$10 vs. $800 Master!

stream my new track 'Knocking On My Door' on spotify - spoti.fi/45Q8MpE
get my sound packs here - bigzsounds.com
check out my music production courses here - www.bigzcourse...
follow me on instagram - bit.ly/big-z-i...
my music on spotify - spoti.fi/3q5MfmF

[@BigZMusic]

Check out my new track “Knocking On My Door” on Spotify! Thanks for watching 👍🏼

[@Nedvio]

This was interesting as always! Keep it up!

[@ChrisQuerido]

Great song! Who did the vocals?

[@MarcReasonMusic]

good work!!!

[@happysinha]

Plzz do project session

[@sumurssno]

Luca's Master is top notch the stereo range is wider allowing for each aspect of the mix to sit cleanly in its parameters providing pronounced dynamics and headroom. The lead is a bit softened but only because the bass and drums are occupying space in the mix that is unheard in your own. I love both but it's clear to me a higher level of processing was applied to the $800 one.

[@toddmiller6497]

came to say the same - stereo / width / M-S processing ftw

[@Turd_Polish]

This video is crystal clear proof of why you shouldn’t mix/master your own music.. He loves that synth so much cause it’s his baby, the whole song actually. It’s impossible for him to stay objective and perceive the much, much improved depth and tonality and life of the record..

[@KableTdi]

nah Luca's master has too much sibilance, I thought its Big Z's actually. Also lacks the "glueness" of mid and high elements... Before I saw the answer, I picked master 1 which I thought it was Luca's. Truth is, if you made your own music and you have experience you can do better than professional ones as you know what you wish to convey in the song.

[@MIRTHEUZ]

To be honest, before knowing which master was which, I instantly liked the first one. You nailed it Big Z!

[@Stepantc]

I liked the second but first was good too (but too narrow, yes)

[@KableTdi]

exactly

[@JanoJams]

I felt the same way! I was convinced 100% that number 1 was the $800 master!

[@davidandronicomusic]

great job and super cool video. Love how the $800 masters drums are so clean and punchy, and the low end feels so well balanced. Your master is great as well, I think his just adds that extra 10% that takes it to the next level.

[@99D-x6m]

Expensive version looks different and better

[@Barncore]

Awesome content. During the blind test i guessed them all right. The AI one was obvious but yours and Luca's aren't too far off each other. Yours sounds totally legit, Luca's just had that extra density, and punch and spaciousness. Sounded a tiny bit more euphoric and magical. Really cool experiment

[@SteveAdamsChannel]

My same experience and conclusions! I hope we can all appreciate that he spent $810 for all of us to learn an important skill! I know I'm grateful!

[@LibertyJava]

As a producer I always think my Synths are super important but professionals know it all about the drums vocals and bass

[@DarkTrapStudio]

Make a lead synth that go with the bass :)

[@Joshh.K]

Personally I prefer the Luca's one because he's noticed the "purpose" of your track to be quite trancey/getting "lost in the music" type vibe - and i think focusing on the arp, the bit that will disassociate you, keeping it subtle but also very present, making space for the ARP room/atmosphere which i'd argue is lost in yours, gives me that feeling that I'm listening to something constantly moving forwards and gives me transcending vibes. That said, yours is still a great master, my ears prefer the horn being loud, but it does sound cliche. (sorry, great song tho!) I think this is a case of the mastering engineer just moving the spotlight on the tune from the element you'd choose, to the element they'd choose. Which is always insightful moving forwards :)

[@EdgarRoock]

My thoughts exactly.

[@adamb1825]

Totally agree. I think the whole mix is also wider and warmer-and it's more glued, following the rhythm of the drums-adding to the trance vibes.

[@rumariomusic]

You should also compare the mono version. This would be very interesting. Mostly very wide bass versions lost the impact on mono

[@hellothinker2834]

His master sounds amazing, especially the vocals and bass. However, yours was close and impressive but you can certainly feel the extensive experience from his

[@SteveAdamsChannel]

and..., I'd like to offer as mentioned, gear!

