#1682121 - 06/25/05 10:07 PM
Re: Attention Mastering engineers!
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Chris Cavell
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Registered: 04/04/05
Posts: 94
Loc: US
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Gaotu (and Anderson Council Sound),
If you'd like, send me a before/after sample of your mastering, as well as a description of the mastering chain and settings...as well as the intended purpose for each part of the chain/settings. I'll take a look at it in my free time and drop any pointers I can.
Regarding the process of going from 24 to 16 bit...dither gives you options. Period. Something will always be lost in the conversion, but dither allows you to pick and choose b/w how much is lost vs. where the dither noise is concentrated. I personally prefer the 3 implimentations of Pow-R dither at the moment. The three are vastly different flavors of dither, each favoring different production styles, and choosing which type of dither you prefer for a given project/production style will take some blind listening tests to determine...with any brand, not just Pow-R. If you choose your dither wisely, the loss in quality b/w 24 and 16 bit will hopefully be considered negligable.
I don't use Sonar, but I may be able to make some recommendations for your mastering based on a gear and plugin list. To send me raw files, try yousendit.com or another method of your choosing. Be sure to include a description of any 2-buss processing pre-mastering, as some of what you're encountering may be exacerbated at that point.
As far as the masterlink goes...most ME's will tell you to sell it before the newbie's browsing ebay catch on to how little it is really worth.
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#1682122 - 06/26/05 01:04 AM
Re: Attention Mastering engineers!
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gaotu
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Registered: 01/10/04
Posts: 211
Loc: Indianapolis
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Thanks for the offer Chris. That's quite helpful. I'll get on that. I must say, I've never heard anyone say anything bad about the Masterlink before. It seems to be a fairly reliable machine and if I'm not mistaken, I'm not able to create a 24-bit disc any other way. Or can I? (I do have a DVD-burner in my PC)
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#1682123 - 06/26/05 09:07 AM
Re: Attention Mastering engineers!
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Chris Cavell
Senior Member
Registered: 04/04/05
Posts: 94
Loc: US
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gaotu,
Rather than parrot and repeat what numerous ME's (some with a far greater reputation than myself) have already said about the masterlink, I'll point you to a thread in a popular mastering forum:
http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/t/4905/0
(I'm sure a google search would turn up more results...just be picky about who's word you take on the matter.)
With regards to the CD24 format, it is nothing more than 24 bit stereo interleaved AIFF files in a Data format disc. They are arranged in such a way that a Masterlink can play them...but that's all that differs from simply burning a data disc with your computer. If you really want, I believe there is a program freely available from the alesis website that allows you to burn a data disc from your computer in such a way that it will be readable by a masterlink.
The two biggest issues with the masterlink are 1) the converters are downright awful for mastering (think digi001 or older converter technology) and 2) serious limitations from very cheap and scarce DSP employed to lower the cost of the unit. For this reason (#2) It doesn't even have dither, but rather noise shaped truncation and it's SRC algo's are among the worst around (there are FREE programs for a PC that completely blow the masterlink out of the water in this department).
And the biggest issue (in my opinion as a ME) is the inability to quality control or error check the discs it creates without having a seperate system that could potentially do everything the masterlink can do and more, but better. (In other words, a computer with a Plextor Burner compatible with Plextools and a quality disc authoring program; wavelab, samplitude, sequoia, cd architect, etc.)
Cheers,
Chris
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#1682124 - 06/26/05 12:00 PM
Re: Attention Mastering engineers!
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gaotu
Senior Member
Registered: 01/10/04
Posts: 211
Loc: Indianapolis
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I did not realize you were an ME. That's even cooler! Let me ask you this though: Say I am unable to burn 24 bit masters from my computer, wouldn't it be better to send you or another ME a 24 bit file to work with rather than a 16 bit CD, for mastering?
Also, I'm not certain what you mean by this statement:
"Be sure to include a description of any 2-buss processing pre-mastering, as some of what you're encountering may be exacerbated at that point."
Are you talking about the very last processing I'm putting on the master fader only or are you speaking of any of the subgroup buss processing I'm doing as well?
Also, you say "raw files." Do you mean prior to any of my attempts at mastering? If so, is that to see if my mix is really ready enough for mastering anyway?
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#1682125 - 06/26/05 12:33 PM
Re: Attention Mastering engineers!
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Chris Cavell
Senior Member
Registered: 04/04/05
Posts: 94
Loc: US
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Originally posted by gaotu:
I did not realize you were an ME. That's even cooler! Let me ask you this though: Say I am unable to burn 24 bit masters from my computer, wouldn't it be better to send you or another ME a 24 bit file to work with rather than a 16 bit CD, for mastering?
What I'm saying is that there really isn't a 24 bit Audio disc. What the masterlink creates and calls a CD24 is actually a data disc containing 24 bit data files...the same as created when burning a DATA cd of 24 bit files. The masterlink plays such a disc in the same manner it reads and plays files from the hard drive.
Also, I'm not certain what you mean by this statement:
"Be sure to include a description of any 2-buss processing pre-mastering, as some of what you're encountering may be exacerbated at that point."
Are you talking about the very last processing I'm putting on the master fader only or are you speaking of any of the subgroup buss processing I'm doing as well?
Basically, any 2-buss type processing you're doing that is part of the mix process and not the mastering process. For example, it's quite common to use a 2-buss compressor while mixing ala an SSL style mix buss. I'm asking for the settings.
Also, you say "raw files." Do you mean prior to any of my attempts at mastering? If so, is that to see if my mix is really ready enough for mastering anyway?
Cheers,
Chris
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#1682126 - 06/28/05 07:11 PM
Re: Attention Mastering engineers!
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gaotu
Senior Member
Registered: 01/10/04
Posts: 211
Loc: Indianapolis
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Chris, I sent you a file. Thanks again
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#1682127 - 06/28/05 07:26 PM
Re: Attention Mastering engineers!
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Chris Cavell
Senior Member
Registered: 04/04/05
Posts: 94
Loc: US
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I finished downloading it earlier today. Things have gotten a bit hectic around here, so I may not get a chance to really dig into it until early next week.
Cheers,
Chris
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