first track, this is advisable.

[MyRitmo]

both of your mastering uploads are excellent. it would be great if you continued doing this series with different cases even if some principles are the same. more on edm, electro or house music would be great. Regards/E

[bighalloffame]

nice!!!

[area51channel]

the first 3 seconds are hilarious

[niggasingh]

 @bdubrecords wat is the difference b/w mixing and mastering

[bdubrecords]

@niggasingh Mixing combines the many tracks into one stereo file, applying EQ, dynamics and effects as necessary.  Mastering takes the mix and works on the overall EQ and dynamics to get it ready for distribution (radio, CD, iTunes, etc.). Often, this involved increasing loudness.

[niggasingh]

@bdubrecords thanks a million man...really appreciate it...

[niggasingh]

@bdubrecords thanks a lot man...

[AshyGripEnt]

he act like he didnt kno the camera was on!!..lol

[Pete75227]

great work! i am learning so much :)

[L12faderec]

Can u please tell us me how to get multiband compressor vst

[bdubrecords]

@L12faderec I don't know why I have it and some others don't. My best guess it that it was specific to the Production Premium CS4 bundle???

[cxc90]

@L12faderec or try izotope ozone 4, a very good mastering plugin

[YoungFlirtzMusicUK]

pause and press 0, with 2 seconds between each time, damn it never gets old gets me every time

[HeliosThatBoyGood]

oh, hello

[myroldhem]

Thank you so much for taking the tim to post this! I have a fairly large project for a nonprofit organization to re-master 200+ tracks. There will be three of us working on this project and I am tasked with finding the right software and coming up with a fairly repeatable workflow for re-mastering these tracks. Was wondering if you would be willing to work with us to get us going in the right direction. If this sounds interesting can you send me a PM so we can exchange contact info.

[skurilbeats]

thx ya!

[bdubrecords]

@YungStatik I think Waves can be used as DirectX...

[bdubrecords]

@YungStatik Yes, that is a must!

[trilian008]

why didnt u used some loudness maximizer on the end ?

[bdubrecords]

@trilian008 The combination of plugins, especially the multi-band compressor and hard limiter, has a very similar result. Watch my tutorial "In The Box Mastering" to see a multi-band limiter in action. That's even closer.

[trilian008]

@bdubrecords ok .thanks

[ckydch]

Do you have a video showing how to master with pro tools?

[RIOTandDontYouFakeIt]

Wow. Thnks man this helps. Learn new things everyday.

I gotta question tho. At around 4:19 yu highlight a short section of the wav form. But at 5:55 when the video skips, the whole wav is highlighted and altered. Did yu highlight the whole wav and add the Multiband Compressor? Or do yu have to it section by section?

[bdubrecords]

@RIOTandDontYouFakeIt I did highlight it all first (during the edit).

[RIOTandDontYouFakeIt]

@bdubrecords Ok thanks.

[cgram20]

I always watch this clip...very helpful...

[TgHrOeMeAnS]

"oh, hello" pahaha :L ..but good video though! :)

[keepthefunk]

thanks for the video!

[bobomacinsquash]

What VST EQ are you using? I can't find one like that in my list of VSTs. Thanks & God Bless You!

[bdubrecords]

@bobomacinsquash Lots of people have asked that. It must have come with Premiere or something. It just shows up when I start Audition.

[NickVocal]

I laughed when I noticed he had a Mac and he said we should get the best bang for our buck

[anthonywamble]

wuow dude thank you so much.

I love that you are a music editor and Christian.

Blessed be the Name and thank you for putting this together.

This is just another way to help spread the word!

Good job to you!

[tremonti911]

Hi!

I like your videos a lot. Can you maybe give me an advice with adobe audition? I cannot see the input level of the instrument what I wish to record. I´m choosing the track channel, press on the R button but the meter besides says nothing. When I press the recording button I can record the instrument and anything is ok. I just have no preview how strong the signal is what I want to record.

Thanks a lot

[JakeSkolar]

Thaks for the info, you explained it very well...

[TympanicSymphony]

Clear, concise, and Christian! What a great combo! Thnx for the pointers man. God bless...in Jesus Name!

[Equestional]

can i have your plant?