[@MannyXO]

Let me tell you a fun fact - I knew 2 was Luca by just looking at the waveforms LOL! He is aggressive with his push! His Master was just big, bright, and forward. Quite frankly when analog (or hybrid) meets knowledge and experience you can't beat that. Great video bro! I appreciate this. Your Master was great too disregarding levels obviously. ****My humble opinion of course. Everyone will have their own perspective and that's respectable.****

[@DarkTrapStudio]

Analog yes, but not the one you thing, the "analog" acoustic treatments.

[@marshallholland2248]

To me, Luca's sounds more compressed overall but also way more controlled in the low-mids (the kick isn't as knocky and is glued to the sub more) and the high end is crispier and wider (as you said) but also sounds dynamically controlled so it doesn't sound to harsh. Your master is sick too though

[@QDTREEN]

This is the main reason why I don't master my own tracks because I want to push everything up number two was by far the best and had the most amount of information coming out I can hear it clearly🎉

[@AlexeyFilippenkoPlummet]

I correctly guessed all the masters 😁 Giveaway for the Luka's stem master was how wide the sound was and how pronounced the vocals became. You can just hear years and years of making songs for radio in that vocal mixing/mastering. But the lead sound got absolutely abolished, probably due to how much time the engineer put to making the mix. But also it's the priority of what should sound best and in front. Zach's mix/master though given itself up by being the loudest and by encapsulating every element on the same level, without something being too in front or too below. Basically he knew how he wanted the track to sound and had the ability to do it, so in a way his stems contained not only the sounds to mix/master, but the idea and his own style, which he has the best knowledge of. Thus the result. And of course it's the loudest as well.

[@FuChungKu]

Masters 1 and 2 were excellent but Luca's Master won the loudness war. Love your music and vids Big Z.

[@Armadillo312]

My fav was Luca's master. Very wide and tons of presence. I just sounded bigger overall.

[@commonbeats]

Let alone masters (which both Luca and you nailed) - it just shows the importance of a great mix! I was more impressed with how good that was! 😅

[@alastairgames_]

love your vids man. You're so technical and have great knowledge on mixing and production. A rarity in the youtube space imo

[@EbinAugustin]

Big Z's master : Artistic master, sounds more natural and dynamic, suits the track more Luca's master: More optimised, bright and spectraly more balanced, can compete with other top masters. I personally liked Big Z's master because he has an idea of how the song should sound and he had done it pretty good. I found Big Z's master sounding more warm and it really suits the vibe of the track.

[@charliegould7421]

You can tell just from looking at Luka' master that it us so much more compressed. Yours is my favourite man. I remember Hardwell saying that he did his own masters and had similar issues with the result. Thanks for the vid.

[@chrisbreame]

I would've been very interested in hearing them balanced to the same perceived volume. The AI one sounded terrible in comparison but I honestly reckon 95% of that was just volume (we are human and our ears a complete idiot's when it comes to louder = better). Ignoring the final limiter, the comparison between compression, overall EQ balance, saturation, etc would've been a much more interesting aspect.

[@chrisibbetson]

Ha That was the first thing I looked at and noticed his fader levels were the same so we weren't getting level matched versions. Shame.

[@gravity00x]

I made the effort myself to volume match them, 1 is best, just like in the video, 2 is lackluster and Nr 3, the AI one is hands down an absolute downgrade. It ruined the track.

[@josepapiii]

Even if it were volume matched it would feel less dense, and it was obviously darker too

[@gravity00x]

Gentlemen, after thinking about it, I think BIG Z has a good point not level matching. It is not A MIX. It is a MASTER. So basically, what they send you, you upload to the majors without any altering and it will sound EXACTLY like what you uploaded (in the best case scenario if any service doesnt frick it up) So him not level-matching is actually more than justified and makes the results fairer.

[@r.d.marshall9383]

@@gravity00x It makes sense since it is an EDM track where the loudness wars are still pretty much in full force, but it would have also been really nice to hear them level-matched like they'd be heard on KZbin, Spotify, etc.

[@user-jn9dl9px6r]

To my ear Both you & Luca's master sound like a typical modern recording. loudness to the max.

