What are /r/mixingmastering's favorite Products & Services?

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Of course, THE book on mastering, the bible: Mastering Audio: The art and the science by mastering engineer Bob Katz.

To add to this, it’s now called “Apple Digital Masters” not MFiT and you can download the free software to convert and check here.

The guy at Apple to talk to from what I’ve read is Buddy Judge.

> I thought Reaper is free?

It's not, they just let you try it indefinitely for free.

A license costs $60 usd though, which is still very affordable for DAW and helps the team to keep the project going: http://reaper.fm/purchase.php

>Vibe? I don't know how to explain this, but I feel like I'm lacking a vibe when it's come to mixing, not just glued, but how to make tracks come alive.

I really enjoyed reading Zen and the Art of Mixing by 'Mixerman' for the vibe aspect of mixing. It's helped me to approach my mixes with an 'attitude' that otherwise was lacking. Check it out.

Armin van Buuren actually has a class on MasterClass. Haven't seen it, so couldn't tell you if it's any good, but might be worth a look.

https://www.masterclass.com/classes/armin-van-buuren-teaches-dance-music

You could also check out deadmau5's class at the same time, since apparently MC has moved to a subscription based service instead of buying individual classes.

I went for the Kali LP6 from these. The bass response is a completely different world - something which may have screwed me.

I've read pretty much every book that is available about mastering, and I think you pretty much nailed it.

You probably know about https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RWP3W74

I'd also recommend https://www.routledge.com/Audio-Mastering-The-Artists-Discussions-from-Pre-Production-to-Mastering/Hepworth-Sawyer-Hodgson/p/book/9781138900059

"What is mastering?" is a question that every single mastering engineer in the book is being asked.

You don't need to charge people money to learn mastering.

Mastering is the last stage of music production, it's the last thing done before release. It's not a stage in which you can fumble and make mistakes, when the integrity of people's releases are on the line.

If you want to learn professional mastering, start by picking up a serious book about it, like Bob Katz's Mastering Audio.

You are not alone. Getting mixes that translate well onto multiple systems is a skill unto itself, and one of the reasons professional mix engineers are justifiably well-paid.

You might check out Bob Katz' book, Mastering Audio for some insights. The short version is that every playback system is flawed, and every listening environment is flawed. Your challenge is to make your music sound OK on most of them. You do that by aiming for the statistical middle ground, using as neutral a listening environment you can manage.

Corrective EQ on the cans can help by flattening what you hear, but isn't perfect because headphones' frequency response changes with loudness. To minimize that, always monitor at roughly the same volume. Unfortunately, headphones aren't as easily calibrated as speakers are.

If you are limited to a single reference, e.g. a pair of headphones, that doesn't mean you can't manage it. It's just going to take time. The key here is training your ears to recognize a good mix on your speakers/headphones. This ear training is a very real psychoacoustical phenomenon, and surprisingly easy to accomplish. Basically, you simply spend hours listening to lots of great mixes on those headphones; your brain will filter out their weaknesses over time and then you will reflexively know when you're hitting the mark on your own stuff.

I'm using "Fosi Audio V1.0G 2 Channel Class D Mini Stereo Amplifier for Home Speakers TPA3116 50W x 2 with Power Supply" to power my passive Avantone Mixcubes. (I'm guessing your 5cs have similar power requirements?)

It works great. If I had it to do over again I would buy this one: https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Amplifier-Receiver-Integrated-Speakers/dp/B076P2VS9H

The linked one has bass/treble which may be helpful.

To piggyback on Atopix's recommendation -- the MDR-7506's really do fold to be small, as far as fullsize headphones go. They get much smaller than the Sennheiser HD280 Pro which has a similar folding mechanism.

OP, if you do go with MDR-7506s, I got this hardshell case for mine and I just love it: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0744CP6GV

The headphone fits perfectly and does so in a way that doesn't put any pressure on the the cord connector.

To compare these two headphones -- the 7506s are a little bright. Some say the brightness is good for clarity and particularly for editing vocals. Andrew Scheps specifically likes how they sound and says for him it reminds him of his Tannoys.

