Mastering in BandLab? Did you know?

[Cosmo Kramer 2 1]

Yes, on BL website you can master your tracks as much as you want, and for free. Several options. I only recently discovered  this free service.

So,  for those of you that have used it -

What did you think of the results?    

(in particular, those who know mastering)

Thanks for your replies.  😎    cos

Edited July 20 by Cosmo Kramer 2
Left out a word

[Jim Fogle 137]

For those that are not aware, the free BandLab online mastering service has been around since October, 2016.

Here is a blog link that provides more detail:  https://blog.bandlab.com/bandlab-introduces-free-automated-mastering/

here is a link to the BandLab online mastering webpage:  https://www.bandlab.com/mastering

There are three settings to try:  CD Quality, Bass Boost and Enhance Clarity.

[Cosmo Kramer 9]

Thank you fogle, I guess I haven't checked the forum often enough.

[razor7music 146]

Anyone tried this yet? Is it good/good enough?

[msmcleod 863]

4 hours ago, razor7music said:

Anyone tried this yet? Is it good/good enough?

I've given it a go.

To my ears, it's kind of on par with LANDR or www.curioza.com 's AAMS (but without the tweakability)

Whether it's good enough.... well I guess that's subjective!

There is of course the 6 min limit however.

[Jim Fogle 137]

@msmcleod  How did you find out about the six minute limit?  I did not see that information on the webpage.

I tested it but could not tell a distinctive difference using the three settings.  They all sounded about the same to me.

[Cosmo Kramer 9]

Unlike Landr, all the different options are free. 

So far I'm happy with the results. I do hear distinct differences between the formats.

I believe they have a limit of 125mb, which at 44.1x24 is about 7.5 minutes.

I know this because I've done three songs which are 8 to 10 mins long. I had to split the mixdown in two, then master in BL as part 1 & part 2, then put the two parts back together again.  (it's a lot of work but my results were xlnt)

[msmcleod 863]

7 hours ago, fogle622 said:

@msmcleod  How did you find out about the six minute limit?  I did not see that information on the webpage.

I tested it but could not tell a distinctive difference using the three settings.  They all sounded about the same to me.

AFAIK BandLab still has a 6 minute limit for uploading songs, and obviously you can't master it until you've uploaded it:

https://help.bandlab.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002945433-How-long-are-my-tracks-allowed-to-go-on-for-

 

[razor7music 146]

UPDATE:

I tried them on a current project I'm working on and at least for this particular track, I was underwhelmed. I went through each preset and although they were all definitely louder, I didn't like the EQing that took place. For the enhanced clarity preset, it went heavy on the reverb and buried my snare drum. CD quality preset buried my snare drum, and the bass boost preset seemed to just boost the bass at the expense of the mid and high range frequencies. The original  present actually lowered the level of my track--which is really strange.

So, that's this reporter's opinion. I went ahead and started mastering the track in Wavelab that I've used for years, and my first go was already better than any of the BL online presets. Again, that was the results of the particular track I'm working on.

 

FYI

 

[Cosmo Kramer 9]

Yes razor7 - I agree with all that you said. For some reason the reverb becomes greatly enhanced.

Another issue that I have is this: 

I have been mastering music that has lots of extreme dynamics, going from very soft to very loud. After mastering in BL the softer parts become way too loud, some 5db or more too loud. Not cool 🤨