Subject:Will SF 6.0 cover the basics of mastering?

Posted by: rockrev

Date:1/12/2003 8:55:34 PM

"Will Sound Forge 6.0 cover the basics of mastering better than SF XP 4.5?" is a better way to phrase it. For the longest time I've been using XP 4.5 to "master" my own personal demos - I've been somewhat successful. I can't get that "major label" sound, but I can do fairly well. Basically, I just make sure I have a good mix first (24 track ADATs to an Alesis Masterlink), and then a use Sound Forge to trim, fade in/out (if necessary), gain compress *aka* dynamics (1.5 to 2.0 ratio), and then normalize. I don't really mess with the EQ - let's face it - XP 4.5 is slow and cumbersome when it comes to that.

Anyway, back to my original thought. Will the full Sound Forge 6.0 make a major difference? I understand that I can now edit a 24 bit track (from the Masterlink), use "real time" EQ, and now limiting compressors (3 of them?). How great do these limiting options sound? And what's with this Wave Hammer? From what I've read it's just a quick way to gain compress and normalize with one draw of a line. Is that right? Will all of this give me a "major label" clean and loud sound, or close to it?

Thanks for any info you guys can provide. I definitely want to think out a purchase such as this.

rockrev

Subject:RE: Will SF 6.0 cover the basics of mastering?

Reply by: fishtank

Date:1/13/2003 1:08:28 PM

I think that the decision to purchase Sound Forge 6.0 would be a wise one for you. Just being able to work with a 24 bit file of your mix alone would be worth the price. I use SF 6.0 though I rely on the Waves L1 (soon to move to the L2) for peak limiting. I believe the WaveHammer is very similar to the L1 and should be a huge improvement over the normalizing you are doing with XP 4.5.

The important thing is to process your 24 bit mix using a *plug-in chain* with your peak-limiter (WaveHammer or equiv.) as the last step. I'm not sure if the WaveHammer has a dither option like the L1, but you will add the proper dither for 16 bit output in the end and convert to 16 bit before you burn a CD.

I cannot comment on the Sonic Foundry compressors as I use only the Waves products for compression. Others here may be able to advise.

I believe you can download a demo version of SF 6.0 that should allow you to see the results you will get. You can't save files etc., but you should be able to get a good idea of how it will perform.

Good luck....

Subject:RE: Will SF 6.0 cover the basics of mastering?

Reply by: chaz_havenmp

Date:1/30/2003 6:18:54 AM

SF has some very powerful mastering tools available, however, you may consider using other mastering plugin software such as iZotope Ozone, Waves, TC Works, etc. along with it.

I personally believe that the mastering compressor and WaveHammer in SF are excellent! These were first made available in SF5.0.

Subject:RE: Will SF 6.0 cover the basics of mastering?

Reply by: stusy

Date:1/30/2003 9:16:52 PM

Are you talking about the "Track Compressor"...? is that the right nomenclature...?

Subject:RE: Will SF 6.0 cover the basics of mastering?

Reply by: stusy

Date:1/30/2003 9:18:29 PM

...or the compression presets found IN Wave Hammer...?

Subject:RE: Will SF 6.0 cover the basics of mastering?

Reply by: Geoff_Wood

Date:1/31/2003 6:20:30 AM

You can master tracks in SForge, but it's a bit piecemeal when trying to do a whole CD, making it sound homogenous. I find mastering multiple tracks (relative to each other) much easier in CD Arch.

Also in SForge you are stuck with TAO gaps. Do you get DX plugins in SF XP 4.5 ? If not, then SF6 is a must.

geoff

Subject:RE: Will SF 6.0 cover the basics of mastering?

Reply by: stusy

Date:1/31/2003 9:50:41 AM

For me, it makes sense to acid then sf6 to edit, then vegas to mix and CDA to burn, altho sometimes I fidget with cassettes, so I really count on vegas to put it all together, and talking with techsupp sorta has got me goin at that tangent now...my fxpansion stuff (no softsynth stuff, just plugins) along with sofo, silverspike and psp stuff in betwixt also adds...it's alot of stuff to be thinkin about tho...relegated to the fact that I'll NEVER learn it all, but that's why I hunt around, in spite of slings and arrows...some of these cats deal with this stuff all the time...! that's why I like the sofo forum, sonar newsgroup, etc..folks help me to "put it in the pocket" a little bit...so what if I have to eat a little humble pie...! I've never considered myself a master music producer/editor...that's not why I bother with this stuff...