The Voodoo of CD Mastering

Under construction. Usual caveats.

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Archived discussions

Taken from the sonic, ddesign, and daw-mac mailing lists and rec.audio.pro
newsgroup and a few other places. I’ve generally edited out the bulky
headers and sigs. I will update these every once in a while. The latest
update is shown in parens. (Sorry the articles aren’t always in any particular
order…)

• 
  audio-from-cd.txt – converting audio on CD to soundfiles (9-6-95)

• 
  backup.txt – backing up large soundfiles (9-6-95)

• 
  canonical-jokes.txt – including Gabe Wiener’s list of engineering jokes
  (9-6-95)

• 
  cd-art.txt – printing and silkscreening on CD-R’s (9-6-95)

• 
  cdr-drives.txt – CD-R hardware and software (9-6-95)

• 
  cdr-media.txt – CD-R media (including the yellow vs. green controversy)
  (9-6-95)

• 
  compression.txt – use of compression in mastering (9-6-95)

• 
  connections.txt – interfacing digital audio equipment (9-6-95)

• 
  costs.txt – articles with specific price info (9-6-95)

• 
  dithering.txt – techniques for reducing quantization distortion (9-6-95)

• 
  duplication.txt – replication plants and procedures (9-6-95)

• 
  equalization.txt – use of equalization in mastering (9-6-95)

• 
  hard-drives.txt – trials and tribulations of hard drives for digital audio (9-6-95)

• 
  mailing-lists.txt – info on mastering-related (sometimes vaguely)
  mailing lists (9-6-95)

• 
  mastering-adv.txt – advice on “problem solving” in mastering (see also
  equalization.txt, compression.txt, normalization.txt, and stereo-image.txt) (9-6-95)

• 
  mastering-importance.txt – colorful exchanges on the importance and role of
  the mastering engineer (9-6-95)

• 
  monitors.txt – on studio monitors (9-6-95)

• 
  noise-be-gone.txt – tools and tips for dehissing, declicking, decrackling,
  etc. (9-6-95)

• 
  normalization.txt – to normalize or not to normalize (and issues related
  to matching apparent volumes) (9-6-95)

• 
  recommendations.txt – every once in a while, somebody asks for names and
  numbers of good mastering engineers… here’s the nets collected two cents
  (9-6-95)

• 
  redbook.txt – CD format standards, error correction, hidden tracks, etc.
  (9-6-95)

• 
  stereo-image.txt – improving the stereo image during mastering (9-6-95)

Mastering houses (restoration, editing, etc.)

(some of these folks do much more than mastering)

• 
  Digital Domain – numerous illuminating articles on mastering and related
  issues. An absolute MUST VISIT! Go here before you go anywhere else.

• 
  Frankford/Wayne Mastering

• 
  Quintessential Sound, Inc. – ultra high-end
  audiophile recording, mastering, and restoration

• 
  Audio Mechanics Music and Sound Restoration

• 
  Soundworks has a soundfile
  demo of before/after NoNoise, and can allegedly send CD quality audio
  over the network with Digital Patch.

• 
  Omega Productions does tape restoration.

• 
  Editel does digital video and audio editing.

• 
  Riehl Communications does digital video and audio editing.

• 
  Nilson Creative Media Corp. does mastering and many other things.

• 
  Ultimate One does Sonic/NoNoise type stuff in Hong Kong.

• 
  The University of North Texas College of Music
  can now do CD mastering.

Duplication facilities

• 
  Oasis Duplication – much useful info. Another MUST VISIT…

Software and hardware

• 
  Waves makes plug-ins for Sound Designer II

• 
  Mytek Digital makes fancy AD/DA converters, digital meters, etc.

• 
  The Unofficial Digidesign Home Page
  maintained by
  
  Frank Filipanits Jr.

Sales

• 
  CD Archive sells CD-R recorders, software, and media, and does
  mass replication and one-offs

• 
  Mission Recording and Audio
  carries digital audio software and hardware, including the Waves
  plug-ins

• 
  The Cassette House also
  sells CD-R media and DATs and other such things

• ABG has a page on the
  Sonic Solutions they sell

More info

• 
  The Daw-Mac Homepage – yet another MUST VISIT

• 
  Questions about CD Mastering

• 
  Cost of producing music CD’s

• 
  More on cost of producing music CD’s

• Jay Rose has some
  
  useful docs on computer audio formats and such

• 
  Compuserve discussion on compression during mixdown

Misc.

• 
  Ambisonics and related 3-D
  audio topics (courtesy the
  
  Music Technology Group at the
  
  Univ. of York)

• 
  Dolby Laboratories Inc.

• A paper on
  
  ASPECTS OF SAMPLING, OVERSAMPLING, QUANTISATION, DITHER
  AND NOISE-SHAPING, AS APPLIED TO DIGITAL AUDIO, by Christopher
  Hicks

• A paper on
  
  THE APPLICATION OF DITHERING AND NOISE-SHAPING TO DIGITAL AUDIO,
  also by Christopher Hicks

Click

here
to go to Aaron Lanterman’s home page.

Click

here
to learn about the ever expanding, ever improving St. Louis
area local music scene.

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Last modified 6 September 1995

Maintained by Aaron Lanterman

adl@essrl.wustl.edu