Hello,
Maybe this is not the right section for this question but I was just wondering... Seeing that some people could do miracles with some bootlegs, sometimes doing better than official releases in the end, I was wondering what tools they used for this when they say they "remaster" or "re EQ" or "correct the speed" or "add treble" "merge" or "clean the videos". I sometimes cut tracks that are badly cut with Audacity and that's the best I can do having no knowledge of the rest but I guess this is not the software used by those geniuses who turn a B+ quality bootleg to a nearly A quality.
What software allows you to "remaster" a recording in which everything is already mixed? (I've seen some names in the lineage of some recordings but that doesn't tell me much)
I'm not expecting very detailed answers but I enjoy the miracles they release on the forum and I would like to know how this is done and how long it takes to obtain the quality of the impressive recordings these people share (I'm thinking about Cmi, Alex Solan, Pittrek and so many others who are real artists for me).
Thank you to all the people who will answer my question
Well, there's a lot of proffesional or semiproffesional audio editiors such as iZotope RX, Sound Forge, Adobe Audition, WaveLab and others...
And there's a lot of video tutorials on YouTube and manuals online. Almost everything can be done using this software, but you must understand what you're doing and what you want to achieve...
Audio is both an art and a science, and a lifetime of study. It's like asking a chef how he makes a great dish, or an architect how he designs something that connects with people.
Something like speed correction is a science, as the tuning of a guitar or piano is either right or wrong. But something like EQ could have a PhD thesis written on it, as there are so many frequencies of sound (i.e. variables in what can make something sound better).
The industry standard software for audio are things like Pro Tools and logic. There are EQ plugins that come with them, but you can buy plugins or even have outboard gear, and you can easily spend thousands on the right one. But how you use it all comes down to how skilled you are and how attuned your ears are to what people will think sounds good.
Merging is simple by comparison - this is just taking two sources and using the best portions of each to make the longest possible version of a show. One usually does cross fades to blend one into the other smoothly.
Hope this helps !
As far as recording 12 inch vinyl i use Izotope RX5 Advanced Audio Editor. A cool tool that makes your vinyl sounds fresh if you know what you're doing.
"But something like EQ could have a PhD thesis written on it, as there are so many frequencies of sound (i.e. variables in what can make something sound better)"
Indeed you're right, when I started downloading boots when I (finally) got an access to the net, I started working on the Live in Vienna 86 (the first one I downloaded, actually) because I thought Freddie's voice was too distant. I tried working on frequencies to have the voice clearer and finally dropped it. (I was trying to do this with audacity and some plug ins I had downloaded with compressors and de essers plug ins and others, not knowing exactly what I would do with all this, but I had faith). I had started taking free lessons about mixing and mastering. I guess some people may be smiling or laughing reading this.
Obviously, Audacity is quite cool - with the plug ins but it's not enough, I was quite naive thinking I would do great (or I may have mis used it). The result was that I kind of got something a (very) little better to my ears on my Vienna recording but not satisfying. That's why I didn't go further but maybe one day, now that I have a "real" computer, who knows, I may be trying to get back to the Vienna show and see how this all works, even if I have to try again and again. I'm not an engineer, will never be, but I like discovering and I don't mind failing.
Thank you everyone for your answers. I like knowing what's behind a recording, how you get to this result. Now, I have an idea. Thank you for your time.
people on streets wrote:
How do people learn things?
Genuine interest, study, talent, ambition, perseverance, repetition.
And most importantly: knowing your limitations.