I consider the 7506s very comfortable, but I had to get used to them. The earpads are a little smaller so if you have large ears they might sit a little 'on' them. It's not a problem though.

Where the 7506s are bright, the Sennheiser HD 280Pro might be considered "dull" by comparison. In r/headphones they refer to it as "the Sennheiser veil." However, people like myself who are sensitive to high frequencies like the tonal balance.

The earpads are (carefully) removable on the MDR-7506s and I added a few layers of Bounty paper towel in mine to bring down the treble. Now the tonal balance is absolutely perfect for me, and it took like 10 minutes to do.

But yeah the 7506s really are much smaller when folded, and the photo at that Amazon link gives you an idea of what it looks like.

I am in similar boat and learning my self so take my advice with a pinch of salt .

https://www.youtube.com/c/NathanLarsenMusic check this guys videos out I was in similar boat really help me see where I was going wrong and made me focus on music production and song writing and get everything right instead of trying to make a bad song sound good by mixing.

I joined Puremix pretty good but not the cheapest option. but I like it.

A lot of youtubers have courses you can buy, I would find one that teachings in a way like,

here some of my favourite youtubers

recording revolution - has courses

produce like a pro -

the guy I mention above - Nathan

home recording made easy - I like this guys teaching style.

Udemy as bunch of course only buy on sale they constant sales but they are bit hit and miss and mostly cover the basics

in the mix

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1733688803/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_asin\_title\_o06\_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I really like this book great for beginners cover most of the things you pick up on random you tube videos.

I also got some 1 to 1 lesson I can give you the guys details if you want PM me , not cheapest way but great way to learn and work you song in real time on zoom.

I have this coming in the mail. Maybe I should start by just reading this

https://www.amazon.com/Mixing-Engineers-Handbook-5th/dp/1946837121?ref_=d6k_applink_bb_dls&dplnkId=5e64e00f-d427-42ed-9f6d-0ff867c407ba

I have this on order.

https://www.amazon.com/Mixing-Engineers-Handbook-5th/dp/1946837121?ref_=d6k_applink_bb_dls&dplnkId=5e64e00f-d427-42ed-9f6d-0ff867c407ba

What other unit would you suggest other than the SSL? I am wanting to avoid plugins and use as much analog gear as possible

I would recommend starting with this wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_sound_recording

And why not strictly a history book, Geoff Emerick's book Here, There and Everywhere takes you from the days of two track tape to 8-track tape, from mono to stereo and many technical changes over the 60s.

> I'm curious about stuff like why back in the day bass was panned

WAY back in the day there was no stereo, so there was no panning, everything was mono for a long time, far longer than stereo has existed.

> when multitrack desks were invented

Probably somewhere in the late 50s, early 60s since multitrack tape recording was first invented in 1955.

> how new technology like synths affected music and so on

That's more of a music making thing, you can probably find several books on the modern history of music.

Beyerdynamic DT-770 served me well mixing and producing for a long time while traveling. beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro Studio Headphones - Over-Ear, Closed-Back, Professional Design for Recording and Monitoring (80 Ohm, Grey) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0753T9TY5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_0HQ821TWFDJW7ANJ24PZ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Beyerdynamic DT-770 served me well mixing and producing for a long time while traveling. beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro Studio Headphones - Over-Ear, Closed-Back, Professional Design for Recording and Monitoring (80 Ohm, Grey) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0753T9TY5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_0HQ821TWFDJW7ANJ24PZ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I mean, there are still musicians and bands who don't resort to the comforts of endless edits, tuning and quantization. Jack White definitely comes to mind, for many years he would record all analog like in the old days, no computers.

The Foo Fighters made an album to tape in 2011, Wasting Light. And the Red Hot Chili Peppers made Stadium Arcadium also to tape.

If you are interested in the analog days of music making I recommend you check out the documentary Sound City, which I think you can find in full on YouTube. And I super recommend this book: https://www.amazon.com/Here-There-Everywhere-Recording-Beatles-ebook/dp/B000OVLIQU/ written by The Beatles' engineer. It was a super interesting period of time in recording which went from two track tape to four track, to 8 track, and from mono to stereo. It's a fascinating read.

