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Mastering BrochureIMAGINE... OR Table of Contents:
IntroductionThe above intro was written well over a decade ago, about four years after we opened our doors as a mastering studio. It was and still is a humorous way of reminding producers and artists that there is a mastering studio out there, charging affordable rates, that understands that if one is not careful, it is easy to degrade a good mix in the mastering process. In other words, a good mix should become a great master and a great mix should become a scintillating master. Engineering experience, skillful mastering techniques and top notch equipment can almost always make a poor mix better, sometimes much better! Fifteen years later, we have refined our methods and have replaced almost every piece of equipment in our studio...well, actually, we have replaced our whole studio! (see the what's new section for further info) Having a professionally designed studio is one of four essential components necessary to hang out one's shingle as a professional mastering studio. The other three are an experienced engineer who specializes in mastering, an accurate monitoring system and all the equipment necessary, in case there are problems to solve, and just to have a choice of tools to do a good job when mastering a wide variety of music. For us, one of the biggest changes over the years was the realization that while mastering plug-ins and programs like Sound Forge and T-Racks in the right hands can do a credible job, nothing inside a computer beats the sound of Class-A outboard gear. In fact, almost all of the albums with gold and platinum credits have been mastered with Class-A outboard gear, mostly of the vacuum tube and solid state variety sprinkled with a few outstanding digital (outboard) units. As years passed and finances allowed, we began to move away from the all digital computer platform by integrating some analog tube gear in our set-up. As of the year 2006, all of our equipment dreams have come true as we have acquired class-A brands such as Manley, Tube-Tech, Weiss, Lavry, Requisite, TC Electronic, Prism, ATR, etc. The best mastering studios have a good selection of both digital and analog class-A outboard gear. Class-A tube gear is used not only for its functionality, but for the sound, i.e., it adds or emphasizes musical harmonics. Whether its a pre-amp, compressor or equalizer, class A tube gear, properly used, adds "warmth" and "musicality" and it colours the sound in a way that most people find pleasing. Solid State Class-A is usually "cleaner" and less coloured (but not always!) and is simply another sound that is part of the mastering engineer's pallet. So why digital? Because digital gear can be very precise in how it functions. Certain processes, such as the stereoization techniques available in the K-Stereo Processor, M/S techniques offered in our TC 6000 mastering mainframe, the Weiss EQ1-LP-DYN's dynamically controlled equalization and parallel compression as offered by the Weiss DS1-MK2, cannot be achieved as easily and accurately in the analog domain. Although world class digital gear can have its own sound, it doesn't colour the sound the way analog gear and especially tube gear does. In fact, the best units sound transparent as they go about working their magic. Great digital gear is the perfect partner for great analog tube gear. Why outboard digital instead of plug-ins? For recording engineers, plug-ins are the only way to avoid the purchasing of many, many outboard units. In fact, one of the reasons your local high-end recording/mixing studio is so expensive is because they offer a good variety of class A outboard units. The reason we try to avoid plug-ins in mastering is that the vast majority of them colour the sound adversely. Squeezed, choked, loss of depth and space are words often used to describe mixes put through the plug-in mastering process. (see the what's new section for further info) Silverbirch is always on the lookout for special gear that will make our work easier and sound better. Expanding the stereo image is often necessary in order to add depth and polish to indie mixes. While in the past we were able to do a reasonable job with our plug-ins, our Digital Domain K-Stereo Processor treats the stereo field with a lot more respect! No more sacrificing vocal definition and bottom end clarity and punch in order to achieve a wider, deeper sounding master. This unit is the ultimate mastering "polisher". The Tube-Tech SMC-2B Vacuum Tube Multiband Compressor is the world's first, and only, multiband tube compressor. The computer environment and stand-alone boxes abound with multiband compressors as they are a useful mastering tool. The quality ranges from dreadful to good but when we compared our plug-ins to the Tube-Tech, the quality of sound was considerably better. We had to have it! Fast forward four years later and we now have the TC Electronic Mastering 6000 which has the best multi-band outboard digital compressors. When the tube unit doesn't sound right for the job, the outboard digital usually does! The Requisite L2M Tube Mastering Limiter/Expander compressor is simply the best analog tube unit that we have ever tried for compressing stereo mixes. There's no pumping, little loss of top end and the compression can optionally be rolled off the bottom end, allowing a more dynamic kick and bass. As a unit to "make-up" gain at the end of the analogue loop, this is one of the best. Our Weiss DS1-MK2 