Masterlink DSP: Where to Start?

[inverseroom]

Howdy all--just got my Masterlink, yippee! I intend to do a little demo-quality home "mastering" on it--smoothing a few rough edges, when such edges exist. I understand that I will have fiddle around until I get something that sounds good for my stuff (guitar-based indie rock / dorktronica), but would anyone like to suggest a jumping-off point? Where do you set the compressor (if you use it at all) and the look-ahead limiting and normalizing? Any tips. pointers, etc? Thanks!

John.

[cyrusjulian]

Hi John,

I also have a Masterlnk and love it. However, I've tried not to use the DSP too much as I read an article that Bob Katz (mastering guru) wrote that said that everytime any DSP effects (normalize, eq, compression )are applied, it degrades the audio (something to do with bits, wordlength) Maybe somebody here like the Professor, Joel and others can give feedback on this as I'm not too familiar with it. I'll attach a link to Bob Katz's website. I tried looking for the exact article but there's sooo much info on there. But aside from the DSP, he thinks very highly of the Masterlnk.

Here are the links:

http://www.digido.com/index/pmodule_id= ... hQuery=dsp

http://www.digido.com

[cgarges]

Any time any sort of manipulation is done to a signal it can be considered "degrading the audio."

I think the Masterlink DSP sounds fine. The EQ can be a bit harsh if you're doing much more than like 2 dB in either direction, but I've never seen a good mastering engineer who does boosts or cuts much beyond that anyway. (It's amazing what a half-dB cut in the right place will do.)

I like the limiter best of all, again, in small amounts. Start there. I usually print mixes pretty hot to the Masterlink (usually at 88.2 kHz) and find that if I need to make a refernce copy louder or something, I'll limit it with the threshold set to no more than -3, but you'll hear it when it starts to mess things up. Once you get a grip on the limiter, you might want to start using the compressor, too, which is a totally different animal, but don't do it 'til you really get familiar with the unit and what the limiter does.

That's my two cents.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[swingdoc]

Hey John, heres my few comments on DIY home mastering with the ML.
Its a nice tool for scrubbing the beggining and ends. I usu start with getting the starts and stops clean, then apply either fade ins and fade out as needed. Its nice, cause you can decide what type of fade curve you want, and can apply very short times, intervals of .1 sec I think.
Then I'll do EQ, usu only roll of just a touch on the high end if its a "hissy" mix. These are all non destructive edits (except the crops of course).
If you're not going to have anyone else do mastering, then you can try out the comp/limiter. The last step for me would be the normalizer. This will add a few dbs to the overall mix. These are OK to get OK sounding stuff.
If your gonna have anyone else master, then Id scratch all the above of course and give them the completely unaltered tracks on a data CD at higher resolutions like 48/21 and let their expensive stuff do the converting. Normalizing can really alter the sound, and once done its done.
Id take the exact same mix and record it twice to the ML, and normalize one and not the other, so you 'll have a non-normalized mix to go to if you need it.
Its a good thing.

[cyrusjulian]

Any time any sort of manipulation is done to a signal it can be considered "degrading the audio."

I think the Masterlink DSP sounds fine. The EQ can be a bit harsh if you're doing much more than like 2 dB in either direction, but I've never seen a good mastering engineer who does boosts or cuts much beyond that anyway. (It's amazing what a half-dB cut in the right place will do.)

I like the limiter best of all, again, in small amounts. Start there. I usually print mixes pretty hot to the Masterlink (usually at 88.2 kHz)

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the feedback on the Masterlink's DSP! For the last few months, I've been paranoid about using it. If I may add one more question to John's initial post. Do you ever record at 96 kHz or do you tend to stick with 88.2?

[inverseroom]

Thanks, this is just what I was after. Making a non-normalized copy is a good idea. One other qustion: I'll be mixing from an Akai DPS16, which is 24/44.1. I assume there is no reason to record to the Masterlink at a higher resolution than that? Or will the machine simply make itself record at 44.1 automatically?

