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Lurssen Mastering Console No Longer Ala Carte
From IKMultimedia's Lürssen page:
"Lürssen Mastering Console for iPhone/iPad features two in-app purchases that unlock the full functionality: Play/Process and HD Engine. Play/Process enables unrestricted playback, monitoring and processing, 48kHz maximum sample rate of the DSP processing and export of compressed formats such as AAC & OGG. HD Engine allows unrestricted playback, processing and monitoring at 88.2/96kHz sample rates for DSP and export, selectable dithering and export of uncompressed formats such as WAV & FLAC."
So now $50, which used to get you a month of unfettered mastering, instead gets you the ability to export AAC files. Still a hundred bucks to get the whole shebang.
I was planning to spring $10 on Lürssen for the one week option, to run it through its paces and possibly master my upcoming EP. Guess it's a good thing I've been teaching myself to master for about a year now - it ain't easy and I've got a long way to go, but, there you have it.
Comments
Look on the bright side, $50 wouldn't even get you one song if you were paying someone like me to do it. Could be worse![:smiley: :smiley:](https://forum.audiob.us/resources/emoji/smiley.png)
It's a shame they've removed the cheaper options, because it is pretty expensive for an iOS app.
I bought it shortly after it came out (call it an extravagance) because I was curious as to what it could achieve, but for the time being I've gone back to using FabFilters in Auria. I might come back to Lurssen at a later date but for my personal workflow I find it easier to do everything in one step in Auria rather than having a separate step for mastering. Also Pro L is really hard to beat, it's the only limiter I've used where you really don't hear any effects from the processing.
What I did like in Lurssen was the automation, allowing you to push things during parts of the song and then dial them back in other parts. Very nicely done and easy to set up. However on the tracks where I did use Lurssen I tended to push things too far, which is my fault and not the app's.
I still remain incredulous as to the pricing of this app / subscription...
$150 for the whole shebang I think
Unread postby Peter - IK Multimedia; Thu Jun 09, 2016 5:01 pm
Re: Lurssen Mastering Console for iPad updated - adds full functionality time options and new styles
You need to have the Play/Process mode purchased to be able to buy and use the HD Engine, and the latter does not include Play/Process. I will let the team know that it can be found confusing as currently presented. Thanks!
On the positive side--There's an iPhone version!!!!!!!!!!![:smiley: :smiley:](https://forum.audiob.us/resources/emoji/smiley.png)
Lol! Not only they removed the limited licenses: they readjusted the price (eufemism for cough cough made it more expensive) by a meager 50% as well.
Well done, IK Multimedia.
And you guys complaining it was a hundred bucks when it was first out. IK pioneered - in bringing Desktop grade pricing to iOS. Suddenly Auria Pro plus the FabFilters got attractive again, huh? /s
Yeah, but I'd be a LOT more confident of achieving pro results with you, sir![:+1: :+1:](https://forum.audiob.us/resources/emoji/+1.png)
Well, I did learn a few things while playing with the demo version anyway. </bright side>
Thank you for the clarification, Bianca - yeesh, even worse![:sweat_smile: :sweat_smile:](https://forum.audiob.us/resources/emoji/sweat_smile.png)
Now for iphone with the latest update - this is the only mastering option available for iphone. Amazing update I'm over the moon!
That's what I've been working on learning - Lurssen introduced me to the concept of automating your limiter (those R/W buttons in Pro-L never registered to me before, for some reason), and also dialing in EQ at preset points via Pro Q on an Aux channel. Helped a lot, so I guess I can't complain too much. Just really was looking forward to A/Bing my own mastering efforts with a week's worth of Lürssen on the old subscription model.
That's cool. OTOH, it's almost the price of an iPhone!
Just got this response from IK Multimedia:
Recently, this time-trial IAP system was rejected by Apple's reviewing process. This unfortunately means, this feature will no longer available in LMC. I will however, be more than happy to pass along your interest in this topic to the correct persons.
So, they say it's Apple's fault. Hmm.
You Sir are their target market.
The iPhone (well, universal) version was supposed to be out before now. This is the reason it was delayed, and yes Apple rejected it for the reason IK Support relayed to you. So what they say is correct, and I wish Apple had picked up on this issue the first time around... We'd likely continue to offer it if we were able to and it is what we had planned to do, sorry that it delayed this version as here were many requests for the iPhone version who were disappointed with the delay.
Edit - Forgot to add that I've also already relayed concerns about pricing/IAP to my supervisor.