Compressor / Limiter / De-esser does everything the Requisite unit does (and more!) but does it in the digital domain. Whereas analog tube gear is known for the pleasing way in which it changes sound, the strength of Class-A outboard digital gear is that is does its magic by remaining sonically neutral. In other words, the Weiss unit, being digital, is capable of compressing in a more precise and "clinical" fashion without adding the harmonics that tube gear does. When mastering an album, the engineer sometime uses different tools for different songs and this outboard digital compressor is a wonderful alternative/addition to our analog compressors. The parallel compression function is our favourite use of this unit. It's also one of the absolutely best De-essers. We recently purchased the TC Electronic Mastering 6000 for its superb 5 band multi-band compression, eq, expander and transparent brick wall limiter. These algorithms work in stereo and M/S stereo. The latter is a most useful tool in perfecting stereo mixes during the mastering process. The M/S stereo mode provides a way to be able to adjust certain elements in the stereo field, almost like having access to the individual tracks, but working from a different angle. An M/S device will convert the stereo field into two channels. I.e., one channel being everything mixed at 12 o'clock on the pan pot (called M) and the other being the combination of everything mixed to the right and left (called S). Although not as discrete as an individual channel, the elements are usually separated enough to able to effectively alter the mix. Imagine being able to equalize, compress or adjust the volume on either of those elements at almost any frequency range. Obviously not as good as having the individual tracks to adjust, but a real problem solver when you are in the middle of a mastering session and don't have time (or budget) to remix and you need, for example, the lead vocal louder, M, and the cymbals softened a bit, S. We've always had multi-band compression and eq available to us in various plug-ins but only used them in an emergency, as the sound of the plug-ins aren't quite up to the level of our outboard gear. The TC unit is an outboard unit that is available as an insert in our workstation. The sound is absolutely transparent and so we are using these sorts of digital algorithms more than in the past. As a bonus, for just a couple of thousand more, we purchased the reverb component. Although the use of reverb in mastering is relatively rare, its nice to have the use of a truly world-class reverb unit when it becomes necessary. The TC brick wall limiter is also excellent for final volume maximizing. We previously only had the Waves L2 and L3 for that purpose so its nice to have another useful tool as an option for final limiting. The TC unit is little more transparent than the L2 and L3 and can be used for most projects that don't require a heavy volume output. In 2005, we decided to add a precision outboard digital equalizer to our setup. We already have Manley Massive Passive tube equalizer but that is more useful for broadband work and colour. After much consideration, we chose the Weiss EQ-1 MK2 Dynamic & Linear Phase Equalizer. Not only is this an excellent equalizer but it has a dynamic option available, and this is what sold us. One of the problems in mastering is when two instruments are playing in the same frequency range but one is louder than the other and shouldn't be. So by activating the compressor function triggered at the appropriate frequency range, you can set it to soften the louder instrument when it is playing and when it rests, the softer one is not affected. The ads for this unit say"...compressor or equalizer?...". We can't really answer that question but it works like a charm and much smoother than doing the same thing with a multiband compressor! This unit became so indispensable as a subtle de-esser. (freeing up the Weiss DS1) and transparent softener of harsh frequencies that we sometimes ran out of bands that we needed for regular equalization tasks. So, we decided to add a precision analog equalizer, and after much research, we chose the Prism Maselec ME-2 Master Series Equalizer. Nothing too fancy about this unit except it has a very nice sound, the frequencies are well chosen and its controls are detented for precise stereo imaging and recall of settings. We also upgraded to LavryGold converters, our entire monitoring system, including Lipinski 505 mains with Velodyne DD-10 stereo subs, Dangerous Monitor ST speaker switcher, and Weiss DAC1 and brought in a most impressive tool, the ATR-102 Custom Remanufactured 1/2" ATR-102 (Ampex) with stock and Aria Electronics for transfer and lay-back mastering. Add our Manley Massive Passive Vacuum Tube 4 band equalizer, the Manley Mastering Tube Variable MU Compressor/Limiter, and Nightpro's EQ3-D equalizer to the mix then finish with off a choice of the outboard Waves L2 Ultramaximizer. or TC Electronic's Brick Wall Limiter, or the L3 Multi-Maximizer or Sony Oxford Inflater (plug-ins) or our new PSP Xenon Limiter or the Massey 2007 Limiter. That's an unbeatable combination of tools to achieve great sounding masters. There is a reason that most low and mid-priced mastering studios do not have much gear of this calibre; they cost too much! Most of these pieces are over $6,000. each the Weiss DS-1 compressor, EQ1-DYN/LP and TC System 6000 retail at close to $10,000. each. The ATR-102 deck and Lavry converters were over $15,000. each! A TC Finalizer, which is essentially an entire mastering studio in a box, costs less than half of one tube unit found in our studio! If you have a chance to hear the results of the same mix mastered through a Finalizer, a computer based program like Sound Forge or T-Racks versus class-A outboard gear, you will be amazed at how much better the latter sounds. By the way, we haven't abandoned our computers! We have the top-of-the-line Pro Tools HD system which is integrated with our outboard gear in a unique way (see Silverbirch's mastering set-up). We have mostly abandoned our plug-ins but still use the Massenburg designed MDW High-Res Parametric EQ, which is neutral and transparent enough to be used in our system and provides a nice contrast to the outboard equalizers. The Waves L3 Multi-Maximizer mentioned above is a combination of Waves L2 and a 5 band Linear-Phase eq and is another occassionaly useful option for polishing the final output of our masters. Digital programs make certain tasks very easy, tasks that were impossible in the old analog mastering studios. Editing, noise reduction, automating dsp moves and very fine, precise work are all functions that work really well in the computer environment. Silverbirch has learned to make use of the best of the digital and analog techniques. Of course engineering experience is the other half of the equation. Andy Krehm, our Head Mastering Engineer, worked as a first-call studio/theatre musician and music producer/arranger for over two decades prior to working as an mastering engineer on a full-time basis. He has mastered over 4,000 albums and 100's of singles and EPs. Forty-Eight albums he mastered have been nominated for Juno Awards (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys) and eight have won Junos. Literally scores of albums mastered at Silverbirch appear on the nomination and winner's lists of other prestigious award granting bodies, such as the Blues Music Awards (formerly the JC Handy Awards), Canadian Folk Awards, Canadian Independent Music Awards, National Jazz Awards, Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards, NAR LifeStyle Music Awards and the Maple Blues Awards. Almost every year, a glance at the Maple Blues Awards nomination list will show that over 30% of the listed artists/groups mastered and/or manufactured at Silverbirch! Andy's exceptional music background, coupled with excellent engineering skills pertinent to mastering, is the ideal combination for this job. Silverbirch's engineering expertise, pro-designed studio, audiophile monitoring system and excellent selection of class-A outboard gear guarantees you mastering results comparable to "name" studios in Canada and the U.S. costing three to ten times more! Hearing is believing -- arrange for an in-studio no-charge demo/evaluation. What Is Mastering And Why Is It So Important?The mastering processing (technically the correct term is pre-mastering) is the production link between your finished stereo mixes and the CD glass master that is made in the first stage of the manufacturing process. Mastering services range from "doctoring", i.e., fixing up the problems caused by a less-than-professional studio or engineer, to enhancing and balancing well recorded mixes. Fix-ups include services such as lowering background hiss and hum, reducing excess sibilance, notching out or compressing harsh or boomy frequencies and removing static and other non-musical noises. Enhancing includes editing, adding stereo width and depth (if necessary), frequency balancing (equalizing & frequency-specific compression), overall compression, and finally, addressing the pros and cons of making your CD as loud as your major label competition and arriving at a satisfactory level that works for your goals and your music (hopefully one and the same!). You will be amazed at the difference in the sound of your properly mastered CD when you compare it to the original studio mixes. Mastering is essential to produce a professional sounding CD and is a process that every major label album has been through. Many of the more experienced indie artists have learned that, dollar for dollar, mastering is the best bargain in the whole recording/manufacturing process. Mastering is not the place to cut your budget -- It can make a poor recording acceptable and a great recording sound absolutely scintillating. Mastering is your last line of defense - DON'T GO TO CD WITHOUT IT! CHOOSING A MASTERING STUDIO: To many inexperienced engineers, producers, artists and CD brokers, the mastering processes is simply putting your songs in the right order, doing a relative volume balance (using digital E.Q.) and cutting a CD-R to send to the plant for glass mastering. Although they may advertise such services, most CD brokers and manufacturing plants do not have the equipment necessary to provide professional mastering services and anyone who puts their trust in such facilities is going to be seriously disappointed. For any critical work (such as your album that you put so much time and energy into!), resist the urge to accept a low budget offer to master from a friend or recording studio with a digital sound card or the Finalizer. Not only will they be lacking in experience, but could actually create technical problems if their equipment and methods aren't up to scratch (see "A Technical Note Re Digital Mastering and Digital Workstations"). Be skeptical if your recording engineer offers to master your album. Mastering has traditionally