What do you think of Automatic Mastering?

kylelazaroo

New member
So I've just come across this, its called Landr.
It's an online service that is supposed to automatically master any track you spit into it.
I was a little sketchy on this at first, so I fed it with one of my more recent projects, not too much success.

Has anyone else used this yet?
I'm intrigued to here your thoughts on having a computer master for you! :p
 
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I haven't used it.

The technology amuses me. I'd love to compare some before and after songs, particularly if they are volume adjusted to the same level.

But I can't imagine it can sound as good as a talented engineer doing what he does. Sure, they can algorithmically set the output volume, compress for a certain range of dynamics, and EQ until the song matches the frequency profile LANDR wants. But who is to say that will sound good? Who is to say a folk song or piano recording will be fairly treated, compared to an EDM track?

I've heard there are computer experiments with songwriting. I wouldn't be surprised if some has tried programming a robo-painter. Would you expect them to be good?
 
...but of course there's a target demographic for a service like this, which is the people that really just want their stuff LOUD, don't feel quite confident or don't have the funds to pay actual mastering engineers, but on the other hand are somewhat insecure about doing it themselves. It might not be "real" mastering, but if you feel it makes your stuff sound better, and you can kind of say you "had it mastered" - why not. I'm sure people like me are gonna continue scoffing at these kind of things, while others are gonna just use it. Not sure if there are any proper Landr-mastered smash hits out, but it's probably only a matter of time.
 
I keep meaning to try this just for kicks. I have had plenty of clients insist on going to joe-blow moonlighting as a mastering engineer and had them BUTCHER my mixes. Who knows, can this LANDR really be WORSE than some of these guys? I've had stuff mastered by these butchers and I've had stuff mastered by the best of the best. I don't think LANDR will be the best of the best, but maybe it can beat the butcher. One of these days I'll pull a couple songs and try it out and compare. I mean, we can all make educated guesses, but you never know until you try it! And least then if I trash talk it I'm talking from experience.
 
I look forward to seeing a comparison between this and other tools. It would be awesome to see a shootout with: 2-3 automated services, 2-3 cheapo guys online, and 2-3 real mastering engineers. Do the comparison with volume as they come, then do the comparison level-matched. Might make a great YouTube video.

If no one else makes it, maybe I'll make it someday. :)
 
...but of course there's a target demographic for a service like this, which is the people that really just want their stuff LOUD, don't feel quite confident or don't have the funds to pay actual mastering engineers, but on the other hand are somewhat insecure about doing it themselves. It might not be "real" mastering, but if you feel it makes your stuff sound better, and you can kind of say you "had it mastered" - why not. I'm sure people like me are gonna continue scoffing at these kind of things, while others are gonna just use it. Not sure if there are any proper Landr-mastered smash hits out, but it's probably only a matter of time.

Completely agree. Even for small stuff. An increment of better to someone is . . . well better. Also, this might be good just to hear what a mastered version "MIGHT" sound like.
 
Completely agree. Even for small stuff. An increment of better to someone is . . . well better. Also, this might be good just to hear what a mastered version "MIGHT" sound like.

Then again - turning it around one more time - the problem is that most people will probably don't have a clue about what actual mastering is; a lot of them newbies already think it's just the act of slapping on a limiter, and this isn't going to change things for the better. But maybe that's the way things in this day and age are gonna be and it's useless to fight against it. Dunno, really :)
 
It's not the automatic mastering I dislike as much as the heavy emphasis on mastering. You can read their articles and they'll often be like "By the way your tracks suck and it's because you aren't mastering them you nerd." Very aggressive. True story.
 
Honestly, mastering is only applying the last layer of gloss on a production. It can't save a poor mix which can't save a poor tracking which can't........
But because it's the last production step, it can destroy all the previous efforts.
 
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Never tried LANDR and I don't know their algorithms but I feel like as they put more research and development into it, it could be really successful.

Not sure if they already do this, but if they made it to the point where you feed it 2-3 reference songs and it analyzes how those are mixed and uses that analysis to analyze your song and add the correct elements - idk it might just work. That doesn't seem where it is at right now though and that would take quite the team of coders to develop that.
 
It's not mastering, I know that...without trying it.
It would be based on luck.
Most likely attempts to match frequency response to a "desired" curve...
among other things.
 
I've tried it. At first I was like "wow" but then I took the tracks I've mastered, put them down to the same volume as the original final mix, and guess what: almost no difference. It basically just makes it louder, with a little touch of eq or excitement here and there, but not good, really. Thing is, if your final mix is super good, landr could make it sound good since your mix is already killing it, so doesn't need much adjustment rather than bringing it up to commercial levels. But if your final mix isn't a dream mix, then landr is definitely not going to "save your mix" or let alone do it any better.. I went back and re-mastered my mix, compared with landr mastering and the original mix all at the same volume, needless to say conscious self-made mastering was much, much better. I'd recommend you to either learn and do it yourself or hire a professional.
 
Honestly, mastering is only applying the last layer of gloss on a production. It can't save a poor mix which can't save a poor tracking which can't........
But because it's the last production step, it can destroy all the previous efforts.
Mastering isn't about how much you get loud, but how you you get loud. It's easy to be loud when cutting the bass as LandR does.
 
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