I bought the Lurssen app because I liked the idea of mixing down in Auria and exporting to another app. The AudioMastering app didn't make a whole lot of sense to me, and the Positive Grid app was working well for me until I noticed some distortion that I couldn't get rid of. I've been working on releasing an album, and I'm hell bent on doing it all myself using the iOS platform.
What Lurssen has helped me with is my mixes. The app's limited access to ALL the controls and components forces me to go back to the mix to adjust things, which seems like a good thing to me. This work flow is really helping my ear, at least I think so. I also don't have a lot of time or desire right now to learn "the dark art of mastering". I have to say that the Lurssen app sounds very nice; it adds a sheen and punch that, for lack of a better word, is very musical. I'm very happy with the results I'm getting. I'm hoping to release this thing in about a month.
Hey, thanks for jumping in with some clarifications and also for passing along the IAP concerns. Greatly appreciated![:+1: :+1:](https://forum.audiob.us/resources/emoji/+1.png)
Agree with everything you've said here, Mr. Norton - all the way to soon releasing an iOS-based album![:sunglasses: :sunglasses:](https://forum.audiob.us/resources/emoji/sunglasses.png)
I just don't have a spare $100-$150 ... I could have handled $10 for a week's access to A/B Lurssen's output with my own mastering efforts in Auria - with an eye towards possibly making a full Lurssen purchase in the future if it sounded better. But that ship has sailed, etc.
Best of luck with your own album, sir! I look forward to checking it out, based on your past excellent output![:smile: :smile:](https://forum.audiob.us/resources/emoji/smile.png)
Well if anyone's curious I've done a simple comparison between two of the Lurssen presets vs using Fabfilter Pro L on the Master Bus in Auria. All the WAV files are 24bit exports from Auria and Lurssen.
The first is the mix with Pro L, which is how I prefer to work as it lets me control the levels of the arrangement at the mix stage, so I tend to mix the verse slightly quieter and then in the chorus I deliberately slam the limiter:
FabFilter Master
The next two mixes were exported out of Auria with Pro L disabled and the Master level turned down so that the full dynamic range of the track was available (no limiting), and I ran the file through two of the presets in Lurssen:
Lurssen Master Pop Rock preset
Lurssen Master Americana Tight (More Glue) preset
If anyone wants to dabble with the un-mastered mix, that is also available here.
I think it's fair to say that the differences between all three files are relatively subtle, and I don't think your average listener is really going to notice any differences between them. So in my estimation the Lurssen app doesn't add any "magic" that can't be achieved with other plugins, despite the marketing![:) :)](https://forum.audiob.us/resources/emoji/smile.png)
For me the best thing about the Lurssen app is the easy automation, which is very nicely implemented, but it wasn't something I would use for this mix as the chorus is already louder and brighter than the verse (that was done at mix time). For tracks that might need a little spicing up I can see how useful this fuction could be, but then you're not really "mastering" any more, but "re-mixing" IMO.
IMO FabFilter Pro L and Pro Q probably better value for money, and more useful/flexible. Lurssen however offers simplicity of use for those that might want it. Obviously an experienced mastering engineer is going to achieve the best results, but since we are all quibbling over the relative price of apps that's obviously not in anyone's budget.![:) :)](https://forum.audiob.us/resources/emoji/smile.png)
Thank you, RichardYot.
Informative,
I was wondering it only has a few tricks in its bag and has no inter-connection between the apps. How could that magic be happening!
Congratulations on being skilled enough to make a master that you feel compares well with the one you got from Lurssen Mastering Console. Those with certain talents may take these things for granted compared to those who feel lost when they sit down to attempt things like mastering, but the idea behind Lurssen Mastering Console is that people can achieve great results without having as much mastering skill and know-how and relying on the signal chain, interaction between processors, and workflow that Gavin, Reuben, and the IK team modeled and put at the fingertips of many more people who don't know as much about tweaking and such. That's the message and the "magic" of which we speak.
Strikes me as a bit of a catch 22 situation the people serious enough about it to spend $150 on it can probably do it for themselves, but the ones who would benefit most from such "magic" are probably unwilling to spend that much cash.....
I would actually add that the fact the app is so close in quality to FabFilter's Pro L is not a slight in any way, it's high praise![:) :)](https://forum.audiob.us/resources/emoji/smile.png)
Also, if you use the presets in Lurssen, they're not too heavy-handed, which again is a good thing.
