Mac and mastering Question

[chulio]

I have a modest home studio and I am running
Korg D1600
Roland VS880ex
2 Shure KSM27
AKG C414
Lexicon 110
Bluetube Compressor
Bluetube Preamp
Antares Real time pitch corrector
Mackie HR824 monitors
and to many other toys to mention
My question is I would like to purchase a Mac Laptop for mastering. What should I look for? mastering software? Or should I just Have the mastering done by a pro?

[chulio]

:( Thanks Guys

[groupouts]

A couple of good mastering software for the macs are : Peak, Wavelab, and my favorite, Pro Tools. But remember it's not all about the software, you also need plug ins. Good mastering plug ins are: L1 maximizer, All of the DUY stuff is useful, Waves bundle stuff is great, and don't forget to get a spectral analyzer at the end of your chain to check your frequency balance. Hope this helps.

Rick

P.S. it's always good to have a professional do your mastering. Not only do they have experience in the "art" but it's a new set of ears and maybe they can take your project to a new level that you never intended it to.

[michaelhoddy]

The Waves Masters bundle (L2, LinEQ, LinMB) is very cool. The TC bundle sounds great as well. But only if you know what you're doing from a mastering standpoint. I use all the Waves plugs (including the L1 and C4, which are also very useful) every day.

My question is this: With your current gear, why would you buy a Mac just for mastering? Why not go the extra mile and get into Digital Performer or Logic, get an audio interface like the MOTU 896, 828, or 2408, and replace the VS880ex and D1600? You'll have a lot more flexibility and power for not a lot more money than you'd spend trying to get into a Mac and the appropriate software to begin with.

[JeffBarnett]

Mastering has always been the most difficult and esoteric part of the recording process. It's the magic touch that makes the songs most people record in their living rooms sound dramatically different than those on the CD's they buy in the record store.

Traditionally, mastering has been left to seasoned pros who have great ears and years of experience (not to mention $100k + in specialized mastering gear). I'll re-emphasize that it is not easy for most people to do it on their own.

However, if you've got the ears for it and you don't want to hire one of those mastering guys, you can do a respectable job on your computer using specialized software.

Waves (http://www.sweetwater.com/store/search.php?search=Waves&action=search&st=3) recently released their Masters Bundle. (http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/NativeMast/)

This is the definitive collection for mastering. It include's their linear-phase EQ, linear-phase multiband compressor, and their famous L2 Ultramaximizer. Consider this bundle a must if you are mastering on your own. If you don't already have a basic set of Waves plug-ins, you should consider their Platinum bundle, (http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/NativePlat/) which contains the Masters Bundle along with practically every plugin Waves makes. The Platinum bundle adds the spectrum analyzer, bass maximization, stereo image enhancement, and other plugins you'll find useful in mastering (plus their "regular" compressors, limiters, EQs, and the like).

These plugins will work with Peak (my personal favorite for 2-track editing) or any major multi-track recording platform.

For more specific info on mastering, here is a pretty good expanation on Sweetwater's Word for the Day Archive:


Though used (too) generically in our industry, this word can mean many subtly different things. The most common (and correct) understanding is that mastering is the process where recorded material is taken from a "master tape" and prepared for duplication in the format of the final release media. Historically this originated with transferring material from tapes to an acetate master disk, which was the first process in making phonograph records. The entire process was as much an art as a science, and as production quality and technology advanced, many practices were developed that helped make better and better sounding records. This advancement included many potential processes of the audio signal such as equalization, compression, limiting, normalization, widening the stereo image, editing fades, and just putting the songs in the correct order. They started out as simple tweaks that had to be done to make audio play correctly on vinyl records, but producers learned that a good mastering engineer could be the difference in how an album ended up sounding as a whole. A well mastered record was better and more consistent in terms of levels and tone quality, which became more and more important as radio airplay and home hi-fi systems became more prevalent in our society.

Nowadays, with the convenience, quality, and affordability of digital audio equipment, many of these steps are done in the recording studio (home or otherwise) where the material was recorded. A significant percentage of the equipment sold at Sweetwater Sound is for this purpose and is being purchased by beginners and pros alike. Still, however, the last few steps of the mastering process, which is very different for CD's than it was for LP's (see WFTD archive LP), are done after the material leaves the studio. Sometimes an actual mastering house is used, and other times the "mastered" material is sent directly to a duplication facility where they can also do the final few steps. The lines between how much of it are done in the studio, versus a mastering house, versus the duplication house are very blurry at this point.

More in depth info on mastering can be found at the following Web sites:


* http://www.digido.com/
* http://www.audiodirectory.demon.nl/mastering.html
* http://www.essrl.wustl.edu:80/~adl/mastering/
* http://www.drtmastering.com/biz/drt/faq2.htm#whatis


I hope this helps!

Please feel free to call me or email me off-line if you have any more questions.

[cmchamp]

Send some my way!