[@KLOS]

Whats good! I've been getting good results lately with the Abbey Road TG Mastering plugin from Waves, usually starting with the Dave Pensado presets. It adds some stereo widening that sounds very similar to what Luca's sounds like.

[@zanderryz]

This was a great video big Z! Really interesting to see the side-by-side comparison

[@terryhd2054]

Very educational Thanks bro!!!🙌🏽

[@djsyntrix]

Huge tune mate. I'll play it out this weekend!

[@accesspointmusic]

Thank you for this informative video! Would be also very interesting to see are you able to get your master as "wide" and crispy as Lucas with plugins and gear you have. And maybe make a video about that too 👍

[@TantOnTrack]

Forget about Lucas‘ reputation, in this specific case BigZs Master was nearer to the core of the track or better said: It sounded more like it was intended to sound like. You should listen to how BigZ placed his instruments, how long or short reverb tails were made etc… I can tell where Z wanted to go and Luca missed that a little bit, imho. Sure the stereo wideness is always a thing in mastering! It’s rather hard to get those wideness levels that mastering engineers reaches without getting out of phase! But that’s something I 100% sure of that Z is gonna get that fixed pretty easy! 🫶🏼 Huge Respect for your whole work BigZ

[@FarshadHesami]

Would you please upload unmastered, your Mastered and Luca's Mastered version? so we can deep analyzing in our studio. thank you so much Big Z

[@NordaOfficial]

Master 2 sounds the best. Especially in the low end.

[@elonthebass6870]

Luca killed it. No joke. But your master is more translatable in my opinion and sounds more musical on weaker playback devices. But Luca did the damn thing for sure. I wish you gave him even more artistic license to push it further. Analog can have a lot of character when pushed.

[@Silentnarcotic]

Agreed, it's a terrible comparison but it's true, and what people do as I'm listening on my phone and yours sounded less tinny and piercy on the hats. It could also be my ears and I just woke up and I know my ears are my high end sensitive in the morning.

[@sandupetre363]

Thanks for letting us know how much a master costs, I picked master 2. Worth every penny.

[@Janomix]

Nice comparison. But you can use UAD analog emulations to get more punchy and crispy sound, like the $800 guys... Thank you!

[@gravity00x]

😂😂😂😂🤡

[@sekool]

Yoo Big Z, huge fan here, love your music and your youtube content. Maybe it was a good idea to volume match the masters, would be harder to guess. Anyway, another great video, peace ✌🏻

[@gravity00x]

it would be a terrible idea. this isnt a mix. this is a master, a final product, something that you send to the majors, without any further tweaking. therefore judging them as is, is the fairest comparisson.

[@festivalmiami]

Great video... thx for sharing your experiences ... Master 2 is really open up while its very punchy...it sounds instantly professional...Master 1 sounds great too but it sounds so familiar kind of izotope Maximizer & Limiter master .. its loud and has depth not like all that shitty compressors back in the day... its enough for car, airpods and bluetooth speakers...but that Lucas mix has that "official" release to it because it has a straight forward concept : its light, transparent, yet punchy and wants to speak to the average listeners who concentrate on the singing..I think your leadsound-thing is not that important for Luca :)) cause your song sounds like a moderate edm pop song... if your song speaks the language of a progressive drop kind of thing, the master would concentrate more on the lead...

[@gravity00x]

what.... what the hell are you on about. master 1 blows master 2 out of the water in every. single. way. it's not light, its definitely not transparent. its WAY too punchy. the engineer altered the percussion and made it sound so much worse, not fitting the track while also creating a resonant frequency, that hurts the ears. the hihats are way too loud, overpowered everything. the vocals are lost. the leads are lost. please stop making comments like these, when you have 0 experience and on top of that are listening through aldi speakers.

