LANDR demo

thomasross20

OK I said a while back I'd do this so here it is. 

Here's a non-mastered snippet of an album track:

And here is the LANDR mastered version of the same snippet:

Let's face it, it's automated - it does sound better but I'm not sure. What do you think? Best to get it done by a person?

Nerine

Leave Landr alone. It's shite.

Also, they are posting erroneous information around the interwebz stating that mix engineers should remove their master bus compressors before sending anything to mastering...

Which is stupid.

Cirrus

@Nerine I saw that too, my jaw dropped when I realised it was Landr that had written the article. They can piss off. Maybe they can get their software to write the songs, too.

@thomasross20 I think especially in the case of your sound which is quite busy with lots of stuff happening in the midrange, you'd gain a lot from getting some feedback from a human who could identify the parts that are most musically important and try to bring them forward and contain some of the other stuff a little. A cookie cutter algorithm that's trying to make your music have the same EQ curve as the last Slash album won't cut it, I think.

thomasross20

I wasn't aware of that statement from LANDR. 

I just can't see how an automated thing like that can truly mix individual pieces of music. 

@Cirrus, I'm in agreement... 

guitarfishbay

Yes I saw that landr article on FB, it appeared as a sponsored ad.  I know they want to big up their own product but still!

I think it was this article.

http://blog.landr.com/1-mixing-mistake-need-stop-making/

guitarfishbay

I also particularly enjoy that the image shown on the page about master bus compression is a single 1176.

Cirrus

That's it, I'm going to put a 1176 with all buttons in on my master bus. See you in the charts, guys!

thomasross20

FYI as a side note, it's not all "busy" - I think you'll be pleasantly surprised

Sporky

Let me guess - some pieces on the album have only 15 or 16 guitar tracks?

thomasross20

 

PolarityMan

Tried it on our album, no difference from the SORCE. My theory is that all it does is master bus compression and our mix engineer had already mixed it pretty damn hot.

Drew_TNBD

Nerine said:

Leave Landr alone. It's shite.

Also, they are posting erroneous information around the interwebz stating that mix engineers should remove their master bus compressors before sending anything to mastering...

Which is stupid.

They're not the only ones who say that FWIW. Many mastering engineers request you do this.

thomasross20

So is the statement something to take note of?
I really don't know!

Drew_TNBD

thomasross20 said:

So is the statement something to take note of?
I really don't know!

No. Focus on improving your mixing skills, don't worry about master bus compressors right now.

thomasross20

One less thing to worry about is fine by me!

Fuzzdog

Drew_fx said:

Nerine said:

Leave Landr alone. It's shite.

Also, they are posting erroneous information around the interwebz stating that mix engineers should remove their master bus compressors before sending anything to mastering...

Which is stupid.

They're not the only ones who say that FWIW. Many mastering engineers request you do this.

Yup, I've been asked this a lot over the years by some pretty fancy places, so always assumed it was the norm.

Cirrus

Drew_fx;1004379" said:

They're not the only ones who say that FWIW. Many mastering engineers request you do this.

When I've worked with mastering peeps I usually bring this up in the first conversation to see what they say. All the ones I've worked with (and it's not a massive list, but it includes Andy Jackson and Fluid Mastering and I consider those peeps to be pretty pro) or got quotes from have said that if it's part of the mix, they want it left on. And that makes sense to me, because when I mix into a bus compressor it informs all the other compression and balance choices within the mix. Take the master bus compressor off at the end and suddenly it isn't the same mix any more.

A couple of times I've also included a seperate folder of mixes with no bus compression, just in case they start listening and think I've fucked it all up. Thankfully it's never been necessary.

Not that I'm saying you're wrong, I've seen places that request you put nothing on the master bus. But since I usually do, I've just never got in touch with them - for right or wrong, I've always assumed that those people don't trust me to do it right! And I'd be the first to admit that I probably don't... but it's still my mix.

Ego! 

)

thomasross20

Would an instrumental album in this day and age be likely to die. 

Self-doubt here creeping in. 

Would love vox on some tracks but how long would that take. 

One step at a time...

kin

I can't think of many/any guitar instrumental albums that have done well commercially in the last few years.

The ones that did alright years ago were usually from guitarists that had already made a name for themselves with other projects first.

I hope you buck the trend but if not, it's still a massive achievement to write, record and release an album, good luck with it.

Sporky

thomasross20 said:

Would an instrumental album in this day and age be likely to die. 

Self-doubt here creeping in. 

Would love vox on some tracks but how long would that take. 

One step at a time...

Instrumental isn't a deal breaker, but it depends what sort of instrumental. Super-widdly doesn't have that much of a market any more, but there's lots of post-rock and post-metal doing well enough. I've not heard any of yours so not sure beyond that...

I could, I s'pose, just listen to the tracks above.

Cirrus

What do you mean, Die?

What's your market? Your existing fan base? Plans for promotion and brand building?