Practical Mastering

Mark Cousins works as a composer, programmer and engineer, as well as being senior writer for Music Tech Magazine. His professional work includes composing music for some of the world's largest production music companies - including Universal Publishing Production Music - with broadcaster credits including BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4, Five, BBC World and Sky One, among others. He has also had works performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the East of England Orchestra, City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and the Brighton Festival Chorus, as well as having mixed several orchestral albums for BMG Zomba.Russ Hepworth-Sawyer is a sound engineer and producer with extensive experience in all things audio. He is a member of the Association of Professional Recording Services and the Audio Engineering Society; a Fellow of the Institute For Learning (U.K.); and a board member of the Music Producer's Guild. Through MOTTOsound (www.mottosound.co.uk), Russ works freelance in the industry as a mastering engineer, a producer, writer, and consultant. Russ currently lectures part-time for York St John University and Barnsley College Online and has taught extensively in higher education at British institutions including Leeds College of Music, London College of Music, and Rose Bruford College. He currently writes for Pro Sound News Europe, has contributed to Sound On Sound magazine, and has written many titles for Focal Press.

• IntroductionSetting the scene on a practical level. Why engage in mastering? What can users expect to achieve from using their own equipment.What is mastering?Why self-master?History of Mastering:The early daysOriginal Media - The need for dynamic containmentCuttingpre-masteringcreative masteringthe CD ageThrough the 90's to 00's - Louder....louder....louder > > >The future holds... Mastering ToolsProfessional Mastering v. Project Studio MasteringProfessional Studio: (as scene setter)DAWA/D D/AMonitoringDesk|Single Processing|Project Studio Mastering: (this should be about how to improve your studio to some extent, as well as the equipment you need to master effectively)DAWDigital processing (plug-ins)Analogue processing MonitoringAcoustic treatmentMastering(Step-by-step guide to the key processes in mastering - from which the authors will explore in more detail in the rest of section 2. It's important the reader understands the whole picture first, before we deal with the specifics.)Source material & File FormatsSource Materialquality ofdynamic rangespread of frequencies and energymastered already?Source material musicallyMaking an assessment per trackper albumFile Formatstypesbit depthsample frequenciesPre-mastering processingEditing and CompilationCodes and specificationsDAW and Plug-in Comparison(A DAW comparison - looking at the methods involved in using range of standard DAWs for mastering. Applies chapter 2 in context of main apps. This sets the scene for the application in the following chapters).Logic/WaveburnerCubasePro ToolsReasonAbletonRedefining TimbreEqualisationMultiband CompressionExcitersDistortion & Other EffectsControlling DynamicsSingle band Multibandother techniquesCreating & Managing Loudnesstechniques to improve loudness Techniques such as parallel compression, productions strategies, limiting, Inflation and Enhancement, role of frequency in loudness, auditory perception of loudness, and so on. EditingTrack editingFades, crossfades and cuts.Programme editingtimings, gap lengths etc. Making a ProductCreating a masterUsing CodesISRC, UPC/EAN, PQ sheets and how to register these with PPL and so on Track namesdiscussion about CD TEXT and pros and cons. FormatsCD-ADDPiDeliveryFTP versus DVDOthersKnowledgebase - Listening is KeyAll you need is ListeningHow we listenaudio theory placed in context with listening. the earthe brainthe auditory systemDecibels and Hertz!Monitoring systems and SetupsHow to listenIntroductionMacro (holistic) versus micro listeningListening - Music versus Sounddiscussion about switching between the musical engagement and simply the higher altitude listening of just the sound,frequencies, timbres and their relationship to each other.Listening AnalysisListening Exercises/Examples