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Old 09-13-2013, 05:49 PM   #1
Alsklaftsk123
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Default How to master a full album and make tracks flow

Hi i wonder how i can master a whole album in reaper and make tracks fade into each other. I wonder the exact process. Do i load up all the tracks after another in reaper and make them overlap each other? When its time for mastering, how do i do it then? All tracks in one project and when render time comes i mark the part of each track i want to render? When i choose to render master mix, i also get a second or so of blank audio at the end. Does this happen with everyone? It sure destroys the flow of the tracks, so i need to mark up the space i want to render.
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Old 09-13-2013, 06:33 PM   #2
hamish
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You're making a CD I guess?

That is pretty much what I do, put all the finished versions as items in one track and then set up the 'heads' and 'tails', usually with the item fade envelopes. Crossfading tracks is easy like this. I use the # marker to define CD tracks.

Also it sounds like you want to set render tails to 0 ms in here to avoid that second of silence you don't want.


Last edited by hamish; 09-13-2013 at 06:50 PM.
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Old 09-14-2013, 12:01 PM   #3
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Don't think of mastering as different with regards to your workflow and Reaper features.

Mastering often involves:

-Sequencing. Editing the tracks together with regards to flow from one to the next.

-Fidelity and sound balance. Both in preserving (do no harm) and restoration (if needed). Ultimately determining the overall level and dynamic range for the album and putting all the tracks into this perspective without compromise.

-Deliver to various consumer formats. Put the final master into the various consumer 'containers'. From full studio quality lossless formats (like 24 bit 96k FLAC files) to reduced quality portable formats (like CD, mp3).

Use the tools and features of Reaper for this just as you would for mixing.
If you need to edit... edit away. Fades on a single track? Multiple tracks with automation? Whatever workflow works for you.

My tips would be:
Focus on the full quality 24 bit master. Come back at the end and do the reduced quality formats (CD, mp3) as an additional aside task.

If you are mastering your own mixes, don't start "fixing it in the mastering". You'll just go in circles and lose the ability to make intentional changes. Go back to your mix for corrections and just keep mastering to sequencing and level balance and control.
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Old 09-16-2013, 02:41 PM   #4
oceanographer
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What I do is put each song on its own track and arrange the order of the songs, then overlap / blend the transitions, sometimes adding new sounds to make for a smooth flow.
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Old 09-16-2013, 06:55 PM   #5
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Having ripple editing on while in a track sequencing session will move the track markers (keep them in sync) with item ends as you work on your fade-ins and fade outs (or cross-fades)

Last edited by hamish; 09-16-2013 at 07:06 PM.
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Old 09-23-2013, 01:39 PM   #6
Vinicius Marques
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Think you don't want to render separate tracks, but only one long track containing all of your songs. Then, look for a feature in your cd burner that will split your track onto various tracks.
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Old 09-23-2013, 02:07 PM   #7
Vendetta V
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hey may be my video will help?

don't pay attention to the weird voice of mine or the device i use to communicate in general.

http://vms.vendettav.tk/?p=23


this is how I setup my tracks for mastering.
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Old 09-23-2013, 03:31 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vendetta V View Post
hey may be my video will help?

don't pay attention to the weird voice of mine or the device i use to communicate in general.

http://vms.vendettav.tk/?p=23


this is how I setup my tracks for mastering.



hey

Translobal domination ...

love it.
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Old 09-24-2013, 11:23 AM   #9
Vendetta V
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Quote:
Originally Posted by msore View Post
hey

Translobal domination ...

love it.
thanks my friend. feel free to check out the page for the album.

http://preorder.vendettav.tk/
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Old 12-07-2016, 01:40 AM   #10
Nardus Niemand
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Default Album Mastering and track flow

This is my first try at Reaper and I'm still experimenting with different options regarding workflow.
So this is what I did:
Recorded 12 songs and mixed them with an 'idea of what mastering will sound like' fx chain (tape-emu, eq and comp/limiting) on the master buss. Most of the time I had these master-buss plugins disabled and only enabled them at the end-stages of the mixing process.
Then I exported the songs in wav format, with the master-buss fx disabled, opened up a new 'Album' project and imported the wav files to individual tracks. I adjusted the file lengths and did some fade in, fade outs and moved the files around to get the right track sequence and length between tracks....in essence, creating the full album.
Then I created regions for each song, naming and numbering them as it would appear on the playlist of say, Foobar or Winamp. What I also did was to snap the begining and end of each region to the timecode. With the regions set up properly, you can export the tracks using the render-per-region (or something like that) function and using wildcards to name and number the tracks automatically.
Finally (where I am now) was to recreate the 'mastering fx chain' again. I did this by inserting the EQ, Comp and limiter on every track, with the VU- meter and tape emu on the master-buss. The VU, I use to track the volume of each track, while the Tape-Emu acts as a soft limiter to keep the whole project more cohesive and even in volume.
Like I said, I'm still experimenting and I might change a few things around.

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