Mastering
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The document discusses the process of mastering music, including defining mastering as tweaking the final stereo mix. It covers topics like the loudness war where increased compression is used to make recordings louder, new standards for measuring loudness like LUFS, considerations for dynamic range and headroom, tools used in mastering like compression and EQ, and the importance of monitoring on different systems when finalizing a track.
Mastering
- 2. Mastering What is Mastering? In the days of analogue, mastering was the process of recording your mix onto 1/4” two-track. However these days we think of it as ‘tweaking’ our final stereo mix.
- 3. Mastering “Mastering is the last creative step in the audio production process” Mastering Audio - The Art and Science by Bob Katz
- 4. Mastering Why Master? Questions • What qualities do we hear in track we think are well mastered? • Should we be mastering our own music? • What makes us want to master?
- 5. Mastering The Loudness War • The loudness war is a term used for the apparent competition to master and release recordings with increasing loudness • Signal processing is used on the final master to increase overall volume at the expense of the dynamic range • Mastering engineer Bob Ludwig says the Loudness War came to a head with the release of Metallica's album Death Magnetic. The album was criticised for having compromised sound quality in favour of loudness • Last year, a group of mastering engineers wrote an open letter to the music industry decrying the idea that “louder is better” • They have even organised a Dynamic Range Day. • http://dynamicrangeday.co.uk/about/
- 6. Mastering Christopher Clark's visual analogy, "A Visual History Of Loudness." demonstrates how music has got louder. http://media.npr.org/assets/music/news/2009/12/poster.pdf A Visual History of Loudness
- 7. Mastering DR4 DR5 DR6 DR7 DR8 DR9 DR10 DR11 DR12 DR13 DR14 &< Suggested Minimum Dynamic Range Values Techno Pop Jazz House Rock Folk Disco R n B Country Trance Hip Hop Classic Electro Blues Chillout Key DR - Dynamic Range Red - Over compressed/Unpleasant Yellow - Transition Area Green - Dynamic/Pleasant
- 8. Mastering LUFS - In August 2010, the EBU published its Loudness Recommendation EBU R128 . It tells how broadcasters can measure and normalise audio using Loudness meters instead of Peak Meters (PPMs) only, as is common practice nowadays. Metering New Standards
- 9. Mastering Dynamic Range Metering - The DYNAMIC RANGE METER displays the inner dynamics of a recording in whole numbers or more precisely the inner grade of compression (micro dynamic). This plug in also makes it possible for the dynamic range of a record to be printed on the recording medium as a logo, giving consumers an immediate means of knowing the dynamic quality of a recording. http://www.dr.loudness-war.info - Online database Metering New Standards
- 10. Mastering RMS - The RMS value is the standard average value in dBFS measured over the entire song. "FS" stands for full scale. The PEAK value is the highest measured peak value in dBFS. Because this is a true peak measurement, values above 0dBFS are shown as "overs." We strongly recommend keeping a headroom of 0.3dB and avoiding releases with "over" peak values. According to the latest technical information available, such recordings could be labelled defective. The precise basis of measurement and the explanation will be described under " True Peak Display" and “Why 0.3 dB headroom?”below. The DYNAMIC RANGE stereo value (including decimal places) shows the top 20 RMS value, minus peak headroom (the top 20 RMS value is DR+Peak). “Back on the Block" by Quincy Jones Metering New Standards
- 11. Mastering Dynamic Range Metering - The DYNAMIC RANGE METER displays the inner dynamics of a recording in whole numbers or more precisely the inner grade of compression (micro dynamic). This plug in also makes it possible for the dynamic range of a record to be printed on the recording medium as a logo, giving consumers an immediate means of knowing the dynamic quality of a recording. http://www.dr.loudness-war.info - Online database Metering New Standards
- 12. Mastering Terminology • PLR - Peak to Loudness Ratio - Peak level of a track relative to normalisation • LRA - Loudness Range - Loudness variation inside a track, e.g. A vs B part • Headroom - Peak handling capability of a signal path relative to standard average level
- 13. Mastering Headroom Headroom is a safety buffer which allows signal peaks higher than the nominal level (+4dBu) to be accommodated without distortion.
- 14. Mastering Headroom Headroom is a safety buffer which allows signal peaks higher than the nominal level (+4dBu) to be accommodated without distortion.
