Mastering Software Options

[lgpist11]

Which is the best mastering software available to use on MAC OSX ???

[nreyes]

Your question is a bit too general. A bit like the questions about choosing "the best headphones in the world for mixing".

In short - there are many 'popular' solutions out there, but each is relative to its user. Sure, there are various tools which help to apply mastering techniques to get a particular desired result, but which are not necessarily "out of the box automatic fixes to your mixes".

I would first consider the following:

-- The "tools" you might need for mastering are essentially a good / flexible EQ, a Compressor / Limiter and eventually a Ditherer (depending on your final target resolution of your mix and the format it will be recorded onto).

-- If you are looking for plug-ins (i.e. to use in a host application) then there are various favourites like the WAVES, WAVEARTS or ELEMENTAL AUDIO SYSTEM bundles which give you a suite of tools to work with. IK Multimedia have the T-Racks suite which is also available as Standalone.

I have worked with all of these at some point in the past, and my preference is actually the Elemental Audio Systems bundle for its transparency, useful tools, flexibility and ease of use (after reading the manual to understand its advanced features you will achieve a lot more than with other 'similar' packages).

Depending on your budget, WAVES are quite 'expensive' owing to the fact that they enjoy wide use in the industry, and hence are popular with "big-budget" hobbyists trying to emulate the studio setups! If this is the case, you might also consider outboard gear rather than plug-ins.

T-Racks still remains a popular choice but tends to 'colour' the audio with a distinctive sound which may not be suitable for all genres of music. There are a number of useful presets to get you started, but quite frankly there is a limit to the tweaking you will do within T-racks to get any sensible workflow and results.

WAVEARTS have useful presets, but again, from the point of view that Presets are NOT the way to master, you will soon run out of tweakable parameters to modify and end up close to the presets at the end of the day. Their plugins also tend to get a bit 'harsh' (introducing a fairly sharp sound to the final product).

The other option is to get a standalone software aimed at mastering such as the BIAS series.

Good luck. It's a jungle out there. And don't forget, all the tools in the world can sometimes be replaced by a keen ear, clever volume levels, good eq-ing and good recording in the first place!

This post has been edited by nreyes: Fri 29 Oct 2004, 10:44