sending tracks off to be mastered(sorry)

seannash

first off sorry about yet another mastering related thread but i have a question.
ive done a few tracks all of which the labels ive done them for say there gona master,which is cool.but im finding that its tking them bloody ages to release them,let alone master them so im patiently waiting for them todonthat so i can play them out.
becaus its taking so long i was thinking about getting them mastered before i send them away now.so my question is what treatment if any do you give a track before it heads off to someone else.
ive sent to a few people and they ask what i have on my master.i dont put anything on my master,i just let it play as is.is it right to do this?
i know mastering will take care of the volume so im not worried about that but im wondering if itll give it that fader pump(like when you look at the led on a fader it pumps up and down rather than flicker like mine do right now)
so any advic would be great(i can post an example if needed):D

ogy

hey, one thing to watch out for is the confusion between mastering and pre-mastering. may not be the case but a friend of mine got caught on this so...

technically, "mastering" just means cutting the record. what we usually called mastering is actually "pre-mastering". a label a friend of mine was on got some of his tracks "mastered" and by this they literally just meant it was going to get cut, so the volume/eq/compression etc. wasn't changed in anyway.

seannash

well its a digital label so there talking about(and me)mastering so the levels are good and just give it a polished sound.

DamagedTrax

basically all you should do is sent an unmastered version to the mastering engineer - i usually run the mix thru a mild comp on the 2bus but other then that your ME will look after it all.

WHATEVER YOU DO DONT LIMIT OR OVERCOMPRESS!!! (a good ME WILL probably send it beck and ask for a new mix anyway)

seannash

so having nothing on the master channel is okay

DamagedTrax

yup. totally fine. just remember to leave enough headroom for the ME to work with

seannash

cool,thanks man

studiorat

Mix it the way you want to sound, if this means running the mix through a compressor do so by all means. I'll usually mix through a good compressor and an EQ, actually I often track while monitoring through the compressor too, I like the way it sounds...

Just keep switching the effects in and out to make sure you are not making it worse!

I'll EQ the whole mix and compress the way I want it to sound. Hopefully then a mastering engineer will just need to adjust to match the levels of the different songs so the listener doesn't need to change the volume when listening to the album as a whole.

I'll usually leave 2 to 3dB of headroom in a 2 track master if it's been sent off to be mastered, so the Mastering guy has a bit of room to play with.

Personally I think there's way too much emphasis on mastering anyway, what used to be "fix it in the mix" is now turning into "let's get it mastered".

I've often sat in on mastering sessions and preferred the sound of the un-mastered version. I was chuffed recently when I asked what a mastering guy had done to an couple of recordings I did that were sent to him and he said "apart from match a few levels...", "Nothing"

seannash

studiorat wrote: »

Mix it the way you want to sound, if this means running the mix through a compressor do so by all means. I'll usually mix through a good compressor and an EQ, actually I often track while monitoring through the compressor too, I like the way it sounds...

I'll EQ the whole mix and compress the way I want it to sound. Hopefully then a mastering engineer will just need to adjust to match the levels of the different songs so the listener doesn't need to change the volume when listening to the album as a whole.

I'll usually leave 2 to 3dB of headroom in a 2 track master if it's been sent off to be mastered, so the Mastering guy has a bit of room to play with.

Personally I think there's way too much emphasis on mastering anyway, what used to be "fix it in the mix" is now turning into "let's get it mastered".

I've often sat in on mastering sessions and preferred the sound of the un-mastered version. I was chuffed recently when I asked what a mastering guy had done on an couple of recordings I did were sent to him and he said apart from match a few levels... "Nothing"

i have the mixdown i want but like i said it need that extra something,like it need things tightened.i dont know if that a mastering engineers job or mine.but ive never put anything on my master.perhaps i should start.
i dont need any elements fixed but its hard to explain what i want

if i drag a track i bought on beatport into logic its got a nice pump motion on the fader leds,mine flickers.i just feel that thats the part im missing.it hard for me to explain

studiorat

seannash wrote: »

i have the mixdown i want but like i said it need that extra something,like it need things tightened.i dont know if that a mastering engineers job or mine.but ive never put anything on my master.perhaps i should start.
i dont need any elements fixed but its hard to explain what i want

if i drag a track i bought on beatport into logic its got a nice pump motion on the fader leds,mine flickers.i just feel that thats the part im missing.it hard for me to explain

Your Job IMO...
A compressor with a relatively slow attack and a fast release will give you that pump. Try it on the mix, or else try it on the rhythm tracks bass/drums etc.
And don't worry what the meters are doing!!! Use the force:D

seannash

studiorat wrote: »

Your Job IMO...
A compressor with a relatively slow attack and a fast release will give you that pump. Try it on the mix, or else try it on the rhythm tracks bass/drums etc.

cool,ill try that.i have the bass sidechained and the percussion too,
ill try a compressor over the whole lot

studiorat

seannash wrote: »

cool,ill try that.i have the bass sidechained and the percussion too,
ill try a compressor over the whole lot

yeah get stuck in...
Just keep A/B'ing the treated and untreated track.

lettuce know how you get on.

Seziertisch

http://www.silvertonemastering.com/index.html

Seems to enjoy quite the rep and is also very affordable.

PaulBrewer

Or nip into Fergal in Dublin or Richard in Limerick and sit in on the session.

seannash

PaulBrewer wrote: »

Or nip into Fergal in Dublin or Richard in Limerick and sit in on the session.

it would be one hell of a nip,i live in new york:D

PaulBrewer

seannash wrote: »

it would be one hell of a nip,i live in new york:D

Sure the place is full of em over there!

Mastering is something the artist has control of, not the label. Get them to do the MP3 too ....

seannash

well it was more a question of whats expected of me before i send it out ya know

jtsuited

tricky situation.
i tend to do a good bit of mastering to the tracks i shop around. but then i give them a sane mix if they want a release.

studiorat

seannash wrote: »

it would be one hell of a nip,i live in new york:D

dundalk?

PaulBrewer

seannash wrote: »

well it was more a question of whats expected of me before i send it out ya know

Always send out the best track possible, don't expect anyone to give leeway..... especially in the music biz.

The more in control of the finished product you are the better.

seannash

studiorat wrote: »

dundalk?

Yep. Bay estate.how did you guess that

studiorat

Jedi Dundalk detector.