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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.
List of contents
Ch 1. Overview of Mastering Engineering
Ch 2. Typical Mastering Session
Ch 3. Do-It-Yourself Guide for Basic Mastering
Ch 4. Preparing a Mix for Professional Mastering
Ch 5. Workflow & Client Interfacing
Ch 6. Mastering Gear
Ch 7. Mastering Practices: Techniques, Problems and Approaches
Ch 8. Shaping Dynamics
Ch 9. Achieving Loudness
Ch 10. Fades, Sequencing & Spacing
Ch 11. Visualizations/Metering
Ch 12. Preparing for Final Output
Ch 13. What Happens After Mastering
Ch 14. DAW/Computer Optimization and Interfacing
Ch 15. Contributions
About the author
Gebre Waddell is a noted mastering engineer and owner of Stonebridge Mastering. His 10-year career includes work with artists such as Public Enemy, Ministry, George Clinton, and Rick Ross. Waddell is a current member of the Grammy Recording Academy and the Audio Engineering Society. He has created many resources, including
The Digital Publishing Standard for Audio Recordings and a popular spectrographic frequency chart titled "The Frequency Domain." Most recently, Waddell has been working with DSP algorithm design and VST programming.
Summary
The most comprehensive guide available on audio mastering—written by a mastering engineer