> Aye, I got to ask when do you start getting MIDI/computer integration readily available a la DAW. Not counting like Fairlight CMIs and stuff, but how new is the DAW grid??

I'm not sure exactly, because when DAWs first came around it didn't instantly change how music was made. People would just use the computer as a tape machine, for easier recording and faster edits but they would still very much play with the expectation that they had to do good takes and be on time.

I imagine that snapping to grid was already a thing by the late 90s, but I think people going crazy/lazy with quantization didn't happen until the last 15 years. Rick Beato has a good rant about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFaRIW-wZlw

It sounds like you might want some technical ear training, check out this book and it’s companion website: https://www.amazon.ca/Audio-Production-Critical-Listening-Technical/dp/1138845949/ref=asc_df_1138845949/?tag=googlemobshop-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=292872894410&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9431166000676068810&hvpone=&hvptwo=&a... once you get good at this you’ll know exactly what frequency range you want to affect and you’ll be able to really hear what your EQ affects.

27" is the ideal format I think for most people who still want a high quality monitor. Anything pushing 32"+ is going to be very expensive when you have high specs.

The gaming community general views the ASUS VG27AQ as the best ideal monitor for it's price, and it's probably one of the best options for most other applications as well. It's 2K, not 4k. (you don't really need 4k for anything music related, unless you're also doing videos, and even then it's optional?) I use this for gaming + music because it's a big enough screen to see everything, while maintaining a very nice 165hz refresh rate & IPS, which is easier on the eyes over long use. Pairing 2 up in the future is the move for me.

If you swap out the cheapo foam for something a bit more pro, it will substantially increase its ability to deal with clutter and low end as you claim to be targeting.

I've attempted to use those same foam panels in the past and never achieved any worth while results regardless of how or how many I've used.

Something like the below link will be FAR more effective at dealing with the issue you are describing.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08T8YB57V?pd_rd_i=B08T8YB57V&pd_rd_w=b2mP4&pf_rd_p=7a328fa7-ad0a-4415-90da-0e32a7710f67&pd_rd_wg=yf1LI&pf_rd_r=3HMWHK0B305QV0EVN0E0&pd_rd_r=fa1a4abc-99f2-40e4-8687-ccdaa27be278

My biggest advice would be to read this book

There’s advice in there from some of the biggest names in the business and if you take your time with it, you will make some big improvements.

Also, what are you using as your reference tracks? It’s important that you’re comparing your mixes but also understanding how those reference tracks actually work.

Time, understanding, practicing and most importantly, listening, are the things that will help you to improve.

Why not try both? Seems pointless that you’re spending time to mix them in mono and asking for advice when you could see if they sound better panned. That could save you a whole lot of time. As would reading this book

Bluetooth headphones are very much not ideal for any critical listening application since bluetooth technology involves lossy compression in the way they work. The Sony and Sennheiser models you mention are plainly consumer headphones.

Not sure how close the m50xBT would be to the ATH-M50xBT2 would be to the ATH-M50x, but if they are the same headphones with a bluetooth module and when wired are practically the same to the ATH-M50x classic version, then they should be good.

Now, regarding B&W they make some great products and Real World Studios uses their wired P7s as monitoring headphones for their tracking sessions, not sure if the PX7 would compare.

I wouldn't recommend any of these for anyone looking for monitoring headphones though. And I'm not saying you couldn't do any kind of work on any of these, that's completely up to you, but I'd recommend you get a pair of trusty good old AKG K240 Studio which are like $70 bucks and found on many recording studios, and get whatever else you want for bluetooth.

Wild shot in the dark here. You can try this link for isolating vocals or this link for an instrumental.

If you get the instrumental to sound good, for example, put it over the original and reverse the polarity to remove the instruments and leave the vocals. You might be able to get an acapella and instrumental track which you can then process separately.

An app is likely to have many limitations for serious work, but as long as you are learning and getting decent results, anything goes.

BandLab offers a free PC DAW, Cakewalk (previously known as SONAR). You should check it out.

