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Post subject: Re: Record for all playback?
Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 11:45 pm
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There is a big difference between home studios and pro studios, although home studios are progressing rapidly. Home recording surpasses some home and some pro gear of yesteryear (looking at my multitrack reel to reel sitting on the floor and thinking of the analog equipment that I used in the studios where I worked). A great guitarist with a less expensive guitar can do wonders. Same with a great engineer and lesser equipment. Past experiences are still working for me while digital is a love/hate relationship. :D
Lomitus, you are so right that there is a HUGE difference between mixing and mastering.

Mastering is where the magic happens, but it starts with a usable mix. Both require a set of skills and expertise for each job accordingly. Sometimes, the mix and master happens in one place. It is not unusual to have a session recorded in sections at one or more studios only to send that material cross town, cross country, or out of the country for mastering.

A poor mix with a great master will be a disaster. A great mix with a poor master will be a disaster in the highest degree. Thankfully, miracles happen with the right talent, knowledge, experience, and right tools.

There are more tools available today, yet some of the better ones are vintage and rare if not unavailable or sampled. In some cases historic consoles, microphones, and more are preferred. A few well experienced recording engineers have yet to switch to digital because of the learning curve and/or investment to rebuild their studios. This practice is fading quickly. Just to show you how important experience is, would you rather replace the studio or the experienced engineer?

Recording analog, digital, analog with digital, and digital with analog requires different mindsets and skillsets. Some engineers want the works, others want plain vanilla. They all want great neutral monitoring which is different than hifi speakers. But the master will most often be tested with both for different reasons. Experience with just monitors, knowing how the hifi will be, can work, however. YMMV.

Many mastering studios will provide information or a guide as to what they will prefer to get the job done, should one go that route.

However, for personal use I seldom record for the car's system, but maybe I want reverb or maybe . . . . (I used to install my own stereos beginning with a spring reverb on AM) :lol: Some car systems rock while others fall flat and need a boost IMHO.

But, that being said, I agree mastering is one size (one mastered recording) fits all- if it is done correctly. It is an art, but what is correct? The only thing I know is to listen, I mean really listen to great recordings done by great engineers. The wrench in the works is that many great recordings were not mastered in digital for digital playback, and those that were are not standardized techniques or equipment. It's an evolving hodgepodge.

So, what to do? Read mixing mags and similar articles/videos that include comments by the Pros. Not so much on equipment, but more on how they work, and how they are used. Generally, I would not overproduce or throw in a ton of hardware/software where less would do the job at hand. Use the gear you have and don't try to compete with the Pros' facilities unless that is your goal. Look for gear or software that may solve your problem(s), learn your gear's capabilities and shortcomings, learn new techniques, and polish your old, and realize that the equipment is a tool. Miking techniques are varied and great recordings start there unless you use interfaces, DIs, and such.

Most of all, you are the master and the end product is a combination of your ears and you. Experience begins today, retrieving that which you learned yesterday, and improvement will come from what you learn tomorrow and the following days. :wink:

Tip: There is software available that can specifically help with your master recordings. A quick search of the Net should point you in the right direction. One such tool I haven't tried or endorse is a frequency dependent- envelope shaper (search YouTube)

FSB
Apologies for the lengthy blurb. Hope it helps.

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