Help! DIY mastering

[dmatic]

Hey guys

my first thread

i made a song today and i decided it was mean and ive put it on youtube. but i think it would be SO MUCH BETTER if it was mastered properly - ive noticed that when the mix has less going on at once some parts suddenly become extremely loud and painful then as soon as the bass is coming in you cant really hear it

i dont get long to play around with mastering because i am only using a fruityloops demo - and once ive got to the point of mastering ive probably spent about 5+ hours on the comp already - maybe when i get a new computer ill actually buy the software but i do not like the idea of downloading a pirated FL studio or reason or something, and it seems like having to start a new project everytime has helped me learn so much so fast

anyways can you guys give me some tips and some kind of general guideline for mastering? ive tried searching but nothing makes much sence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0e5FeDCRPs

that video is what i made today, i used a multiband compressor on the master and on the sub bass but i dont even know if it did anything

if youl watch it youl hear the shrieking wobbly shit that hurts ur ears when the rest of the mix is quiet


would love it if someone can help me out CHEERS GUYS

[wub]

Check out there threads with regards to mastering;

http://www.dubstepforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=159713

http://www.dubstepforum.com/recommend-m ... 51487.html

http://www.dubstepforum.com/topic42895.html

Should give you a few starters

[dj nation]

yo u shud really check this tutorial article on here, the best tutorial ive read in ages, really helped me and got me thinking differently about the sound while i was actually making it. anyways, read up n get on it.

http://www.dubstepforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=173898

[Wrigzilla]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mastering-Audio ... 679&sr=1-1

However having listened to your track I'd say worry about getting the best possible mix before trying to go near mastering, let alone using a multipressor for mastering. Mastering can't fix a bad mix but it can add that little bit extra to a good mix - try and achieve the best possible results just in the mix.

Until that point if you want to get your tracks up to a reasonable volume (like for playing to mates) just use a bog standard limiter and don't push it too hard.

[dmatic]

right thanks for that info guys!

ok maybe i wont bother with mastering for now just focus on making good songs

i havent been producing long, i started on exactly 10th of november and reading around it seems like the people who are worried about mastering etc have already been producing for ages so ill just worry about the basics for now then

ta

edit: i had another wav file saved of the same song without sub bass and it sounds WAY more clear so ill just look into making my sounds have seperate freq ranges for now i guess the bass must be overpowering the rest

[phrex]

1. noone needs mastering for youtube.
2. you started producing a month ago. keep producing another few years and then, if you've reached a certain level, mastering makes sense.

just my humble onion

[Danimal]

right thanks for that info guys!

ok maybe i wont bother with mastering for now just focus on making good songs

i havent been producing long, i started on exactly 10th of november and reading around it seems like the people who are worried about mastering etc have already been producing for ages so ill just worry about the basics for now then

ta

edit: i had another wav file saved of the same song without sub bass and it sounds WAY more clear so ill just look into making my sounds have seperate freq ranges for now i guess the bass must be overpowering the rest

I don't know much about FL, but if you ever get a program that can allow VSTs, the Mastering VST "Ozone 4" makes it really easy to choose a preset to bring out the meatiness of your song. I also use it for mastering individual tracks, like wobble bass and synths.

[phrex]

don;t use any mastering programms if you don;t know hw=ow to use it. presets are shit.

[Ongelegen]

don;t use any mastering programms if you don;t know hw=ow to use it. presets are shit.

[wub]

don;t use any mastering programms if you don;t know hw=ow to use it. presets are shit.

T-RackS on the master, with "Master 1" preset; there are exceptions to every rule.

[phrex]

i absolutely don't believe in it!

better just make your music sound big without anything else - then if you want to getit cut to dubplate or whatever get to a serious mastering studio.

all i do, but that's not at all mastering, is producing at a level of -15db in master channel and i start at -5db on every other channel (-5db is actually ''my'' 0db) the mixup sounds clear and nice since then.

1. when i finish my track - save it as wav.
2. open up a new project and throw in your as .wav saved track.
3. 2 limiter on master channel both around +3db on the gain.
4. raise the volume of my track (i raise in in the sample section) just before one of the limiters start to crop anything.

done! without any messing up frequencies and/or losing any dynamics.

if you want to push your kicks/percussion whatever (except sub) you can douplicate e.g the kick channel. lower the volume of the channel by at least 10db. add 3 compressors (or 2 or how many you think sounds right) and pull down the treshhold trigger just a little tiny bit(-2 to -4 db). your kick will sound, played together with the first channel, much more punchy and powerfull without any loss of any dynamics.
that's btw malas approach.

[wub]

Try it and hear for yourself

[-[2]DAY_-]

if you want to push your kicks/percussion whatever (except sub) you can douplicate e.g the kick channel. lower the volume of the channel by at least 10db. add 3 compressors (or 2 or how many you think sounds right) and pull down the treshhold trigger just a little tiny bit(-2 to -4 db). your kick will sound, played together with the first channel, much more punchy and powerfull without any loss of any dynamics.
that's btw malas approach.

parallel compression?

[phrex]

yeah- probably about the same as pararell compression, tho pararell compression is usually with just one compressor on the send channel?
i add usually 3 compressors with less treshhold each.

also: i do it seperatly on every drum channel. not on the whole bunch. but might make sense.. will try it out tonight by putting these compressors into a send channel....

[thefrim]

if its already compressed etc on the master bus I would just run it through Har-bal. Once you know how to use it and what the curve should look like its super awesome

[paravrais]

Your problem is in your mix not your lack of mastering.

[phrex]

Your problem is in your mix not your lack of mastering.

[Danimal]

don;t use any mastering programms if you don;t know hw=ow to use it. presets are shit.

presets are hardly shit when you are in your first year of producing

[phrex]

each to his own

[paravrais]

don;t use any mastering programms if you don;t know hw=ow to use it. presets are shit.

presets are hardly shit when you are in your first year of producing

But if you never make your own sounds you will be stuck using presets forever.