[@ChrisJustinMusic]

Hardly ever actually go through to Spotify after a KZbin video but did after this - love this track! Really like start of verse 2 where you remove most elements for a couple of measures then bring them back in with a fill 🙌

[@JRClark]

listening with a prism sound and focal solo 6bes....Master 1 and 2 sound good. I would go with 2 tho

[@FurkanTopal]

Comparing Luca's and your master tells enough that you have still way to go. I'm really impressed with Luca's master, it feels crazy wide in the background while the drums are so dope and sturdy and it definitely would worth for 800 bucks imo. You seemed a bit too worried for that lead but it doesn't sound too bad. But yeah, understandable compared to your master, maybe there should be a merging point where Luca's stereo field and drums meet your standing out lead. What I would do in that case would be texting back them and see if they could push the lead a bit more forward but I'm not sure if that would disrupt the whole effort that took to reach this level of mastering sound. Or I'd take lesson by myself by inspecting the master and I'd try to replicate what Luca applied on his master and then push the lead's fader up! :D

[@mitchiemasha]

Ahh the Mountain of King, Digital Boy, Luca... we grew up listening to his euro rave sound in the 90's. It's still very much loved in the North East of England.

[@boloovereem5448]

Nice review. I like Luca's version way more than from Big Z especially when comparing the stereo width that Luca enhanced (although I really dislike the distortion, clipping in the drop which happens quite a lot in Luca's masters that I heard recently) and those differences are what separates the best in the business from the good ones. Btw Luca got all of that width in the track with using his Spacecontrol plugin for sure (besides other plugs), it just sounds like a typical Spacecontrol mix/master, especially on hihats and bass. Amazing plugin though

[@FutureDictator69]

The $800 one is the best, sounds so open and clear with perfect frequency balance.

[@hamedparsa8880]

Just searched your channel's name to get some inspiration from your videos and music; and what a surprise! U uploaded this amazing comparison just 11h ago. 💥

[@adamregan4921]

I can honestly say hand on heart, that I preferred your master before knowing who's was who. Well done.

[@paul.van.hemmen]

I guessed all three right and therefore would prefer Luca's master over the other two, although your own master comes in a close second. Maybe it's just that his master sounds more to what I'm used to, but besides the punch of the drums he's managed to create an incredible amount of space in the mix, which sounds awesome!

[@freetimetim]

One thing I wished you tried with Landr though to make it a proper fair comparison is mastering it based on a reference rather than the original mode because it always comes out 10x better when using a reference and I'm sure you would have mastered with a reference and same with Luca

[@allans1212]

Goat IS back 🔥 so honestly you are very very close to 800$ mastering and i dont think "basic" listener will ear thé différence very very close good job !

[@xelvince]

This is quality music education. God bless your work.

[@Dane_Riazer]

Both are great masters but there is always a give and take. If this is from Luca Pretolesi he is amazing I've had plenty of one on ones with him. Keep making awesome music!

[@zerotoninemusic5957]

Loved your master Big Z. If you widen your lowend a bit like he did, you are so close. He did some magic analog indeed also with adding detail to the sides of the vocal stem. Do you feel 800$ is worth it though? Didn’t hear your comment on that. Great release, will put it on one of my playlists 🫶

[@nebucatz3751]

So, basically, was it worth the $800 to learn the difference? Only if you make enough money with the song. So for most folks, your master is more than enough.

[@busted_sky]

Really cool track! And your master is way much better. Is is not the first video on YT, witch show how bad expansive mastering or mixing can be. Great job, Big Z!

[@hendricksam]

Most expensive audio experiment yet. 😂

[@dudubayer8395]

I listened to the Lucas master at my phone and man... translates realy well, with a great presence in drums, realy compressed but also controlled and clean... realy enjoyed the video, thank you ❤

[@Harlin67]

Legend. Your content and subject matter is always about the things that I'm always thinking about as a novice so kudos Big Z!

[@DanielFlores-rn8hj]

Id love to see process you did to get stem mastered step. Love your videos man so much knowledge in all them one love 💯

[@MrAsket7]

Your track is cleaner and more breathing, Luka has a more compressed sound. It was a really fun experiment!

[@animist_avery]

This was such a fun one to watch!

[@DavidDiMuzio]

Your master was super solid. I preferred Luca’s by a bit though.

[@Metalqt]

I preferred your mix at first but then later I heard the kick in mix 2 and it was nutty, I think your mix was not far behind his, nice job :)

[@emilandersenaudio]

Different visions for yours and lucas but feel like both have their own strengths. Would have been nice to hear all 3 loudness matched though or at least the ai version on loud. Dont get me wrong I still hope the ai version sucks of course just not really a fair comparison. Also did you mix this track with anything on the master?