- 15. Mastering Headroom +4 +6 +8 +10 +12 +14 0 -2 -4 -6 -8 -10 +16 0VU +18 +2 Console VU Meter Analogue Scale Pro Ref+4dBu 0VU = + 4dBu = 1.23 Volt
- 16. Mastering • It is important to monitor on appropriate systems when mastering. Think about where your track will most likely appear. • Use alternate monitoring – Large monitors, hi fi mon, headphones, mini mon, car hi fi. • Listen at medium volume also at very quiet and very loud levels (for short periods only) • Take regular ear breaks and look after your ears. • Loudness Range - Be brave and use dynamic range to help a track tell its story. • Check mono compatibility. Other Considerations
- 17. Mastering • Multiband Compression/ Mastering Compression • Graphic/ Paragraphic EQ • Stereo Imaging/Enhancing • Aural Exciters / Spectralizers • Loudness Maximizers • Dedicated Mastering Units / Finalizers Mastering Tools
- 18. Mastering Mastering Tools !!!Remember to use caution when mastering. You could end up ruining your final mix!!!
- 19. Mastering “It’s not how loud it is, it’s how you make it loud” Mastering Audio - The Art and Science by Bob Katz
Editor's Notes
- #4: your last chance to enhance the sound or repair problems in an acoustically designed room.
- #5: Who can give me an example of a well mastered track? Fresh ears Listening environment Equipment/gear Analogue vs. Digital Experience
- #6: The fatal flaw of the “Loudness War” sound In a nutshell: it doesn’t sound good. Research shows there is no connection between “loudness” and sales People don’t notice loudness when comparing songs Dynamic music sounds better on the radio – here’s the proof Modern music players undo loudness by using ReplayGain Most listeners just turn loud music down !
- #7: Christopher Clark's visual analogy for dynamic explains in part why music sounds worse now. This image links to a PDF of his full poster, "A Visual History Of Loudness."
- #8: Column 1 - Sample based music, electronic music with primarily synthetic generated sounds Column 2 - Pop, Rock, Mainstream ‘radio music’ Column 3 - Primarily acoustic music. One thing is for sure: a song with DR14 which is sent through the processing chain of a radio station sounds just as loud as a song with DR6. In addition, it undergoes substantially less damage from the station's compressors! Actually DR14 occurs with more impact and pressure. On the other hand, the inherent loudness relationships (dynamics) in an already over-compressed DR6 track will be degraded and distorted through these processes. From a commercial point of view, there is no reason to over-compress CDs. In addition, unwanted audio artifacts resulting from levels that are too high or distortion in general is no longer a problem when encoding MP3s with DR14 music; musical enjoyment is significantly higher when listening to MP3s! Pleasurize Your Music!
- #9: Basically EBU R128 recommends to normalize audio at -23 LUFS +/- 1 LU, measured with a relative gate at -10 LU. The metering approach can be used with virtually all material. To make sure meters from different manufacturers provide the same reading, EBU Tech 3341 specifies the 'EBU Mode', which includes a Momentary (400 ms), Short term (3s) and Integrated (from start to stop) meter. Already more than 20 vendors have reported to support 'EBU Mode' in their products.
- #10: An online database is planned for furnishing information on music already released with the standard. In this way, conditions have been met for the creation of a single standard for audio recorded media – a step which was taken by the film industry over thirty years ago. Music with small dynamic range has a low value, for example DR4 (Dynamic Range = 4dB). Music with a large dynamic range has a higher DR value, for example DR14 or more. In this case, music can breathe and loud events are actually louder.
- #11: An online database is planned for furnishing information on music already released with the standard. In this way, conditions have been met for the creation of a single standard for audio recorded media – a step which was taken by the film industry over thirty years ago. Music with small dynamic range has a low value, for example DR4 (Dynamic Range = 4dB). Music with a large dynamic range has a higher DR value, for example DR14 or more. In this case, music can breathe and loud events are actually louder.
- #12: An online database is planned for furnishing information on music already released with the standard. In this way, conditions have been met for the creation of a single standard for audio recorded media – a step which was taken by the film industry over thirty years ago. Music with small dynamic range has a low value, for example DR4 (Dynamic Range = 4dB). Music with a large dynamic range has a higher DR value, for example DR14 or more. In this case, music can breathe and loud events are actually louder.
- #17: Other consideration are of course more traditional