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Mark Dann Recording -
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Music Production -
Recording - Mixing -
Mastering - Restoration -
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New York City -
& Woodstock, NY -
(212) 941-7771 -
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email the studio! -
if the mail link above does not work: -
Mark107 - at - aol.com
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Mark Dann Recording -
Mastering and Recording Studio -
(212) 941-7771 - NYC USA - email: Mark107 at aol.com
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Analog Mastering For CD -
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What is analog mastering, and why would you want it? - While it is certainly possible to master a CD with just plugins, most professional mastering engineers take advantage of analog gear that has no counterpart in the digital domain. After some careful listening tests to the mixes, as well as comparing the mixes to client supplied CD references from their home collection, I make use of both analog gear as well as 1/2" 30ips analog tape, to shape the sound in ways that cannot be done inside of a computer. After this stage, the analog treated mixes are then transferred to high-resolution digital.
- Much of record production today is done entirely in the digital domain, as opposed to having been tracked on analog tape. Similar to the comparison between film and video tape (commercially released movies use film, tv shows use video tape), the difference will be readily apparent. By comparison, analog will sound a bit rounder, warmer, less "spikey", and the instruments and vocals seem to "sit" better with each other. The music feels more "filled in". It's easier to get good balances between the instruments and vocals. Digital mixes transfered to analog tape will take on these qualities to a large degree.
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- Examine the screenshot above. The UPPER pair of waveforms is the original digital mix. The LOWER pair, the same mix after being recorded to 1/2" 30ips analog 2-track tape. Believe it or not, the analog one sounds LOUDER!
- The digital waveform in the example above is full of "spikes". These may be drums hits, piano chords, even vocals. These "spikes" are largely absent on the analog version. Why? Because analog tape is slower to react than digital recording formats, and as such "softens" the attack of these transients. Analog tape thus acts a bit like a compressor, but unlike any rack-mount or plugin compressor. A typical compressor will compress the whole mix at once, meaning that a loud bass drum hit will ultimately yank down the vocals (and everything else) along with it. But tape is an "infinite" band compressor, where any sudden spike is dealt with without effecting other instruments or vocals in any discernible way. Because of this, all the "music" between these "spikes" comes up in level, and the music sounds noticeably "fuller" as a result. The analog mix will also appear to sound louder. Because of the spike reduction, as well as the absence of one instrument's momentary peaks yanking down the levels of other instruments, the "average" level of the music is now higher. So, it really is louder! And in a far more transparent way than can be achieved with rackmount compressors or plugins.
- Most people generally agree that analog sounds better to their ears. I believe that is because virtually all the music they grew up listening to was done that way, so it is ingrained. It's part of the collective conciousness. It also is more similar to how music sounds in the real world. For example, if you watch a band play, and the drummer plays a loud drum fill, the rest of the music is unaffected.
- It's worth mentioning that much recording done in the higher budget realm (major artist recordings) is still done to analog. It may still be edited in a computer, but the tracking is analog. I believe that the reason why a lot of independent & small artist records are so over-compressed these days is an effort (conscious or unconscious) to replicate the compression of the analog world.
- Which leads me to explain how I incorporate this in my mastering process.
- In addition to all of the other techniques I use in mastering (quite a few, and not covered here), I also transfer clients mixes to 1/2" 30 ips two-track analog tape. This format is universally accepted as the world's best sounding stereo format. For artists working in all-digital formats, i.e., Pro Tools, this makes for a night and day improvement. Noticeable improvements include: vocals are warmer and "sit" better in the mix, drum hits are much more even, cymbals are less harsh, overall levels are more consistant, etc. The mixes now sound more three-dimensional, fuller, more "filled out". The original digital mix now sounds, by comparison, quite bad. "Flat", "nasal", "thin", "collapsed", "smaller sounding", "empty", are all fitting terms.
- Another side benefit, CDs cut from these mixes can be made quite loud without sounding overly compressed, because tape is a better compressor than any rack-mount unit or plugin. CDs made this way are very full and even sounding, and loud without sounding "clamped-down" by compressors and limiters. They sound more like the expensively produced CDs you buy in the store.
- But doesn't putting all of this back on a CD merely convert it back to "digital" sound?
- No. A CD is much like a camera, in that it is a reasonably faithful copy of whatever you send it. The "spikes" are not coming back. The leveling-out of the mix is not going to un-level itself.