EQ Magazine - January 2008 - (Page 40)

Customize your Reprints above –5dB, but there are 12 peaks that hit above –5dB. You can select just the individual half-cycles that go to 0, and normalize them to –5dB (Figure 5). You have not affected the song in any way other than trimming those 12 peaks, yet now you can raise the overall level by +5dB, making a much louder sound that doesn’t mess with the dynamics or add artifacts. If you now add a few dB (like 2–3dB max) of loudness maximization (Figure 6) or multiband compression, you’ll get an even louder sound that still retains the dynamic feel of the file. To anyone who’s about to write in about how normalization is evil, I’ll just respond with “Try it. It works. ” ■ Cheating with frequency response. The ear is most sensitive in the 3kHz–4kHz range, so you can use EQ to boost that range by a tiny amount—especially in quiet parts. The tune will have more presence and sound louder. But be extremely careful, as it’s easy to go from teeny boost to annoying stridency. Even 1dB of boost will almost certainly be too much. ■ Consider making a second master for the Web. Data compression actually allows for a reasonable amount of dynamics. If you’re streaming audio, then the sound quality is already taking a hit. Preserving dynamics can help the music sound a little more natural. If you work with streaming audio, try the techniques mentioned above instead of heavy squashing, so you can judge whether the resulting sound quality is more satisfying overall. Doing two different masters isn’t unprecedented. Record companies frequently did different masters for vinyl and cassettes. Fig. 5: Note how a rogue peak is about to be tamed to the level of other peaks using Wavelab’s Normalize Sound Level function, which will trim the peak to –5dB. REPRINTS EPRINTS POSTERS PLAQUES Reprints offer a powerful statement about your product, service or company. Customize your editorial content into a strong marketing tool by inserting a company logo, adding highlights to bring out stronger points or place an advertisement to capture your targeted audience. Fig. 6: The Wave Hammer plug-in in Sony Sound Forge has two stages, one for compression and one for volume maximization.This example shows a maximum gain reduction amount of 2.9dB. Reprints can be used as: • Tradeshow Handouts • Media Kits • Point of Purchase Displays • Direct Mail Campaigns Call today 877- 652-5295 and allow our reprint coordinator to assist you with some proven marketing ideas. 40 EQ JANUARY 2008 amount of signal. For example, suppose a section peaks at 0dB. You mute one track, and the peak goes to –2. You mute another track, and the section peaks at –1. You now mute a track and the peak hits –7. That’s the track that’s putting out the most amount of energy. Zoom in on the track, and use automation or audio processing to insert a small dip over a very narrow region that brings the peak down by a few dB. Now play that section again, make sure it still sounds okay, and check the meters. In our example above, that 0dB peak may now hit at, say, –3dB. Proceed with this technique through the rest of the tune to bring down the biggest peaks. If peaks that were previously pushing the tune to 0 are brought down to –3dB, you can now raise the tune’s overall level by 3dB and still not go over 0. This creates a tune with a 3dB hotter average level, without having to use any kind of compression or limiting. ■ If you can’t fix it in the mix, fix it in the mastering. If a 2-track file has rogue peaks, use a digital audio editor to locate the ten to 20 highest peaks in the file. For example, suppose most of the levels in the file don’t go IF YOU’RE STILL NOT HAPPY WITH THE SOUND . . . Go to a professional mastering engineer, but keep two things in mind: Provide the raw, mixed tracks at the highest possible resolution (such as 24-bit/96kHz), and don’t do any compression, EQ, or trimming of heads and tails. And, don’t assume the engineer is good. Listen to examples of his/her work, and make sure it isn’t squashed to death. Mastering is a crucially important part of the recording process. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you can do a good job when you can’t. But don’t fool yourself into thinking you can’t do a good job, either. Give it a shot, and if everyone who listens to it says, “Wow, that sounds fantastic, consider yourself a mas” tering engineer. www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - January 2008

EQ Magazine - January 2008 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Robbers On High Street Rafter RTX Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings Toolbox Rahim Dimmu Borgir Wu-Tang Clan Special Feature! Mastering for Musicians Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drumheads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Cakewalk Sonar 7 IK Multimedia Virtual Instruments Yamaha MSP7 Shure KSM137/SL K+H O 300 & O 800 Sonica Livetracker Apple Logic Studio Novation XioSynth 25, Audio-Technica ATH-M50, Samson G-Track

EQ Magazine - January 2008

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