mastering software

[mpk49guy]

just got a bonus from my job and was looking into mastering software to finish a few projects any recommendations?
for windows pc? I have live too so I dont know if a vsti would be best?

[Superchibisan]

vsti stands for instrument, so you need a vst.

good all in one solution is izotope ozone 4. completely worth it. (ppsssst... i don't really use anything but the harmonic exciter on it.)

i've been using ozone for a year or so now... its pretty nice

t-racks is supposed to be better i've heard.

[mpk49guy]

anybody else because they are about the same price so i just want a few more opinions before i cough up the dough. anybody here have t-racks?

[leedsquietman]

This is all very subjective.

What are you actually looking for from your 'mastering software'.

I personally use Soundforge for it's super easy audio editing and tools analysis, combined with some nice 3rd party VSTS, such as PSP Mastercomp, Sonalksis Essentials MKII Bundle, Voxengo Elephant 3 and sometimes Soniformer and Curve EQ etc and plenty more.

I would personally take Ozone over T-Racks, and both are useful and pretty simple to use but I don't find all of the plugins in those bundles to be up to a quality of top end VST plugins.

[Angstrom]

If you've got money to spend on 'mastering software' analyze your objectives not your purchasing opportunities.

If you want some click and forget 'brick wall loudness' on your techno techno, then it probably is a software solution you are after.
But if you are looking to make 'somehow better' sounding tracks, ones that 'are clearer', 'sound more professional'(etc) then it's not really software you need but knowledge and technique.

A bass trap or two and some decent monitors (if you don't have them), plus a workflow that includes some shitty little speakers and a firm grasp of the principles involved in EQ, mixing and placing instruments in a mix, etc. That's what equates to the best mastering a home user can achieve. Software is the very last link in the chain after all the other boxes have been ticked.


most people read Bob Katz's book as a starting point, and it's a good idea to follow that lead. http://www.digido.com/media/articles-and-demos.html

Live user Tarekith has some basic guides to mixing and mastering that you could google up pretty easy.

[leedsquietman]

This is all good advice. I have read Bob Katz's book inside out, up and down and in reverse and it is a great read, but you need to be a more experienced user to understand it - I've been engineering since 1986 and was really a noob for several years before I really started to get it. I would not have gotten through Katz's book and learned much from it in those first formative years, Of course, back then, if you didn't have tons of money and lots of hardware gear then it wasn't possible for many people to obtain this knowledge, although I did Music Technology classes at college on engineering and got to experience some nice hardware gear and stuff like ADAT recording and DAT machines, as well as Studer analog multi tracks and nice outboard mixers like Neves, SSL and Tridents etc, having graduated from Tascam Portastudios.

Having said all of this, volume maximizing - compression - limiting is a part of the the typical mastering process (certainly not the whole process) and although more attention and hype is paid to it than ought to be, it is still a relevant part of it. Ozone and T-Racks give you those tools, plus EQ and reverb etc but some of these plugins are better than others. And if you don't know HOW to use a compressor or limiter, then you may as well just be using Live's tools or freebies until you can get these to perform in the appropriate way, rather than spending a ton on Waves or UAD or Sonalksis etc. However, once you acquire the knowledge, you can make great use of these tools. Software plugins have really come on a lot, and although it doesn't replace great outboard gear like a Weiss De-esser or a Massenburg EQ, it comes damned close.

[drumrak]

i really like the waves masterplug, i have ozone and i dont think it sounds as good, but im just comparing presets. they can be made to sound very similar but i think its alot easier with masterplug so i just use that.

[leedsquietman]

If you are experienced and know how to use processing plugins such as EQ, compression and limiting etc. correctly, an experienced user can make Live's inbuilt, freebie tools or whatever else, sound better than a noob messing around with presets in Waves or T-racks etc. Making good music is both an art and a science. The creative part and arrangement are an art, the mixing and sound quality issues are both an art and a science. Without learning the knowledge, your mix and subsequently your master (as no master can sound good from a poor mix) will not stand up to pro or even semi-pro releases soundwise. Then you can say you were going for a minimalist lo=fi approach but that only stands up for so long.

You should be able to get an impressive result with Ozone or T-racks. But an experienced user who really knows how to use those tools might be able to squeeze an even better result out of the expensive seperate VST processing plugins. But 90% of the value of a mix is in a good arrangement and well balanced levels, only the last few %, a touch of extra gloss, is provided by processing.

[Superchibisan]

avoid presets. if you can't. do not leave them untouched. load them and change them.

do not buy waves!

professional quality can be obtained via software, you just really need to know what you are doing!

knowing what you are doing comes from experience.

[donnydonny]

Ozone 4 is probably the best deal you can find anywhere. Of course, it's not the be-all-end-all solution to mastering, but it's an excellent tool for doing your own amateur mastering. It has the tools to really have a good sounding end result as opposed to the commonly cooked/sizzled/squashed results that T-Racks tends to produce.

[leedsquietman]

You can overcook things in Ozone or anything else though and if you know how to use your plugins more subtly, achieve results with a certain level of transparency in T-racks. I have to say that neither Ozone nor T-racks are particularly transparent IMHO.

Although transparency is not always required. Transparency is essential in classical music, and to a certain degree in jazz and blues or acoustic singer songwriter material where you are trying to capture an acoustic event. For pumping electronica or power pop or heavy rock, transparency is often required less as you are looking to accentuate and make things sound more 'in your face' more often than not.

This is why I would prefer to use something like Voxengo's Elephant v3 limiter. It has a myriad of different algorithms and massive flexibility in release times and punch, from being very, very light and nearly transparent to pumping like a nodding donkey in an oilfield, with everything else in between. Ozone and T-racks multiband dynamics and limiter plugins give you a smaller subset of control in comparison, although they give you enough options to cover most bases. As mentioned before, for home demos, Ozone and T-racks provide tools at a reasonable cost which can enhance your material, if you know how to use those tools, and in a convenient package - Ozone also provides excellent metering. Just because I went a different route and custom picked the processing tools I use, does not necessarily mean that anyone else would appreciate the benefits like I do and certainly, it is much costlier to do it that way.

[Superchibisan]

big fan of psp's xenon limiter. if you want transparency, there you go. (yer mr bob katz was a beta tester for it...)

i'll check out the voxengo.

[Jekblad]

i'd love it if some one did a "mastering" video demo using only live's devices.

that way us noobs can learn the proper way to use the standard tools.

I understand that it takes a lifetime to learn and execute properly, but i like to learn a lot, and i've learned a great deal about Live etc from video's guys have posted. so yeah.

I'm def going to read the katz book. thanks!

[Mr Man]

does anyone have harbal eq... http://www.har-bal.com/

[Mididreamer]

Mixing : http://www.nugenaudio.com/
Mastering : http://www.image-line.com/documents/maximus.html