What gear do you use to master Rock albums ???

[hmnp]

This might be a wide type of question, but I would really appreciate your answers. I plan on starting to learn to master mainly rock albums. I have my own recording studio, but I dont intend on mastering what I record. Im going to master other people's work.

What mastering compressor, EQ, limiter, summin buss, processors, monitors do you use or recommend?

Budgetwise were talking about spending about $3000 for each unit. Not more. Thanks alot for your answers. You guys have been a great help in the past!!!

[andyg666]

Masselec MEA-2 for EQ and MLA-2 for Compression. TC Electronics M-5000 for the Toolbox present which allows you to use the 3-band Comp preset as an insert (essentially, from the TC we get 4 bands of eq, all sorts of cool stuff like phase flipping, stereo mono mix, m/s matrix, multiband compression, limiting, etc). TC dithers to 16 bits and we record to SADiE for PQ and other editing. one thing our room lacks is EQ or compression with some color--the Masselec stuff is transparent, which is nice, but sometimes you want some grit in a rock record that was recorded/mixed too cleanly.

[Slider]

I'm staying away from this one.

[kcrusher]

Some names to check out - these are all 'recommended', but what you ultimately use depends on your particular taste and methods...

Processing:
Weiss
Sintefex
Prismsound
Manley
Z-Sys
TC Electronic
Lavry
Digital Domain K series (processors and meters)
Cranesong
Waves

Monitoring
Bryston
Stax
B&W
Dunlavy

blah, blah, blah, ad nauseum.

UTFSF for more info...this subject has been covered many times.

[MoreSpaceEcho]

I'm staying away from this one.

me too.

[cgarges]

Chris Blair at Abbey Road.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[MASSIVE Mastering]

I'm staying away from this one.

me too.

Me three.

[andyg666]

oh yeah, most important--your ears... and it doesn't hurt to have 20 years of experience either. gear does not make you a mastering engineer... i wouldn't charge people to do mastering unless you really know what you're doing. otherwise you'll be doing a disservice to people who will no doubt be unhappy with your work and to yourself because you will have unhappy clients who will spread the word... if you're a recording engineer, stick to recording. develop a relationship with a good mastering studio and work out some sort of deal for reffering your clients to them.

[Cappy*tan]

Chris Blair at Abbey Road.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

Best advice yet.

[chris harris]

Andy's advice is good...

but, I'm a little confused about what we're all gonna do when all of the mastering engineers with 20+ years of experience have died off... it seems as if any time anyone even mentions being interested in getting into mastering, they are discouraged. It's ridiculous voodoo B.S.
sure, experienced mastering engineers do great work. But, I've heard plenty of stuff mastered by younger, newer engineers that sounds great!
the "oooh, I'm avoiding this topic" stuff is just silly. I mean, it's obvious that people with more experience and nicer facilities will produce more consistently good results. But, I've also heard plenty of shitty mastering jobs coming from the legends (nearly everytime I turn on the radio.)

you're kidding yourself if you think that any of this mass discouragement has to do with anything but a fear of losing business. it's perfectly understandable. but, you should compete in a fair marketplace based on your skills and reputation.

[nacho459]

hmm, If I were to open up a mastering studio here's what I would get (as far as processors, no console, monitors, decks, etc.)

Manley Massive Passive EQ
Manley SLAM or Variable MU comp
Waves L2 limiter

I have had a couple records mastered that used these same components, and they sound great!

For demos and other -$1000 projects (that don't get sent out for mastering) I just use my UAD-1 card in my computer. The UA precision limiter is pretty good if you don't overuse it.

[8th_note]

If you want to get your feet wet for cheap, try the Izotope Ozone mastering package. It has the major mastering funcions in one program. At least you'll have a better idea of how to determine the strengths & weaknesses of the gear you will be buying after you've used it awhile.

[rimbaud234]

You should go out and buy a Fairchild 670 right away.

[lancebug]

I bought an experienced mastering engineer on ebay for cheap! His name was misspelled so hardly anyone bid on him. Unfortunately I forgot to feed him and he died.

[cgarges]

Chris Blair at Abbey Road.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

Best advice yet.

Thanks. I think so, too. If you can afford it, get the version where you actualy stay at the studio flats. Totally worth it!

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC