Mastering in SAW questions

[trock]

Hi Bob and anyone

just re watched the levelizer film this morning. i am curious about a couple of things

right now i mix in SAW then i dump the WAV file into Tracks-24, i barely tweak it in there, just add a touch of eq if needed, limit it and comp it. Tracks-24 changes my sound and def adds a sheen to it, it is supposed to emulate old tube gear etc. i really like what it does to the over all sound alot

however i am going to just try and master in SAW as a test and see which one i like better.

do any of you add anything other than the levelizer BEFORE it to the POST output? just curious what anyojne is doing to master in SAW.

i have used the levelizer on ind tracks and really like it when i have to low of a vocal or something like that. now it is time to try some mastering in SAW

i am thinking though that the sound of the Tracks plug is actually what i like, not just a level gain

thanks

[TotalSonic]

The rule for processing at the mastering stage I think essentially is:
use whatever the track needs to get it to sound the way you wish, but with using the simplest chain if at all possible.

So yes - sometimes a compressor , sometimes an eq (or two), sometimes a multiband comp, sometimes an "enhancer", sometimes M/S processing, etc.etc. is placed either pre or post fader.

Whatever the track needs - but nothing else.

In general digital brickwall peak limiting should be the 2nd to last plugin in the chain (with only dither coming after it).

If you do a search of the forum for "mastering" it will be bring up a number of other threads that should be helpful -
including a pretty exacting tutorial on how to use CSG to create your CD layouts within the SAW environment at the last post on this previous thread:

http://www.sawstudiouser.net/forums/...ead.php?t=2806

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[UpTilDawn]

Correct that thread to:
http://www.sawstudiouser.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2806

[prosodio]

You can get pretty good mastering levels and analogic-like sound (never like the real thing, of course) with endorphin as a compressor and levelizer as the third link of the chain (the last is dither if you are mixing at 24bit). I think endorphin is way better than t-racks. Here´s the link to download it, it´s free:

http://www.digitalfishphones.com/main.php?item=2&subItem=3

Use it in a very subtle way, don´t play with input knob, I only use compressor knobs, outputdrive and decompsat. Then put the levelizer and get the theresold down to cut only a few peaks, I use to set it at 55%, even 60%. I nomalize at 97% and then set izotope ozone dither megabimax, mode: ultra. That´s it. For equing I´m using free plpareq three bands, if I need more than three I usually patch another eq.

I use to leave a -5 or -6db of headroom before mastering. Steve am I correct here?

[trock]

sweet

thanks steve and everyone, i will try the next song all in SAW and will try endorphin too

anyone using the new Mastering Suite of plugs from PEAK?

heard some good things bout them too

jsut wondering

thanks