Newbie needs advice on mastering recordings PLEASE!

[joelfriedman]

I am a composer and digital audio/MIDI newbie and need some SIMPLE advice on how to proceed with "mastering" some classical music recordings of my own works (some orchestral, some small ensemble chamber, some with voice). The masters are either from cassette or DAT. The original recording quality varies from not so good – under recorded and hissy, to pretty good. Some DAT’s are at 44.1, some are at 48 kHz. I know what I want isn't simple but I'm trying to find someone to explain it to me in simple terms. What I want to do is get them all in the best shape I can – no extra pops, footsteps on stage, no "silence" (read hiss) at the beginning and end, as quiet as I can get them without degrading the sound, as full and rich – yet not "pop artificial" as I can get them – to use them on perusal CD’s to get performances and commissions. I may want to play with tempo a bit in the case of recordings that were readings not performances. My set up for a project studio is new and good: Dual 800 G4, 1.5 MB of RAM, OS 9.2.1, Digital Performer 3.01 (what I have to record and edit with), MOTU plugins, Waves Gold 3.2. Basically I have the tools to do this but have gotten frustrated trying to get it all to work correctly and am spending a huge amount of time "lost in the woods" going around in circles. I know there are many variables and that it is very subjective (there isn’t a single answer), but can someone lay down the basic procedure - steps of what to use, general settings that are at least ballpark to get certain results, what order to use various plugins in, and so on. I’m willing to tweak once I have a sense of what the complete picture is but I need a simple road map to get me started. For example: what do I do with filtering to get rid of hiss? What type(s) of filters? Do I have to change the filtering settings depending on the loudness of the music and how do I do this? What about compression or limiting? Will they make my recordings fuller etc. Reverb? Anything else? This isn’t total electric pop, so I don’t want an artificial or "in your face" type sound. I just want the best, clearest sound I can get from these original sources. If no advice is forthcoming, are there any books etc. that might go over the basics in a simple fashion? You can reply to me via the list or directly (joelfriedman@rcn.com). Thanks! Joel

[Mr Darling]

I'm sure you want like to hear it - but if all the time you spend didn't get you any where closer to where you want to be, maybe it's time to get a professional? The prices for mastering are droping and you can find a pro or at least a semi pro to do the job for you. Sorry, but no one can teach you how to master a track in a forum like this.... For the long run, check back issue of EQ for mastering tips... Danny

[joelfriedman]

I think I misstated my question. I am not interested in mastering these recordings in a professional sense (often these are NOT the definitive performances and therefore not worth the time and expense. They are also for perusal only, not for sale etc.). Here is my scenario: Someone under recorded a performance of mine onto DAT. I record it onto my hard drive via DP 3.0.1. The problems are the general low level, lack of presence, and some noise – especially in the quieter parts. I want to know what types of things might work to make the recording sound better and cut down the seemingly endless possibilities of trying just about every plug-in. Surely there must be some basics that could be applied as a starting point. I have the MOTU plug-ins that come with DP and Waves Gold 3.2 (including the Renaissance collection) to work with. Again, I know this is complex, based on ears and preference, not one size fits all, but as a starting point: What type, or types, of filtering/EQ plug-in is GENERALLY good for getting rid of hiss? If I lose too much of the brightness from filtering is there anything I can do or is it simply a trade off between hiss and brightness? Should I start by using the Ren EQ or can anyone suggest something else? If the sound is dry should I try some reverb? GENERALLY will this make up for a possible lack of presence or brightness? Any suggestions on which reverb? Should I stick with the Ren collection or is there something else more effective? What should I do make the recording louder/more present and "exciting?" GENERALLY is that compression or limiting, or both? Should I stick with the Ren collection or is there something else more effective? What about normalizing the files? Yes, no? At what point? Is there a normal order in which I should proceed in applying all of these? (For example, I once heard something about use a limiter last.) Should I filter/EQ, then add reverb, then add either compression or limiting? If I have enough RAM etc. is it necessary to bounce to disk during any of these steps or should I do all the plug-ins and then bounce? Finally, I know it’s RTFM, but can someone briefly explain how automation in DP works? Might I not want to have more severe filtering in soft spots as the noise is more prominent and less serious filtering in louder, fuller spots? Could these types of adjustments also be necessary for reverb or limiting, etc.? Is there a "best way" of doing these changes? Is automation the way? Am I missing anything basic here to make the recording sound better? I know it’s a lot to ask but any help would be greatly appreciated. Joel

[Anderton]

I just reviewed Arboretum's Ray Gun 2.0 noise reduction system for EQ. Granted it was the Direct X version, but they make a Mac version as well. It is VERY adept at getting rid of cassette hiss. Sonic Foundry's noise reduction program is also very good, but it's PC only. Try the Ray Gun demo and see if it works for you. You may be shocked at how much it can help. It costs under $100; they also make a super noise killing program called Ionizer (actually it does other things as well), but it's a lot more bucks and Ray Gun will probably do what you need.

