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Author Topic: More DIY Mastering  (Read 3143 times)

SimonP

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More DIY Mastering
« on: May 29, 2004, 12:49:31 PM »

I read the previous thread and aside from the Bob Katz book which I intend to pick up, i'd like to know which outboard processor I should get to know that isn't too budget.

Plug-ins aside, i'm looking at the L2 or the T.C. Finalizer. Granted my monitors are average and my room is less than ideal, I would like to sweeten the recordings I do make. I can always get nicer monitoring in the future.

Thanks.
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Jason Poff

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Re: More DIY Mastering
« Reply #1 on: May 29, 2004, 03:20:47 PM »

If your monitoring is "average" and your room is "less than ideal", I would  spend the money on upgrading those two things. Nothing has sweetened my recordings like upgrading my monitoring and treating the acoustics. I am definitely not a mastering engineer, but from everything I've learned here, quality monitoring and acoustics are essential to good mastering. How do you know where to set the knobs if you can't hear what's really going on? Just my thoughts.



By the way, I don't think  the two products you mentioned  really sweeten anything( except maybe a bad mix or sibilant track in the finalizer's case). They do add distortion and make things louder, but I don't hear that as sweetening.


Jason




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jfrigo

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Re: More DIY Mastering
« Reply #2 on: May 29, 2004, 03:49:28 PM »

nemo wrote on Sat, 29 May 2004 09:49


Plug-ins aside, i'm looking at the L2 or the T.C. Finalizer. Granted my monitors are average and my room is less than ideal, I would like to sweeten the recordings I do make. I can always get nicer monitoring in the future.



It's so hard to give advice in cases like this. I don't know what other gear you are using, or if you have a good DAW or have some decent plug-ins for it... The room an monitoring are vital, so don't discount them. If you have a DAW and a couple name-brand plugs, a finalizer probably won't get you anything over that, and upgrading the monitotring may be a better use of funds. If you literally have no processing, then an L2 won't help much. It's only a limiter. In that case, I guess you need an "all in one" box if you aren't going to buy seperates. A nice EQ and an L2 would get you started, but if you have your heart set on an "all-in-one" (and a t.c. 6000 is out of reach), then try a dbx Quantuum.
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duaneadam

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Re: More DIY Mastering
« Reply #3 on: May 29, 2004, 09:56:42 PM »

Yeah I would start with Bob Katz' book. You'll learn how to consider what a track needs (or doesn't need) rather than what piece of gear to buy. Although the sound quality won't be as good as with high end outboard gear, you can acheive a lot of things in principle with plugins during the learning process. By the time you're finished with the book there will probably be something newer and better to buy, maybe an L3.

duaneadam
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SimonP

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Re: More DIY Mastering
« Reply #4 on: May 29, 2004, 11:47:23 PM »

Thanks guys.

I'm glad i'm not missing out on anything without owning any fancy mastering gear.

Indeed I should upgrade my monitoring eventually.

Thanks for the guidance.
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jfrigo

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Re: More DIY Mastering
« Reply #5 on: May 30, 2004, 04:15:36 AM »

nemo wrote on Sat, 29 May 2004 20:47

I'm glad i'm not missing out on anything without owning any fancy mastering gear.



Be careful not to infer things that weren't said. The "finalizer" pretty much rules "fancy gear" out of the topic. Excellent gear actually does make a positive difference, but it's far from the only thing. I think several points were being made. First, there are many criteria to be satisfied, outboard being only one. Second, there are other steps that may be of more value to you in the near term, especially if the current budget doesn't allow for a better signal path. Third, having a Ferrari with no wheels in rush hour traffic in L.A. is not going to help you beat a Ford Escort. One piece of the best gear you can buy will not make up for a multitude of other limitations.

All that being said, you can still accomplish quite a lot, and the experience you gain will allow to to appreciate and take advantage of the differences in the better gear, room, and monitors once you obtain them. Work on improving the room and monitoring as much as is possible, and gain experience using some good plugs on your DAW until better outboard is a possibility. Add new pieces of quality gear as time and money allows, remembering that AD/DA conversion on the priority list too - not just things with lots of knobs. It's a journey, so don't be afraid to spend a little time at each step of the way, and remember to enjoy yourself.

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fuse

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Re: More DIY Mastering
« Reply #6 on: June 20, 2004, 08:24:25 AM »

Good tip might be Voxengo software plugins.
You still gotta use your own techniques but at that price you don't need the much more expensive hardware.
Provided you have a decent setup.
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Wouter Veltmaat
Eindhoven

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Re: More DIY Mastering
« Reply #7 on: June 20, 2004, 11:48:30 PM »

Screw nicer monitoring in the future - You need the best monitoring you can afford first and foremost as far as I can tell you (yeah, the room also.  I'm just talkin' gear).  

You can have the greatest gear in the universe - If you can't hear it as good as possible, it doesn't matter if your using Behringer or Manley.

I'd take "reasonable" gear and superior monitoring any day over the opposite.  At least you can hear the limits of the reasonable gear through the superior monitors.  It doesn't work the other way around..
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John Scrip
Massive Mastering - Chicago (Schaumburg / Hoffman Est.), IL - USA
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