be done by a specialist whose whole career is based on working with stereo tracks. A good mastering engineer takes an overview of the whole album and makes it work as a sequence. Additionally, the mastering process gives you an opportunity to try to correct any problems with the studio mixes so by using the same engineer to master, you will not have "fresh ears" and a second opinion, as he has probably been working on the project a long time and will likely not be able to maintain a completely unbiased overview. Check your major label collection and see how many gold and platinum albums have the same recording/mixing & mastering credit -- the answer is almost none! Recording studios with some mastering gear on the side are becoming the norm. This is most unfortunate, both for the real mastering places, and especially for the consumers who are often not aware of the quality difference until it is too late. While we get a certain amount of business remastering poorly done albums, most artists cannot afford to pay to do the job again and usually end up accepting the substandard job. A common oversight in choosing a studio is to neglect checking out the engineer who is going to work with you. Anyone that has done less than a bare minimum of one thousand albums is not experienced enough at solving the multitude of issues that can arise during a session. Ideally, your mastering engineer will have mastered a lot more albums than one thousand! Also at a larger facility, unless you ask, you may find yourself working with a junior engineer and you probably don't want them practicing on your album. Make sure the engineer has mastered your style of music. Don't hesitate to ask for a no-charge demo on your audio-to-be-mastered. This is the absolute best way to check out the studio and engineer. Ask around for recommendations for good mastering studios and engineers or check the credits of good sounding Canadian CDs. You will be amazed at the different methods (and prices!), equipment and philosophies that mastering engineers employ. The above material outlines our digital editing and mastering services. For an in-depth look at mastering, we would be pleased to mail you a reprint of an article published by Canadian Musician magazine and written by Andy Krehm, owner of Silverbirch Productions. The article is also available on our web site. Professional mastering is your last line of defense, your last chance to make your album sound the best it can -DON'T GO TO CD WITHOUT IT!Since My Tracks Are Already Mixed To Stereo, How Can Any Major Changes Be Made?If you have not witnessed some of the miracles that can happen in the mastering suite, it is important to understand that the final stereo mix is not necessarily final. Although all the individual elements of the multi-track recording have been blended into 2 tracks (stereo), every instrument still has its own fundamental frequency and overtones. We can usually alter the dominant frequency of a particular instrument that needs to be changed so that instrument's presence can be significantly boosted or cut, or made thinner or richer, within the stereo mix. Selected frequencies can be compressed, the stereo field can be widened and deepened, and the final volume of the program can be increased significantly without distortion. With the flexibility of digital editing, the transformation of multiple mixes into one have reached a level that is as precise as laser surgery. Digital Editing Seamlessly edit parts of two or more
mixes into one song. This can be done on a simple
level just to replace a weak chorus or to
minutely assemble words, phrases, fills, etc.
from several stereo mixes into one song. EqualizingAny or all sections of a track may be worked on to make various elements louder or softer, richer or thinner. Digital EQ can be so precise that sometimes the tone or the level of a kick drum can be changed without affecting the level of the bass guitar. Our digital eqs include the TC 6000, the Weiss EQ 1-Mk2 (with dynamically controlled eq) and the MDW Hi-Res EQ. With fine parametric equalization, one can usually isolate the dominant frequency of a particular instrument or voice so that its presence can be significantly altered in the stereo mix. Our new Digital Domain K-Processor also contains a high and low shelf filter by Z-systems and sounds really excellent for boosting or cutting either end of the frequency spectrum. Compression
Frequency-specific compression is one of the most important mastering tools. The Tube-Tech SMC-2B Vacuum Tube Multiband compressor is really excellent for this purpose. One example of frequency-specific use is to correct tracks with an indistinct or boomy bottom end. The Tube-Tech SMC-2B compresses, or tightens, the bass and/or kick drum and gives more definition to the low end instruments with out affecting the frequencies above it. Another example would be to use it on a specific frequency range to make a harsh, or edgy sounding vocal more pleasing to listen to. By zeroing in on just a certain area of the track, you can avoid changing other areas that do not need the same treatment. Adjusting The Levels of Different Sections of a Track Any individual portion of a mix can have
its volume raised or lowered, i.e., the acoustic
guitar intro is too soft in comparison to the
