Stereo Seperation & Mastering

[QuantomMusic]

Hey, I just recently finished a new track that I had been working on for about a month now. But I noticed I don't have much stereo sound in my track, most of it is mono. I have a few pads that have panning automations but other than that, I'm not sure where to start with modifying the stereo balance.

Are there certain things that should be stereo? Like hi-hats, certain leads etc? Or is it all a matter of preference? I've listened to a couple of professional tracks and while I do here some panning, there isn't too much. So I'm wondering if stereo seperation is really even needed...?

I also would like to master this track myself instead of sending it into a cheap, overpriced external mastering engineer, but I'm not sure where to start. What I've done in the past is just added a multiband compressor to the master track and fiddled around with the Mastering presets, and it ends up sounding pretty good but I have the feeling I'm doing something wrong. Could anyone reccomend some plugins (preferrably free but if there are better ones for a price, please mention those) that can help me with this process? I once used a demo of Ozone 4 but found it too complicated, perhaps I'll look into some tutorials for that.

Any input is greatly appreciated.

[DieHardy]

How about google?! Mixing and Mastering as keywords. You can find loads of video's on it.

[TheRavestyler]

general-sound-design-f66/mastering-mixing-tuts-t19823.html?hilit=mastering%20tutorial
again ?? (about the mastering.)
btw all questions u just asked can be answered by google. but whatever.

about Mastering with izotope.

6 parts over an hour long. he explains how to master a track with an actually good result.
if u even have the interrest for it. that guy explains every parameter of that plugin.

and now lets stop opening x topics about mastering how and and etc.
http://harderstate.com/general-sound-de ... 18158.html

[SCH]

Pan percussion like a drum set.
Leads in Stereo
Pads almost as wide as leads.
Low frequencies in mono
Kicks in stereo, but nothing extreme, it has to sounds natural.

[Subject Zero]

You shouldn't master your own stuff. When you make a track you've built it from scratch and probably heard it hundreds of times. When you come to mastering it, your ears will be so used to it and you will not notice errors or stuff that has to be fixed. Mastering engineers who listen to a track for the first time will be able to pick up where things are wrong/need work after a listen or two.

Also like i always say on these topics - Don't bother with mastering just now, focus on your mixdown. If a track has a bad mixdown, mastering it is probably gonna make it sound worse.

[ljk32]

You shouldn't master your own stuff. When you make a track you've built it from scratch and probably heard it hundreds of times. When you come to mastering it, your ears will be so used to it and you will not notice errors or stuff that has to be fixed. Mastering engineers who listen to a track for the first time will be able to pick up where things are wrong/need work after a listen or two.

Why is this always said? I don't understand why people suggest to avoid self-mastering, it makes absolutely no sense at all. The entire argument about your ears being used to a track is bullshit - you can take a break and come back to it later (which is what a lot of producers do, not just to check mastering, but for all aspects of a track). You've also heard your mixdown hundreds of times, and your sound design, and your arrangement - all things in which the producer can become accustomed to and thereby not notice any faults - yet people will take a break, re-listen and adjust these aspects. So why when mastering is concerned is it considered such a taboo to do it yourself? Honestly, I think the people that suggest this don't realise the amount of successful producers that self-master their tracks. It's a ridiculous argument and yet continues to be brought up.

[Subject Zero]

I don't think it's a ridiculous argument at all. Mixdown and mastering are 2 complete separate things. I'm sorry but 9/10 of people who post these kind of things are still pretty amateur producers are for them to be worrying about mastering their own stuff at that current point is just not right in my eyes. Also the argument about your ears getting used to it might be bullshit to you but it's not to me at all. I've just started my mastering module in my University course so hopefully i'll be able to come up with some more in depth arguments in the future .

Take a look at the OP for example (don't mean this an insult btw, not what i'm getting at all ), mastering is not just sticking a multiband compressor on your master channel and flicking through presets. Mastering should be looking into depth at the frequency, dynamics, stereo image and final levels.

[ljk32]

I'm not referring to when the producer has no idea what they're doing, I'm speaking in general. Yes, based on what OP said, he likely doesn't know all that much about production, which means his mixes would probably be lacking. Does this mean he should let someone else adjust his mixes for him? And if he keeps listening to his mixes, he'll get used to them, which means adjusting them himself would be a stupid idea, right? I completely agree that within the early years of production, a producer shouldn't entirely worry about mastering, and if they do, they'd probably be confusing it with a way to make their tracks sound better, which comes down to an effective mixdown. However, that isn't my point. Unless you were solely referring to noobs (the 9/10 people here that make these topics), the argument is indeed bullshit. A producer confident in their mixing ability should not be told that self-mastering is a bad idea.

[Euphorizer]

I don't think it's a ridiculous argument at all. Mixdown and mastering are 2 complete separate things. I'm sorry but 9/10 of people who post these kind of things are still pretty amateur producers are for them to be worrying about mastering their own stuff at that current point is just not right in my eyes. Also the argument about your ears getting used to it might be bullshit to you but it's not to me at all. I've just started my mastering module in my University course so hopefully i'll be able to come up with some more in depth arguments in the future .

According to your own logic, one wouldn't be able to mix down his track either - as he apparently is not able to pick up on the errors in his tracks since he has listened to it so many times!

Mastering is so overrated these days. It has gone to the points where I've seen agencies trying to sell it as some sort of thing that will fix your mixdown, when in reality it will not. I have even seen agencies targeting audiences that are extremely stupid by advertising their ability to remove "ghost frequencies" that will "destroy club systems"(and I'm not trying to deny that this could happen, but mostly that is because of poorly set up club systems)!

To be honest, the best thing this guy could do is to learn about compression, soft clipping and limiting in order to bring up the volume level of his tracks as much as possible - because that is at the end of the day what mastering really is about.

[QuantomMusic]

Hey now, I'm by no means an amateur producer, lol...I don't know why I was insulted so much in this thread. Just because mastering is my weak spot doesn't mean "I don’t know all that much about production" I've been producing for several years, I just didn't get serious about it until the past year.

I am aware of the general mixing thread but I wasn't sure if it was appropriate to post things about mastering in there. After all, its the MIXDOWN & DYNAMICS THREAD, no mention of mastering. But now I know for next time.

Although I shouldn't have to defend myself (I asked for help, never did I ask you to tell me whether or not I should master it myself, Subject Zero) I'll do it anyway:
My decision to master my own tracks is based on my experience of releasing through labels. A couple of months ago, I sent a track into the label's external mastering engineer (had to drop $60 on it too...) and it came back sounding like shit. That's why I'm hesitant to get it externally mastered. ljk32 is right about taking a break from your own tracks, it’s an important thing to do and it assures that you won’t "get used to" your own track.

This is why I stay away from the DJ / Producer forums. So much narcissism...if you ask for help, you jut get a bunch of egotistical "producers" telling you how "amateur" you are for not knowing every single aspect of music production. (aren't we supposed to help eachother??) I posted this same exact thread on the KVR forums and they (believe it or not!) actually responded with useful, helpful advice. Thanks anyway, though, Euphorizer, ljk32 and SCH.