LANDR: Online Mastering process

Two year ago did not read this report, I have this kind of idea. Recently also completed individual functions, but still slow, for two reasons: 1) A person to do too slow, this should do too much work to do; 2) music-related knowledge is too poor, a lot of time to learn basic theory of knowledge.

Landr is a brand new online mastering service. You can upload audio (completed stereo works, separate tracks for songs, sampling or entire DJ Set), processed by Landr algorithm, to obtain WAV or MP3 files. You must want to know, such a good thing is not reliable? We tested the service and invited a professional mastering belt to make a comparison with the Landr. You can hear the relevant audio file in the attachment.

Even if you are an experienced professional music producer, you will often be distracted by mastering the process. In this process of converting stereo mixing files into finished products, there are too many hidden secrets. For example, make music more impactful or more dynamic, more or less bass, change the stereo sound field, add multi-segment compression/limit and/or EQ. In short, it is all the way to make the sound "better".

While some musicians will handle their own belts, most musicians (and even many veteran musicians) will choose to hire a dedicated mastering engineer. Engineers are highly educated and specialize in this work and have a wealth of experience. While you can now use the software to do mastering, engineers will still be using some classic studio equipment.

That's why Mixgenius released Landr. For this, we are mixed, some people look forward to, someone busy cold water. The fact that a small company claims to be able to complete the mastering of audio with dynamic algorithms in a matter of minutes is a bit unbelievable.

Landr's reason for existence?

1. Historical precedent. in the past few decades, we have witnessed the rapid development of digital audio processing capabilities, the previous musicians simply could not imagine these things: "Telescopic" audio, real-time pitch correction, decomposition of polyphonic files.

The advent of 2.LANDR does not conflict with the traditional mastering process. If you are going to the show right away and have no time to do the mastering, then leave the job to Landr. You can also try to put a track or a single sample into the Landr to see what happens.

about Landr

Mixgenius, based in Montreal, Canada, was founded in 2012 and its founders studied the mastering process for more than 8 years in the academic field. Starting in May, Landr has courted 100,000 users (including free and paid).

In the near future, Mixgenius plans to let Landr support more audio formats. Currently, LANDR can output uncompressed wav or 192kbps MP3.

Landr's membership System is:

• Free account: Unlimited 192kbps MP3 files (no WAV mastering files).
• Platinum Account: Unlimited 192kbps MP3 files and four uncompressed WAV bands with a monthly contribution of $9.
• Unlimited Platinum accounts: Unlimited 192kbps MP3 files and uncompressed WAV masterbatches, with a monthly contribution of $19.
• Business account: Unlimited 192kbps MP3 files and uncompressed WAV bands, for a number of artists, a monthly fee of $29 (applicable to brand, production companies, managers, etc.).

First step in using Landr: Drag into the audio file.

We tested the LANDR system, which is very easy to do, just drag and drop the audio file onto the Web page (or select a file from the machine catalog). After the upload is complete, LANDR will start processing.

After about a minute, you can hear the results and use the switch to compare to the original version. There is no other option in the free account, click Finish to receive the download link in the mailbox.

Landr The mother of the listening page.

Paid users can choose the processing strength of the mastering band (Low, Medium, high). These intensity levels change the way the mastering is handled, including loudness and sharpness.

After determining the strength level, you can select the desired format (MP3 or WAV). The processing of a song takes about 6 minutes, including uploading, listening, selecting intensity levels and receiving and downloading.

Change the processing strength of the landr.

There is no doubt that some of the remix we have thrown in have been improved in both loudness and clarity. Each part is more prominent, the overall loudness is greatly improved (choose low or medium intensity, the final loudness will be lower). You can hear the audio files before and after processing in the attachment.

• Revolutiontreefitty ' s tree play
• Revolution [landr]treefitty ' s tree play
• St. Luciaelevate Tlostyle Play
• St. LUCIA [landr]elevate Tlostyle playback
• Hide (Remix) Treefitty ' s Tropkillaz play
• Hide (Remix) [Landr]treefitty ' s Tropkillaz play

If you are not a mastering engineer and your mixing skills are still being drilled, this should be a good result. To further study the Landr, we decided to find a piece of music that had not been processed by the mastering, inviting a professional mastering engineer to do the mastering and comparing it with the output of the Landr.

start the experiment .

