Learning audio mastering. Linux first?

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ramendik
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Learning audio mastering. Linux first?

Post by ramendik »

Hello,

My wife is a musician and would like to learn audio mastering (with all the parts like tuning and timing and EQ and whatever else is there). I am the IT specialist in the house.

There are sources and there even are teachers but all of them rely on software and plugins that are not available under Linux. And I'm no fan of Windows, nor rich enough for Mac.

Is there some kind of audio mastering tutorial that would rely entirely on Linux software?

(From there she might move on to MIDI-based music making - seeing as she already does play an organ console with GrandOrgue. However, the immediate task is mastering).
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Re: Learning audio mastering. Linux first?

Post by English Guy »

I would look at Ardour. Google audio mastering with Ardour.

I use Harrison Mixbus, which is Ardour based, for my audio work which is not expensive if you sign up for their mailing list and wait for the offers.
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Re: Learning audio mastering. Linux first?

Post by sysrqer »

From what you say I'm not sure if mastering is the right term, I think you mean mixing. Mastering is when you (usually) have a stereo file of a song which is pretty much finished and you add a final polish to make it sound good and loud enough. Mixing is when you would make each track (vocals, guitar, synth, drum etc) sound good together by using EQ and other tools. I say this because tuning and timing is not generally part of the mastering process. That said, it's not normally part of the mixing stage, ideally you would have timing and tuning sorted out before both stages.

Both mixing and mastering are techniques which go beyond the software you are using, the principles are the important thing for the most part and a technique shown in one DAW/plugin can be done in any other.

This is a really good channel I have recently discovered for actual mastering - https://www.youtube.com/user/StreakyMasteringTV/videos. He uses non-linux software but it doesn't really matter, adding some EQ and compression can be done in any daw.

For mixing there is so much available. But for both I would actually recommend that she reads some of the 'theory' behind it. Perhaps first by learning about general principles like gain staging, level mixing, panning. It would also be handy to learn about things like the Fletcher Munson curve (how loudness can affect the level of frequencies we hear), and the physics of sound and sound perception in general, particularly if mastering really is what she wants to do. It can go as deep as you want but it is all beneficial and arguably essential if you want to be truly good. Learn about how/when/why to use EQ/compression.

Sound on Sound have some great articles - https://www.soundonsound.com/mixing-pro ... ion%3A6971

Izotope have some fantastic resources for learning mixing and mastering - https://www.izotope.com/en/learn.html

Again, both of these are not linux based but the techniques are universal. Encourage her to post here if she has questions, we'd be happy to help.
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Re: Learning audio mastering. Linux first?

Post by ramendik »

Yes, I probably had the wrong term, I was trying to find an all-encompassing term.

Not sure if there is much use in reading theory without being able to try it in actual sound, and that's the problem here.
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Re: Learning audio mastering. Linux first?

Post by khz »

. . . FZ - Does humor belongs in Music?
. . GNU/LINUX@AUDIO ~ /Wiki $ Howto.Info && GNU/Linux Debian installing >> Linux Audio Workstation LAW
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Re: Learning audio mastering. Linux first?

Post by merlyn »

@ramendik If you're an IT specialist you may be looking for the computer audio equivalent of Hello World. Start with the basics and build it up. So what is the computer audio equivalent of Hello World? First you have to define a goal. In Hello World the goal is to compile an executable. In audio the goal could be to produce a finished stereo file. That then raises the question of what you are starting with. Is it audio recorded with mics? Recording audio is platform independent -- there's a bit of analogue sound engineering involved. To get familiar with recording you could use Audacity. It's basic, but is enough to get familiar with getting audio into the computer.
There are sources and there even are teachers but all of them rely on software and plugins that are not available under Linux.
It occurs to me that Reaper is available for Linux, so to start with you could use Reaper tutorials.
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Re: Learning audio mastering. Linux first?

Post by ramendik »

We are already hitting some limits with mixing in Audacity even this early, though it does work as a basic tool.

Recording as such is simply not an issue. Most of the time we don't record on the computer in real time, we use a Zoom recorder, which provides handy WAV files.

Reaper would be likely to work, except of course for its licensing model; a month is just not enough to learn.
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Re: Learning audio mastering. Linux first?

Post by Lèyon di li Neûris′ »

sysrqer wrote: Sun Jan 03, 2021 6:34 pmThat said, it's not normally part of the mixing stage, ideally you would have timing and tuning sorted out before both stages.
That's called pre-production or sometimes production, but production might mean a bunch of different things). I personally pre-produce with a scoring program — I'm stuck with tuxguitar with all it's default, the main being the heaviness of Java, MuseScore 2 looks great, but I need time to learn to use it and mostly to have the habit of using it —, but nowadays, a digital audio workstation is used already in the pre-production stage and pre-production melt more and more with production in the sense of the all creation process, so, it's kinda disappearing (mostly in electronic music).
As other resources: and with people using unfree / unlibre stuffs, but you can learn lots of things to adapt in free software from them:
  • https://www.youtube.com/c/Producelikeapro/videos (I don't like his hyper-commercial-smile and his: “I hope you're doing mâːrv'ously well” and of course he sales the courses he's affiliated with but still there are lots of useful recording technique's videos)
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Re: Learning audio mastering. Linux first?

Post by merlyn »

ramendik wrote: Most of the time we don't record on the computer in real time, we use a Zoom recorder, which provides handy WAV files.
I see. If you are processing one stereo track then it is more like mastering.

If you've hit the limits of Audacity and don't want to use Reaper then Ardour is the obvious choice. Some people suggest Ardour is complex; I don't think so myself because the paradigm that Ardour uses -- that of a mixing desk plus tape machine is what I'm used to. This ties into the idea that signal flow is a general principle, not something specific to Linux.

Unfa produces tutorial videos that use only free software. Here is his mastering one :

UV#24 Mastering an EDM single with Ardour, Calf and EQ10Q
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Re: Learning audio mastering. Linux first?

Post by Lèyon di li Neûris′ »

There are multi-tracks Zoom recorders.
Excuse my not so bad imperialist language.
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-ein bisschen Deutsch,
-on topau walon,
-een beetje Nederlands,
-je signe peu la langue des signes de Belgique francophone,
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-a trochu česky.
ramendik
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Re: Learning audio mastering. Linux first?

Post by ramendik »

Well so far we didn't mix multiple tracks proper but we want to learn to do that too. And we did splice multiple takes with crossfades.

unfa looks very interesting, thanks!
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