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Joined: Apr 2004
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HI everybody,
I have started recording some little songs of mine but after I have finished the mixing bit and burned to cd, the playback does not have the same zumph and loudness that you get on commerical recordings.
I remember Mac saying something (not too far back) that there are certain mastering softwares that are straightforward enough to use and have presets built in. Im not sure if one of the packages he mentioned was t-racks.
All advice gratefully appreciated,
regards
Jan
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T-Racks is popular
Ozone 4 is preferred personally here
If all you need is 'oomph' the PGDynamics may work, or PGPeakLimit
..or Triplecomp
...Classic master limiter
... or Grancomp3
(these last few are free, as are the PGPlugins mentioned)
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Jan,
I will recommend the FinalMix plugin that is bundled with Tracktion DAW software. There are legal copies of Tracktion 2 software for sale on the internet for $29. FinalMix, if purchased separately for Mackie's db8 Digital Mixers, is a $339 plugin.
It is the same code and algorithms and GUI. Highly user friendly (Probably about 100 presets ranging from individual instrument treatment, to final mix treatments), but also highly configurable and tweakable if you find presets that work well for you.
What is doesn't do is function as a mastering tool for an entire CD project - that is still up to the user.
Also, it is a native plugin to Tracktion - you cannot unbundle it and use it as a VST or DX or other plugin in a different host DAW software.
But it is a GREAT final mix mastering plugin. The DAW that comes along for free is pretty cool as well.
Unfortunately, by all appearances and indications, Mackie seem to have abandoned the Tracktion DAW product line as it pertains to future development. There is quite a bit of speculation as to why this is (Tracktion 3 is very buggy compared to Tracktion 2 - perhaps they just can't maintain the necessary support staff, etc.) which has me saddened. But Tracktion 2 is rock-steady for the purposes I need it for. One of them is a very quick and easy way to audition different mastering treatments to my final mixes with FinalMix.
I've learned a great deal from using those presets as well.
If you have difficulty finding Tracktion 2, then Tracktion 3 is also very affordable - sometimes coming bundled with certain Mackie mixer gear (all of their USB mixers for example). Most places are blowing it out for $49 right now.
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Ozone 4 is the new upgrade to Ozone 3 and has had some excellent reviews. I'm thinking of taking the plunge, although at the moment I have a lot of success with WaveArts' FinalPlug which I've used for a couple of years now. Both are available as demos so give them a whirl. Unfortunately, although they come with some presets (a lot in the case of Ozone 4) their programmers can't anticipate with total accuracy the type of material their software will be used on, so I'm afraid there isn't a preset labelled "Make my bedroom noodle sound like the stuff on the radio"! if only... So like a carpenter's specialist woodworking tools you have to still spend time experimenting and learning how to wield them with accuracy and taste. "If some sounds better than more will sound better still" does NOT apply with these tools! If you have software like Sonar, etc. you can insert them as an effect and twiddle with them as they track plays so you can monitor the effect. I find that if you leave 6dB or so headroom in your final stereo mixed track before the above tools are applied they will have more to work with and this can make the final results sound better. Having said all that and having spent years trying to acquire these 'dark arts', I still find that I cannot quite get the quantity of 'zumph' that pro recordings have. More than most maybe, but not the total sheen and immediacy that the pros get. I can only attribute this to (i) such tracks are engineered by folks whose profession it is, not their hobby, and (ii) they also use a lot more expensive gear in tracking up, mixing, etc. And the business of mastering is a specialism in itself.
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Mastering and Presets are an oxymoron, but if you insist, rharv has given you the same recommendations as I would.
--Mac
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I really like Ozone 4. The main feature in the upgrade from version 3 is the improved presets. Along the lines of what has already been said, I think of a preset as a place to start, and a way to get close to what you want, but never the final setting. Mastering is very much an art, with skills to be learned as your experience grows. Commercial recordings benefit from a great deal of compression and limiting along with other mastering techniques, to make them sound louder and especially to grab your attention on the radio (which adds more juice of its own to the recording). You can use Ozone to squash the life out of your song by compressing it fully, but I hope you don't. Somewhere in the middle is where you want to be. You will likely not have the same arsenal of mastering tools as the pro mastering engineers use, but you can still make a very substantial improvement by using Ozone. For more money, T-Racks gives you more tools but also a great deal more complexity in using it. Go to www.izotope.com and read the Mastering Guide prepared by the makers of Ozone, no matter what you decide to do. It takes a lot of the mystery out of this process.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Hi Matt. You must be a great teacher. I always learn from reading your explanations. Many thanks!
Stan
Cornet Curmudgeon
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The first step is usually some intensive work on EQing for clarity and definition, before beginning any compression or other processes. FWIW I have been working on a site to help get your recordings ready for the mastering process. There is a lot you can do before even beginning mastering. it's at http://musicmastering.orgexcuse the look, it's still under construction (needs pictures, etc.) but there are some articles there from myself and other guys, and more to come.. may find it helpful or interesting I planned to have it done by now, but a job building a flash site came in and is taking my available web time away from that one... my own sites always seem to take low spot in priorities.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Stan, many thanks!
