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Mastering plug ins

Just a few thoughts from a professional on the online confusion which suggest that mastering is a plug in.

Interesting read, thanks. I usually use Ozone for a quick self master, or finalize as you call it. It's only really to bring up the loudness a bit, I'm not at the stage where I want to get stuff professionally mastered. But when I start making awesome tunes, I'll definitely send it to a pro and pay for their experience, room acoustics and a fresh pair of ears. My room acoustics suck and I have to listen to my tunes on several different systems to see how well they translate. Even then, sometimes I'll listen a few weeks later and think "damn, that sounds like crap".

A bit unrelated but this is something I've always wondered; why doesn't the mixing engineer just master the song also? Like why is it even a separate thing and not just a part of the mixing process?

Gravehill wrote:A bit unrelated but this is something I've always wondered; why doesn't the mixing engineer just master the song also? Like why is it even a separate thing and not just a part of the mixing process?

Mixing is treating the "combinaison" of instruments, making sure everything has room to express itself. You achieve balance in the track.

Mastering is treating the track as a whole.

But given I don't really know shit about the latter, and that i have very little experience in mixing, I can't expand much on the subject

Gravehill wrote:A bit unrelated but this is something I've always wondered; why doesn't the mixing engineer just master the song also? Like why is it even a separate thing and not just a part of the mixing process?

Very good question. Some do and manage to get alright results but it's going to be tougher than sending to someone else as your ears usually become biased during the mix and have become used to things sounding a certain way.

When somebody else hears it in a different environment, through different speakers it is easier to pick up on things that may have been missed at the mix stage (e.g too much 400hz being mixed in due to the room it was mixed in having a null at this point)

Some people do use plugins on their master buss as they mix, others prefer not to. It's all down to personal preference. Again though the main advantage to sending your tracks off for mastering (besides them being heard through a much higher quality monitoring chain and having better processing) is having a 2nd pair of ears to catch what you missed and the experience to be able to maximise the sonic potential of the source material.



P.S Get the mix sounding as tight as possible and then any master buss processing will enhance it even further rather than trying to save a sloppy mix

FAARE FACED wrote:

Gravehill wrote:A bit unrelated but this is something I've always wondered; why doesn't the mixing engineer just master the song also? Like why is it even a separate thing and not just a part of the mixing process?

Mixing is treating the "combinaison" of instruments, making sure everything has room to express itself. You achieve balance in the track.

Mastering is treating the track as a whole.

But given I don't really know shit about the latter, and that i have very little experience in mixing, I can't expand much on the subject

Yeah man I know what they are but why? Like who ever decided that they needed to be separate things done by separate people? I dont understand why mix engineers cant do work on the 2-bus as well

outbound wrote:

Gravehill wrote:A bit unrelated but this is something I've always wondered; why doesn't the mixing engineer just master the song also? Like why is it even a separate thing and not just a part of the mixing process?

Very good question. Some do and manage to get alright results but it's going to be tougher than sending to someone else as your ears usually become biased during the mix and have become used to things sounding a certain way.

When somebody else hears it in a different environment, through different speakers it is easier to pick up on things that may have been missed at the mix stage (e.g too much 400hz being mixed in due to the room it was mixed in having a null at this point)

Some people do use plugins on their master buss as they mix, others prefer not to. It's all down to personal preference. Again though the main advantage to sending your tracks off for mastering (besides them being heard through a much higher quality monitoring chain and having better processing) is having a 2nd pair of ears to catch what you missed and the experience to be able to maximise the sonic potential of the source material.



P.S Get the mix sounding as tight as possible and then any master buss processing will enhance it even further rather than trying to save a sloppy mix

Good post thanks

Looking again at this thread, I think I might have an explication.

- Mixing is of course technical, but to me it's also artistic. A track will sound different depending on the mix. The place of the different instruments, individually, and relatively to others, can totally change the mood of a track. That's a point which is very important. That's also one of the reasons I like the fact that, as producers, we mix our stuff ourselves. We have full control, and it helps expressing what we want through music.
That's something I don't get with bands etc, when the artist is not the one who mixes. It doesn't feel right to me to let someone else do artistic work over YOUR creation. But maybe the bands or pop guys can't mix for shit or don't want to be involved in the production process... it's just does not feel right.



- On the other hand, mastering has nothing artistic in it as far as i know. It's purely technical.
And to have this almost neutral point of view over the track, nothing is better than a fresh pair of ears. When you create, you get close with the track, it's your baby, and maybe what you hear does not perfectly match reality. In that case hiring another person would make sense.


I might be mistaken, but I think that difference between technical/artistic can be a valid explaination to the fact that mixing and mastering are two different stages, most of the time done by two different persons.

