Discussion on sample rate converters and its relationship to mastering?

dav nagle

cornbb wrote: »

I tried it in iTunes with the equaliser on and that made it sound pretty bad too. Fuppin iTunes!

ogy's right though, it should be mastered so that using an equaliser/Apple Magic Sound iWonderfulater™ shouldn't make it sound terrible.

Would somebody be able to give me a few suggestions that perhaps I could throw the mastering engineers way in order for the mix to work on everything be it itunes or whatever. The album was created for digital distribution and it is soooooooo important that it sounds clean on all machines!


Cheers

Dav

ogy

just tell him
- its limited too hard
- you don't want it to be as loud as it can possibly be at the expense of sound quality
- that your priority is to reasonably preserve the dynamics of the mix and ensure that it transfers well to all systems.

Please note that I appreciate the time you all have put into resolving this issue...

no probs:)

oh and have a read of this, might be of interest to you, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_wars

dav nagle

Ogy,


Thanks a mill man your bang on the button. I have to say it is great to get your advice. I will let him know what the situation is and all should be A O K. I will explain that the limiting is too harsh too.


Thanks to all you have been fantastic.

ogy wrote: »

just tell him
- its limited too hard
- you don't want it to be as loud as it can possibly be at the expense of sound quality
- that your priority is to reasonably preserve the dynamics of the mix and ensure that it transfers well to all systems.



no probs:)

oh and have a read of this, might be of interest to you, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_wars

cornbb

The loudness war debate is interesting. I don't have any strong opinions on it but I think its a huge pity that most bands/musicians/producers barely take dynamics into account on the creative/artistic side of things - all technical debates aside, contrasting "soft" and "loud" parts creatively can really improve a piece of music. Listen to any classical music for evidence of this.

ogy

yeh it gets touted around a lot and its important not to be reactionary. limiters and compressors are really important tools but can do very evil things in the wrong hands:)

dav nagle

cornbb wrote: »

The loudness war debate is interesting. I don't have any strong opinions on it but I think its a huge pity that most bands/musicians/producers barely take dynamics into account on the creative/artistic side of things - all technical debates aside, contrasting "soft" and "loud" parts creatively can really improve a piece of music. Listen to any classical music for evidence of this.

I changed the dynamics of the piano in every song on the album. Yes, it certainly seems a shame that when something is getting mastered the mastering engineer might just slam your track out of tim buck 2. When the track gets slammed that hard the dynamics are lost! I repeat LOST!!!!

Niall - Dahlia

Is it an Irish mastering house/engineer? I'm not asking you to name, I'm just wondering is it not possible for you to be there for the mastering?

When I had a quick listen to the file you uploaded earlier my first impression was that this section, which was obviously meant to be a quiet section, was squashed to all hell.

Which do you prefer dav, your original mixes with the volume on your hi-fi turned up, or the mastered version?

dav nagle

Niall - Dahlia wrote: »

Is it an Irish mastering house/engineer? I'm not asking you to name, I'm just wondering is it not possible for you to be there for the mastering?

When I had a quick listen to the file you uploaded earlier my first impression was that this section, which was obviously meant to be a quiet section, was squashed to all hell.

Which do you prefer dav, your original mixes with the volume on your hi-fi turned up, or the mastered version?

Hi Dahia,

A few producers told me they would always go to a mastering session no matter what. I am very happy all in all with the master and yes it was done here. However, I would like to hear a different job just for the fun but money money money! It doesn't grow on trees but when it rains it pours!

Niall - Dahlia

I'm not saying you shouldn't master your tracks; I agree that all mixes should be sent to a mastering engineer that wasn't involved in the recording or mixing process. I just wanted to find out if you agree that it's too harshly limited, since I can't hear the rest of the track. Surely a remaster at no extra cost will be no problem anyway?

dav nagle

Niall - Dahlia wrote: »

I'm not saying you shouldn't master your tracks; I agree that all mixes should be sent to a mastering engineer that wasn't involved in the recording or mixing process. I just wanted to find out if you agree that it's too harshly limited, since I can't hear the rest of the track. Surely a remaster at no extra cost will be no problem anyway?

I do agree that for a soft song the limit is harsh. I suppose in context with the rest of the the more upbeat tracks on the album the mastering engineer probably decided to keep all the tracks 'even stephen' and perhaps if he reduced the smack of the lighter tracks then the album might sound in consistent. Please send me your email and I will send you the full track via you send it.com for further analysis?

Thanks
Dav

PaulBrewer

Dav,

I think despite what good advise you'll get here Boards.ie isn't the forum to sort your problem.

I know the Mastering Engineer and his pedigree is faultless.

The obvious solution, to my mind, is to address any issues directly with the Engineer and work through it til you're happy.

dav nagle

PaulBrewer wrote: »

Dav,

I think despite what good advise you'll get here Boards.ie isn't the forum to sort your problem.

I know the Mastering Engineer and his pedigree is faultless.

The obvious solution, to my mind, is to address any issues directly with the Engineer and work through it til you're happy.

Thanks Paul,

I have the situation sorted

PaulBrewer

dav nagle wrote: »

Thanks Paul,

I have the situation sorted

Good to hear Chief! Hope the albums a Hit!

dav nagle

PaulBrewer wrote: »

Good to hear Chief! Hope the albums a Hit!

Hi Paul,

It is a digital distribution download experiment really. I like electronica music but I am going to get back to rock now. I want to see if it is possible within a 5 year period to generate a flow of revenue from digital downloads. Sony believe in the next 5 years 25% of all music will be purchased online. Now is the time to give it a try! Ill certainly keep you posted if you like

dav nagle

In light of testing the levels,mix and overall sound of the examples I have posted I dare say that the real problem I was having was with the muddy piano sound I chose for the album. I have rectified this issue by choosing a cleaner piano sample and fully except that the issue was my own.I am looking forward to getting the accused tracks re mastered and in no way hold the mastering engineer responsible.


Peace out my fellow urchlings

D

PaulBrewer

Groovy, Daddy-O

dav nagle

PaulBrewer wrote: »

Groovy, Daddy-O

My wrists are still soar!