rest of the track. Making Your CD LoudThis topic is one of the first items that is discussed before any mastering work is started. Many mastering clients have noticed that some CDs are louder than others but have not given it much thought. Others will demand that their CD be as loud, or louder, as the latest major label release in their genre. Still others understand the implications of the process and ask me to make their album as loud as possible, but not at the expense of dynamic range. Obviously, the latter approach makes the most musical sense but that does not always happen! Our approach to mastering is to present and explain the positives and negatives of what can be done with your mixes. In other words, many mixes are compressed and equalized in such a way that allow us to raise the volume without doing serious damage to the dynamic range. On the other hand, some are not so easy! Occasionally its just one song on an album that defies all attempts to raise the level a hot as the others. In that case, if one wants the album aggressively loud, that song will have to suffer in order to not to bring down the overall level of the album. After we point out the pros and cons, if the client wishes take a approach that we do not think is best for the mix, we respect their wishes. In other words, even if we think that your mix, or mixes, will suffer sonically when pushed to the level of the latest/greatest, we will do so as best we can! If we need to explain the process of making an audio file louder, our favourite analogy is an old movie, with its whispers and screams. While watching such a movie, you try to set the TV's volume level to a point where you can hear the whispers but are not deafened by the screams, in other words, the average level of the program. If you are in a quiet environment, this will work pretty well until some outside noise intrudes into your space, thus covering the quiet passages, or until the commercial kicks in. The commercial seems to be louder than the movie. Actually, it may not be any louder than the movie's peak point (the screams) but because the audio has been dynamically limited, it has almost no low points and therefore on average, sounds louder. In other words, through compression and limiting, the distance between the quiet and loud points have been reduced and the whole program has been raised so that what little peaks are left are at, or close to, digital zero. Compression and limiting techniques are commonly used in mixing and mastering. In mixing, overdoing it will make the mastering either difficult or impossible (see A Guide For The Mix Engineer). The mastering room is where most of the stereo compression/limiting techniques should be employed. There are exceptions of course, but generally, the mixer should stick to compressing individual tracks with possibly some light compression on the stereo buss, but only if it is understood how this will affect the mastering. Using mastering plug-ins is not advised unless you understand how they are going to affect our work. In the early days the purpose of mastering was to fit a studio mix onto the medium of the day. For instance, if in the process of making a record, the bass was too heavy it would not fit on the vinyl medium and the needle would jump out of the groove. The solutions was to equalize and perhaps compress the bottom end. Later, compression was used as a tool to enhance elements of the mix or master, i.e., giving the drums and/or bass more impact or "punch". This is referred to a "musical" use of compression as opposed to using compress strictly for getting more level out of a mix. Eventually, as music began to be listened to in noisy environments, i.e., the car, it became necessary to reduce the dynamic range in order to hear all the elements of the music. For instance, when playing old jazz vocal recordings in a car, it was impossible to hear the bass without turning up the volume. Unfortunately, the vocals would then become too loud. So the mix balances that worked so well in a quiet home listening environment with a good stereo system didn't work in the car. So these days, even most jazz recordings use some compression and limiting in order to make the music listenable in more environments. With pop music, various types and levels compression are a given! The reason for the next jump in compression and limiting to raise the apparent levels of CDs came with the invention of multi-disc CD player and continues today with the iPod. Many record companies, producers and artists did not want their album to sound quieter than the average and some wanted theirs to be louder than the average. This desire for one-upping the next guy has resulted in the biggest leap of volume over time. After all, if you want to be louder than the lastest/greatest, then you set the bar for the next one..and the next one, etc.! As we are mastering the initial track of the day, we are able to demonstrate various compression/limiting techniques by comparing the master-in-progress to various major label CDs that the client and engineer are familiar with. Keep in mind that not all mixes will be able to be raised to the same level as your favourite CD, at least not without introducing some distortion! However, with the multitude of compressors and limiters we have on hand, we can usually get results that will satisfy those who want the volume of their CD to be aggressive! After setting up the mix with analog and/or digital compressors, we finish with off a choice of the outboard Wave's L2 Ultramaximer or the TC Electronic's Brick Wall Limiter, or the PSP Xenon. Very occasionally, the L3 Multi-Maximizer or Sony Oxford Inflater (plug-ins) can also be useful. If not overused, these