[RoughDraftSolo]

The first two seconds of this video is priceless 0:00

[djcalibar]

@RoughDraftSolo

so true

[L12faderec]

@RoughDraftSolo Lmao! i replayed that shytttt 100 Tymes lmao!

[rappersouthside]

what can i use 2 mix?

[bdubrecords]

@rappersouthside I use Pro Tools 9.

[madsonrec]

Nice

[georgebrandonPM]

Recorded Very Well < but this mastering i disagree with .. I also use Audition 3 , and have used it since it was CEP1.5 .. LOL .. SO .. Master in the mix my friend .. Use you master track in the mix and apply your mutiband compressor there ( but personally i prefer a WAves vst called the L2 maximizer .. and i eq each track in its effects rack in the mix .. You can also use automation ., You can stereo expand each stereo track in the mix to its own field while in the mix ..

[bdubrecords]

@georgebrandonPM Good ideas. I've actually changed to using Waves plugins since this video was created. See my new video called "In The Box Mastering." I use a L316 16-band limiter, but it's CPU usage is too high to insert on the master of a full mix session. So I still master after bouncing down. I also do stereo effects in individual tracks now instead of on the full mix.

[djhellfire1]

@bdubrecords Glad, I read this because I was just about to ask what you used it on the full mix for. Lol. So now that you say that, what types of tracks do you use it on?

[bdubrecords]

@djhellfire1 Just about everything.  Acoustic, rap, pop...

[djhellfire1]

@bdubrecords Lol! I meant what type of DAW session tracks (like main vocals, adlibs, hooks, types of instruments, etc).

[bdubrecords]

@djhellfire1 Check out my video "In The Box Mastering" to have a look inside a typical recording. Basically, audience mics, drums mics, bass guitar, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, keys, organ, synth, vocals, BGV's, effects, etc.

[Jayn2662]

@georgebrandonPM Thats the idea george

[Jayn2662]

@georgebrandonPM Thats the idea george just so you know Bdub Mastering is the method of setting up a mastering chain, with mutiple i do mean multiple EQ's and Compressors and Limiters and Harmonics Tube Saturation and Expanders and Exciters and EQ's that filter. Its wayyyyyy more than what you are showing

[SuperDesi123456]

nice song

[avantgarde120]

Clear explanation,great work!more tutorials like this pls.Thanks!

[LilSwagg4]

oh my goddd u are awsome i beeen lookin for a video like this for my life time xD it is great u are professional x)))) but at 5:55 u didnt turn the limiter back on . i couldnt really understand what happend . i think u cut the video at 5:55 what did u do there can u tell meee plssss ^^ ?? ? ?

[bdubrecords]

@LilSwagg4 Good question. I really don't use the limiter built into the multi-band compressor. So it never was doing much. I do hard limiting separately.

[BenGasser]

thank you, a very helpful video! I've had audition on my mac for a long time and never really realised its full potential.

[bigad21]

oh hello...like you didn't know the camera was there lol.

[TheGhettostylus]

a master at mastering i would say ;) wicked work.

[Nickeoso]

Thank you! very helpful, one question.  I use protools, not adobe (anymore) is there any multiaband compressor you might know of that i can use in protools?

[bdubrecords]

@Nickeoso I use a Waves C4 most often.

[CVLOYALTY508]

@bdubrecords how much is that 

[Firsttrackz]

ohh hello......(Intro)

your videos are really helpfull..

[axeman31390]

This guy is so lame and I love it! "Oh HELLO!"

[MrPotbow]

Hello bdubrecords! Thank you a million for your valuable information !! you really helped me with my mastering problems!! Thanks from Germany. And if you are in Germany feel free to contact me!! Potbow

[romeady]

Great information! Keep up the good work.

[mattydnb1]

That was an excellent tutorial mate...thanks heaps :)

Our music styles are completely different but your tips really helped me...thanks

[ChestyMcGee]

oh hello

[monsuiermonocle]

Why hello, I didn't see you there!

[DCSVANS]

hahaha your face in the beginning is priceless, "oh hello" haha great vid, it helped a lot! Thanks.

[jalusblu]

your very sweet !

[ParadisioFilms]

how do I make my song sound studio quality like commercial and professional songs?

[28306dc]

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! OMG FUNNIEST INTRO EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thumbs up before i even watch the rest of the video!

