Masterlink DSP

[Fieryjack]

I posted a question on the Masterlink a while back and some of you came back saying that the DSP on the Masterlink sucks, don't bother....

Well, let me tell you, I have found this to not be the case....The "lookahead limiter" (3rd DSP in menu, I think), is great for getting levels to where you want them without smashing the hell out of the dynamics....I just lowered the threshold to where I wanted it, and it sounded great.

An invaluable piece of gear (for me, anyway): highly flexible and high quality.

[NashBBQ]

I love mine!

[Cojonesonasteek]

I find it's a useful function for matching levels of songs for reference copies (not final masters). Capitol Studios uses Masterlinks in all their mastering rooms, so it can't suck!

[MASSIVE Mastering]

Well, just about EVERY mastering room I know of has at least one Masterlink in it...

I don't know of any that actually utilize the DSP in them.

For "quick fix" and "Finalizer" type stuff, I suppose it "works." I wouldn't run a client's mixes through it though.

Don't get me wrong - I love the Masterlink. I wish the entire planet would go to the "CD-24" format. It makes a great mixdown deck and a super extraction tool. As a bonus, the hard drive setup is fantastic for on-location two-track recording.

As for the DSP, I'm just not impressed.

[rpowell]

For "quick fix" and "Finalizer" type stuff, I suppose it "works." I wouldn't run a client's mixes through it though.

I'll use the limiter for reference copies where the track was recorded with a decent margin below 0dbFS or low average levels, just to bring it up into the usual realm of loudness. There's WAY better ways of doing this for a "real" final mix, as Massive says. Think Waves L2, when it's not being overly abused.

RP

[wwsm]

The Masterlink's DSP can be quite good if used carefully, and with subtlety (don't automatically crank it up, take your time and listen to what's happening). Many people just need a few dB to get their reference CD's comparable to commercial releases for A/B'ing mixes (lots of great mixes don't get considered as keepers, 'cause when the band takes it home, it's not even close to as loud as their favorite CD's, even though the mix is amazing.. that's just a sad reality as I've seen it happen). It's A to D conversion sounds better than many DAT machines IMO. Just remember... Please save mixes without the DSP in case someone else needs to apply some processing to your files (ie mastering). With discs as affordable as they are, always make several backup copies with both the processed and unprocessed files (and send both forward to mastering if it's an option). I've heard these can be purchased used for a couple hundred dollars - that's a pretty great bargain...

Alan Douches

[Professor]

I wish the entire planet would go to the "CD-24" format.

I'll definitely second that sentiment! If only I could get a walkman and a car stereo that could play CD-24 discs at 24-bit/88.2kHz.

I'm up to 5 masterlinks now, two that I own personally (one in the office, one at home) and three in the studio, one of which is in a mobile rack with an Aphex 207 preamp for location recording.
Since most of my recordings at the university are delivered to students and never copied more than a handful of time, I have to make sure they are as close to mastered as possible before they leave, precisely so they will sound somewhat equivalent to a store-bought CD.
So for studio recordings, I get my final mix ready and will often run the mix through a "mastering-style" processor like the Avalon 747 or the surprisingly nice Focusrite MixMaster and then into the Masterlink. In this case, I probably won't use the EQ or Compressor and never the Normalize, but the Limiter is always engaged. I send the track in so it is hitting just below 0 at the loudest peaks, and then set the Limiter to a -0.1dB output level and maybe -3, -4, or -5dB threshold, just to bring the average up that last little bit and keep the peaks safely down.
I wouldn't do that if it was going off to mastering, but this is student work, not commercial releases.
For the location system, the original live recital recordings are made directly to the Masterlink and are trimmed, faded in & out, equalized as needed, compressed (very rarely), and limited all inside the unit. Then all the copies (maybe 2-10 at most) are made directly from that machine for the student so that they are all 'master copies' and I make a rendered backup and a raw playlist backup for the studio. It's a pretty smooth operation in that regard.
The limiter is definitely useful in the DSP department, but the fades are perhaps more overlooked as the most useful DSP function.
The only thing that pisses me off is that I've been waiting for a balance control since the machine was introduced, but I don't see that coming any time soon.

-Jeremy

[cgarges]

I've got two of them. The limiter is about the only part of the DSP that I really like. The rest of it is plenty functional, but the EQ can be a little funky and sort of tweaky in the top and the compressor is less cool than the limiter. Still, I've used these functions for reference discs and stuff occasionally. But yes, the limiter is definitely the coolest part of the DSP.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[rpowell]

Just remember... Please save mixes without the DSP in case someone else needs to apply some processing to your files (ie mastering). With discs as affordable as they are, always make several backup copies with both the processed and unprocessed files (and send both forward to mastering if it's an option). Alan Douches

AAMOF, the "audio files" (found by skipping beyond the tracks that are in the playlist) ARE the "unprocessed" tracks, and will remain on the HD unless they are deleted. No need to create an additional unprocessed mix since they already reside on the HD. The only function that affects the playlist tracks and the audio files simultaneously are the crop, split and join functions (DSP, level, and fades are not burnt into the audio files). Otherwise, you will always have an unprocessed backup of your processed tracks in the "audio file" region. And it's easy to burn your processed playlist to CD, then make a playlist of the unprocessed audio files and burning them also, for a backup...or simply to add the audio files and make one long playlist with both versions.

RP