Mastering my own record has taught me a lot about music production. At first I was intimidated by the mastering process - but I've come to realize it isn't so hard.
For those who don't understand what mastering is - every song has three major production steps:
(1) Recording the tracks (or programming synths),
(2) Mixing the tracks (volume, frequency balance, effects, etc)
(3) Mastering the tracks. Mastering is when you take all of the tracks in the song, like the drum tracks and the vocals and etc, bounce them down into one audio file, and then do a few more little audio production things.
For example, you might make the bass a little louder or quieter. You might apply some compression to make certain instruments "pop" a little more. And in many cases you brighten up the sound with just a touch of "harmonic exciter."
Why is Mastering So Scary to People?
The reason mastering is such a challenge for many people is twofold: Lack of info, and the fact that it is very subtle.
Lack of info is pretty easy to solve these days. I recommend Tim van Doorne's "The Mastering Bible," a wonderful book that breaks it down into a very understandable process. He tells you what plugins to use, what order to put them in, and gives advice on common practices for setting them up (although every song is unique).
The subtleness factor is harder to fix, because with mastering you do really tiny things.
For example, you might add one decibel of loudness to the highest frequencies. 1dB is nothing, you can barely even hear it, but it just adds a little bit of sheen to the sound and will help some mixes sound better across certain speakers.
Or you might use "multiband compression" to make the loud stuff softer, and the soft stuff louder, in a small area of frequencies. Even I can barely tell the difference, I have to do tons of back and forth listening tests to decide what sounds good.
The best way to make this part easier is to set up an acoustically treated room for mastering with great speakers and headphones.
What's Left For Me to Do
I have to finish the mastering for three more tracks and create the album art. That's it... and it should be all done in the next two weeks or so.
The next time I update you about the record, it should be to say "the songs are all completely finished!!" After 2 years of work, DAMN, I can't believe I'm almost there.
Congratulations!
thank you!
Nice
Sounds like making good wine! and you describe it so well, I get the subtleness....All the best with the Album.
Do you make wine? I have no idea how that works... although I may have a glass or two tonight anyway hah.
Good job man. Mixing and mastering are two things I'm terrible at, I never know if I've done too little or if I've done too much.
Two years seems like a long time but I feel like I've been working on an album for the last 26 years, haha.
They do say you spend your whole life writing your first album, which is why the second album always sucks in comparison!
Haha, I guess there's some truth to that. But what happens when you've been planning your second album before you've finished writing your first?
cool can't wait to hear your album
It's what makes the journey to completion even more worth it. I can imagine going back and forth over and over again until you wan't to smash yourself in the face because you can't tell the difference anymore haha. Congrats on your progress!