[jolan120]

thank you for the tutorial sir nice1

[junez85]

Bahahaa!!!! that was the cheesyest beginning ive ever seen!

[thegl0ck]

"the track looks a bit beefier"

rofl.

[bmaloverx]

thank you so much for this video!!!!!

[vstyle23]

Great way to teach a concept and glorify Christ at the same time. Love it!!!

Not saying that was your goal but I think its something I'll have to try

[YoungMell650]

pause at 0:02 lol

[jjohnson3030]

Sweet tutorial! Thanks a lot!!!

[officialTKmusik]

Do more.. you must.. do one on mixxing vocals.. like adding effects to them etc..

[bdubrecords]

@officialTKmusik Great idea. I'll try to get one out on vocal effects really soon!

[EddyCutz]

Great tutorial! You should consider making more videos :) You're pretty good at this.

[bdubrecords]

@EddyCutz Thanks! I've got some more shot that I just haven't edited yet. Hopefully soon!

[officialTKmusik]

@bdubrecords More, most definitely... you must..

[EddyCutz]

EXCELLENT video. Thank you.

[djshobee]

This was a lot of help, very nice job.

[judenihal]

Very Nice Tutorial and explaination. I thought you were just a businessmen giving out how to use computers haha, I really like this video explanation, however have you tried mastering each recorded track individually? I haven't tried mastering yet but just asking. Also good job with singing.

[bdubrecords]

@judenihal Sometimes I'll put a multi-band compressor on a lead vocal or a drum bus, but other than that, I just master the mixdown.

[judenihal]

@bdubrecords okay thank you for your answer. Will try that with my current mixes I used on Sony Acid Pro but will also try mastering in Cubase/Nuendo as trial and error.

[RainKingRecording]

@judenihal The reality of it is you can't master like this. It's a very very involved process that requires very specialized software that costs up to 15,000 dollars. You can't do this yourself and it's very inexpensive to get it done by a real mastering engineer.

[TheBlackAbstract]

Life saver this was

[MRxxFREESTYLE]

can someone master a track for me? please. all the verses are done.message me back.

[tastydolphinbrain]

Thanks for the great tips! It can be overwhelming to see all the options available in a mastering program, and your approach seems like a way to get good results with a minimum of tweaking.

[varethika]

nice vid, thanx...

gotta love the ''intro''..

lol... -oh! hello..

[daxweb]

thx for your video. you explain very very well the concept! thx from italy

[OfficialDailyMusic]

i love the video. maybe we can work together and do a video? maybe over skype or something.

[wasee07]

thank you so very much for spending your time for the people really want to learn about mixing and mastering ....

[sdeanmusic]

"Oh hello there" I think you mean to say Mastering engineerereereereeerrrr.

Good luck!

[Notespompon]

"OH, HELLO!"

[Chicago10281]

Must be pretty easy to master(or pretty hard)

[landexx]

This tutorial is kind of f*cking GREAT ! Thumbs up !

[iovaykind]

God bless you.

[toranamunter]

"Oh Hello" hahahaha yeah I wasn't expecting you, the intro is like something from a cheesy documentary filmed in the 50s hahaha

[elwoodetubes]

very interesting, when you got to the part about stereo expander however I could not hear what you said about amount as the music was so loud.

[Sweeper5]

Very nice. You are an humble fellow, and even though you may not be a pro, you know a heckuvalot. It's plain to see that. Loved this video...you kept things at a level I could understand...none of that technical jargon that so many guys try to BS with. I've never heard a multi-band compressor explained and demonstrated so clearly. Thank you sir.

[engendrox]

what prog do u use for the video???

[bdubrecords]

I edit with Premiere Pro CS4.

[engendrox]

thanx!! in which resolution do u put the vids in the program... i have premiere cs3... =P

[bdubrecords]

@engendrox I use the HDV 720p preset.

[engendrox]

thanxs a lot... great work with the mastering... great vid!!!

[AkyovNorthWest]

wat is the 1st EQ plugin Called?

[bdubrecords]

Lots of people have been asking that. Not sure of the name. But I think I have it because it came with Adobe Premiere, probably.

[CrazyLongboard]

Good video though

Thumbs Up.

[CrazyLongboard]

"Oh hello"

He says that as if he didn't know they were filming him, hah.

