Signal path for analogue mastering

EveningSky · 7th December 2006

I am a home recording hobbiest, and wish to experiment with mastering external to my computer based DAW.
I have a preamp, equalizer, and compressor.
Should I use all three?
In what order?
One goal would be to smooth some digital shrillness.
I would appreciate some advice on this.
Yours,
ES

MASSIVE Master · 7th December 2006

Knowing some specifics might help -

However:

1) The preamp will likely be unnecessary.

2) The order will be the order your ears tell you. But generally speaking, you'll probably want to apply corrective EQ before and dynamics control. After that, it's up to you.

lucey · 7th December 2006

i'd agree... EQ -> compress if you want to hear the compressor's tone more than the eqs or if the eq is needed to fix things ... clean eqs up front often make more sense.

compress -> eq if you want to hear the eq's intrinsic tone more (as in a fat tube eq or a transformer low end from the eq) and eq after if the mix is good such that it doesnt get worse in the compression.

i eq before any compression with a clean eq and after with a tube eq, for example. clean up, compress, grand strokes shaping.

assuming you want a little coloration and to 'round some peaks' ... a preamp with transformers might be nice after everything, at line level or with a little pre gain. in most cases a pre in professional mastering is going to be way too much color, or simply not worth inserting for the extra circuitry a clean per would add, but you decide for your own stuff it might be fun. then again, what sounds good in your monitors may not translate as well as you'd wish, so if you do go that route, try it all over to be sure. it's a heavy handed choice with a color pre, and unnecessary with a clean pre.

EveningSky · 7th December 2006

Thank you MM and Lucey,
I will experiment with your suggestions.
I am often frustrated with "digital shrillness" in some otherwise nice recordings.
Is there one particular mastering manuver which you apply to "round out" or "smooth out" such as recording?
Thank you,
ES

lucey · 7th December 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by EveningSky

Thank you MM and Lucey,
I will experiment with your suggestions.
I am often frustrated with "digital shrillness" in some otherwise nice recordings.
Is there one particular mastering manuver which you apply to "round out" or "smooth out" such as recording?
Thank you,
ES

All of it. EQ, compression and the build of each component.

7th December 2006	#1
EveningSky Gear nut Joined: Jan 2006 Location: Syracuse, NY, USA Posts: 126 Thread Starter	Signal path for analogue mastering I am a home recording hobbiest, and wish to experiment with mastering external to my computer based DAW. I have a preamp, equalizer, and compressor. Should I use all three? In what order? One goal would be to smooth some digital shrillness. I would appreciate some advice on this. Yours, ES

7th December 2006	#2
MASSIVE Master Lives for gear Joined: Mar 2004 Location: Chicago (Schaumburg / Hoffman Est.) IL Posts: 2,709 Verified Member	Knowing some specifics might help - However: 1) The preamp will likely be unnecessary. 2) The order will be the order your ears tell you. But generally speaking, you'll probably want to apply corrective EQ before and dynamics control. After that, it's up to you. __________________ John Scrip - Massive Mastering, LLC - www.massivemastering.com Spoon-feed a newb some answer and he'll mix for a day - Get him to think about it and figure it out for himself and he'll mix for a lifetime --- JS

7th December 2006	#3
lucey Gear Guru Joined: Dec 2002 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 12,407 Verified Member	i'd agree... EQ -> compress if you want to hear the compressor's tone more than the eqs or if the eq is needed to fix things ... clean eqs up front often make more sense. compress -> eq if you want to hear the eq's intrinsic tone more (as in a fat tube eq or a transformer low end from the eq) and eq after if the mix is good such that it doesnt get worse in the compression. i eq before any compression with a clean eq and after with a tube eq, for example. clean up, compress, grand strokes shaping. assuming you want a little coloration and to 'round some peaks' ... a preamp with transformers might be nice after everything, at line level or with a little pre gain. in most cases a pre in professional mastering is going to be way too much color, or simply not worth inserting for the extra circuitry a clean per would add, but you decide for your own stuff it might be fun. then again, what sounds good in your monitors may not translate as well as you'd wish, so if you do go that route, try it all over to be sure. it's a heavy handed choice with a color pre, and unnecessary with a clean pre. __________________ Brian Lucey Magic Garden Mastering Dr. John, The Shins, The Black Keys, OAR, David Lynch, Sami Yusuf, moe., Sigur Ros Spiral Groove Studio One - mixing monitors

7th December 2006	#4
EveningSky Gear nut Joined: Jan 2006 Location: Syracuse, NY, USA Posts: 126 Thread Starter	Thank you to all respondants Thank you MM and Lucey, I will experiment with your suggestions. I am often frustrated with "digital shrillness" in some otherwise nice recordings. Is there one particular mastering manuver which you apply to "round out" or "smooth out" such as recording? Thank you, ES

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