[@badangelsmusic]

In my opinion as a regular listener, I feel that your master is the most balanced. I could listen to it for a longer time without tiring my ears. Luca's master is awesome, but at least on my DT 990 Pro headphones, when it hits the drop, stereo image sounds way to wide, and the bass almost masks the other elements of the song. But that's just how it sounds on these headphones.

[@elonthebass6870]

I have the same headphones. They sound naturally wide. Everything sounds wide on them. Too wide. Luca’s master just has this “beyond the speakers” sound. It works. And it’s just as mono compatible as master #1.

[@badangelsmusic]

@@elonthebass6870 Yes! I mean, I never meant otherwise. The mix is just ​​incredible! but I guess it's a matter of personal taste and how you're used to listening to music. I enjoyed way better when listening on monitors.

[@PuudingMusic]

Imo 1st master wins, 2nd one was a bit squashed, 3rd one was very obviously AI I also managed to figure out who did which one. The one you did was just wonderful, super artistic and fit the vibe of the track better

[@TonyPuccioMusic]

First, this is a great vocal track , congrats! Second, your master or Luca’s master could be played in the club or radio, you did a great job but I’m leaning towards Luca’s. Third, as a side note, usually when you spend that much money on a master, the engineer will give you several revisions, not sure if Luca does that. Thanks for the video.

[@notyetknownuk7416]

I personally prefer Z's just because that brassy lead is so present, that's just personal preference

[@Hello-ys9lc]

Big Z’s master is most comfortable to me tbh

[@bradleyhiphop]

Awesome video, loved this test & comparison!

[@Ekstrand95]

I haven’t seen until the end yet, but MASTER 2 sounds the best so far I think

[@bussauto6564]

Nice work really informative thank you - hi form Australia luv ya work

[@eanroad]

Fantastic job on the tune/song! Cheers!

[@tylergameplayroom]

Salute, I use the master from LANDR and always choose the preset (Balanced + High) I think you would be surprised, it would open up your mix more.. But in general I liked your master and Landr.. and mixing 2 seemed dirty. Hi from Ukraine

[@screendrem]

Super Kewl! I could tell pretty quick which master was which but yours was still quite good. You sound like you've arrived at level LEGIT AF.

[@vladislavtryokin6507]

Very intresting expirience! Thank you!)

[@newblood1380]

thanks for this kind of videos bro !

[@KarimLeMec]

HI my friend. You can mix your master and the Luca's one. Luca for his admission sometimes used to make 2 different mixes and which he then tacked together in the editing stage. However by ear even if I recognized the master of Pretolesi your master is vehemently excellent and you are very well able to do your master without resorting to (albeit excellent) competence of Pretolesi

[@jl9205]

I wished you'd adjusted all 3 for the same LUFS value, but yours and Luca's do sound better.

[@Badstormz]

I was able to guess who's master was which one so accurately 😬. Master 2 sounded cleaner so I thought it has to be the $800 master. So obviously master 1 might be of Big Z which was close competition to the $800 master and obviously the 3rd master sounded muddy so it's of the AI master.

[@2point7182818284590]

It was easy to spot the LANDR version just by looking at the waveform.

[@lucad4180]

what a nice watch, thanks!

[@BlueJavaTN]

Great track - as usual. Luca's master seemed to really widen the stereo field which I liked immediately, but agree the focus was lost on the lead. Thus a blend of the two would be the best option imho!

[@BlueJavaTN]

Just listened on Apple Music and you nailed it - great job Big Z!

[@dand6450]

His effects you can hear more! In the instrument my main focus is on vocals though!

[@BorisBarroso]

I prefer your master. I think that Lucas's master is really good but is too bright for my liking. This was a really nice comparison and a great lesson for mastering. Thanks a lot for sharing such good content. I hope you can do soon your drums arrangement tutorial. When are you publishing your course?