[christtightinc]

this was a very awesome video... good job....

[ShaunSteel1980]

if i send you a song can you master it for me or can you give me tips on master with adobe audition 3

[CaptainVasily]

Very helpful and well-presented. Best of luck.

[LinkinParkHotspur]

Hey, I have a question for you but it's wayyyyy too complex and big for the comment section. I'll send you a message. It's tough but if you can assist me, I'll pay you 1000 dollars.

[keiran110]

So basically this track is done live? thats really good quality. well done guys!

Matching the right mic to the right person? a the price it is, a U87 is the right mic for anybody!!

[bdubrecords]

The U87 is very versatile. And if you hear a song on the radio, I'd estimate maybe 50% of songs were recorded with that mic (depending on the genre). The AKG C12 is another one of my favorites, but at $5,000, it's totally out of my price range. A friend of mine recorded with it, and it sounds unbelievable!

[andrewenson]

@bdubrecords the akg c12VR is 5k, a vintage c12 in good condition should be at least 7k+ and that keiran guy is probably talking about the u87ai, not a vintage 87. different things. just like the way the akgc12vr sounds nothing like a vintage c12

[keiran110]

brilliant! thanks for the info. im guessing you have serious quality outboard and mics? the mix sounds so clear!

[bdubrecords]

Thanks! The mix comes to Pro Tools digitally from a Yamaha LS9 sound board, so its preamps are what you're hearing. In this particular mix, I think it's just a SM58 mic. But I do have (and love) a KSM105, an AE5400, a KSM9, a KSM32, and the big gun -- a U87. Sometimes, a 58 is all it takes, though. In fact, when I sing live, I pick a Beta 58 over all those more expensive mics. It's all about matching the right mic to the right person.

[bdubrecords]

I should probably mention that one of the reasons it sounds so clear is that we use in-ear monitors instead of loud stage monitors, a PODxt instead of a real guitar amp, and a ClearSonic drum isolation booth. All these keep the stage volume low and let each channel we record not get a lot of bleed from the other instruments/voices.

[keiran110]

great video! thanks for the information. What computer program do you use to record onto?

[bdubrecords]

I record into Pro Tools M-Powered. (See my other videos for that part of the process.) I then mix down to a stereo WAV file that I bring into Audition for mastering.

[nblfyb]

sure you're not a professional? hahah thanks for the info.

{Benson and Tonic}

[charlesdatiro7]

I like the way that you explain man is very symbol may God bless for helping people by what you have.

Be bless

[Cardinal0602]

how about dj sets?

[lafs619]

you are amazing sir thanks a ton!!!!!!

[TenchuXmusic]

This is very well done for beginners. Nice humor at the start too "oh hello." Great video.

[Angel4devil2]

man i will like yo too record you or somthing and after use mastering tu make a studio quality you want to doo a video about this????

[anavejlabl]

nice job,can somebody advise me,is it better to put limiters/compresors etc in every chanell or on the master ?

[bdubrecords]

I compress individual channels that need it (like vocals). Then I use a multi-band compressor on the entire mix.

[joesimmons90]

Thanks, very helpful.

[gageakashuckthegreat]

i also cant find the EQ vst plug in i have adobe audition 3.0 would that make a difference

[bdubrecords]

It probably has something to do with that. I just recently purchased version 3, so I'll check into it. I also have the full Production Premium suite. I know that Premiere uses this EQ, so maybe Audition is picking it up from Premiere??? Just guessing here.

[gageakashuckthegreat]

do u master a rap song the same way, i record using adobe audition and when i record its just a beat and then i lay my vocals over top and the quality doesnt sound the greatest

[bdubrecords]

I would master a rap song the same way, generally speaking. Maybe someone else reading this has more expertise there and can comment... But my (non-expert) advice is to let a lot of highs through and just make sure not to squash the low-end (longer attack times, etc.).

[0rquesm]

great man....been struggeling to get a good sound, so you realy helped out

[CaliRichie]

5:18 LOL..

[bdubrecords]

Whoops!

[RohFlowz]

Gooooooooood video. Thanks a lot. Been lookin for this video on YouTube forever.

[ssajuwon]

Cool Stuff.