I would disagree that mastering isn't artistic. I think in order to produce a good master, the engineer needs to know what's important and what character to emphasize. Mastering engineers just work on a more abstract level, assessing the sonic feel of a track instead of individual concrete elements. It's a matter of balancing technical requirements with the artistic vision of the producer. Vibes, ya dig?

in the non-EDM world, mastering engineers work on the record as a whole; ie, the last record i mixed had 12 songs mixed by 3 engineers in 3 different studios, mixing material that was tracked at 5 different places. Someone may mix a tune really quietly, someone may mix just shy of 0db, some tunes may need a lot of low end to feel right as a song, etc, etc, etc. The mastering engineer works with the song, song order, delivery medium etc and makes a cohesive whole out of X amount of tunes.

or, a mastering engineer is a guy who slaps an L3 on your tune, boosts 8k and calls it a day. either way...

Sharmaji wrote:or, a mastering engineer is a guy who slaps an L3 on your tune, boosts 8k and calls it a day. either way...

Not even an L2, an L3 cause 3 is bigger than 2 and that means louder.

Are successful (good) music producers also mastering their tunes?

If they have label money to play with, they're probably sending it to a mastering house.

It's like if you make a drawing, and you show your friend and ask what he thinks. He might be like "oh you should even out the shading under the left eye a bit"
You can't just ask yourself, cause you'd never catch all the shit you've already overlooked. An ME is like an editor going over your paper and evening out the shit that doesn't quite sit right. They're more distanced from the track so they have a perspective you're not privy to, having been working on the same thing for ages.

Plus it doesn't hurt that they have high end gear and technical knowledge.



An artist converts an idea into a song.
A musician converts a song into a performance.
A recording engineer converts a performance into a recording.
A mixing engineer converts recordings into a track.
A mastering engineer converts tracks into a compilation on a given medium.

They're all like concentric spheres, each with their own focus and goal, but each accounting for the stages that came before, and each revolving around the center point.

Sharmaji wrote:in the non-EDM world, mastering engineers work on the record as a whole; ie, the last record i mixed had 12 songs mixed by 3 engineers in 3 different studios, mixing material that was tracked at 5 different places. Someone may mix a tune really quietly, someone may mix just shy of 0db, some tunes may need a lot of low end to feel right as a song, etc, etc, etc. The mastering engineer works with the song, song order, delivery medium etc and makes a cohesive whole out of X amount of tunes.

or, a mastering engineer is a guy who slaps an L3 on your tune, boosts 8k and calls it a day. either way...

This basically cleared everything up for me thanks!

Icetickle wrote:Are successful (good) music producers also mastering their tunes?

Not if its going to vinyl. The very og of an me is that he/she creates the master, which the plates that create vinyl are molded from.

Analogue gear does make a BIG-ASS difference like mentioned.

You can self finalize a track but not really master it yourself. The premise of mastering means objectivity which is impossible to gain DIY. (and that of a professional is additionally valuable)

Ultimately we know quite a few people self finalize as not everyones music is suitable, competent enough or deemed as important enough by it's very maker. Ultimately a choice for the producer themselves. However it is important to know what mastering is and is not otherwise ill formed decisions can be made.

Also I work with a significant amount of EDM styles (I don't like that term), dance music, there thats better albeit generic, so mastering EP's and albums in a holistic/cohesive manner is not some exclusive preserve of rock music / music recorded in multiple studios etc.

5 tracks produced by a producer are likely to sound somewhat different to each other.

in the non-EDM world, mastering engineers work on the record as a whole; ie, the last record i mixed had 12 songs mixed by 3 engineers in 3 different studios, mixing material that was tracked at 5 different places. Someone may mix a tune really quietly, someone may mix just shy of 0db, some tunes may need a lot of low end to feel right as a song, etc, etc, etc. The mastering engineer works with the song, song order, delivery medium etc and makes a cohesive whole out of X amount of tunes.

or, a mastering engineer is a guy who slaps an L3 on your tune, boosts 8k and calls it a day. either way...

The first part is correct, the second part only if 8K and an L3 is whats needed, otherwise it's just guesswork. There is no less consideration, accuracy of monitoring, skill, knowledge, equipment required with one track than 10.

cheers

SafeandSound Mastering

Vast-Grid wrote:Analogue gear does make a BIG-ASS difference like mentioned.

More so when chosen judiciously. Analogue equipment is not all built the same.
It remains secondary to actual processing choices. i.e. correct eqing, compression etc. etc.
And that comes down to monitoring again... budget KRK's will not cut it.

Gravehill wrote:A bit unrelated but this is something I've always wondered; why doesn't the mixing engineer just master the song also? Like why is it even a separate thing and not just a part of the mixing process?

Very much related....

1) Lack of objectivity / fresh ears
2) Compounding issues due to same room and monitors being used (You can only hear what your room/monitors allow you to)
3) Inadequately equipped, budget monitoring and gear (often)
4) Listening technique
5) Lack of experience in solely mastering music. (dedication to mastering)
6) If the mix engineer is any good.... time, he or she will be mixing the next project in the studio booking schedule.

Mixing and mastering are 2 different things entirely. Thats todays mantra.

Dedicated services to one or the other are most likely to bring best results.

I am not here for the "sell" of mastering by the way (as far as I know about 0.1pct of my work comes from here lol) I just want people to understand and have some clarity more than anything. The internet is full of bull and cloudy explanations, vague looking bedroom studios etc.

That way you will make more informed/ better decisions and that can only be a good thing for everyone involved in music making.