Adding Distortion to make the mix polished at the mastering stage

[Nama]

Hello,

I'm a recording/mixing engineer, but I'm asked to do mastering my mixes often these days because labels have less budget for mastering than before.

Now, like other mixing engineers for sure, I'm struggle with mastering.

I can bring the level of my mix up as the same as Miley Cyrus or whoever. very easily esp, now I've got the FG-X (at least better than L3.)
However, making a mix sound polished is a whole different subject for me.

My mix tends to sound too clean when I finish mixing. (It is around -12 RMS with L2 doing -0.5db of reduction at the highest.)
I started thinking that my mix might be the one that needed a little of distortion, saturation, (so-called coloration) with analog gear. i don't know...
Just, my master needs a little of something..
I'm not trying to compete with Sterling Sound, but I'd like to make my mix sound a little polished and mastered.

I hear some mastering engineers only use plugins. In that case would you like the cleanness of the plugins? What would you use if the mix sounds too clean?

If you could recommend me something...

Best Regards,

[Serif Sound]

Originally Posted by Nama

Hello,

I'm a recording/mixing engineer, but I'm asked to do mastering my mixes often these days because labels have less budget for mastering than before.

Too bad your mix studio rate is cheaper than most mastering studios, since you have to amortize way more channels and processors as well as pay for more square feet... ):

Originally Posted by Nama

Now, like other mixing engineers for sure, I'm struggle with mastering.

With all due respect...then you should actually recuse yourself until your chops at mastering are sufficient to make it feel easy - at least it shouldn't be a struggle. Who wants to have a filling from someone who is struggling with dentistry? (SEE: Treelady).

Originally Posted by Nama

I can bring the level of my mix up as the same as Miley Cyrus or whoever. very easily esp, now I've got the FG-X (at least better than L3.)
However, making a mix sound polished is a whole different subject for me.

From the Steven Slate website, re: FG-X: "What they found, was that in order to transparently add level to a mix, a dynamic and intelligent transient saturation system would have to be developed."
That "dynamic/intelligent system" already existed... It's you, the mastering engineer! If you have to turn any virtual knobs while listening, or push any buttons while listening, you are using your own dynamic and intelligent transient saturation detector - your ears. Whether or not your monitoring system/room acoustics/speaker placement/karmatic integral will allow you to make the right decisions is unspecified. However, leaving something up to a program, rather than an experienced human, whose parallel processing is still much faster than any personal computer, is an expensive dose of Auto-Tune. It will sound less than ideal and ultimately is not what any pro ME would have invoked.

Originally Posted by Nama

My mix tends to sound too clean when I finish mixing. (It is around -12 RMS with L2 doing -0.5db of reduction at the highest.)...

If it sounds too clean (to you), then you weren't actually done mixing. The mix should already sound perfect, in the mixing suite.
Also, are you saying that you strap an L2 on the mix, before bouncing? That type of 2-bus process usually gets put on in mastering, rather than mixing... Perhaps you meant the former?

Originally Posted by Nama

...I started thinking that my mix might be the one that needed a little of distortion, saturation, (so-called coloration) with analog gear. i don't know...
Just, my master needs a little of something..
I'm not trying to compete with Sterling Sound, but I'd like to make my mix sound a little polished and mastered.

If you like the way masters from Sterling Sound sound, then, by all means, compete! Don't set your sights so low as to strive only for a sound that is "...a little polished and mastered." If you are going to master a record, it should be as good as possible, full stop.

Originally Posted by Nama

I hear some mastering engineers only use plugins. In that case would you like the cleanness of the plugins? What would you use if the mix sounds too clean?

If you had to use only plug-ins, you would select either clean - for an already-dirty mix, or dirty - for a "too-clean" mix. However, they run the gamut. The cool thing about analog is that you don't have as much deterministic control and have to use your imagination more. But there are happy accidents while sweeping through the coarse settings on hardware that might be overwhelming or time-consuming when you have switch precision of tenths of a dB that must be swept with a mouse.
After you spend at least 5 years listening to mastered records in your mastering room, you will have tons more perspective on what will work on a track, using whatever tools you have. However, after experience, the monitoring/room hand-shake is your most important mastering tool. Every other tool is secondary in importance (or was that, tertiary?).


Aim for the stars, since all trajectories that are sub-orbital will experience decay...



