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JJAudio MasteringSecretsThe Pros Don't Want You To Know!By John RogersAudioMasteringSecrets.comCopyright 2017All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted inany form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic ormechanical methods, without the prior written permission from JR Mastering, except in thecase of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial usespermitted by copyright law.For permission requests please email John Rogers MasteringSecrets.com

TABLE OF CONTENTSINTRODUCTIONAudio Mastering Secrets1Table Of Contents2Who This Book Is For8What You Will Learn From This Book9About The Author10Testimonials11AUDIO MASTERING FAQSWhat Is Audio Mastering?13How Does Audio Mastering Compare To Mixing?14What's The Main Goal In Audio Mastering?15Why Do Songs Need To Be Mastered?17Can Anyone Become A Great Mastering Engineer?18How Long Does It Take to Master A Song?19Should Your Mix Sound Close To A Mastered Song?20Does A Radio Ready Mastering Standard Exist?22AUDIO MASTERING DEFINITIONS AND CONCEPTSSome Of The Terms I Use In This Book23What Is Headroom And Dynamic Range?24Why Does A Mix Need Headroom And Dynamic Range?26How To Create Proper Headroom In Your Mixes26What Is A/B Comparison Listening?27What Are Mid-Side Effects ecrets.com

MASTERING EQUIPMENT FAQWhat Hardware Do You Need For Mastering?29What Software Do You Need For Mastering?29Which Mastering Software Plugins Do I Recommend?30Analog Mastering Equipment vs. Digital Software32THE 8 EFFECTS PROCESSORS USED IN MASTERINGStandard 5-Band Equalizer34Mid-Side 5-Band Equalizer35Multi-Band Compressor36Multi-Band Spectral Enhancer (Harmonic Exciter)36Multi-Band Stereo Widener37Multi-Band Mastering Reverb38Loudness Maximizer38De-esser40Volume Meter Software40What Signal Path Should You Use?40SETTING UP YOUR LISTENING ENVIRONMENTRoom Size43Speaker Choices44Speaker Placement44My Personal Speaker Placement45Learning And Calibrating Your Speakers46Sound Proofing Your Room47PROTECTING YOUR HEARINGWhat Is Tinnitus?48How Is Tinnitus Caused?49How Did I Get My Tinnitus And How Did It s.com

PROTECTING YOUR HEARINGIs There A Cure For Tinnitus?50Can You Mix And Master With Tinnitus?50How To Prevent Tinnitus In Everday Life50How Loud Is Too Loud When Mixing And Mastering?51How To Protect Your Hearing As A Sound Engineer51The Rules I Follow During Mixing And Mastering52THE 18 LAWS OF AUDIO MASTERINGAudio Facts Are Facts, Not Just Opinions53Know The Genre Of Music You're Working On55Don't Do Counter Productive Processes55Always Think Natural Sound First56Don't Get Stuck In Familiarity57Don't Be Afraid To Make Drastic Changes59Don't Underestimate Your Capabilities60If You're Going To Miss, Go Slightly Over Not Under61Certain Actions Have Exponential Affects61When Using EQ Always Think Cut First62The Lead Vocal Is Your Main Focus64Listen To Your Feedback64Learning Decibel Amounts By Ear66Working In Decibels And Percentages, Not Fader Slides67You Have To Make Everything Sound Good70Let Your EARS Be The Final Judge, Not Your EYES72Always Finalize On Fresh Ears72Mastering Is An Art Form, Treat It Like com

The 4-Band Frequency Ranges In Multi-Band ProcessingLOW (20hz-130hz)77LOWER-MIDS (130hz-1.5k)78UPPER-MIDS (1.5k-9k)79HIGH (9k-20k)80Closing Thoughts On 4-Band Frequency Ranges81WORKING WITH SONIC QUALITIESThe Sonic Qualities In Audio Mastering83Adjusting Your Sonic Qualities With A/B Comparison85How To Handle A Song That Has Erratic Sonic Qualities87What's The Difference Between EQ And Spectral Enhancement?90SOLUTIONS TO COMMON MASTERING PROBLEMSBrightness, Tone, Sparkle (UPPER-MIDS & HIGH Band)92Clarity And Separation (Any BAND)100Bass Volume, Boominess, Kick Punch (LOW Band or LOWER-MIDS)104Warmth, Thickness, Presence (LOWER-MIDS And/Or UPPER-MIDS)106De-essing (On Song's Effects Bus)108Stereo Width (HIGH Band & UPPER-MIDS w/ Mid-Side EQ)109Overall Volume111COMPRESSION MADE EASYWhich Compressors Are Used In Audio Mastering?115What Can Compressors Do In Audio Mastering?116Working With A Compressor's Threshold And Ratio Settings119What Are Your Compression Goals By Band?128The Power Of Thinning Out A .com

