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In this chapter Knowledgebases 9.1 Introduction 281 Pre-Mastering 299 9.2 Different approaches to Dithering 299 mastering 281 POW-r 299 9.3 Bounce to Disk 283 9.4 Audio mastering in Logic 285 Plug-in focus 9.5 Editing fades 286 Linear-Phase EQ 300 9.6 Exporting and burning 287 Multipressor and Multiband 9.7 Mastering in WaveBurner 289 compression 300 9.8 Processing and editing 290 Limiting 301 9.9 Dithering, bouncing, and Other mastering tools 302 burning 291 Walkthroughs Editing and assembling a CD in WaveBurner 294 Audio mastering and CD burning 297 CCH009.inddH009.indd 228080 11/7/08/7/08 22:01:44:01:44 PPMM 9 Mastering in Logic 9.1 Introduction If you’ve ever tried burning a few tracks onto a CD, you’ll be well aware of the challenges of producing a CD that sounds comparable to a commercial release. Even with a complete mastery of the production process, and some great-sounding final mixes, your CD could still sound weak and comparatively amateurish. Although OSX and iTunes offer integral CD creation and burn- ing, the fact is that professional musicians and bands will invest a significant amount of money and experience in turning their finished mixes into a final product. So does this mean that users of Logic can’t enjoy the same degree of finesse and polish? Well, with a little know-how, and the audio tools of Logic, you too can produce a commercial-quality CD master. The term Mastering describes the process of compiling and editing several (possibly contrasting) recordings, applying some form of audio “sweetening,” and assembling these to produce a final Red Book “production master” CD. Traditionally, mastering has necessitated the use of a separate facility (other than the music studio), specially equipped with mastering equipment includ- ing multiband compressors and high-end mastering EQ, as well as dedicated workstations like Sonic Solutions. Nowadays, however, the world of media is a lot more demanding, so it’s not uncommon for musicians, bands, and com- posers to master themselves. The bar, it appears, has been raised – but Logic is certainly up for the challenge! 9.2 Different approaches to mastering Mastering itself can be divided into several objectives. First, of course, is the sweetening we most commonly associate with a commercial CD – in other words, the use of Compression, EQ, and a host of other processes across the finished two-track master. Secondly, tracks might as well need to be edited – setting correct start and end points, for example, or placing any fade-ins or fade-outs as required. Finally, the finished files or regions need to be ordered 281 CCH009.inddH009.indd 228181 11/7/08/7/08 22:01:48:01:48 PPMM Logic Pro 8 for the CD, with appropriate markers to define the tracks and index points that appear on the CD. With these three objectives, you can master in the Logic universe. Technique 1: iTunes The first technique, and the one most Logic users are used to, is the idea of applying mix sweetening, edits, and fade-outs and dithering all options inside the main Logic application. The finished files are then rendered (using Bounce to Disk) or exported as 16-bit 44.1-kHz files ready for compilation. The compila- tion process, however, requires the use of other software – either iTunes (Apple’s integral audio CD burning tool) or dedicated Red Book software like Jam. Audio masters, exported from Logic, can be assembled into a finished CD using iTunes or other suitable Red Book standard software. Technique 2: burn from Logic For the quickest and the most integral solution to the mastering problem, you can now burn CDs directly from Logic. Again, sweetening and edits can be applied directly to the main application. The burning of CDs, however, is car- ried out from the Bounce menu – rather than rendering an audio file, you’ll burn the finished mix onto a CD. This method is arguably the quickest way of creating a CD, especially with just one or two tracks needed to be burnt, but it doesn’t offer the most flexible solution in the long run. 282 CCH009.inddH009.indd 228282 11/7/08/7/08 22:01:49:01:49 PPMM Mastering in Logic For a quick CD, use Logic’s integral CD Burn feature, as part of the Bounce to Disk option. Although this method is an easy way of burning single tracks (a rough mix, for example), it can be too restrictive for professional mastering. Technique 3: WaveBurner The best technique – although only available to users of Logic Studio – is to use Apple’s dedicated Red Book application called WaveBurner. Originally developed by Emagic, WaveBurner has