In this show we talk about distortion. Good distortion, bad distortion - and how to tell the difference. Find out what Ian REALLY thinks about distortion, how you can use it effectively in mastering - and when you should. What is soft clipping - and how do you use it ? Plus Ian explains why ALL audio processing is distortion, strictly speaking - and the benefits (and costs) of using it.
Links
What is 'aliasing' and what causes it?
love the show, Thank you very much!
Ian:
Thanks for the show!
Please do one on dithering.
Hello. If we have lengthy yet specific questions regarding mastering, is there an email address at which we could hit you up?
I'll take that as a no?
Hi Geoff,
I just replied to this but in the wrong place, sorry! I prefer not to post my address here because it'll get picked up by the spam bots, but if you'd like to contact me on Twitter or Facebook I’ll send you my details.
Unfortunately I get so many questions these days it’s just not possible for me to answer them all individually, but I do offer feedback on songs that I master.
Cheers,
Ian
Thanks Ian, sorry to press. I wanted to pass along my mastering input chain with visuals (as per your "references @ -12LUFS + find a suitable monitoring gain" tip). Am a visual learner but the podcast is terrific stuff. Will reach out soon.
Ian, put me down as one of the twenty that want a show about dithering! Gonna miss Steve Cherubino, but you're the star of the show!
Thanks Rick, you're number 6 so far :-p
Diddo to the OP above. Steve, I wish you well in what ever endeavor you take on. I know you will bust it wide open! My your NF never exceed -60dbs max. Stay in touch. 😉
+1 for dither episode! 🙂
By the way, it's a great podcast. I just found it recently and been listening to the episodes backwards.
backmasking the Mastering Show? I never thought of that!?!
Great show Ian, just found this and smashed through the first 14 of them. To add to the others.. please do a show on dithering, and also, I'd love to hear more comparison of RMS, LUFS etc so it's a super clear distinction..
That's request number 12 - it's looking like I'll have to do a show on dither ! [Sigh]
Well... I wouldn't plead for a full show on dithering 😉 but I'd like to have your word about something I've read a bunch of times, that if there's already a good amount of hiss before exporting (due to various analog emulators, for example), it would be unnecessary to add more...
This article of yours http://productionadvice.co.uk/dither-or-distort/ indicates the opposite, but one situation where it could be true is if you bounce in real time: the hiss added by such analog emulators would be random, I bet, so?
It seems to imply there would be a difference, in that particular case, between real time bounce and export, or isn't it? 😉
Well, in the end, maybe a show about dither... 😀
Or you could make a two part show with STEREO PROCESSING (which you mentioned in a former answer) AND DITHER?
P.S.: I know you will answer "When in doubt, dither", anyway... 😉