[ElGenius1]

Your getting way ahead of yourself, i think. You are venturing into something that not only cannot be learned in a forum, but also cannot be learned in a matter of days, or even weeks.. It seems that u wanna 'sweeten' up your recordings....u should check out [url=http://www.homerecording.com]www.homerecording.com[/url] ...there u can get invaluable info about what you need to know.... the questions you asked exceed any one person's grasp....it is something that must be studied, learned, and practiced... and it takes time......trial and error.......... try compression, noise filters, maybe some EQ, reverb.....play around with the different stuff.....see how they affect the sound file.....little by little you will learn to see how it works and understand it more......i suggest that you use soundforge.... ...remember that what u wanna do is not something that can be done in a day, it takes mad time to achieve.......peace

[Master Zap]

Use a noise reduction plugin for the noise reduction. I'd use good o'le Cool Edit 96 (For some reason, that old thing makes the best noise reduction I heard, non of the new wiz bang stuff has impressed me like it has). To get the level up - compression. Dont normalize, use compression to tame any overly loud peaks and even out the overall dynamics somewhat. Although this is orchestral, so go EASY on compression. Verrry easy. For sparkle, I'd recommend exciters and EQ. EQ to get rid of the bad stuff (I bet there is a bucket of lo frequency mud around 200-400 hz, if so, toast it). To get the higher register to shimmer without adding the noise you just reduced - exciters, Same here, this aint britney, GO EASY. To add warmth, depth and sense of space, a good hall reverb (Waves Trueverb comes to mind) would do the trick. Again, this aint britney, Go Easy. Thats about what I would do, purely from your description of what you want to do. Possibly use a multiband compressor to tame any problems, but that is a science all to itself. Failing that, I put it all through Quadrafuzz. :D /Z

[gtrmac]

I just finished editing a set of 5 CD's for a classical chorus. Most were recorded to DAT at 48k so I had to convert the sample rate for CD mastering. I had to normalise several of the recordings since the levels were often too low. There were also two cassette recordings where I used EQ as sparingly as possible to reduce the tape hiss. In between movements I edited the pauses and used crossfades, sometimes cutting out small sections where there were unwanted background noises. I used Wavelab which is a Windows program. Since the recordings were done in recital halls I found no need to add reverb, there was plenty of natural ambience. I did add reverb to a recent piano recording though which was recorded in a small studio and it helped. You have better programs at your disposal than I have so i think you will be able to achieve good results with a little trial and error. Good luck. By the way it is wise to work with good speakers if possible and good qulaity headphones helped me too.

[John Sayers]

Have you tried Waves restorer. It has four plugins XClick, XCrackle, XHum and XNoise. The XClick gets rid of vinyl clicks and any digital spikes. The XNoise is excellent. You select Learn and feed it the hiss/hum etc at the start and it will then apply it to the whole track and will totally remove it. ;) Then use Waves Ultramaximizer to reset your levels. :) cheers John

[strat0124]

...again, another comment from the peanut gallery of cheap cheap solutions. I use Soundforge ....it came free with a soundcard I bought, works like a champ for what I use it for, and doesn't take long to figure out.

[Ethan Winer]

Joel, > The original recording quality varies from not so good – under recorded and hissy, to pretty good. Some DAT's are at 44.1, some are at 48 kHz. ... What I want to do is get them all in the best shape I can – no extra pops, footsteps on stage, no "silence" (read hiss) at the beginning and end, as quiet as I can get them without degrading the sound, as full and rich – yet ... < I do this stuff all the time. I use SoundForge and the Sonic Foundry noise reduction plug-in, and do all kinds of micro-editing on audio files to get rid of other noises and generaly get them into shape. I see you're in NYC. If you'd like to take a short ride out to Connecticut some afternoon I'd be glad to show you the steps. I'm sure we could work out something reasonable. I use a PC and Windows, but the concepts are identical to how you'd do it on a Mac. --Ethan