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[Twerk]

Something that I've enjoyed doing is having the DIY folks bring in their laptop & interface and master from that.  Then, they get a little education/feedback and a final sound that is better than what we would have had otherwise. Most of the time we are turning insane amounts of mix processing off. ;-)

That's a great idea!

[Hermetech Mastering]

Thanks Dana. I've actually done something similar before, I guess it would be called a "One Pop" by using a brief transient on all tracks at the start, so I could line them up after processing. It was very labour intensive though. Actually, I think I used to do that when I only had one compressor, and believe it or not, I would sometimes run the L and the R through the compressor separately, then line them up after.

But I like the idea of stem mastering meaning that you could do any adjustments in the box, then hit the outboard as a regular stereo file. But it's all very much blurring the line between mixing and mastering, at least the ITB stage would be. It does seem an elegant solution.

I occasionally have the "back and forth" with the client about the two buss processing they may want to use. I try to explain it well to them, but sometimes they just don't want to take that limiter off, and you have to deal with what you are given. I think in some cases it's just bad recording practice, people "mix into the limiter" because otherwise they'd be clipping the hell out of the master fader, and just don't realise that there's no need for that when recording in 24 bit. If they have to take the limiter off the mix, they'll basically have to mix from scratch again. I've also offered to process two versions for them, one with there limiter and one without, and whilst they'll usually choose the one without after mastering, I did have one clinet whon still prefreed the sound of the limited version. Anyway, I digress...

[jdg]

Pro Tools HD pitching to soundBlade HD.

Easy as Pie!

JT

THIS BUT REPLACE POOTOOLS WITH ILLOGIC

OMFG MY CAPS IS BROKEN

[BiigNiick]

ProTools here for me, too.  But i prefer not to master from stems, it feels like i'm mixing the record too. . .

Quote from: djwaudio on May 04, 2012, 10:35:01 amSomething that I've enjoyed doing is having the DIY folks bring in their laptop & interface and master from that.  Then, they get a little education/feedback and a final sound that is better than what we would have had otherwise. Most of the time we are turning insane amounts of mix processing off. ;-)


That's a great idea!

I've done this too, in the past.  It can be a great educational experience for the engineer and really gives them some added value to coming to the mastering session.


 - nick

[KAyo]

I agree! Eat your heart out and then realize the possibilities.
Splendid idea..


Cheers'
KAyo

[Treelady]

Sequoia can do stems just fine.  I keep a Pro Tools rig for people who want to mix as they master. 

However, I'm a major proponent of the separation of Mix/Church and Mastering/State. While I don't mind a vocal or drum stem here or there to augment a mix (a life saver at times), mixing a song is the job of a dedicated mixing engineer --- who is not me.

[Alécio Costa - Brazil]

Stems can eat a lot of time and people sometimes are a bit lazy to fine tweak their mixes.

Do you charge stems as stereo files?

Once a guy wanted to send a stereo file of each instrument group: hey, this is a summing mixing? LOL

I prefer to listen to the stereo mix and write a 5-minute technical  report.

Most people nowadays mix ITB and a recall does not take more than 15 minutes.

This method  has been doing fine here for 5 years.

[Twerk]

Alecia, I charge stem projects hourly, as opposed to the flat per/song rates when doing stereo files. And like with all projects, communication is the defining element that dictates the work involved. I'm always as explicit as possible in letting them know I have no intention of performing mix duties with their stems and that it's simply a way for me make a correction without affecting components of the mix that are fine. Your consultation approach is great, and something I do as well which can often negate the need for stems altogether.

But.

That said, I've actually been taking on some stem projects lately that require more work. It's mostly because I haven't had time to work on my own music, and I miss spending some time at the mix level.