limiters allow the waveform average to be raised with only a slight sacrifice of the highest peaks. Our technique at Silverbirch, i.e., using analog and/or digital compression before the final limiter helps it do its job without having to work it so hard, thus allowing us to keep more of the dynamic range of the track, if desired. We often use our new Pendulum PL-2 Analog Peak Limiter just before the Lavry analog to digital converter and above mentioned digital peak limiters are used after the ADC. Again, a less intrusive way to avoid overusing the digital limiter. The TC Electronic's Brick Wall 2 Limiter is probably the least intrusive limiter that we have and is often used on albums, or tracks, that don't need an aggressive volume level. The Sony Oxford Inflater plug-in is yet another volume maximizer in our tool box. It has an "exciter/stereoizer" component built in that is only suitable for certain material. However, on occasion, it can be just the ticket to make something work when nothing else will do it. And lastly, our new LavryGold Analog to Digital converter has a soft limiter on it which has proven to also be useful on more than a few occasions. It seems pertinent to point out that the absolute volume level of the average CD mastered circa 2000 to 2009 is significantly louder than in former years although we are hopeful that most producers are probably going to settle for the current level or less! We have also noticed that a few new release are noticeably lower, which is a good thing, because if the practice becomes more common, it will relieve the pressure on labels, artists and producers to engage in the volume wars, i.e., volume over musicality. At a recent session, in an attempt to establish where he should attempt to go with the volume level of CD about to be mastered, our mastering engineer asked how the client how they coped with the various levels of songs when listening to their iPod. The answer was "I keep my finger near the volume control". We couldn't have said it better ourselves! Studios using inexpensive mastering plug-ins and programmes or all-in-one outboard boxes like the finalizer, are finding it increasingly more difficult to match the volume of professionally mastered CDs without losing too much dynamic range and introducing subtle digital distortion. Over the years, we have learned to be sensitive to both the music and the clients and this applies to the absolute volume of your disc. For instance, a jazz album is approached with a more subtle compression approach than a "heavy" album. The tools that we have today give us just about every option we need to get your level just right. There is more info here but you will have to scroll down as the first part of the linked section is the same as this one. Sequencing Of Album Or Demos Clean up the beginning and ending of
each song. Cross-FadesOccasionally, when taking a creative approach to sequencing an album, a client wants a song to be fading out as the next one fades in. We have effective ways to create a variety of cross-fades. Hidden Tracks"Hidden" tracks are becoming more and more common. There are several types of hidden tracks. The most common hidden track is the extra audio that is put at the end of an album. It actually follows what appears to be the last track but is attached to that track. By attached, we mean that it has no start I.D. on the CD counter so no one can find it without either playing the last track through or fast forwarding to the end of what appears to be the last track and continuing to play the CD. This idea is used typically to give the CD buyer a "bonus" track that they were not expecting or for the band to put something on the CD that is perhaps humorous, or totally different than the studio recording, such as a live track. Please remember that the length of both tracks plus the space between them is always going to be calculated in the CD counter. For example, if the apparent last track is 5 minutes and the hidden track is 8 minutes with a 1 minute space between them, then when the last track is selected, the track's length on the CD counter will show as 14 minutes. A more clever way to hide audio is the pre-gap method. If you watch the CD counter between tracks, it will show the space (if more than 1 second) as a countdown, i.e., a 3 second gap reads as -3, -2, -1 and then the next track starts. This space is called the pre-gap and the engineer can insert audio as well as space in the gap. So, a good use of this technique would be interludes that help the flow of the album from track to track but would not be desirable to be heard as part of any one track, if that track was selected independently. An example of this is perhaps a recorded phone conversation, which of course is lo-fi and maybe a bit distorted. It is 30 seconds long and happens to be a great intro to what you hope is your hit song, "Taking A Vacation". Perhaps you are not sending separate singles to radio and there is no way they are going to play a song with a 30 second phone conversation at the start. We just "hide" it in the pre-gap. That way, anyone selecting that track will just hear the music start. In fact the only way the telephone conversation can be ever heard is if you are playing the track before it and pass through it on the way to "Taking A Vacation". In this case, the CD counter will count down -30, -29, -28, etc. as the telephone conversation plays until the start I.D. is reached and the actual song starts. The last method is a variation of the above and is so hidden that no one will find it unless you tell them. A track can be hidden in the pre-gap of track 1. This means that the only way to hear it is to go to the beginning of track 1 and back space until you find the beginning of the audio. This was done by a few major label bands who probably told a fan about it and the word was passed around. At Silverbirch, we have been asked to use this technique only 8 times in over 4,000 albums! Balancing Volume Levels Of Tracks At the mastering session, volume levels
