Mixing and Mastering
SU550
Mixing and mastering are the two most discussed and less understood parts of modern music making. This course aims to clarify a few things, expose some myths, correct a few fundamental mistakes and leave you with the ability to make better sounding records, from start to finish.
Do you need this course?
- Learn the true meaning of mastering, what it does (and what it cannot do).
- Learn the difference between having a dedicated mastering studio and a do-it-yourself job.
- Learn how to record and mix for better results in mastering.
- Learn how the sound quality starts before the recording!
- Learn advanced mastering techniques to fix the most common mix problems.
- Considerations about loudness vs dynamics and the case for multiple mastering
- Maintaining quality in digital audio, and future file formats
Summer only!
This course is two weeks long, and it runs only in July and August.
If you miss this chance you can still take the Advanced Mixing module in September to get the same knowledge (and more) but the cost and time format will be different.
Requirements
Minimum requirement for this course: successful completion of one of the other Summer courses.
Alternatively you must be able to demonstrate previous experience in music production (at least one year) and a basic understanding of mixers, signal flow, effects, compressors, etc.
If you are in doubt contact our office and arrange a chat with one of our lecturers.
Course Outline
- The black art of Mastering: what it can and cannot do, and how is it different from having mastering plugins in insert on the master fader? How Mixing and Mastering affect each other: Mixing with Mastering in mind, avoiding classic mistakes.
- Physics of Sound, how speakers work, converting sound in to analogue and digital format, signal to noise ratio, bit depth and sampling rate in digital audio.
- Understanding digital audio and formats: is 1Bit better than 24Bits? Is 32Bits better than 24? formats explained: WAV, BWAV, AIFF, MP3, AAC, OGG, SDII.
- Approaching a mix: politics, aiming for a sound, planning a strategy to achieve that sound – budget time and resources for mix pre-production.
- Dynamic range of vinyl, CD and other media. Using the dynamic range and psycho-acoustics to create space, clarity and punch in a mix. Creative contribution of the mixing engineer (additional production, adding dynamics to a song, use of effects...)
- A visual approach to mixing: using level, pan, eq, effects and dynamics to arrange the 'sound stage'.
- Spectral content of a good mix, Mixing while composing. The secret of vintage warm sound, what valves really do, parallel processing and other tricks.
- Mixing with microphones, Blind tests of microphone models and placement, blind tests of microphone preamps.
- More Digital Audio: how AD/DA converters, digital clock, jitter and distortion affect sound quality. More blind tests to hear the difference between cheap and expensive equipment.
- Aims of Mastering, choice of effects to achieve the most common goals. Software for Mastering and Authoring, premastering and mastering. Difference between replication and duplication process for CDs.
Students are welcome to bring multi-track projects on CD or DVD to get feedback and specific advice.
Course Details.
| Course code | SU550 |
|---|---|
| Length | Two weeks |
| Schedule | Monday to Friday - 4 hours per day* |
| Class size | maximum 8 students |
| Entry requirements | yes > see box above |
| Location | South Campus |
| Course fee | £950 ( including reg.fee ) |
| Course Dates | July & August 2012 (before and after the Olympics) |
* Three hours per day with a tutor plus one hour of additional practice.
Course Partners
Join an exclusive club
With classes limited to just eight people, not everyone will find a place. Reserve yours before it's too late.
Skills For Life
A few years ago you could get a job just by having the right equipment (not many people could afford a recording studio) or a piece of paper (when studying was a privilege for the very few). Now every laptop is a recording studio, and a university degree is considered just a starting point.
What makes you stand apart then, what makes YOU special? It's not what you own, but what you can do.
Equipment gets old, skills are for life, make the right investment today.
Summer Courses @ LSS
Read more about what is available to improve your music production skills this Summer.
Discounts
If you do need equipment it's worth remembering that at LSS we work very hard to obtain the best educational discounts for our students: our exclusive relationship with manufacturers, distributors and with Digital Village mean that you can immediately benefit from the investment you make in the school.
We do not profit from equipment sales, so you can trust us for objective advice on equipment. Because every day we use more software and instruments than most studio owners, we can advise not just on getting the best price but also on long term reliability, support and ultimate value for money.