This book took me about 10 months to write. It really does contain just about everything I know, and I've learned a lot in the past 17 years. For being so technical, this book is very easy to understand.
Audio Mastering Secrets
(17 Years Of Information Wrapped Up Into 184 Pages)
INTRODUCTION
Who This Book Is For
What You Will Learn From This Book
About The Author
Testimonials
AUDIO MASTERING FAQ
What Is Audio Mastering?
How Does Audio Mastering Compare To Mixing?
What's The Main Goal In Audio Mastering?
Why Do Songs Need To Be Mastered?
Can Anyone Become A Great Mastering Engineer?
How Long Does It Take to Master A Song?
Should Your Mixes Sound Close To A Mastered Song?
Does Radio Ready Mastering Exist?
AUDIO MASTERING DEFINITIONS AND CONCEPTS
Some Of The Terms I Use In This Book
What Is Headroom And Dynamic Range?
Why Does A Mix Need Headroom And Dynamic Range?
How To Create Proper Headroom In Your Mixes
What Is A/B Comparison Listening?
What Are Mid-Side Effects Processors?
MASTERING EQUIPMENT FAQ
What Hardware Do You Need For Mastering?
What Software Do You Need For Mastering?
Which Mastering Software Plugins Do I Recommend?
Analog Mastering Equipment vs. Digital Software
SETTING UP YOUR LISTENING ENVIRONMENT
Room Size
Speaker Choices
Speaker Placement
My Personal Speaker Placement
Learning And Calibrating Your Speakers
Sound Proofing Your Room
PROTECTING YOUR HEARING
What Is Tinnitus?
How Is Tinnitus Caused?
How Did I Get My Tinnitus And How Did It Sound?
Is There A Cure For Tinnitus?
Can You Mix And Master With Tinnitus?
How To Prevent Tinnitus In Everday Life
How Loud Is Too Loud When Mixing And Mastering?
How To Protect Your Hearing As A Sound Engineer
The Rules I Follow During Mixing And Mastering
THE 8 EFFECTS PROCESSORS USED IN MASTERING
Standard 5-Band Equalizer
Mid-Side 5-Band Equalizer
Multi-Band Compressor
Multi-Band Spectral Enhancer (Harmonic Exciter)
Multi-Band Stereo Widener
Multi-Band Mastering Reverb
Loudness Maximizer
De-esser
Volume Meter Software
What Signal Path Should You Use?
THE 18 LAWS OF AUDIO MASTERING
(18 Laws - Roughly 25 Pages Of Great Information)
AUDIO MASTERING PROCEDURES
Should You Export Your Mix TO WAV Or Mix And Master At The Same Time?
But What If The Mix Is Terrible, Shouldn't You Fix It?
The Importance of Good A/B Comparison And Mix Evaluation
Getting Your Songs To Translate Well on Different Mediums
How To Create A Cohesive CD
The 4-Band Frequency Ranges In Multi-Band Processing
LOW (20hz-130hz)
LOWER-MIDS (130hz-1.5k)
UPPER-MIDS (1.5k-9k)
HIGH (9k-20k)
Closing Thoughts On 4-Band Frequency Ranges
SOLUTIONS TO COMMON MASTERING PROBLEMS
What's The Difference Between 5-Band EQ And Multi-Band Spectral Enhancement?
The Sonic Qualities In Audio Mastering
Adjusting Your Sonic Qualities With A/B Comparison
How To Handle A Song That Has Erratic Sonic Qualities
Brightness, Tone, Sparkle (UPPER-MIDS & HIGH Band)
Clarity And Separation (UPPER-MIDS sometimes LOWER-MIDS)
Bass Volume, Boominess, Kick Punch (LOW Band sometimes LOWER-MIDS)
Warmth, Thickness, Presence (LOWER-MIDS And/Or UPPER-MIDS)
De-essing (On song track bus)
Stereo Width (HIGH Band & UPPER-MIDS w/ Mid-Side EQ)
Overall Volume
COMPRESSION MADE EASY!
Which Compressors Are Used In Audio Mastering?
What Are Compressors Used For?
Why Would You Want Less Dynamic Range?
What Are Your Compression Goals In Audio Mastering?
Working With A Compressor’s Threshold And Ratio Settings
The Power Of Thinning Out A Band
Why Do We Never Remove Compression As A Remedy?
Compression Affects The Loudest Parts Of A Song The Most
MASTERING DIFFERENT GENRES
How Do I Know The Sonic Qualities For Each Genre?
Vocals And Instrumentation May Change Your Sonic Approach
How To Master Metal And Hard Rock
How To Master Classic Rock
How To Master Pop-Rock, Punk, Alternative, And Country
How To Master Hip-Hop And Rap
How To Master R&B
How To Master Pop-Dance, EDM, And Synth
How To Master Movie Soundtrack, Classical, And Jazz
AUDIO MASTERING STEP-BY-STEP
Initial Mastering Template Setup
(17 Steps - Roughly 20 Pages Of Detailed Information)
WORKING WITH CLIENTS
Should I Ask Clients For A Reference Song?
Using The Initial Preview As A Reference
Go With The Client's Mix Or With What You Know?
How To Handle A Very Poor Mix
Should You Give Out Free Demos?
Audio Mastering Secrets by John Rogers (184 Total pages)