Cheers,
Andrew

[Surbitone]

Originally Posted by SafeandSound

All experienced M.E.'s like to think they don't have a style but I think it's something that develops naturally through choice of gear and patterns of use

I honestly don't know how anyone could say otherwise. ME's are obviously trying to be as objective as possible in their work, but there's always a limit. Many tracks that I've had mastered by different guys (the good ones) have come back sounding remarkably similar, but when listening carefully, all the small differences become very apparent.

[CJ Mastering]

Originally Posted by Nama

Hello,

I'm a recording/mixing engineer, but I'm asked to do mastering my mixes often these days because labels have less budget for mastering than before.

Now, like other mixing engineers for sure, I'm struggle with mastering.

I can bring the level of my mix up as the same as Miley Cyrus or whoever. very easily esp, now I've got the FG-X (at least better than L3.)
However, making a mix sound polished is a whole different subject for me.

My mix tends to sound too clean when I finish mixing. (It is around -12 RMS with L2 doing -0.5db of reduction at the highest.)
I started thinking that my mix might be the one that needed a little of distortion, saturation, (so-called coloration) with analog gear. i don't know...
Just, my master needs a little of something..
I'm not trying to compete with Sterling Sound, but I'd like to make my mix sound a little polished and mastered.

I hear some mastering engineers only use plugins. In that case would you like the cleanness of the plugins? What would you use if the mix sounds too clean?

If you could recommend me something...

Best Regards,

You should also know that its not advised to mix and master in the same room. How could you ever fix the deficiencies in your room, if your mastering in that same room.
No room is perfect, therefore you should not mix and master in the same room.

[Serif Sound]

Originally Posted by CJ Mastering

You should also know that its not advised to mix and master in the same room. How could you ever fix the deficiencies in your room, if your mastering in that same room.
No room is perfect, therefore you should not mix and master in the same room.

I was going to say that, too, but SafeandSound already beat us to it, earlier in this thread:

"...Mastering the music in the same studio/same monitors is also nonsense really. What can you do to make it better than it is? You are hearing the same characteristics of room and monitors you mixed on !"




Andrew

[DanDan]

Nama, that is a dirty name in Ireland. Bad bank bailout. NAMA - Home page

I have a few sources of dirt, which work really well, particularly for adding some chest hair to a mix.

The Warmth section of the Sonnox Compressor

CraneSong Phoenix

Sonnox Inflator

DD

[wado1942]

Interesting. This is the first I've heard of intentionally adding distortion in the mastering process to call it more "polished". That's usually something we avoid like the plague.

[Lagerfeldt]

That depends on how you define distortion. Harmonic distortion from tubes in mastering or simply adding distortion to the S channel isn't that uncommon after all.

[Nama]

Hello,

Thank you very much for all.
It's just that all of my mixes don't get to the mastering these days.
Just some clients don't understand my words. (They don't understand DDP, and just ask me to burn a master CD on a Mac.)
Well, if I refuse to do it, they just will go to another engineer, so I'm like, OK, I'm no mastering engineer, and this is a recording studio, not a mastering one, but since you ask, I'll do something like mastering...

This is common thing in Japan.

But, this happens because sometimes my mastering (with just a L2) sounds better than proper mastering. Esp, for web only release, you don't have to care about other than sound quality (correct me if I'm wrong.)

I think there are so many none professionals (even though they are professionals in the mean of getting paid by music) these days, who just don't understand mastering.

[Jesse Graffam]

Originally Posted by Nama

sometimes my mastering (with just a L2) sounds better than proper mastering.

the "proper mastering" must not have been a proper master job then.

[Bubbagump]

All the warnings of mastering aside.. FWIW, this can be a handy tool for ITB:

Bad Buss Mojo | Stillwell Audio - It's About The Sound

It can add sizzle to an otherwise "too clean" mix in what I'll call a more organic way then using an enhancer or some other psycho acoustic processor.. I don't use it often, but when it works, it works.

[Nama]

Thank you for your suggestion.

I'm going to try the plugin.

Does anyone use any other things?

[WBM]

They hired you for your mixing skills and if you're confidence, don't be afraid.
It's so hard today, learn to say NO & stop leaving by fear.
keep doing what you called mastering, don't waste your time trying to get better on it.