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Ear fatigue and mastering yes/no (in Maschine)

Discussion in 'Computer Technology and Setup' started by GerhardDerksen, Jul 12, 2013.

  1. GerhardDerksen

    GerhardDerksen New Member

    Messages:
    18
    When listening on low volume my ears get tired. I can't call it pain, it's more like 'overused', my ears need a break. The volume of my speakers is really low. I could have a telephone conversation in front of my speakers, and still be able to hear everything. It's really annoying because I'm really up for creating music.

    I realise that 8 hours between nearfield speakers (even on low volume) makes your ears tired. But I get it already in one hour. I'm not a pro, I just make music for fun. I wish I had the knowledge to use all plugin's wisely, but I guess I don't.

    One specific thing I'd like to know more about is the master-level and the use of mastering plugin's like Izotope.

    As I create electronic dance music, I have reference tracks I'd like to match. In order to achieve the same loudness, punch, clarity and power, I noticed Izotope's mastering plugin to be a great tool for achieving this. But I guess I'm overdoing it.

    Because compression and mastering can change the 'sound' of a track, I worked backwards. So I adjust the levels of each individual sound to properly sit in the mix, a mix that is final already. Listening to that compressed sound for many hours make my ears tired.

    Some people say to leave mastering behind. In order to get your track louder, just use a limiter. Electronic dance music is of course very much compressed, so taking that mastering plugin off from the master channel makes my tracks sound less powerful.

    A spectrum analyzer also would work they say. Is it as simple as comparing the spectrum of my track to a reference track? And simply take those frequencies down?

    Once more I like to mention that I have had no training or experience producing music. I just do that what sounds right to me. I really enjoy it, but now my ears won't let me continue.

    I don't know if it helps, but I got 2 remixes online, created in the past month: http://dj.beatport.com/korfmaker

    And the speakers I got are KRK's Rokit5

    Thank you all for your time and thoughts!
    Gerhard