previously been sold as an indi- vidual programme, but is now included as a standard in Logic Studio. In essence, WaveBurner shares many features with Logic (including plug-ins like Multipressor or De-noiser) alongside tools specifically dedicated to the process of assembling a Red Book standard CD. The real advantage, however, is the way in which you can experiment with the order and sound of your CD – with automatic track crossfades, individual plug-ins for each region (or track), and the important Red Book options like ISRC codes and CD-Text. 9.3 Bounce to Disk Whether you are mastering in Logic itself, or using another application (like WaveBurner), the first step will be to render your Logic mix as an audio file. The temptation to apply audio sweetening or fades in the main Logic session can be there, but this should be avoided at all costs. Ideally, if you have at least one copy of your song un-mastered at 24 bits, then it would be more suitable to take to a professional mastering engineer (when the lucrative record deal arrives!) than a home-mastered 16-bit file. Separate high-resolution files also afford you the opportunity to approach mastering your work away from the 283 CCH009.inddH009.indd 228383 11/7/08/7/08 22:01:51:01:51 PPMM Logic Pro 8 WaveBurner offers the best method for mastering and producing fully Red Book compliant CDs. “headspace” of a mix, so that tracks sound correct in terms of the whole CD rather than on an individual basis. The Bounce dialogue window can be accessed via the Bounce button, on the main output channel strip. Before clicking on this, you’ll need to define the length of the bounce, designated by the current cycle length – without this, Logic will simply default to bouncing from the beginning of the first region to the end of the last. By defining the length manually, you can keep the best account of a few crucial factors – namely, the “hangover” at the end of the track generated by reverb tails and the allowance of a small amount of silence at the start of the audio file. At this stage it’s probably best to [AQ1] get a file slightly bigger, rather than too small, as trying to add information later (say, for example, when a reverb tail gets cut off) can be tricky, if not impossible. In the Bounce window you’ll need to specify the file type, resolution, and dithering options. Ideally, a PCM, AIFF, 24 bit, 44.1 kHz, interleaved file is con- sidered the best “raw data” for mastering. More important, you should check that the dithering has been set to none, as dithering is best applied at the very last stage of mastering when the word length is reduced to a 16-bit mas- ter. The Bounce itself can be carried out in Realtime (maybe you’ve got some live synths or effects coming into the audio mixer) or Offline – a quicker way of rendering to file by temporarily devoting all your computer’s resources to the bounce process. 284 CCH009.inddH009.indd 228484 11/7/08/7/08 22:01:54:01:54 PPMM Mastering in Logic Performing a bounce of your Logic arrangement – check that the duration of the bounce is slightly longer than your track and the resolution is 24 bit. 9.4 Audio mastering in Logic With the raw data of your tracks assembled, you can begin to look at mix sweetening. Whether you’re using WaveBurner or Logic, the principal plug-ins and objectives will be the same, although the exact details of their application will vary. With the various songs pulled into a master Logic session, you could place each region on a different track and experiment with various plug-ins to reach the desired sound. Ideally, the CD should present a rounded and uni- form tone throughout, with a consistent “loudness” across the tracks – you could even try importing some commercial tracks as a reference to see just how far you can take things. Exactly how you achieve this will vary from track to track. The principal tools used in mastering are well represented in Logic including phase-linear EQ, multiband compression, and limiting. Obviously, you can use any plug-in where appropriate, but these particular tools will be the most use- ful in achieving a professional sound. Plug-ins can be inserted either on the individual track’s insert points (for song-specific processing) or across the main master channel strip for general application (maybe when the album needs to be limited as a whole, for example). As with any audio processing, the order of the plug-ins is vitalfor the end result, although the widely accepted order for mastering is EQ, followed by compression, and finally limiting.

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