All Plug mastering?

[superburtm]

Is it possible to do some quality work mastering wise with using all plug-ins and no outboard for rock music?

My experience points to no. But,, there are some new plugs coming out that are starting to sound quite good at a fractional cost of the hardware. flame away

I am very curious to hear the new CHandler eq plugs

[Cellotron]

I've done a number of mastering jobs with only plugins in the past - and to my ear none of the masters created in this way, when the mixes actually required more than very subtle sonic alteration, has ever come up to the quality of sound that is achievable with the masters I created using some amount of outboard dedicated analog hardware.

So, to my ear, if the mix is great and you just need say a 1/2dB cut or boost here and there, and maybe 2dB GR with a limiter - then plugins can work great. But if any "heavy lifting" is required (and these days with a lot of stuff being tracked and mixed in home and project studios it more often than not is) then I much prefer to use my analog gear.

Obviously - OMMV.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[taturana]

maybe someday on the future... even with the new plugins, i think there's a big distance between results we can get with outboard and plugins for mastering.. so i also would say no... not yet.

[aivoryuk]

it is possible to get some good mastering work just from plugins (for rock or anything) but i think a lot of it comes from the person using it rather than what is being used.

I have yet to come across a plugin that gives me the midrange articulation that i am after (small amounts fine but not big pushes). although i am hearing good things about the algo blue (i already have red and orange)

[carlsaff]

I did all-plugin mastering for years. Though I have some outboard now (and more on the way), a lot of the business I get now is as a result of people hearing things I've done that were mastered entirely "in the box".

You can do great work with lesser tools. Having the best tools just makes doing great work easier. In the audio world, most of the best tools are still analog.

[MASSIVE Master]

Bigger picture: I'm not here to run signals through analog gear - or plugs. I'm here to do what (I feel) is best for the signal. If that's plugs, it's plugs. If that's the analog chain, it's the analog chain. If it's a little of both, it's both.

If I get a mix in that sounds amazing and a little nip @ 2.5k and some limiting (via plugins) will get it from what I'm hearing with my ears to what I'm hearing "in my head" then there's the chain. Same with certain "salvage operations" that I feel won't necessarily benefit from an analog pass, I'm not going to use it just to use it.

Granted - The majority of the time I'm using analog gear somewhere in there...

But *can* quality come from plugins? Sure. But like any other step, you're only as good as your ears and your monitoring allow you to be. As long as you're using the tool your ears and your brain are telling you to use, it's the right tool.

[superburtm]

well said
...I have came up with some decent results a few years ago mastering alot of my clients with nothing more than what was in the wasves gold bundle. The clients were happy but I wasn't, so I strayed from it a bit. I think It might be time for round 2thumbsup

Originally Posted by MASSIVE Master

Bigger picture: I'm not here to run signals through analog gear - or plugs. I'm here to do what (I feel) is best for the signal. If that's plugs, it's plugs. If that's the analog chain, it's the analog chain. If it's a little of both, it's both.

If I get a mix in that sounds amazing and a little nip @ 2.5k and some limiting (via plugins) will get it from what I'm hearing with my ears to what I'm hearing "in my head" then there's the chain. Same with certain "salvage operations" that I feel won't necessarily benefit from an analog pass, I'm not going to use it just to use it.

Granted - The majority of the time I'm using analog gear somewhere in there...

But *can* quality come from plugins? Sure. But like any other step, you're only as good as your ears and your monitoring allow you to be. As long as you're using the tool your ears and your brain are telling you to use, it's the right tool.

[Monsterlab]

If the mix is right, why not. Although the plugs have gotten much more useable, they are not worth a damn if you have to fix something thats wrong with the mix IMO. If yer just setting level and minor peak limiting with an L2, sure.

[robot gigante]

Odd, I don't think that plugins are leaps and bounds better now than they were a few years ago, with a couple notable exceptions on the EQ front.

But that isn't to say that an experienced mastering engineer with the right monitoring couldn't get good results with them, I think.

I wouldn't want to be limited to plugins myself though.

[superburtm]

Originally Posted by robot gigante

Odd, I don't think that plugins are leaps and bounds better now than they were a few years ago, with a couple notable exceptions on the EQ front.
.

really? can you say EQ3 for an example??And The Chandler stuff sounds like friggin hardware! THis stuff did not exist in 2000 when I was mastering with plugs. Plugs HAVE gotten better in general I belive

[Whitecat]

almost the _only_ plug I self-master with (when I have to) is PSP Neon HR in FAT mode.

I will, however, _occassionally_ use a limiter, and which one depends on the material, but I try to just get the levels and volume right in the mix in situations where I have to self-master.

[taturana]

i like the PSP neon also.. it's very subtle... when i have do itb masters i normally use it along with waves LMB (though not always) and L2 and ssl G comp, not in that order, obviously....

[MiamiMusicMan@a]

Waves SSL Comp, Waves L2 & L3, DUY Wide, McDSP AC 2, URS A & N MIX........not in that order.....