There is a lot of good solid advice in this thread already. Bob (rharv) now makes another fine point that a great deal can be done in the mix prior to mastering. Jan, the original poster, stated the mix was 'done', so I stayed with that premise. Bob's point certainly warrants a whole other highly-related discussion.
There is a lot to this and there are books on this subject. Mixing and mastering blend somewhat, but they are two different processes. I hope this thread can help people to realize some of the difference. Many people now have home studios and the whole project is done by one person, start to finish. While that can work, I believe a different engineer should master than the one who mixed a project whenever possible.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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"I believe a different engineer should master than the one who mixed a project whenever possible. "
Great advice.
I have learned that if I mix it, I send it to someone else to master. End result is much different and usually better that way. A mixing engineer becomes too intimate with each part, mastering engineer will look at it as a whole..
Having that impartial ear at the end makes a difference
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Although I have the Linux software mastering suite, JAMin , frequently I'll use Audacity and the accompanying LADSPA plugins (which also work in Windows) to master a song or album. Just import your favorite commercial production song (one that is a similar style to the song you are mastering) into Audacity, load your mixdown into the next stereo track for easy comparison, and tweak with the LADSPA plugins until they sound the same. There are no presets for the LADSPA plugins, but once you have selected the ones that suit you best - and learned how they work - you can load in your own presets. More good news: it's free... and being constantly upgraded 
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Well, I guess I belong to the preset abuser club.
I think that having presets available in a piece of software that is referred to as a mastering plugin is a great boon. How one uses the presets is a matter of personal preference.
I think that the presence of presets in any piece of software can be abused (just using the presets and never learning the mechanics of the the software at hand), or they can be used as instructional elements to build off of. I've used both methods to success.
Any plugin that is worth it's salt as a 'mastering' plugin is going to have likely multi-band dynamics processing, limiting, EQ and perhaps even more parameters.
Without at least some bit of guide to using it - it's going to be a useless tool immediately - because of the myriad combinations of settings.
Let's not get into the argument whether or not if you don't know the ins and outs of the combinations of all of these signal manipulations to begin with. One way to learn what they do is by building off of some combination that imparts an interesting character to your mix - a character that perhaps you didn't intend to have to begin with, but actually sounds more interesting than your original.
You have to start learning somewhere. Most likely you don't have a local neighborhood Bob Katz on hand to show you the ropes. A good set of presets can get you off the starting block.
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Learning the presets for a given effect is time-consuming in and of itself.
But I do agree - once you know them it is a great time saver as a starting point.
and-
One of the features I like about Ozone 4 is the ability to adjust the order of the effects, which does make a ton of difference. Think about the the difference between adding reverb to a track (then EQing the result) vs EQ'ing a track (then adding reverb)... there is a lot of difference!
Add in about 8 more FX and the possibilities become astounding (exponentially).
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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I fully agree with Oran. Audacity is the tool I use for all my final mix downs. I'm still using the last edition as the new one leaves me a bit stumped. In the new edition, when you select the volume you just hit OK and it processes perfectly. But when you use the Normalize (on the new edition) it seems to do exactly the same thing. In the version I'm using the volume drops - 3 db to give you headroom to do stuff. I don't know if they ever got that quirk out of it or not. I was doing beta with them but the problem didn't get resolved. And then life happened and I didn't have time for it. I'm sure you all notice I've not posted much in the line of music because of all the changes in my life. Just busier than usual. Last night I actually picked up my box guitar and played with it for awhile. Then I got Washburn Strat out, hooked up the Behringer Vamp into my little Crate amp and played with all 25 settings. (That's 25 X 6. Each setting has 6 presets) Sorry. Didn't mean to get off the subject here.  Just a ramblin' old man. 
Russ Anyday above ground is a good day Computer is Hp Pavillion Vision 6 Ghz quad core AMD processor 8 Gig memory 1 TB hard drive 6 GB hard drive Windows 7 Premium Loose nut behind the keyboard 
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If you are enjoying what you are doing, the amount of time spent on it dissolves.
--Mac
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There are also some superb mastering tools with Sony's Sound Forge Pro.
Best, Tom SmithWin10/64 • i7-8700K • 24 GB RAM BIAB 2025 • Reaper 7 • Izotope MPS AKG C1000S • IK iRig I/O Pro
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Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
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XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
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Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest Xtra Styles PAK installment—the all new Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher)!
Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Energetic folk rock, raucous train beats, fast country boogies, acid jazz grooves, laid-back funky jams, a bevy of breezy jazz waltzes, calm electro funk, indie synth pop, industrial synth metal, and more bro country than could possibly fit in the back of a pickup truck!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 21 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 21 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 21.
Video: Xtra Styles PAK 21 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
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