Complete Audio Mastering: Practical Techniques

Book excerpt: Learn the art of professional audio mastering "Gebre Waddell covers this all-important subject in greater depth than has ever been done in a book." -- Dave Collins, mastering engineer for The Nightmare Before Christmas, Jurassic Park, Soundgarden, War, Ben Harper, and others "Gebre provides students and educators with all the practical advice and hands-on tools they need to be successful." -- Jeffrey Rabhan, Chair of the New York University Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music Written by a professional mastering engineer, this detailed guide reveals world-class methods for delivering broadcast-ready masters. In Complete Audio Mastering: Practical Techniques, Gebre Waddell of Stonebridge Mastering explains every step in the process, from room and gear configuration to distribution of the final product. Find out how to put the final sheen on your mixes, work with DAWs, tweak loudness, use equalizers and compressors, and handle sequencing and fades. You'll also get tips for starting and running your own mastering studio. Features full coverage of: Mastering concepts and equipment Room setup and speaker placement Session workflow and organization DAWs and audio interfaces Analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters Loudness optimization and dynamics Digital and analog EQs and filters Professional compressors and limiters Fades, crossfades, spacing, and sequencing Red Book CD, WAV, MP3, and DDP formats Includes insights from the world’s foremost experts in audio mastering, including: -- Robin Schmidt of 24-96 Mastering -- Scott Hull of Masterdisk -- Jaakko Viitalähde of Virtalähde Mastering -- Dave Hill of Crane Song, Ltd., and Dave Hill Designs -- Brad Blackwood of Euphonic Masters -- Pieter Stenekes of Sonoris Software -- Cornelius Gould of Omnia Audio -- Jeff Powell, Grammy award–winning engineer; direct vinyl transfer engineer; engineer for Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bob Dylan, and others -- David A. Hoatson of Lynx Studio Technology, Inc.