There's no compression on the kick itself, but there is a "drum crush" bus I created following the reaper tutorial video:

http://reaper.fm/videos.php#_-55L5yXyXQ

I raised the threshold a little so hopefully it doesn't sound overly compressed.

I toned down a little mid range on the guitar and vocals as well. I like the raspy quality of his voice, but it definitely comes through a little piercing in places, hopefully it's more musical sounding now.

Here's an updated version with the changes I've made taking both of your comments into consideration:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/65ggmiiiu46evbn/What%20Kind%20of%20Man%20Mix%203.mp3?dl=0

Yes, you've got it.

When I compress, I will look at the analyzer's reading of the track and EQ the 'worst offending' peaks; the few highest peaks, because a wide band (standard, as opposed to multi-band) compressor will react uniformly, but based of the 'offending' freq(s). So, I often level the playing field, so to speak. I bring those freqs down to an average level for the track. Now, the compressor, more or less, treats everything evenly, instead of compressing everything, based upon the info of the strongest peaks.

Depending of the outcome, is is not uncommon for me to then eq, again, after the compression, but like every audio decision we make while mixing, only if needed. I am a member of "less is more' club. I usually do this while bouncing in an out of Solo, but my final decision must always be with Solo off, so I can make a judgment based on the track when it's within the context of the song, as all sonic decisions should be made. I usually give my ears a break before I make lasting decisions. Many might disagree with me even going into Solo at all, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't, tho I only do so to get the track 'off the ground', and always finish it with my finger off the Solo button. Doing otherwise is is like the web we weave when we lie about things, and you get caught up in this web that you might not be able to get out of, without stripping everything back down and doing it right the second, or more, time.

I take no credit for this method, I don't know who the credit belongs to, but it is awesomely effective. I apologize, in advance, to those whom have heard this from me before, again and again, but I really wish to help those who are looking for it and it' a real game changer.

Also, you should be aware of THIS. If not, you should be!

I hope this helps, please let us know how you make out.

Warmly,

Mr-Mud

I grabbed an intel nuc for about 800 ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JND9SY2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

mainly b/c of the thunderbolt connection as I use an apollo twin as well.

> I want to learn about what they were doing

Recording in studios with great microphones, through great preamps of great analog consoles, into tape, using all analog processing (or outboard digital) and summing analog into another tape.

Everything was a lot less processed generally speaking, because they plainly were physically limited by the amount of processing they had available.

I mean, you can go read about how some great records of that time were made. Geoff Emerick's book on recording and mixing The Beatles. There's the "Classic Tracks" series of articles from Mix Magazine, where they go into some detail into how they were made. And certainly the fact that many of these were made by great engineers is probably the biggest factor in getting that sound, but if you are talking generic great analog I think the key is not so much in the particular techniques of any engineer but in the tools/technology they used being the common denominator.

I'm from the US and we would call it a 1/4 inch balanced TRS (6.35mm) https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-6-35mm-Inch-Female/dp/B00KO8W3FI/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=female+xlr+to+TRS&qid=1626121828&s=musical-instruments&sr=1-4

Sounds right to me.

I suggest keep practicing. Learn your speakers. Learn your room. Clean your ears..and I seriously mean that. Buy this and use at least once a month.

Better gear does not make you better; practice does.

> Massive shame about the lack of audio audiobooks.

Audiobooks aren't cheap to produce. Many hours of: studio time, actor reading (because most authors are not that good at reading out loud), producer/editor. And the pro audio audience is a niche market as it is, divide that audience into the small percentage of audiobook consumers and you are left with very few people probably, to justify doing it.

Geoff Emerick's book, which has a bit more broad appeal, does exist in audio form: https://www.amazon.com/There-Everywhere-Geoff-Emerick-2006-03-16/dp/B01K3KYSCC/

They certainly did use compression on their vocals. You can read a bit about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recording_practices_of_the_Beatles

and I personally recommend this book by one of the main Beatles engineers, Geoff Emerick.

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I would recommend HP Envy It’s what I’ve used for years, a lot better for work than just about anything else I’ve used. And You can find the for as low as €900 depending on where you look.