are adjusted by "ear" (within correct technical
parameters), not necessarily by meters in order
to make a sequence sound balanced. For example, a
lush ballad usually sounds better when heard at a
lower level in sequence with a heavy up-tempo
song. Our goal is to create a sequence that can
be listened to at one sitting without the
listener feeling the urge to get up and adjust
either the volume or tone controls on the
stereo. Additional AdjustmentsSometimes we receive tracks that are not mixed with enough of a stereo spread. We use the Digital Domain K-Stereo Processor to widen and deepen the stereo sound stage. The M/S (Middle/Side) component of our TC Electronic 6000 also can fix vocals that are too low or too hot very easily. The S1 by Waves can also correct the centre channel, ie. off centre vocals, without affecting the left/right field too much and vice-versa. Occasionally it is beneficial to add a light reverb program to an entire track or tracks where a dry track(s) stands out unfavourably when compared to a majority of more reverberant tracks on the album. Sometimes it is added to an entire album to give it a "sheen" or polish that was lacking in the original mixes. Altiverb, an impulse response type reverb simulator, is ideal for mastering as it allows us to place your recording inside a specific hall or famous studio tracking room. The TC 6000 reverbs are also useful for this purpose. Hiss , hum and vinyl restoration can be effectively handled with the Waves Restoration Noise reduction Tool Kit. The broadband noise reduction module samples the actual noise and usually doesn't change the music content adversely (please try to leave a "solo" sample of noise (no music, just the noise) on your studio mix). The other modules handle hum, crackle and clicks.
Occasionally we receive mixes where the
level is too low on one side. If the difference
is audible, we can balance the two sides. Silverbirch's Mastering set-upWe find that during the mastering process, the sound of most digital mixes can be improved by running them through class-A outboard gear, including some with tube circuitry. First we transfer your mixes digitally to Pro Tools HD. We then prepare the session for mastering by marking each track's important sections. These markers will become very important as we move through the album, constantly checking the eq, compression and volume of each mastered track to the one in progress. Usually at this point, the start point and end points of each track are checked and adjusted if necessary. This process is called "top and tailing". The signal is then routed to the LavryGold DA924 digital to analog 24 bit converters into the analog chain, usually consisting of all or some of the Manley Massive Passive tube 4 band EQ unit, Night Pro EQ3-D, Manley Variable MU tube comp/limiter, Tube-Tech SMC-2B Vacuum Tube Multiband compressor, Requisite L2M Tube Mastering Limiter/Expander and Pendulum PL-2 Analog Peak Limiter. The Digital Domain K-Stereo Processor, which is often used to widen and deepen the stereo sound stage, is accessed through a digital insert, as is the Weiss DS1-MK2 compressor, the Weiss EQ-1 MK2 Dyamic & Linear Phase Equalizer, the TC 6000 mastering unit and the Waves outboard L2 Ultramaximizer, or other limiter. Since the latter units are digital only, the placements can be before or after the analog chain, depending on what works best for the work at hand. If any plug-ins are used, they can be placed in a similar fashion. We also use our ATR-102 Remanufacured 1/2" deck. It often does something magical to the sound and so has been staying in the chain about 40% of the time. After picking up the "warmth", "air" and "enhanced depth and width" of the analog gear, the signal is converted back to the digital domain through the LavryGold AD122-96MKIII 24 bit analog to digital converters and finally dithered down by POW-R dither to the 16 bit 44.1 kHz CD format as it is recorded back to another pair of tracks in Pro Tools. If you have recorded at 24 bit, 44.1 kHz, or even at 88.2, 96 kHz or higher, we will master at that level and downsample to 16 bit 44.1 kHz after the mastering process. The latter approach is sonically superior so if mixing at 24 bits, be sure to bring us those files. Don't change the resolution of your mixes for mastering if you can avoid it. By the way, please don't bring in "32 bit" files. This is a proprietary file type that only works in Cubase, Sound Forge and a few other programs and will not load up in Pro Tools. They can be converted to 24 bit files without any loss of resolution. If you haven't done, we can but it can add time to the session. Our entire mastering process is done in real time, i.e., all adjustments made to the mixes can be heard and assessed instantly. Any digital editing is done in Pro Tools either before or after the mastering, depending on what needs to be accomplished. We find this analog/digital combination works best for the majority of albums. Optionally an entire album, or track, if desired, can be mastered completely in the digital domain. We have the K-Stereo Processor, the Weiss DS1-MK2 compressor, Massenburg Design Works Equalization, the Weiss EQ-1 MK2 Dyamic & Linear Phase Equalizer, the TC 6000 mastering unit (with mult-band capabilities), a very efficient, and great sounding digital mastering set-up. While Pro Tools digital audio workstations (DAW) in various configurations are becoming standard equipment in many studios, our combination of Manley, Tube-Tech and Requisite Tube units coupled with LavryGold 24 bit converters, the Weiss pieces, the TC Electronic mastering unit and the K unit plus ATR-102 1/2" tape deck is simply not found in any mid-priced
