Mastering my 4 track recordings on laptop

[Big Mon]

...what do I need to make this happen?? For mixing, I only care about having some EQ and reverb available;which is to say, I don't need a lot of bells and whistles. I also want to make this as cheap as possible. I have the 4 track and the laptop, so there's that. I assume I'll need some sort of interface-type contraption, yes? What else? Any sort of shot in the dark-estimates as to how much I'm liable to spend are most welcome as well.

[Decibill]

A few questions:

PC or Mac..?
Do you have any music/audio editing software already...?

[Big Mon]

A few questions:

PC or Mac..?
Do you have any music/audio editing software already...?

PC, and no.

[spacelordmother]

I've never used it (when I was looking at DAWs it seemed pretty complicated, but that could have been my inexperience) but Reaper is full-featured and free/cheap.

http://www.reaper.fm/

Also: reading this and realizing that all of your awesome recordings I've heard so far are analog makes me love them that much more!

[friendship]

A few questions:

PC or Mac..?
Do you have any music/audio editing software already...?

PC, and no.

You'll need an interface, but you'll be fine with a 2-input one, since your goal is just to master (unless you want to invest in more inputs for future reasons). You'll the stereo outputs from your 4 track into the inputs of your interface into some kind of recording software. Reaper is highly recommended by a lot of people but I've never used it and don't know what it's capabilities are or how steep its learning curve is (my assumption is you don't have DAW experience, please do correct me if I'm mistaken). Depending on the plugins that Reaper comes with, you may be able to dump your stereo mixdown from the 4-track into the sequencer, apply the best compressor/equalizer/stereo imaging/reverb that it has to the master bus, and subtly tweak your mixes.

Also, iZotope offers a pretty cool mastering suite called Ozone which features pretty much everything you might need to master and many things you might not need. iZotope also has a guide for beginners to give you a good idea about what mastering involves, if you're new to that too.

[Big Mon]

I've never used it (when I was looking at DAWs it seemed pretty complicated, but that could have been my inexperience) but Reaper is full-featured and free/cheap.

http://www.reaper.fm/

Also: reading this and realizing that all of your awesome recordings I've heard so far are analog makes me love them that much more!

thanks! I mean, that's not entirely true, since either Mudfuzz or myself have used some sort of mixing/mastering device on the computer to polish things up a bit on the taped tunes.

You'll need an interface, but you'll be fine with a 2-input one, since your goal is just to master (unless you want to invest in more inputs for future reasons). You'll the stereo outputs from your 4 track into the inputs of your interface into some kind of recording software. Reaper is highly recommended by a lot of people but I've never used it and don't know what it's capabilities are or how steep its learning curve is (my assumption is you don't have DAW experience, please do correct me if I'm mistaken). Depending on the plugins that Reaper comes with, you may be able to dump your stereo mixdown from the 4-track into the sequencer, apply the best compressor/equalizer/stereo imaging/reverb that it has to the master bus, and subtly tweak your mixes.

Also, iZotope offers a pretty cool mastering suite called Ozone which features pretty much everything you might need to master and many things you might not need. iZotope also has a guide for beginners to give you a good idea about what mastering involves, if you're new to that too.

I've used Garageband on my dad's Mac. I've a good bit pf ex[erience mixing and mastering stuff. Would you have any recommendations for an interface?


I appreciate the input thus far, guys

[Decibill]

For an interface, I'd recommend the Apogee Duet. It's got great pre's, great converters and it will hold it's value well. For the money, you'll be hard pressed to beat it.

[friendship]

I've used Garageband on my dad's Mac. I've a good bit pf ex[erience mixing and mastering stuff. Would you have any recommendations for an interface?


I appreciate the input thus far, guys

Oh, word.

Yeah, I've heard positive things about the Apogee too. If you're on a super tight budget, you might look at M-Audio; they have a 2-channel interface for like a hundred bucks. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MTrack/

[spacelordmother]

Deltz has a cheap interface for sale here: http://ilovefuzz.com/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=39803&p=773575

I have no experience with that one in particular, but I have its new brother (the Komplete 6) which I like a lot.

[patrick]

Tascam US-122mkii should do the trick. Yeah, like friendship said, just take the stereo outputs of the 4-track and plug them into the stereo inputs on your interface.

[Decibill]

Also, in your subject you say you are looking to master, but in your post you say you want to mix......Are you trying to do both...?

[Big Mon]

Also, in your subject you say you are looking to master, but in your post you say you want to mix......Are you trying to do both...?

Yes. I mean, the bulk of the mixing will be done as the 4track is being fed into the interface. My Tascam is the MF-P01, the most featureless model around. So I try and get the sound to my liking before actually recording anything.
This has been my go-to method for awhile, step-by-step:
1. run tascam into interface at my pop's house
2. Find a Garageband preset that I like (I typically use the "bright bass" preset, with extra reverb and a few EQ tweaks
3. adjust levels of each track on the Tascam AS it's being recorded onto the computer (take the rhythm guit. down here, bring the bass up there, etc.)
4. Burn CD

[friendship]

That's cool, I haven't mixed down by hand since high school. Maybe I'm being nostalgic, but I miss my Tascam. You should post your recordings when you're done.

[Big Mon]

That's cool, I haven't mixed down by hand since high school. Maybe I'm being nostalgic, but I miss my Tascam. You should post your recordings when you're done.

Absolutely!

[spacelordmother]

That's cool, I haven't mixed down by hand since high school. Maybe I'm being nostalgic, but I miss my Tascam. You should post your recordings when you're done.

Just in case you haven't already heard this massive excellence: http://blueghostfactory.bandcamp.com/album/the-thaw