[Kevin Kitchel]

I think that the masterlink's normalization is different than other types. In a computer, when you normalize, you are doing some multiplication where points along the waveform would fall between quantization, esp in the lower signal level info. In the masterlink, its just finding the peak volume, and digitally turning it up by 1.58 dB or whatever. Its not destructive. Its the same as moving a fader in a DAW.

[cgarges]

Hey guys!

I started recording at 88.2 after a friend suggested it. I didn't really dig the Masterlink's sample rate conversion from 96 to 44.1, so I was just recording everything at 44.1 for a good while. (I can't always tell at the beginning of a project whether or not it will be mastered by someone who can play back a 24-bit 96k CDRs, if it's mastered at all, so I like to play it safe unless I know for sure.) The 24 to 16-bit dithering sounds pretty good to me, though. This friend of mine said he liked the sample rate conversion from 88.2 better than 96 and suspected it may have had something to do with dividing the samples directly in half as opposed to making a 96 to 44.1 conversion. It made sense to me so I started trying it. I think it makes a noticeable difference, so I've been mixing everything to 88.2 since.

If you're using the digital inputs on the Masterlink, they will automatically adjust to the incoming sample rate. So if your Akai is outputting 44.1 and it's digitally connected to the Masterlink, the Masterlink will record at 44.1. This can't be changed in the Masterlink. If you're using analog outs on the Akai (to process with external outboard for example), then I would suggest experimenting with higher sample rates on the Masterlink. Good luck!

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[joeysimms]

I just got my masterlink as well and since I plan to send mixes out for someone else to master, I'm not using any dsp. But reference mixes for myself, I used the look-ahead limiter to smooth peaks that were anything +1.5 db and brought them down 1. Then, normalized to .5db below that. Sounded nice, but I don't exactly know what I'm doing with it yet..

I also used the track scrub for heads and tails, and fade in. I would caution against using fade-out though, because, for me anyway, if I'm planning on fading out, I want to get it right while I mix, i.e., control over certain tracks volume as it fades, rather than basically have a machine pull the masters down. I love a good fade.

As far as hearing what the other dsp can do, I had asked on rec.audio.pro whether the 'link can actually do decent mastering IN CAPABLE HANDS and the answer was yes and no, so..

[inverseroom]

As far as hearing what the other dsp can do, I had asked on rec.audio.pro whether the 'link can actually do decent mastering IN CAPABLE HANDS and the answer was yes and no, so..

Yep, of course it was! Anyway, this is all helpful. Just messing around it seemed to me that the Normalizer and Peak Limiter are the only things I'd use--I'll EQ at the board and try not to compress my mixes in general. This is a project that may one day be professionally mastered, but maybe not. I will try your suggestions and tweak them to taste.

Once again, the Tape Op messageboard saves me hours of wasteful THINKIN'!

J

[Professor]

I guess I always feel compelled to mention that I own two Masterlinks personally and installed two more in the school studio - which should be a pretty straight forward vote of confidence. I love them, they're great, everyone should own at least one.
As for DSP, I use the exact same approach from the start as Swingdoc mentioned. I start by trimming up beginnings and endings and then adding fades. I always put in a fade in and out even if they are .05 seconds long just to make sure I don't get a snap - unless the tracks are dropped into the middle of the music (which sometimes happens in classical recording). After that I size up where the overall level is and see if I need to bring the level up or down with the "big knob" on the main playlist edit screen (next to the track name where it reads 0.0dB). I listen for the EQ and will generally take out a little bit at 320.5 (since the ML doesn't have a setting for the magical 315Hz). I generally use the EQ subtractively though I've found it is usable for a high or low shelf boost when called for. Then the limiter goes on - all the time, every track. I set the output to -0.1dB, the release time somewhere between 200-500ms and the threshold from about -3db down to -6dB when called for as it will make the whole track louder (limiters are compressors, remember). It's very rare that I use the compressor, generally only when something was recorded far too low or has just an obnoxious dynamic range (classical solo piano sometimes) and then you have to treat it like any 'by the numbers' compressor. I set the threshold low (-30dB or so) and the ratio very low (1.1:1 thru 1.5:1) and then set the makeup gain to appropriately make up for the lost peaks. I never use the normalizer - just something I don't like using ever.

