Home mastering - what's the best workflow?

ZV Yoda

Hi folks,

I have a question about workflow for home mastering. I’ve recorded & mixed 10 songs at home. I now want to master these as an album. What’s the best way to approach this?

Currently, each song is mixed in its own Pro Tools session. On the master fader for each session, I have a sound widening plug in (BX Solo – this gives a nice wide sound field) and Waves L1 + Ultramiximiser (I use the “16 bit hi res master” pre-set and adjust the threshold till the master fader sits just below peaking). While I'm not 100% sure of the physics behind these plugins, the reason I put them on the master fader is because they give the bounced mix more width and loudness.

My question is this - if I want to master these stereo mixes in a separate mastering session, should I remove the master fader plugins from each individual session before bouncing them to stereo wavs for the mastering session (so that I’m effectively just mastering the raw mixes)?

From reading online, some people use limiters in mixing sessions whilst others seem to use them only for mastering. I’ve read a lot about using limiters and the importance of leaving mix head room, but I’m struggling a bit with the concepts.

Thanks!

peter05

Use compression and EQ to get loudness. I use limiting to catch ISP only. Just pushing the volume without corrections leads to distortions.

My chain would be preamp(depending if need) ≠ EQ(Surgical clean) ≠ EQ(Passive for color) ≠ Compression(Varimu or an opto) depending on the program. Sometimes this might be patched differently as Compressor after first EQ for a different sound.

Limiting is FabFilter ProL, Voxengo or Sonnox. Depending if is rock/pop or an electronic source.

Limiting is done ITB as analog limiters dont have a look ahead to react better.
My experience with those waves plugins in a master chain is not so good.
They tend to sound a bit plastic and hollow.

Fork out the cash for Fabfilter or Brainworx

With regards to the master bus if it has adverse (distortions, pumping) effects to the program its best to remove it.

Read Katz book for a better understanding.

ZV Yoda

Thanks Peter,
That’s good advice. I think I will remove the master buss plugins before bouncing them out to the mastering session.

I wasn't planning to shell out for more plugins, since I already have all the IK T-Racks plugins as well as the Waves ones.

Unfortunately, the real weak links in my chain are my (non-existent) mastering skills & the poor room acoustics.

godfrey

Why would you put all that care and effort and work into recording and mixing only to attempt one of the most crucial stages yourself as a beginner?

Mastering is very affordable these days, even by the world's best professional mastering engineers.

No offence intended in the slightest, but if your knowledge extends to just what you're writing in your post, I'd strongly suggest you reconsider. I don't think you'll be sorry.

g

i57dwun4yb1pt8

i would go to a pro to do a CD , or coherent volume level web based album .
its to tricky to get it consistent in volume , eq , spacing . DR and overall glue / feel .


if its just web based single tracks , then as an amateur i can only say Best way to learn is to try ,
at least you'll gain the experience to know what is good and bad mastering , and learn the basic ins and outs of it .

never know , you might find you are good at it or at least ' not sh1t '

i tend to mix into channel that is pre master fader , and on that i have mastering tools to allow me to hear what it roughtly will end up like
switch these on and off as i mix here and there , BUT turn them all off to export
i also use a dynamic range meter and try to keep about 12 db DR
export the reaper mix session to a 24 bit 44.1 mix wav usually at -3 to - 6 db peak

then import this into a dedicated reaper mastering template with each tool on a track feeding the next. usually about 6 tracks in a chain track 6 being the mix file.

usually its similar to Peters chain above , and bring up the volume but keeping an eye on DR

the master fader just has the dither / export plugin for export to 16 / 44.1 and a durrough meter plug

tends to go from a mix at - 6 db peak and - 18 db rms to -0.2db peak and - 12 db rms master for me generally .

there are some great vid tutorials out there on you tube , and you could also use a multi tool like OZONE .

ZV Yoda

@godfrey No offence taken
Yeah, I did think about getting it done professionally, but since I've done everything else myself, I wanted to tackle the mastering myself too. I know a pro would do a better job, but part of the fun for me is learning the ropes - it's not for a commercial release or anything, just my own pet project. I'm just a home studio guy who's been picking it up as I go along.

@DaDumTish
There's some some decent video tutorials alright, but there seemed to be conflicting advice about what should / should not be left on the mix buss prior to bouncing for mastering. I think I'll take the approach you & Peter suggested - i.e. deactivate the master fader plugins on the mix session before I bounce to wav for mastering. The IK T-Racks bundle includes a mastering multi-tool, so I'll probably just use something like that & tweak the settings till I'm happy with the sound.

mart1977

Best workflow.... Call a good mastering Engineer / studio and leave it there. Unless you have very high end monitors and an acoustically tight room your shooting in the dark for results.

ZV Yoda

mart1977 wrote: »

Best workflow.... Call a good mastering Engineer / studio and leave it there. Unless you have very high end monitors and an acoustically tight room your shooting in the dark for results.

You mean a professional sound engineer, in a professionally treated studio with high end gear and years of experience would get better results that an amateur home studio guy in his acoustically challenged home studio using consumer level recording gear? :eek:

Did you even read the thread?

DaireGleeson

Hi
On bouncing the track I would only use the L1 to level all the tracks so they're at a similar level.
Have the threshold just on or above the highest peaks and have the output at -3bd or -6b, this is your head room for frequency boosts that could be needed.
Do this on all tracks. It will start you off with all the tracks at a similar level going into mastering.
You will also need dynamic head room, but as long as you haven't over compressed your mix this should be fine.
Bounce at the highest audio quality, only use dither if you are down-sampling.

Mastering is very tricky as a small change can make a big difference,
So a good frequency analyzer and loudness analyzer would be very helpful, they can help keep the frequency curve and loudness of all tracks similar.

Using a pro mastered track can help keep the ear honest, but remember to keep it at the loudness you want your track at, as our ears perceive louder to be better.
Now add the magic and your radio ready ;D

Free frequency analyzer
Blue Cat's FreqAnalyst
Voxengo SPAN

Meldaproduction do a free pack with a frequency analyzer and loudness analyzer in it.

As to mixing in to a limiter, it can be good if your using it to bring up your levels while mixing, eg. using a reference track at the same level as your own can help your mix a lot, but you wouldn't want to be going over 3-4db of gain reduction.

In a home studio, Analyzers and Reference tracks can be your best friend but they need to be use the right way.

Good Luck with it.
Daire

ZV Yoda

Thanks Daire - great post!