@ikmultimedia there wasn't really much skill involved in my use of Pro L, I just stuck it on the master strip in Auria, it's just as much fire-and-forget as the Lurssen app is. The point of the comparison was to compare the results, and I would say it's a wash. For people who don't already own Auria and Pro L the Lurssen app could very well make sense. And the cost of Auria + Pro L is $90 (but obviously they do more than mastering).
To be honest I don't have a problem with the pricing, if you consider this to be a pro-level app then pro-level pricing is justifiable. The only fly in the ointment is that the FabFilter plugins are also most definitely pro-level and appear to be better value in this instance.
Yes I was about to do same things and compare to master of same song done in t racks and master in Auria with fab filters
@ikmultimedia any chance of a TRacks port one day?
Hey, @richardyot, the pricing itself wasn't what really bugged me - pro quality for a hundred grand is cheap, and we must not forget Auria's full plugin suite is north of 300 - but the steep price spike all of a sudden. 50% more expensive overnight is something I've heard of only during Brazil worst economic crises.
@richardyot Thank you very much for sharing the results of your own Lürssen v Pro-L testing. I agree that the differences are very slight, and your average listener wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Since I also use Auria and Pro-L/Pro-Q in my mastering efforts, this comparison was of particular interest to me.
Now this may just be a case of fresh ears and/or auditory hallucination, but I felt a little bit more of that radio-friendly polish on both of the Lürssen tracks. I definitely felt more of the sonic textures, like on that bass pad, and the jangling of your guitar. And, not at all trying to pile on your excellent Auria results, the Lürssen-mastered tracks seemed a little more 3D - the different voices seemed to sit more in their own lanes rather than sharing with other parts, if that makes sense.
But again, these are subtle things, but, then again, the art of mastering is all about subtlety. I also agree that if it can be said Lürssen gets you similar results to using Fab Filter plugs in Auria, then that's a compliment. My suspicion is that, much like GarageBand and Gadget, there's a frequency-shaping algorithm of some sort under the hood in Lürssen that bends the audio spectrum towards the ideal "camel hump" shape I've seen cited by at least one "expert." And the tools they do allow one to play with have a very narrow range up in the signal chain section. They really did a good job allowing some customization but keeping it foolproof so the output always sounds great. The only place you could blow your mix up would be leaning too hard on the Push and EQ knobs.
I'd really wanted to hear a good Auria vs Lürssen comparison, so thank you once again. BTW, that track of yours is brilliant! Great work, top job AND well mastered - 3 times! doffs cap
Technically not correct
Mastering by Howie Weinberg Mastering
https://appsto.re/gb/E9wZS.i
And he has 200 gold discs.....that he probably didn't master on the app![:) :)](https://forum.audiob.us/resources/emoji/smile.png)
From what are you actually said is just two words: 'canned' and 'pre-made' suspicion. I know you are trying politely.
If I am not mistaken.
Thank you, @eustressor. Best of luck to you on your animals too. I'm anxious to hear it! I had two $50 iTunes gift cards from my birthday that I was actually able on to. I think the Lurssen de-esser does a very nice job of taking the digital edge/sizzle off my stuff. I really like what I hear from that app. Really a shame they changed their pricing structure.
That said, the Fabfilter de-esser probably does something very similar. It has a mastering preset and works great on vocals.
I don't know what's wrong with me, but I just can't get the kind of character I'm looking for with Fabfilter Pro C, Pro L, Pro Q, De-esser combination for mastering in Auria. Not sure what my problem is.
No, I actually do like Lürssen - I played with the free version and liked what I heard between the hisses every ten seconds. It made my songs sound better. In Mr. Yot's case, I think he did a bang up job mastering in Auria - commercial quality and better than anything I've been able to achieve so far with the same tools. But, based on the subtle differences I noted, I would still give the edge to Lürssen. So I am bummed about the new price structure.
Nothing's wrong at all. Mastering is HARD. Difficult as hell!
Even if you get the art "down" - and I think @richardyot is well on his way, based on those tracks he posted - you'll never gain the objective advantage of that second pair of ears, nor the mastering professional's additional years of experience in the field, where they can handle quite a few things cause they've heard quite a few things.
So I think Lürssen was a blessing for iOS musicians who either don't want to or can't seem to learn good mastering skills. Your material is safe, digital harshness goes bu-bye, and you can tweak your own dynamic swells, etc. But I wanted a test drive at $100 ... $150 is just far too rich for my blood.