![]() The DDP Player launches as a standalone application (PC, Mac, or iOS device) and the master can be accurately listened to when it comes to the spacing between songs. The user cannot make any modifications (intentional or accidental) to the audio or spacing between songs. ![]() DDP is much more reliable than a physical CD-R master, and it can be transmitted via internet so it’s widely used in the mastering field.Įven if clients are not planning to make CDs, I still prefer to send the master as a DDP image to get initial approval from them because the DDP with DDP Player is very foolproof. I actively try to minimize any software setting issues by delivering initial masters in DDP format, accompanied with a custom and easy to use DDP Player for their project.ĭDP (disc description protocol) is a file format most commonly used to electronically transmit a CD production master to the CD manufacturer. A majority of the time, when a client reports a problem, it’s actually something on their end being set incorrectly. This could be a hardware and/or software issue. Check Your Playback Settingsīy far, the most common issue when a client is evaluating a master I’ve sent out is an incorrect setting or configuration somewhere in the playback chain. The extremely loud and crushed masters that people have made over the years, and are still making today are ultimately just getting turned down in more and more listening situations these days, which leaves them sounding harsh, small, lifeless, boring, and fatiguing to listen to.įirst I’ll start with some technical things to be aware of so you can accurately listen to your master and be sure of what you’re hearing. As we progress into a loudness normalized world, quiet and dynamic becomes the new loud. Ian Shepard and some others have gotten into more detail about the reasoning for this and there is no reason for me to expand on their thoughts because Ian, in particular, has already covered it very well as you can read here. The reality is that by going louder, the less great it will likely start to sound. ![]() This article also gets into why you shouldn’t fall into the trap of saying, “it sounds great, but can we make it louder?”. I’ll also get into things such as what not to expect, and what pitfalls to avoid to achieve a better end result. So, without further ado, here is my two (hundred) cents on things you should be listening for when you a receive an initial master from your mastering engineer. When I find myself sending the same email response to clients on a regular basis, then I know it’s time to write an article about it to direct them to, and hopefully it’s helpful to others as well. Some common problems are thinking a master is “too quiet”, thinking the spacing between songs is not correct (especially when songs overlap/crossfade), or metadata/CD-Text issues. It’s also not uncommon for a client to tell me they’re not sure what to listen for after I send them my initial master of their project. It’s not uncommon for me to get a message from a new client saying, “I don’t know what mastering is but I’ve been told we need to do it”.
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