Wakes Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 Hope someone can give me some guidance on this! I have some old recordings on CD which were copied straight from DAT without ever being mastered. This was done 20 years ago on a CD recorder and although I have all these recordings on MP3 I would like to actually master some of them properly. I know MP3 files are compressed and not suitable for mastering, but would it be possible to save the uncompressed CD song files and master them instead of the MP3s? I no longer have the old DATs unfortunately so would the CD files be as good a quality and as uncompressed as DAT if recorded at 44.1? Many thanks, Wakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzfilth Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 Yes. If the CDRs play at all, that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wakes Posted August 18, 2020 Author Share Posted August 18, 2020 That’s good to know! Now for the task of actually getting the cd into my MacBook Pro, no CD drive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzfilth Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 Indeed. Who back then would have thought this would be a problem in 20 years... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wakes Posted August 18, 2020 Author Share Posted August 18, 2020 Well I’ve only gone and done it! Put the CD into my old MacBook Pro (which is as slow as a cart horse!) and up popped 16 AIF files 60 odd mb each! Transferred to external hard drive and loaded onto new MacBook Pro. Job done! All I’m wondering now is whether the AIF files have any head room as you’re supposed to leave around 4dbs spare? I’m guessing the levels would have been set as hot as possible going onto CD to give max volume to a quiet unmastered recording or would it have just transferred with automatic level detection? Not sure how those machines worked as I went to a studio and paid someone to do it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 The AIFF files are what was on the CD. Put them in a Logic session, put a Multimeter on the Stereo Out and see the overall LUFS level to know their loudness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wakes Posted August 18, 2020 Author Share Posted August 18, 2020 Just done that to one of the tracks and it’s barely peaking at -15db so guess I’m good to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wakes Posted August 18, 2020 Author Share Posted August 18, 2020 The LUFS is around -15db however the L and R Meter next to it is peaking at around -3db Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 The LUFS is around -15db however the L and R Meter next to it is peaking at around -3db That's ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRobinson Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 Also good to "eyeball" the waveform display. There should be "some room at the margins." At the end of the day, and although Logic expresses these things to you "in audio terms," a digital recording does come down to "a great big file of numbers." Those numbers have a maximum numeric value which must never be exceeded ... because what you get is "a burr haircut." Any data(!) that goes over the line is ... literally, gone. (The meters will offer a "yellow-line / red-line" warning.) There's no equivalent to what magnetic tape will do. The computer has more numeric capacity within its internal digital-processing pipeline than the finished distribution file might have. But, when printing those files, you "re-map" the data to fit within the limits of the file format (and the capabilities of typical players). This is also the finishing-point where you [first ...] apply "lossy" digital data-compression, if any, e.g. for MP3's. Never attempt to use data-compressed formats for input. (That makes about as much sense as making CD's from 8-track tapes ... although my brother did that once.) Be sure to listen to those files on actual hardware ... the Beatles had "car speakers" and an "AM Radio filter" in Abbey Road for exactly this reason. Let your ears (and, earbuds ... ick ...) be the final guide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wakes Posted August 21, 2020 Author Share Posted August 21, 2020 Was a godsend I splashed out all that money 20 years ago to get my DATs put on CD! Seem to remember the studio time coming In 4 hour blocks and having to pay out something silly like 400 quid just to transfer to a CD. Seems ridiculous this day and age paying that for something so outdated and what you would actually do for free at home on your laptop and that is so much more flexible! The CD-R kept the files perfectly despite being so old so was delighted with the result! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wakes Posted August 21, 2020 Author Share Posted August 21, 2020 Was a godsend I splashed out all that money 20 years ago to get my DATs put on CD! Seem to remember the studio time coming In 4 hour blocks and having to pay out something silly like 400 quid just to transfer to a CD. Seems ridiculous this day and age paying that for something so outdated and what you would actually do for free at home on your laptop and that is so much more flexible! The CD-R kept the files perfectly despite being so old so was delighted with the result! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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