I remember trying to use AAMS a couple years ago.
I liked the idea behind it. But I couldn't get it to do what I wanted, so I tossed it.
Now, I have been recording music for 30 years, so I trust my ears completely.
But not everything can be done "by ear", especially mastering.
What is important is how well something translates to all systems.
Certainly not the same art as mixing!
I recently came back to AAMS to give it a shot.
So what I do is take my final WAV and load it up in AAMS to render out a source file.
I then load that file up as the SOURCE for the program.
Then I choose a reference file according to what I am looking for.
In most cases, it is MODERN. Once that is loaded, AAMS shows me the preconfigured curve for a modern sound.
It compares it to my source file. I finally load up my WAV file under the EQ tab and AAMS automatically applies the changes on the fly.
Following the directions of the manual, I eventually render out a new EQ'd copy.
IN every single case, my files come out perfectly mastered to sound awesome on any system great or small.
This may be dependent upon the idea that I mix my material very well.
But the big question to ask here is "Can we actually rely upon the AAMS reference files?"
I truly believe we can. We can pick a few different ones to use and eventually we will come to know which ones work best for us.
But still, AAMS is dependent upon how much work you did beforehand.
After all, mastering is not the major part of making a demo. The hard work comes before that.
Joe M
