Topic: Mastering Techniques w/ Links

[acutejam]

On the iPad, I've been using news aggregator Zite for awhile and started a section on "Recording." Zite is kinda like Pandora for news, thumbs up/thumbs down to refine your news.

Over the past few weeks, I've found a few gems that have come in handy.

Recording: In The Studio: Eight Tips For Mixing For Mastering
http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/in_the_studio_eight_tips_for_mixing_for_mastering/
Wherein we learn that 78:33 is the max time of an audio cd... Didn't have this down to the second prior...

How to Enhance a Live, Out-of-the-Mixer Concert Recording
http://audio.tutsplus.com/tutorials/mixing-mastering/how-to-enhance-a-live-out-of-the-mixer-concert-recording/

And my fav link of late, something I've always kinda been looking for:

Handy EQ Reference
http://www.soundpunk.com/index.php/page/articles.html/_/tutorials/tips-and-tricks/handy-eq-reference-r11

But that hasn't matched the gems picked up from here. I've got a year under my belt now with the CA14 Omnis/CA 9100/Sony M10. I'm usually near a stack so went with the Omnis, but a few balcony recordings have gone big and boomy as a result.

From AcidJack, my fav "mastering" technique is now:

In Audacity --
AUHighPass - between 60-90 depending on how much room boom I've got.
(Note that the Out-of-Mixer dude above runs his high pass at 30, just to remove "unneeded energy.")
Remove unwanted peeks from audience clapping/screaming.
Amplify - see what it wants to do (ie Amplify +3.4) then CANCEL.
Hard Limiter - with a few more points under suggested Amplify (ie -5.4).
Amplify - at minus 0.1 peak, (ie 5.3)

Shazam! Very Happy Camper! Thanks TS!

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Curses, im on a tablet, so parden the brevity;

 The cd time sounds like an overburned 74min disc. I agree with the HPF under 30hz. You can go slightly higher, but above 50 it is either a special setup (no electric bass, etc). Above that and I favor shelving over a HPF. Better control. Sometimes even in conjunction.

In aduacity, i found that you can eat about 2db as youve noted with the limiter befire noticing its effects, especially if you use a wet value other than full on.