Mastering Software

Steve Durand · Post by **Steve Durand** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 5:49 pm

I am curious as to how many people use mastering software outside of their sequencer software(e.g. Wavelab).

What are the advantages of doing this?

What software do you use?

Steve

melvin · Post by **melvin** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 6:29 pm

Check out Ozone mastering software at: http://www.izotope.com

The free demo is good for 2 weeks, I think. It can do crazy things to your final mix. But you need a gentle hand, because it's easy to get too carried away. You'll see what I mean.

Steve Durand · Post by **Steve Durand** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 6:49 pm

Thanks Melvin,
I have Ozone and I use it as a plug-in to my sequencer. I was just wondering if there is something special about using a separate mastering program.

Steve

Adam! · Post by **Adam!** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 7:15 pm

Using a seperate program for mastering is great for masochists and people who find using plugins too easy.

ken · Post by **ken** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 8:10 pm

I have wavelab, but since I mostly export to mp3 for songfight, I just put a mastering compressor on my master bus. I used Voxengo Elephant, which I absolutely love. I sometimes add some EQ as well, but only if I think my mix is lacking something.

These days I only use wavelab if I don't have enough processing power to master at mixdown.

Ken

HeuristicsInc · Post by **HeuristicsInc** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:06 am

I use ozone as a master on my final mix, in soundforge after I export the song to wav. is this different from what you do? Doesn't seem like it. But I do like to keep around the raw and mastered files separately (I save everything like a packrat).
-bill

Steve Durand · Post by **Steve Durand** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:20 am

HeuristicsInc wrote:I use ozone as a master on my final mix, in soundforge after I export the song to wav. is this different from what you do? Doesn't seem like it. But I do like to keep around the raw and mastered files separately (I save everything like a packrat).
-bill

Recently I have been using it on my master bus and not on a mixed down .wav file. It works just fine this way. I use Sonar.

Steve

Kamakura · Post by **Kamakura** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 2:04 am

Ozone rocks.

I master the best I can on Logic and then use ozone for final sweatening in Audition. This gives me two final mixes much like Heuristics.

Ozone has a really nice mastering reverb and other bells and whistles.
They also have two really good guides, one on Mastering and one on Dithering
http://www.izotope.com/products/audio/ozone/guides.html
I never understood dithering before reading these, and it's something you really need to know.

starfinger · Post by **starfinger** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 9:38 am

I master [with ozone] in Sound Forge because I usually wait a while after the mixdown to do that stuff. Well, who knows what I'd do if I actually had the VST version of Ozone instead of the Dx one.

Regardless, I appreciate this distinction of steps in the process.

Furthermore, my overall process requires the use of Sound Forge:
I usually render my projects from Ableton Live at 96k / 24-bit. Then I master this with Ozone as a plugin in sound forge, without using the dithering component (I guess I could theoretically do that part in the host).

With this mastered, hi-quality file in hand, I resample it to 44k using Sound Forge, and finally run the Ozone ditherer on that file to make the 16-bit version. I have noticed a much higher quality final product following these steps.

-craig

j$ · Post by j$ » Mon Mar 27, 2006 9:48 am

My sequencer doesn't allow plug-ins so I have to master any individual tracks before importing, and then master the final file once it has been exported. On the downside it's a pain in the arse timewise but it does mean I am a little more sparing on piling on the exciter and other effects onto each and every track.

ken · Post by **ken** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 10:13 am

Why would you master individual tracks? What do you mean?

Ken

j$ · Post by j$ » Mon Mar 27, 2006 11:04 am

Well, for instance, within Ozone, compresing vocal tracks, adding a bit of sparkle to guitar tracks, makes the mixing-as-you-record approach easier.

stueym · Post by **stueym** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 8:46 pm

I track and mix in Cubase SX and then mixdown to a stereo pair and run those in WaveLab to master a final MP3. Typically I do that so I get another chance at running my UAD-1 card against the final mix. I find that if I have used up several compressors on tracks in the mix I can't squeex much more in the final stereo out in Cubase. But mixing down to a final WAV pair at 96Khz into Wavelab I then can add reverb (UAD-1 hungry) as an overall sparkle to the mix (yes I do use too much reverb

)

I could just reimport the mixdown tracks back into Cubase and do it there but I find the alternative envirnment in Wavelab lets me focus on the task in hand. The visual metering helps in there too and seems more focused to a final stereo-5.1 mix.