mastering suites. You will be amazed at the
difference these high-end units can make to your
masters. A note re using Pro Tools as a mastering platform: Users of Sonic Solutions and Sadie systems have in the past, voiced objections to mastering with Pro Tools. Part of the reason was that until the release of the HD system, the architecture and therefore the sound of the old Pro Tools MixPlus wasn't quite as good as those aforementioned units. However, the Pro Tools HD system now sounds as good as any other world class digital audio workstation. Another objection has been the use of plug-ins for mastering. That too is justified to some degree but as of 2009, Silverbirch only occasionally uses plug-ins such as the Massenburg designed MDW High-Res Parametric EQ and several digital limiters as we have amassed a good variety of class-A outboard gear, giving us the tools to do any kind of mastering work without plug-ins. However, if there are problems to solve that do need automation or if special fx have to be added, using a few good plug-ins is well worth the trade-off. About the only task Pro Tools doesn't do that other mastering-specific systems can do is write CDs directly from the program. However, we use Emagic's WaveBurner, which gives us a choice of doing cross-fades and volume adjustments in Pro Tools or in the sequencing program and it takes less than two minutes to load up the average album. Sonic Studio's SoundBlade is also available and we also use it on occasion, particularly for DDP creation. And lastly, we could afford to own any platform/software we wanted but our mastering engineer has refined his mastering set-up in Pro Tools for almost 10 years and it does everything that needs to be done, from editing to serving as a very efficient record/playback system. As part our upgrade plan, we will be analyzing alternate platforms for our mastering set-up, to see if any improvements can be made by switching, but for moment, the pros outweight the cons and Pro Tools will remain our main digital audio workstation. A Technical Note Re Digital Mastering and DAWsComputer based editing and mastering services include items such as change gain, mix, equalize, compress and sample rate conversion which are technically called digital signal processing or DSP. DSP is accomplished by performing mathematical calculations (called re-quantizing) on your digitized sound file. Please note that your new sound files will be permanently changed when processed and not every DAW handles processing in a musically pleasing manner. For example, some digital EQs sound edgy and unmusical and your music could end up sounding grainy and lifeless when compared to the original master. One reason is that DSP can't be done in a sonically pleasing manner at the CD standard of 16 bits and so has to done at a higher rate, which is beyond the capabilities of some older DAWs. Another cause is inferior programming of the DSP algorithms (as compared to high-end digital outboard gear), which is a common characteristic of both inexpensive and "Swiss army knife" digital audio/midi programs and most recording studios-in-a-box. So what should you look for? Make sure the studio's DAW and/or digital gear does all processing at 48 bit double precision or the 32 to 48 bit floating point process. Once your DSP is completed, the sound file has to be brought back to 16 bits. The particular functions you should be concerned about are dithering and noise shaping. Dither is a technique used to mask the noise created by re-quantizing when the 24 bit file is resolved down to 16 bits and noise-shaping techniques move the noise to a frequency that is less disturbing to the ear. Some manufacturer's noise-shaping techniques and dither, such our Waves outboard L2 Ultramaximizer or POW-r dither, sound a lot better than others. With higher resolution files, such as 88.2 or 96k masters, the sample rate converstion processor is very important. We have used the Pro Tools SRC, which when compared to other work stations, is very good. However, we have the Weiss Saracon on order which is reputed to be the best software based SRC. We also own the LavryGold LE3000s real time SRC but are still working on a way to integrate it into our system. The solution will be announced soon! To summarize, we master almost exclusively with class-A outboard gear and so we use our Pro Tools HD system primarily as our "playback/record" unit. Plug-ins are only used for noise reduction, special fx and for problem masters, where plug-in automation is the most precise way to solve a problem. One of the few exceptions is the Massenburg designed MDW High-Res Parametric EQ which we find to be the most transparent plug-in we have ever used.
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| Copyright 2006 Silverbirch Productions |