Do you master by ear or eye?

mike65

Okay admit it cos I will, too often I find myself making a judgment not on what I hear but the levels I see in the audio editor display (Sound Forge).

While its not the worst sin I really must learn to close my eyes and judge purely by how it sounds to a set of fresh ears not a pair of tired eyes at 1 am.

Anyone else find themselves doing the same?

Mike.

Doctor J

I use both, but ears have the casting vote always. Ears get tired and can deceive at times but the analyser lets you know if you're on course or not. It's never a bad thing to double check what you're doing and use every means you have at your disposal.

frobisher

What exactly do you mean by doing it by eye?

Doctor J

Using a spectrum analyser to gauge the level of frequncies, I would guess.

mike65

Judging the sound by the look of the waveform (too near 0db or far from 0db etc, is the fade too quick or too slow etc), primarily but yeah analyser graphs and the like too. It might be a good idea to have the monitors opposite the er monitor screen.

Mike.

TelePaul

Doctor J wrote:

Using a spectrum analyser to gauge the level of frequncies, I would guess.

That's a big no no.

Niall - Dahlia

Yeah I find myself having to stop myself using my eyes way too much.

Nothing wrong with a spectrum analyser though, or anything that can help you along the way, just so long as you don't start relying on it 100%.