COMPRESSION MADE EASYWhy Would You Want Less Dynamic Range?134Compression Mostly Affects The Loudest Parts Of A Song134Why Do I Never Remove Compression As A Remedy?136AUDIO MASTERING PROCEDURESShould You Export Your Mix Or Mix And Master At The Same Time?137But What If The Mix Is Terrible, Shouldn't You Fix It?138The Importance of Good A/B Comparison And Mix Evaluation139Getting Your Songs To Translate Well on Different Mediums140How To Create A Cohesive CD141AUDIO MASTERING STEP-BY-STEPInitial Mastering Template Setup1441. Let's Start The Audio Mastering Session!1462. What File Types Are Used In Audio Mastering?1463. Import Files1464. Visually Evaluate The Song Mix File1485. Use Your Ears To Evaluate The Song Mix1516. Slightly Compress Each Of The 4 Bands1527. Loudness Maximize The Song1538. Adjust Anything Moderately Sonically Off1539. Initial Master (Speaker Monitor Volume)154Initially Setting Up Your Bands15510. Setting The UPPER-MIDS (1k - 9k)15511. Setting The LOW Band (20hz - 150hz)15712. Setting The LOWER-MIDS (150hz - 1.5k)15713. Setting The HIGH Band (9k - .com

AUDIO MASTERING STEP-BY-STEP14. Check Volume And Adjust15915. Listen To The Song As A Whole And Adjust15916. Break Time!16017. 2nd Master And Tweak On Fresh Ears16118. The Final Export - Loudness Maximization163MASTERING DIFFERENT GENRESHow Do I Know The Sonic Qualities For Each Genre?164Vocals And Instrumentation May Change Your Sonic Approach166How To Master Different Genres168How To Master Metal And Hard Rock168How To Master Classic Rock170How To Master Pop-Rock, Punk, Alternative, And Country171How To Master Hip-Hop And Rap172How To Master R&B173How To Master Pop-Dance, EDM, And Synth174How To Master Movie Soundtrack, Classical, And Jazz175WORKING WITH CLIENTSShould I Ask Clients For A Reference Song?176Using The Initial Preview As A Reference177Go With The Client's Mix Or With What You Know?179How To Handle A Very Poor Mix180MY MAIN RESOURCESMy Main Resources181Thank .com

Who This Book Is ForSomeone who wants to learn how to correctly master audio to commercial radiostandards, either for themselves in their home recording studio or for theirbusiness.You want to save a lot of money mastering your own album, or you want to have thenecessary audio mastering skills to be able to earn 100,000 a year online like I do!You want all the information needed to become a great audio mastering engineer,presented in a way that's easy to understand.I wrote this entire book in simple plain English (layman's terms). I eliminated allwords you never heard of and hi-tech jargon, so anyone at any level can understandand learn from this book as well.You've invested hundreds, if not thousands, of hours into your music. If you're seriousabout it, now's the time to make a very small financial investment in this book so yourmusic will sound the very best it can!I wrote this book so you can quickly learn (in a matter of weeks) the techniques,tips, and secrets that took me over 17 years to com

What You Will Learn From This BookI love the saying, "If you give a man a fish he eats for a day, but if you teach a man howto fish he eats for a lifetime!"Well, from this book you will learn how to professionally master audio for alifetime! Then you can properly master your entire CD, your friend's CD, even openyour own audio mastering business. If you're already mastering audio at your ownrecording studio, I'm sure you will still learn a lot from this book.This book is a learning guide, filled with in-depth information. I wrote it from theperspective of a recording studio owner who's worked with over 7,500 satisfied clients.One reason I did this is because I wanted to cover only typical situations and scenariosyou will experience while audio mastering, not a hundred extra pages of theory andworthless topics you'll never use. I included only the information you need to know.Audio mastering is a highly technical field. There are 1,000's of different effectscombinations and sonic scenarios. And when you first start out in audio mastering,you'll trial and error your way through hundreds of combinations for each song. It's veryeasy to get lost in technology and become over-whelmed.In this book, I simplify the entire audio mastering process down to a handful of basicconcepts and effects combinations, detailing only the ones you need to properly mastermusic.Also, this book was first released in 2017. It covers current mastering techniquesusing up to date gear. Since 90% of the current software plugins weren't available atthat time, books written around 2007 or earlier are primarily analog gear using oldschool mastering rets.com

In this book, I explain: What your mastering goals are. How to use the processors involved in audio mastering. When to use them. Why you are using them.I start out with basic terms, audio mastering laws and procedures before moving on toadvanced sonic adjustment techniques and detailed step-by-step instructions. I not onlyuse pictures, but also incorporate a few online sound and video references. Everythingyou need to become a great audio mastering engineer!Important Note - Please read this book in its entirety. I try to repeat the most importantconcepts and tips, but sometimes I mention very important information only once. If youread only 75% of this book (or less), you will miss out on a lot of great stuff!About The AuthorHello, my name is John Rogers. I'm a professional sound engineer and have beenmixing and mastering at my Las Vegas studio JRmastering.com, since 1999.I'veworked with over 7,500 highly satisfied customers and mastered over 40,000songs in every genre and style imaginable.I have several thousand emails from clients that absolutely love what I've done with theirmusic.results.Everything written in this book is based on these real-world factualNot on biased opinions, what a teacher or friend told me, what I read inanother book, what another sound engineer thinks, how I'm feeling that day, etc. Mytechniques and philosophies are based on over 1 million cash earned fromthousands of highly satisfied ts.com