Original Message                 Date: 22-Aug-00  @  07:00 PM   -   That Mysterious Professional Sound

azazello

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I am experimenting with making some drum & bass. I made some good standard loops, have good sounds, and I think, "Hey, this is pretty good." Then I listen to some tunes, such as anything by Ed Rush & Optical, DJ Trace, Nico, etc., and discover that my music sounds completely unprofessional! What gives it that "professional" sound? I realize that all songs are pretty unique, but they all have a polished sound in common. Is there anything specific I should be doing in the final mixdown or mastering phase? Any and all tips will be helpful.
Thanks!
Azazello

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Message 11/43                 Date: 26-Aug-00  @  04:25 PM   -   RE: That Mysterious Professional Sound

formant

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the only mastering products (non software and less than 1500usd) that i know of are the dbx quantum, the finalizer express, and the focusrite mixmaster

i haven't seen behringer here in the states since all of those lawsuits.

jamey

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Message 12/43                 Date: 27-Aug-00  @  04:51 AM   -   RE: That Mysterious Professional Sound

johnny

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I've heard of the Behringer mastering boxes, but never actually seen or heard any. There's the Ultramizer (£150) which is a 2-band affair with a few tricks up it's sleeve. Not very intuitive from what I've heard, capable of beefing up a track nicely but rather heavy handed. And there's no digital i/o possible. There's the Ultradyne (£350) which uses 6 bands of compression - sounds a bit over the top to me, 3 is plenty. It too has lots of features, is a lot more programmable but is in the same box as their Ultracurve - big display but all buttons, not even a data wheel. Digital i/o is an option on this I think, strange as it's an all-digital box - not like the Focusrite.

Sound is subjective, but I'd rather stick with TC's algorithms. They have a history in mastering (M5000's multiband programs are used in many mastering suites) and the technology has trickled down into the Finalizer series. Same with Focusrite - their Blue series is used in lots of mastering facilities.

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Message 13/43                 Date: 30-Aug-00  @  05:57 AM   -   RE: That Mysterious Professional Sound

ville

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i have an Vitalizer Jack which is cheapest version of SPL's product lline and it does decent job. I see it as a sort of "lazy-producer's-EQ" 'cos same could be done propably with parametric EQ... it does stil add something "magical" to mix but not as much as i expected. (Hell... I expected it do commercial sounding stuff with a flick of swtich)

Anyone used Ultrafex? How is it? I considered it but ended up buying vitalizer...

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Message 14/43                 Date: 01-Sep-00  @  08:35 AM   -   RE: That Mysterious Professional Sound

Jasper

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I'm getting good results with the aphex 104. Definately gives mixes that glossy finish, even shit mess around stuff sounds like it's meant to be that way.

Using a compressor on the bass sounds alone makes mixing the whole track that mutch easier, mainly I can get the kick to sit over a really bassy line and not lose it's definition.

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Message 15/43                 Date: 01-Sep-00  @  08:45 AM   -   RE: That Mysterious Professional Sound

chris

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Any tips on what typical settings to use on a software multi-band compressor?

There are no pre-sets on the one I'm using...

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Message 16/43                 Date: 02-Sep-00  @  05:31 AM   -   RE: That Mysterious Professional Sound

johnny

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Chris-

How many bands is it? Can you adjust the crossover frequencies? What other settings can you adjust? What ranges do they have?? Tell me more and I can help...

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Message 17/43                 Date: 02-Sep-00  @  06:51 AM   -   RE: That Mysterious Professional Sound

formant

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i can send you my "generic" preset that i use as a starting point in soundforge if that is what you are using.

otherwise i will try to remember to go in and write down what all the settings are.

jamey

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Message 18/43                 Date: 02-Sep-00  @  08:05 AM   -   RE: That Mysterious Professional Sound

chris

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It's the Sonic Foundry multi-band dynamics (under Sound Forge)...

It's 4 band, and I think each band has it's own frequency parameters - which means it should cross-over.

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Message 19/43                 Date: 02-Sep-00  @  08:42 AM   -   RE: That Mysterious Professional Sound

johnny

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Adjusting the crossovers visually should be OK. For starters try a 2:1 ratio on all bands, threshold of -11dB on all bands, 20ms attack on the top 2 bands and 30ms on the bottom 2. Release times should get longer as the frequencies get lower, so try 0.3s for the top, 0.45s for top-middle, 0.6s for bottom-middle, and 0.7s for the bottom band. To make the compression more subtle, ease up on the ratio, lengthen the attack and release times and raise the threshold a touch. To make it more aggressive, increase the ratio (no more than 6:1), lower the threshold, and shorten the attack and release times. If the compressor doesn't add make-up again automatically, as a general rule it should roughly correspond to the threshold setting.

Those are the basics, but try your own settings to tailor it to your own material.

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Message 20/43                 Date: 04-Sep-00  @  04:50 PM   -   RE: That Mysterious Professional Sound

formant

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you know johnny the mastering police are gonna come take us away for discussing this in the open like this...

the black art is being exposed! :-)

chris, did johnny sort you out or you still want me to email the preset?

jamey

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