As for sample rates, yes you definitely should not go to 96kHz unless you're going to transfer it to a computer and then put it on film. 88.2kHz is what you use for CDs since the math is so much more polite. And I know this is terrible but I gauge the sample rate by the importance of the project and how many backup discs I will have to use. 16/44.1 means low importance, 24/44.1 means medium, 24/88.2 means really important stuff. Yes, the sampling rate locks to the digital input when the digital input is selected, but it can also lock to it when you are playing back, so be careful with the 48kHz/44.1kHz sync problems - if everything sounds like it's a minor third too high or low, disconnect the digital input and check your sample rates. They are generally all mastered by me and no one else just because of the nature of the recordings, so they all get some amount of DSP if only just fades and limiter.

I use the machines in two applications. In the studio, the machine is at the end of the signal chain after the mixing console and is connected directly to the Yamaha DM-2000 board via AES/EBU and the analog out goes from the board through an Avalon 747 and into the Masterlink. I choose the path based on whether or not the Avalon might be helpful. I generally record as hot as I can to the recorder without red lining so I get the best dynamic range, and then apply the usual edits, EQ and limits (even after the Avalon, the internal limiter always goes on). I've found that the limiter is just a beautiful thing, even at its mildest setting it protects you and ensures you won't go over.
We also use the Masterlink on a live location recording rig with just an Aphex 207 preamp straight into the 'link. I encourage the student employees to err on the side of safety and would rather the level be too low then full of overs and digital distortion. This is where the DSP is especially helpful in taking a live stereo mix, boosting the level up to a more typical level, EQing out the more obnoxious room noise (wish they had a low cut option but it's only low shelf) add the limiter, fades, all that stuff and then burn the finished CD.

As for the CD burning, there are three ways to burn CDs and two are very important. A red book CD is the finished, rendered, complete CD with all of the DSP changes applied, and knocked down to 16/44.1 like any normal CD. Obviously that's the main reason you bought the machine. The CD24 format is pretty strange and not something I use often as it add all of the DSP but stays at the recorded sample rate up to 24/96. It's cool if you record a live even at 24/96 or 24/88.2 but you only get about 20 minutes per disc. I have a few recordings like that just for me to enjoy, but I rarely use the CD24 format. The playlist backup (under the utility menu) is supremely important. This saves all of the original audio files at their original sample rate (remember that 20 minutes per disc catch - that's why I don't use high rates for unimportant projects) and it also saves a proprietary files with all of the DSP settings. None of the DSP is applied to the audio, it is all raw, but the information is stored to the disc. Later, when the band comes back and say 'make this track brighter' or 'start this fade out 5 seconds earlier' you can recall the playlist (utility menu) and it loads all of the raw audio, and the DSP settings. Then you just change the setting and burn a new master disc - no remixing needed. That is perhaps the single most important feature for archiving and will save you lots of headaches.

Earlier today I was showing two of my employees how to take an existing track like a store bought CD track and trim off entire introductions and even cut out entire choruses or solos from songs like you might do for dance, cheerleading or ice-skating tapes, or in case they ever have to edit multiple takes together from a live to 2-track recording session. We lopped the piano intro and the first chorus out of 'Let it Be' by cropping, splitting and recombining tracks, etc. You'd be amazed at what you can do with that thing once you get the hang of it. And shit it acts as a CD duplicator when needed too - with each copy burned an actual 'master copy'. Tremendous.

-Jeremy

[cyrusjulian]

Wow! Many thanks for your thoughts Professor!

Regards,
Cyrus

[cyrusjulian]

Hey Professor,

Just out of curiousity, why don't you like using Normalization?

Thanks!
Cyrus

[inverseroom]

Prof:

I'm gonna print all that out and hang it on the studio wall.

I just realized something, though. I've been recording on my DPS16 at 24/44.1, but recently discovered that I can record at 24/96, if I want. I don't know why I wasn't already. Anyway, 88.2 is not an option on the DPS16--so am I better off recording at 44.1, if I'm going to mix down to the 'link?

John.

[cgarges]

am I better off recording at 44.1, if I'm going to mix down to the 'link?

John.

Try both. See what you like.

Chris