[@komodinotubesco]

I state that among the 3, I preferred Luca’s master and I respect him a lot, but I want to say this: the mix/master is also a subjective issue. When you get to a good level of knowledge, there are decisions that another person might consider mistakes, but in reality, they could simply be personal choices and this video is a perfect example (obviously also the technical part is super important and I’m not trying to belittle it).

[@arapocket]

Luca's stereo width is amazing

[@ElNabulsi]

Bro I don’t know what master you used yet but the song is fantastic!!

[@yaoguangtang1759]

Honestly, I am happy that AI is in third place.

[@cottoo1]

To all bedroom producers out there: you don’t need an $800 master.

[@e.374]

Knocking on my door is fire bro.

[@kkkk-fe7rb]

The verse sounds better in the 800 dollar one but Big Z sounds better in the drop imo

[@mightbefire]

Ha, guessed it, yours was master 1. Definitely the best.

[@Jvssvl]

Master 2 for me. You did a great job as well mate.

[@AntonSuchorukov]

to hear the real difference between each versions, you have to compere these three at the same volume level.

[@tryllejens]

I don't know if it's youtube compression, but in Luca's master I noticed some artifact-ish high frequencies in the vocals that at least I wouldn't want to have in there 😅

[@producermathew]

It would be interesting to do this again, but supply a pre-master to us so that we can take part and then see how our own mastering abilities compare to LANDR, Luca and even yourself - would be cool way to make these sort of videos really interactive and could always incorporate it into a 'mastering' or 'mixing' contest type concept. Really solid video as always!! On the blind test in particular, you could tell which was the AI master, it just sounds awful!. Your own master felt right! Although I couldn't help notice some 'pokiness' in the mids at times, then Luca's master seems to be on the same vision as your own master and mostly inaudible in difference, however when you listen in, you notice that in particular, the mid-range is better managed, drums feel slightly tighter/punchier as you mentioned and the stereo imaging is where I believe it really 'wins over' my ears. But in all honesty, with these 'celebrity' engineers, you pay a lot for the brand/name than you do with the quality of the work, whilst it was the best master here, you can see that there is a diminishing return on investment going from your own master, to Luca's. Is this also the initial master? Generally, most mastering engineers go through at least one round of revision to double check and optimise things further, I think there was room, like you mentioned, for the lead to be improved. Would be interesting to hear if Luca includes around 1-3 free revisions (as you would expect from most professional engineers as standard)?

[@gustavokoshikumo]

Luca´s master is fire. I understood your point about the lead in the chorus, and I think you´re right. But my best choice would be to point it out to Luca. Studio DMI doesn´t offer returns?

[@monseigner]

I prefered the master 2 while watching this on an iPhone it had more air in the highs. Sounded better imo I was happy to see it was Lucas ahah

[@GuRuGeorge03]

i never found out how engineers actually do get this ultra wide stereo field without hurting the overall sound. I remember myself sitting there hundreds of hours, trying to reproduce it, but I never got it to sound the same, very frustrating.

[@RaphyJmusic]

I actually initially thought Master 1 was Luca's, because I perceived more brightness and air in 1 than Master 2, and thought he may have done that. I think between yours and his it is a matter of preference. I think Master 1 is more dynamic overall, but Master 2 does have a commercially balanced feel to it.

[@RaphyJmusic]

Which did you choose in the end? Your own with a balance of inspiration from his?

[@gravity00x]

master two sounds like lifeless commercial garbage where the emphasis is on too loud kicks, annoying snares, unnecessary ultra high width, shrill hihats, muffled leads and vocals, just for the sake of competition.

[@tomaszberlinski4124]

In your master there is to mouch mud in bass and with Luka master everything is ballanced perfectly and this approach makes the song to feel bigger and higher. Good work Luca Pretolesi 👌👌

[@gravity00x]

🤮🤢

[@mattymenck]

Great challenge ! No revisions accepted at DMI to bring the lead up a bit ? Or do they charge extra ?

[@ariescreatures]

I listened on an iPhone speakers and guessed correctly each of the master, and #2 sound felt more cutting through and clean so that’s why I guessed that was Lucas

[@KudosCultureCartel]

So which one did you put out in the end?