Old Original Songs - Mastered (Mastering Does Matter)

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Here are a couple of songs that I have posted before. I have included the un-mastered version and the mastered version. The difference imo is huge. These songs were completely done in BIAB using Real Instruments and Midi Strings then brought into Cubase for mixing then mastered with Ozone 4.

This first one I posted here not long ago. My daughter is singing with me. I have slightly remixed the mastered version but the real difference is what Ozone 4 did to it.

"For Who You Are" un-mastered - - - -> http://www.box.net/shared/4tdlfcn0im
"For Who You Are" mastered - - - - - -> http://www.box.net/shared/0b1r0i0hou

This next song is one I posted on the Off Topic forum a few months ago. There are no differences between these tracks except for the mastering.

"I Will Love You Always" un-mastered - - - - - - - -> http://www.box.net/shared/x97748camg
"I Will Love You Always" mastered - - - - - - - - -> http://www.box.net/shared/7cfj8b1dlf

Let me know what you think.

Steve

Steve,

I agree. It's quite a difference. Sounds to me like Ozone is spreading things out a bit, cutting some midrange, and doing sort of a Maximizer/Excita treatment to the tracks.

Much brighter & crisper sounding.

I like it!

Greg

Greg,

Thanks for commenting. I have heard music on this forum that was so much fuller and louder then mine. I had no idea that a mastering plugin would make such a difference. Thanks for listening.

Steve

there is a difference I agree.The whole thing is much louder and the vocal stands out much better.Frankie

sorry

Hey! You stole my catch phrase!

Mastering does matter to those that listen. Sometimes just having impartial (and experienced) ears can make a huge difference. These files can be improved a bit yet, but the change is evident.

Ozone 4 is one of the better software solutions to my ear. Very powerful if you know what each module can do.
*trust your ears*

/had to change who I was replying to, thus the previous "sorry" post

Yes- I belong to the crowd of 'I master my own material' too. With all the tools to do that these days, it usually gets most people into trouble. It really is a better idea to get your work professionally mastered. They have the ears, the monitors, and the room to really get it done. Your 'mastered' versions sound louder, true. That doesn't really equal better by default though. The best most of us can do who aren't professional ME's is bring up the volume, through compression and/or limiting. And most times, just THAT gets the material into trouble. One false move with that and you have a squashed to crap track- not exactly great. Then there's adjusting the eq- another pit fall. About the best any of us can do is to apply those things in moderation. And hopefully, the MIX is so darn good that nothing BUT moderation is needed by the time you reach the mastering stage.

We try, and with luck we survive without too much damage. But ME's, most of us simply aren't.

Dan

Quote:

Mastering does matter to those that listen. Sometimes just having impartial (and experienced) ears can make a huge difference. These files can be improved a bit yet, but the change is evident.

Ozone 4 is one of the better software solutions to my ear. Very powerful if you know what each module can do.
*trust your ears*

Bob,
the video tutorial you made for the ACW was great. If you ever decide to make a tutorial for Ozone4, I'm sure it would get lots of attention.

I'm one who got Ozone with high hopes, spent some time randomly destroying songs, then decided I lack the understanding to use it effectively. I was like a monkey with a hammer in a glass house. "can hammers fix... WINDOWS?? <crash!> OK, apparently not)

I'm writing this before dashing out the door for work, so I don't have time to go look... are your fees posted on your web site? or are they privately negotiated for each project?

Quote:

like a monkey with a hammer in a glass house. "can hammers fix... WINDOWS?? <crash!>

That one made me laugh.
There are some rates on the site, PG members usually get preferential treatment/rates though.
Negotiations are a part of life; time frames come into play quite a bit. Need it tomorrow? That'll be more.

Rharv, Sorry I stole your catch phrase. But you have been right the whole time. A proper master can add depth, width, sparkle and a number of other good thing. I am just learning how to use Ozone. My monitors are pretty good but my room is not properly set up for mastering or even mixing for that matter.

Frankie, Thank you for listening. I was going for not only a louder sound but a fuller and wider sound as well.

Dan, It would be much better if I got my music mastered by a professional, however, I record people for free. You know what they say, "you get what you pay for".

Thanks for listening and commenting,
Steve

Yep, mastering makes a big, big difference, as evidenced on those excellent tracks, Steve. You're getting some great results out of Ozone 4 there, I bet you burnt a bit of midnight oil learning how! I tried Ozone and TRacks Deluxe3 and settled on the latter, but their modules do similar things. It's hard to master mastering and I'm only at base camp in terms of learning!
PS: You probably found this already but Streamworks Audio do a useful video tutorial for Ozone 4 at $4.99.

John

Skyline, Thank you for your nice comments. I have burned a lot of hours but I found out that I was becoming a tweak head. I can never get it quite as good as I want it. Thanks for the heads up on the video tutorial by Steamworks.

Steve

All's been said already. I must say i like the mastered versions better 'cause of the wider and brighter sound. There are two opinions on mastering yourself:

One says that mastering is just a final technical step in the production. No mambo-jambo that needs a specific ME, just set the levels right and add some maximizers, stereo-optimizers and off you go.

The other say: Mastering your own work is like taking your own sister to the prom...

As for me, well... I think that in a lot of cases (no budget, not intended to sell professionally) mastering can very well be done by the recording engineer. My home-recording stuff and the demo's I make are all mastered by myself, using Cubase 5. For the two singles that I'm currently working on I have hired a pro-studio with engineer, real musicians and the mastering will be done by a professional ME...

Hi Steve,Ive got a small recording/writing studio with nearfied monitors and the track was definately louder and your vocal stood out more and had more clarity.I didnt hear the spread you mention but maybe my age 66 is part of the problem. Cheers Frankie

Mike & Frankie, Thanks for listening. I just get excited to hear music sound a little better than in did before I applied some mastering. It amazes me to see what technology comes up with. I just got done playing around with some BIAB real tracks instrumentals and liked what Ozone 4 did for them.

Thanks,
Steve