Well the AUDIO MASTERING SAGA continues... If Less is MORE, then it's safe to say that MORE = LESS? Contemporary mastering practices continue to push the "limits" (pardon the pun) of today's music levels closer and closer to the brink of the BRICK! Here's a cool video on youtube outlining how crazy it's getting out there:
The alpha compressor is a mighty tool for professional dynamics processing. Some of the great features are the innovative functions that provide perfect technical implementation and an absolutely uncompromising quality of sound. New standards for mastering applications have been set with this compressor and it is made for cultivating any kind of audio material. It offers MS processing, parallel compression as well as sidechain and audio filters, just to name a few.
The circuitry is a complete new development that provides an amount of openness and clarity which can hardly be found in present gear. Every single part of signal processing is realized by using single transistors running in constant Class-A mode, and even sidechain and power supply use discrete circuits. All components are of the highest grade available and were exclusively chosen according to their tonal properties.
Check out www.elysia.com for more product information.
There are those mastering engineers who use their training and years of experience to help those turn something good into something extraordinary and then there are those who help those annoying T.V. marketing firms. I'm sure you can guess what I am speaking of. It's those darn commercials! You know the ones that come in super LOUD when you least expect it. Instead of those commercials grabbing your attention they send you searching for the remote so you can hit the mute button.
However, there is now a simple product that actually controls the sound levels automatically for you. It's called the T.V. Sound Regulator. Check out this website for more information: TV Sound Regulator
Whether you are a mixing, mastering, or live sound engineer you can have better control over stereo ambiance, the forward and backward positioning of images in the stereo field, and manipulate source material. Well with the Portico 5014 Stereo Field Editor you have a width adjustment, depth control, and a difference channel/ EQ and insert. This new tool is simply used for creating dimension and life in the modern engineer's palette. Check out Rupert Neve Designs website for more information about the Portico 5014.
When it comes to music and movies, sound is such an important factor in our line of business, especially when it comes to experiencing theater-like sound at home. That is why there is a yearly award, called the Masaru Ibuka Award, given out by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), to a deserving individual who has significantly contributed to the field of consumer electronics technology. Check out IEEE's website for more information about the award.
This year's recipient is Tomlinson Holman, an author, a current instructor at the University of Southern California, and once served as chief engineer and technical director at Lucasfilms for over fifteen years. He has several U.S. patents and developed the THX, Home THX, and THX Digital Mastering programs. THX, mainly a quality assurance system, was created so that when a movie is shown in an approved THX theater, the film's soundtrack will sound just as the mastering engineer intended for it to sound.
Holman will receive his award at an upcoming International Consumer Electronics Conference in Las Vegas. More information about the conference can be found at the following link IEEE Conferences.
If you have been thinking about taking your basic knowledge and skills of audio mastering to the next level, but you don't have the time and tons of money to invest, or better yet have no idea where to begin looking for this type of training, I suggest you keep on reading.
What if I told you there is a new school, located in beautiful South Padre Island, Texas, that offers a three day - comprehensive mastering course? And, the class sizes are relatively small so your training is personal and hands-on? Well the good news is - it does exist! Billy Stull, mastering engineer and pro audio equipment manufacturer, has just started this monthly course called the Masterpiece School of Mastering.
Various and extensive topics will be covered including specific mastering techniques (taught step by step), types of equipment you may find in typical mastering studios, and easy to understand principles of how to be successful. These and other projects will enhance and hone your current basic skills and at the same time bring you up to speed on all the current technology through proper and efficient training by professionals.
The cost of the three day course is $900 and includes daily lunch at the schools headquarters, the beautiful Shearton South Padre Island Beach Hotel. For more infomation about the school and an application form please contact info@legendaryaudio.com
There are many professional formats that are widely used and accepted by most mastering engineers. They can work with CD-R, DAT, TAPE, DISK, etc... and depending on how you connect to the World Wide Web (usually high speed is a must) you can send it through an internet connection.
The biggest problem that most professional mastering engineers run into with clients pre-masters, especially the one's that are sent in on CD-R's, is how many CIRC errors are showing up. CIRC deals specifically with the issue of error detection and correction. All CD’s are incorporated with CIRC. CIRC is a powerful error detection code that can detect and completely correct almost all errors on a reasonably good disc.
Most times these problems occur if the audio was burned at a very high speed, or by using cheap media, or even the burner itself could be going bad. What ever you do, don't ever burn it on a lap top computer or use i-Tunes to transfer the music.
In GENERAL terms, the higher the speed you burn at, the more errors you will get. Even the opposite is sometimes true as well. If you burn slower that 4X you create an emulsion of the recording and makes the recording prone to different types of errors.
When ever you are in doubt your best bet is to contact the mastering company directly to answer specific needs or questions.
What's an audiophile you ask? It is simply the word to describe a person dedicated to achieving very high standards in the recording and playback of music. A professional audio mastering engineer plays a vital role in the success of a recording. They can fine tune a recording so it appeals to all audiences and this is exactly what Walt Disney strove for. His high standards, expectations, and hiring of the right people (the best cd masters), has been passed on with much evidence.
Walt Disney Records is celebrating 50 years of achieving great success with their family audio entertainment business. This company appeals to the whole family, especially toddlers, kids and teens. It's not everyday a record label comes along and can boast about such outstanding achievements. They have earned hundreds of gold, platinum. and multi-platinum awards and several releases have hit the top-selling singles and soundtracks of all time.
To help celebrate their previous achievements and this significant mark of 50 years of recording they have created a much to talk about exhibit called "Disney:The Music Behind the Magic". This exhibit will display some of what has made Walt Disney so successful in the past 80 years. The exhibit will open on November 5, 2006 at the Experience Music Project in Seattle,Washington.
Also Walt Disney Records have plans to do some re-mastering of their timeless classic soundtracks. This re-mastering project will go back to help preserve some of WDR's rich musical history. The best way to approach this project will be to use their professional mastering engineers to digitally transfer and restore the earliest of classic recordings.
I can not imagine any musicians primary goal when having their cd mastered is to have loudness be their number one priority. The amount of time, effort, and money a musician goes through, to write and compose songs, have them recorded and put into a two-track stereo mix (the "pre-master"), and finally professionally mastered, should not be wasted on trying to sound louder than cd's from competing artists. Why would these musicians sacrifice dynamics, quality, and harmonic sweetness just to sound louder? What do they think a volume control on any stereo or playback equipment is for?
Even with technology today in regards to software ( iTunes or Windows Media Player ), that have features that calculate the perceived loudness of a CD, certain record labels persist in making their releases even louder! The ultimate goal should be to master a CD with everything balanced so the consumers listening experience is one of complete enjoyment from beginning to end, no matter what playback system they are using.
Bottom line is it seems the consumer is less critical and maybe just accustomed to the way their favorite artists are releasing their CD's these days. The best thing that any musician can do is to leave it in the trusted hands of a professional audio mastering engineer. The true quality of the music and the artists performance defines success and will ultimately make or break the album. However a true professional mastering engineer will take any musicians studio recording and fine tune it so it has clarity, good dynamics, diminished noises, relative level adjustments, and a final added polish to make the well recorded project shine.
For further information on CD mastering contact us at Discmasters-CD Duplication