Mastering challenge voting thread.

poopot

The mastered mixes are in, time to cast your votes!!!!

Vote for your top 3. If you have submitted a master you can't vote for yourself. Feel free to share why you chose to vote the way you did.

1st choice gets 5 points

2nd choice gets 3 points

3rd choice gets 1 point

Final scores will be announced after voting ends at 11.30 on the 28th Feb...

You can find all the entries the playlist below:

https://soundcloud.com/thefretboard/sets/mastering-challenge-no1-3mins

flying_pie

Can everyone voting please listen to the tracks on more than one typical audio device rather than just flat studio speakers? The whole idea is to learn how to use the mastering process to make our mixes work well on everything from high end hifi equipment to car stereos and cheap headphones

poopot

Paging @octatonic @Fretwired @paulmapp8306 @Branshen @Stuckfast voting time is upon us

Fretwired

I have been listening ..... it's quite tough ... you get fatigued.

octatonic

Sorry I've been on the phone to Oz all day today.
I will try to have a listen tomorrow and submit votes.

flying_pie

Fretwired said:

I have been listening ..... it's quite tough ... you get fatigued.

I've been listening to a few specific sections so I can effectively do a A/B (/C/D/E/F....). Listening to the whole track does cause one ears to adjust and the differences rapidly diminish

paulmapp8306

Bit difficult this one.  I tried to listen to 4 or 5 pints in the mix, intro, quieter bits, organ parts, guitars solos ext.  I tried to balance volume as well as "louder " often seems "better" when it isnt.

There were 4 I thought very close,  and narrowing it down to 3 was hard enough let along ranking them - BUT, I have gone with.

1st Place - 5 Points, @poopot ;;
2nd Place, 3 points, @octatonic ;;
3rd place, 1 point @flying_pie ;;

The only real reasons - I though the guitars were a tad clearer on Poopots, over Octatonics - though that that may well be a choice thing - while I thought his was a little more balanced overall than Flying Pies.  Really not a lot in it at all though - another day I could place them in completely different positions.  

Stuckfast

Flipping heck, that's hard to call.

I think there's two that I'd rule out as just changing the track too much, which are Branshen's and Paulmapp's. I think those go beyond what I'd consider the remit of a mastering engineer.

All the others are good I think and we're into the realm of hair-splitting. I like the way Octatonic's cleans up the low mids but the drums are possibly a tad *too* snappy. I don't think the EQ on Fretwired's quite works for me, it makes the bass sound a bit quacky in places. Flying_pie's is possibly a bit too bright.  Poopot hits the best balance for me.

I'd go with

1st place, 5 points @poopot

2nd place, 3 points @octatonic

3rd place, 1 point @Fretwired ;

octatonic

Tricky one to judge without getting ear fatigue.

1st place @Fretwired ;
2nd place: @poopot ;
3rd place: @flying_pie ;

Fretwired

This was hard but after taking advice from @flying_pie (why didn't I think of that .. doh!) I have reached the following conclusion:

5 points to @octatonic ;

3 points to @flying_pie ;

1 point to @poopot ;

A very close call .. well done to all who entered.

poopot

Ok... sick of listening to this track now

but.

5 points to @octatonic ;

3 points to @flying_pie ;

1 point to @fretwired ;

all were close tho’

flying_pie

I've had a thought for the next mastering challenge...

how about a < one minute edit of a track featuring a few different sections ?

octatonic

flying_pie said:

I've had a thought for the next mastering challenge...

how about a < one minute edit of a track featuring a few different sections ?

Good idea.
Try something not guitar based too- dance music, or contemporary jazz.

flying_pie

octatonic said:

flying_pie said:

I've had a thought for the next mastering challenge...

how about a < one minute edit of a track featuring a few different sections ?

Good idea.
Try something not guitar based too- dance music, or contemporary jazz.

Do you have any not guitar based stuff you could submit? All mine are guitar /vocal based

poopot

flying_pie said:

octatonic said:

flying_pie said:

I've had a thought for the next mastering challenge...

how about a < one minute edit of a track featuring a few different sections ?

Good idea.
Try something not guitar based too- dance music, or contemporary jazz.

Do you have any not guitar based stuff you could submit? All mine are guitar /vocal based

I have something if needed... bit of house innit!...

octatonic

flying_pie said:

octatonic said:

flying_pie said:

I've had a thought for the next mastering challenge...

how about a < one minute edit of a track featuring a few different sections ?

Good idea.
Try something not guitar based too- dance music, or contemporary jazz.

Do you have any not guitar based stuff you could submit? All mine are guitar /vocal based

I might do but it would need to be a snippet, rather than the full track as it was actually released.

poopot

Voting closeth tonight at 11.30 chaps

Branshen

I'm gonna abstain from voting on this one because I honestly don't know which one I like the most. (though I do know which two I like the least! one of which is mine)..

flying_pie

My subjective points (influenced a lot by the snare drum sound)

5 points @octatonic

3 points @Fretwired

1 point @poopot

poopot

Voting closed