I presently use the trial version of Adobe Audition 3.0 and it has just six (6) audio tracks where you can record. How many audio track do you have on the full version?

[bdubrecords]

I've never really done multi-track work on Audition 2.0, but the demo song has more than 6 tracks, I think.

[CaliRichie]

Insert Tab - Add Audio Track.

or

Alt + A

[gageakashuckthegreat]

u can add more, u can get adobe auditon 3.0 the full version but u need crack files and shit like dat

[tuncbilek]

Very nice thx.

Can I reccommend you to get "iZotop Ozone" and using only pro tools (best audio recorder and editor) to master your audio as you said you have it. You may know that already but take into consideration.

Thank you again.

[mysticvintage]

oh thats not bad. I'm lookin for something way more detailed tho; thanks anyway.

[232laser]

genial brother saludos.....

[HurlingDervish]

good vid on the basics of mastering. but i have to point out that applying stereo separation to a whole track is usually a bad idea! do it on the individual parts before mastering...

[bdubrecords]

Good idea. Thanks for sharing!

[IIISliMBoNEIII]

ooooh good to know thanx alot

but sorry i have other Q cuz im confused about recording, when i recording a song

wat i do is i record the first track clean it , do some reverb .... and then i copy the first track twice i keep the origenal one nd i pan it to 0(center) the 2nd copy i turn it all the way to right speakr, and the 3th copy i turn it all the way to left speaker

is it right thing, or just leave the first track on the midel nd thats it????

[bdubrecords]

I have a friend who duplicates tracks and pans them. But when I try it, I can't hear any difference. So, unless you treat each side differently (different EQ, dynamics or effects), I see no reason in duplicating and panning. But then again, my friend swears by it, so... who knows? Experiment and let me know what you discover!

[Xtrem3b00x]

well sometimes its about something else...Take record as a complex thing. Drums all over the space, base most of the time somewhere in the middle, vocal most of the time in the middle...but when you try to add a guitar in the middle, it ruins whole sound. Then its good to make two tracks with one imput (or copy one track) and hard-pan them. then on one side, use a really, really short delay (form 5-15 msec).

[bdubrecords]

Sweet. So, the delay is what makes the difference! I agree, too much panned center is bad news. I usually pan guitars to sides, but the delay thing is definitely worth a try!

[Xtrem3b00x]

For example do a guitar track duplicate, hard pan then, put a very short delay (5-15 ms) on one channel, play it. The guitar will be at same level on both sides, but the center will clean up. Two hard panned duplicate tracks will be the same as one track but 6dB louder...I suppose :) :P

[bdubrecords]

Cool, thanks!

[Xtrem3b00x]

Keep up the good job and sorry for the (nearly the same post...my connection suck right now :D)

[ngesto]

Can i just advise on the last bit where u add your limiter, the best way of oing this is to use software like SOUNDFORGE to check the RMS level of your track, so you can use the LIMITER (like Waves L2) to pull your levels to -10dB or -11dB so that all your tracks will have the same volume levels. The way to check is you check the average RMS using the statistics of the wav.

Thanks

[bdubrecords]

Great idea. Thanks for sharing!

[mellodge]

Mastering in its proper context is traditionally treatment of the mixed down stereo file like he's showing you in the video. Some people refer to mastering as in treating individual tracks, the techniques used are the same so one could call it mastering I suppose, but it isn't really mastering thats still at the mixing stage.

[IIISliMBoNEIII]

wowooo

it soundz gooood

but i have a qution!

do we master every each track saprate, and then mix them with beat or we mix all the tracks with the beat n then we mastr it all 2gether????

[bdubrecords]

I typically mix the entire song and then master the stereo file that comes out of Pro Tools. Some people bring multiple "stems" into the mastering process (drums, vocals, keyboards, etc.). Mastering each stem separately allows a little more control.

If I'm making a full CD, I master each song separately and then blend them together if I want tracks to fade into each other or something creative like that.

[sblaze419]

thanks for this help!!!

[lyricmuhendisi]

ööööverem gırtla dayı sadede gel :D

[bdubrecords]

Thanks! I have no idea what you said, but Google Translate says it's Turkish for "Throat uncle come to the point." Cool!

[Bittertea0206]

thanks a lot!

[MrWillflow]

Thanks for this we needed this