How long does is take to master a song? There are several extra song mastering procedures I offer that other mastering engineers will not do.
But before I get started, be sure to visit this link after you read this article for my low mastering rates.
I would say someonejust starting out in audio mastering might take an hour to A/B compare a song and replicate it.That time includes reviewing the song on different mediums like a car stereo, headphones, small speakers, etc.That's an hour total time to master one song.
As you improve with practice, you can quickly get it down to 30 minutes per song or less.A highly skilled audio mastering engineer canmaster a song in 10 minutes. At least that's how long it takes me.Note - I ALWAYS split my audio mastering into two separate sessions so I can finalize on fresh ears.I talk about this later in the book. Read more....
Some of you might think 10 minutes to master a song is too fast. It is if you're just starting out.You willneed more time to A/B compare and to test out different settings through trial and error.But in time, you'll learn how to quickly diagnose whata mix needs and what to do to achieve your desired results.
Now(after many years), if I spent 10 minutes or 40 minutes to master a song, my results would be exactly the same.An extra 30 minutes would not make my masters any better.
A good non-music example would be tying your shoes.The first week you learned as a child, it might take you a minute to tie each shoe.And you still might not get it right!Now, you can tie both shoes to perfection in 5 seconds!
If you spent an extra two minutes tying your shoes, could you do a better job? No.Whatever you can do in five seconds, the results will be exactly the same as if you spent two minutes.
The same goes for a highly skilled pro in audio mastering.
Now that you know how long it takes, let's learn how you properly master your music!Read more....
Correctly setting your mixing levels before mastering is essential for great mastering results. Having the best DB levels for mixing is critical. Here's how to properly do it!
Would you like to know how to master a song or how to master your own music? So many people think just making the volumes the same level for every song is "mastering" their CD. Well, mastering is a lot more than just that!
If you're looking for the best website hosting for musicians, bands, and music recording studios, here's my own personal experience with website hosting companies.
This article discusses what is the chorus effect in music and how to use it? The chorus effect makes a single audio track sound like a group. It achieves this by taking a single instrument or vocal track, multiplying it, and then slightly detunes each newly created track. The result is a fuller lush sounding audio track.
In this video I do a quick A/B comparison of a few songs. In my audio mastering secrets video series, I get a lot more in-depth into exactly what you are trying to achieve sonically for your genre/style of music.
I started my career using the old analog stuff, since that was the only option.I incorporated digital software plugins as soon as they became available, but it took many years before computers were fast enough to run them in realtime.And also before they started making very high quality plugins.
I would say YES, most people can become a great mastering engineer. I say this because most of the mixes I receive from clients are pretty good and I know the audio engineer (the band member with a computer) has only minimal training.He could easily be great if he put a little more study and practice time into it.And if he had this book to teach him what took me over 17 years to learn!Ha!
I had to write a quick note on this, as I was reminded about it while thumbing through a popular mixing book that had a 15 page section on speaker resonance and room sound proofing.I must say, a very exciting 15 pages!Ha!
A lot of mastering engineers are afraid to make drastic changes to a mix they are working on. That, or they're stuck in the familiarity of always making only small changes.
In this video I show how you can turn a weak mix (definitely wouldn't call it bad) into a great sounding master, simply by pushing your levels a little more than you might be used to.
How to set mixing levels for each instrument is a question I see all over the Internet. I'm going to explain exactly how to set mixing levels in this article.
This video shows one of the more imptotant compression techniques I use in audio mastering. In my audio Mastering Secrets Video Series, I explain everything you need to know about audio mastering.
This article discusses what is the reverb effect in music and how to use it?The reverb effect is used to simulate space. When reverb is applied to a dry vocal or instrument track, it will sound like it was recorded live in the space size that was selected on the processor. Common space size options include a small room, vocal plate, large hall, etc.
Why do songs need to be mastered? I've seen this question on the Internet many times.The answer I always see is "Because all songs on the radio have been professionally mastered, yours should be too."This is a true fact, but not an answer.
So, what is the best room size for audio mastering in your DAW home recording studio? Technically, you can properly mix or master in any room size.But, I believe a smaller room is better than a very large one for someone who's just starting out. And when I say smaller I mean closer to 12'x15' than to 20'x30'.I've mixed and mastered songs for a number of years in a 20'x30' room.It took me a few days to get used to it, but after that I could do it.
How much headroom before mastering should you leave in your mix? Here's the correct amount of headroom you should leave, using detailed graphic examples.
The vibrato and tremolo effects both have their differences. But the vibrato and tremolo effects also sound very similar; both slightly wave and pulsate the pitch of an audio track. You have to hear it for yourself to understand the sound.
Here are the series of audio mastering software processors I've used on the over 30,000 songs I've mastered since 1999. In this video, I use mostly izotope ozone plugins because it's easier to explain using them. In real-life, I do mix in a few hardware pieces, and a waves plugin.