We chose Doubtingthomas's techno work "Casa de bas Bun" from Archipel Musique Canada. You can hear the version below that has not been processed by the mastering.

• Casa De Bas Bun (Mastered by Labelworx) Doubtingthomas playback
• Casa De Bas Bun (Mastered by LANDR) Doubtingthomas playback
• Casa De Bas Bun (unmastered) Doubtingthomas play

We put the song into Landr, using the default setting output, without changing the intensity level.

Tasha Anestopoulos, an artist relationship manager from Mix Genius, told DJ Tech Tools,landr that it was not a static algorithm, which responds to the music it received.

It analyzes many aspects of music and chooses the appropriate signal processing method according to its characteristics. Over time, the system is constantly adapting itself. "The more music you put in, the more subtle it will be," Anestopoulos said. "It is not a static process; It is based on the analysis of Big data processing. ”

Landr version of "Casa de bas Bun" sounds louder, low-frequency impact stronger, snare, stepping cymbals and other high-frequency parts of the texture also has to be improved. You can hear it in the attachment.

Typically, a mastering engineer needs $ hundreds of to process a track, and if it's an album, it's a lot more expensive. For less-budgeted musicians, we can find other relatively inexpensive mastering services that can be used to achieve the desired results through constant communication.

For institutions like symphonic distribution, the cost of mastering is about $15 a piece. The UK label Worx (for the Digital music brand service, obtained the mastered for itunes certification) The mastering price is $12.50 A song, if the amount of more, there will be a discount. Landr's platinum account, each WAV file is about $2.25.

Hiring a professional engineer naturally has its value, you can communicate with them, tell them what you want to feel, and also get their feedback.

We found the label Worx's mastering engineer Matthew Abbott to make the master belt of Casa de Bas Bun. He shared his views on the Landr version of the Master belt. "First, mastering is a very subjective thing, it's not right or wrong, it's just right or not," Abbott said. "The ultimate criterion is personal preference. Our mastering processes are based on specific music and current style trends. The production of the mother belt is basically more blind. In general, we encourage them to share more information and advice when establishing customer relationships. For me, the Landr version of the female band is too high-frequency, low-frequency part of the missing. These questions are important in this style of music. Of course, the sound field of stereo also does too much, affecting the overall impact and dynamics. ”

You can listen to the Worx version of the label in the attachment and compare it to the Landr version. Abbott also told us that the employment of the parent belt project, in addition to the voice will be different, you get the service is different. "Any good service requires some room for feedback and discussion between the customer and the engineer," Abbott said. "Excellent mastering must have excellent mix, this is inseparable from communication, otherwise the producer may never know why after the mastering process, still can not get the effect they want." We try to understand the preferences of our customers and help them build a unique style. ”

How do you choose?

Comparing the two versions of Casa de Bas Bun, I do not fully endorse Abbott's view of the Landr version, but I agree with the high frequency. In contrast, the Label Worx's mastering version is smoother and more stable. When you turn down the processing strength of the Landr, you can remove some extreme high-frequency boosts, but you can't get the specific details of the feedback like you did with the engineer ... Not now, at least.

Mix Genius plans to make some upgrades to Landr in 2015, including more purposeful output settings, such as for nightclubs, networks, and other applications. Later, there may be more companies to cooperate, through the embedded Landr module, digital music aggregation, the establishment of music creation network and artist services.

The advent of Landr was not intended to replace the mastering engineer, but to provide a different option for mastering processing. Even if the label Worx 48 hours of continuous axle turn, can not do landr anytime and anywhere unlimited service. Anestopoulos mentions that Landr will handle more than 100,000 songs in one months, more than any female studios in the United States. "It won't replace the human ear," Anestopoulos said. "These art forms and processing techniques are accumulated over the years. Landr is just a tool that provides a low-cost solution. ”

Original address: DJTT

LANDR: Online Mastering process