does it make sense to master a home demo?

[david henman]

...i've noticed that when i play my (home demo) cd against a commercial release, i don't measure up volume-wise.

i have a feeling a lot of guys actually have mastering software on their computer.

is this something i should consider?

-hermit

[Jeff Flowerday]

Mastering software is pretty much a must if you want to get the volume up to commercial levels.

Trying it any other way just lead to digital clipping and frustration.

[ne1roc]

Adobe Audition is very nice software for editing and mastering. It comes with the Isotope Ozone plugin which has mastering presets that are very simple and straight forward to use.

Of course you can just get there Ozone plugin to use with your recording software.

http://www.izotope.com/products/audio/ozone/

Download the demo and give it a try!

[Mr. David Severson]

I use Isotope 3 which is very user friendly. It comes with a loudness maximizer, eq, mastering reverb, multiband compresion, harmonic exciter, and multiband stereo widener. The Loudnes maximizer will definitley achive more volume out of your tracks. I highly recommend this program..

[Milkman]

I'm no engineer, but the impact of mastering to my ears is much more than mere volume.

It's definitely more punchy, but also much more clear and present. The sound sparkles for lack of a better word.

If you have or can get the software needed to master a recording without too much expense, I wouldn't hesitate to do it on ANY recording.

[david henman]

Mastering software is pretty much a must if you want to get the volume up to commercial levels.
Trying it any other way just lead to digital clipping and frustration.

...ain't that the truth!

i have a friend in etobicoke (ken o'gorman, cousin of brian greenway of april wine) who has offered to do the mastering. ken has impeccable taste, so i look forward to the results.

-dh

[Benee Wafers]

Mr. Severson
Re Ozone 3 I just took a look at the site and to me the whole thing looked really complicated. What I believe I need is Mastering For Idiots.
At this moment I can barely use properly a Tascam 8 track. I am not very computer savy and in fact opted for recording hardware instead of going the computerized software route because of my computer ignorance. Plus with a limited number of years left in my life I didn't want to spend half of whats left reading a manual.
So do you have a suggestion with regards to Mastering software which can offer commercial results to a computer klutz with little time and no patience?
Perhaps I would be better off paying 50 or 75 bucks an hour at somebodies Pro Tools studio?

Benee

[Paul]

It depends on what you want to do with the demo.

I think mastering for a CD that matters should be done by a different engineer, (fresh set of ears), in a room and on equipment that is suited to the purpose.

If the volume is the only issue, there are level normalizing applications that can bring up the volume peaks to almost but not quite distortion levels.

I am NOT a fan of current mastering standards. The beauty of CD's, or so we were told, is the low noise floor and wide dynamic range, compared to compact casette and vinyl.

Here is a link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war

read this:

http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/imperfect-sound-forever.htm

and this:

http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_big_squeeze/

[fraser]

hi
here is a mastering software- it is free and simple to use, if a bit limited-

http://www.cycleof5th.com/products/soundengine/?lang=en

if the link leaves you lost look here-

http://www.cycleof5th.com/download/?lang=en

scroll down the list until you see sound engine free 3.00 to download

as to your question - sure it makes sense to master, if the mastering improves the recording. anything you do to sound better is worth it. if your guitar or amp didnt sound good, youd do something about it if you could im sure, and the same should go for the music you create.
however im beginning to think that dwelling to much on things can be bad.
i too have little time, im working a lot. im pretty good with computers, and have no probs actually using them to record with, but i switched to recording on a daw some time ago, and have hundreds of gigabytes of crap to show for it. i can never finish anything, and am constantly frustrated in my efforts, as well as by the crazy amount of time im spending for little or no results.
i can however get awesome and proffesional sounding stuff on the fostex 4 track cassette machine i keep in my closet lol. if i record direct to it, then mix and master it through my mixing board and into my pc, i need do nothing else, and i get great levels in comparison to consumer cds, and its far easier and less time consuming for me.
so tread warily-

[Milkman]

yesssss massster


(and you guys thought I was just a pretty face):banana:

[Benee Wafers]

Fraser
How do I get my recording from my desk top into the cycle of fifth software?
solomio

[fraser]

hi benee
with the software running, and the program open on your desktop, you can simply drag and drop your music onto it- or you can press "file" in the upper left corner, then select "open". a browser window opens, and you just find the music file and double click it.
good luck!