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LogicCubaseReasonPro ToolsFL StudioGenre Focus
Published On: Tue, Feb 26th, 2013
Tutorials | By Andy Price
Mastering With Software The Ultimate GuideProducing a
well-mastered demo at home is a task thats perfectly possible these
days if you have the right tools andknow how to apply them. Alex
Holmes does it for himself.
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With the music world now more competitive than ever, theres a
real need to showcase your tracks in the best possible light.And
this guide to Mastering With Software will help achieve that
objective: Whether thats sending demos to labels oruploading your
music to SoundCloud and YouTube, rough demos will no longer cut it.
No one wants the A&R man to playthree seconds of their MP3
before hastily sending it to the trash because its too quiet and
doesnt sound quite as polished asthe ten hes just listened to.
The solution, assuming youve already achieved the most
professional-sounding mix that you can, is to get the track
masteredto add some polish. Of course, not everyone wants to spend
several hundred pounds sending a demo to a mastering house,not
least because you may feel the track isnt 100 per cent finished and
you may be looking to get feedback to help makesome final tweaks.
These days, though, with the right amount of know-how and some
select plug-ins its cheaper and easierthan ever to master your own
tracks on your own computer.
Will it sound as good as a pro studio master? Probably not, as
these guys have thousands and thousands of pounds worth ofhardware
and correctly treated rooms as well as whats known as the Golden
Ear. However, you can certainly get closeenough to make your tracks
stand up confidently against other pro releases, giving you and
your music the best opportunity toattract attention.
Tools Of The TradeSo what do you need to master tracks at home?
Well, its highly likely that youll have everything included in your
DAW, asmost now have a comprehensive set of native plug-ins. The
essential ingredients include a high-quality EQ (possibly
linear-phase for transparent frequency adjustments), a compressor
to help glue the mix together and tame peaks (possibly amultiband
compressor for more flexible and transparent compression) and a
brickwall limiter to help raise the overall volumewithout letting
peaks through.
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Youll also need the ability to apply dither for when you reduce
the bit-rate to your final output medium (normally 16-bit/44.1kHz
CD-quality WAV/AIFF or MP3), although this can often be found in
your DAWs bounce-to-disc settings.
To expand on this you may also want to use a little reverb to
place all the elements in the same acoustic space, some form oftape
or tube saturation to add some analogue warmth, a stereo width
plug-in to to help widen your mix, and perhaps someslightly more
characterful EQ or compression plug-ins to help colour the mix in a
flattering way. With this in mind, if you want toachieve the best
results you may want to invest
in a few choice extra plug-ins or an all-in-one mastering
plug-in such as iZotopes Ozone or IK Multimedias T-RackS.
Click here for our guide to mastering in Ozone 5
Another critical factor to consider is your listening
environment and speakers. Its quite unlikely that youll have the
perfectacoustic room in which to work, so its vitally important
that you learn the sound of your room and setup by listening to as
muchmusic as possible. You might also consider getting a decent set
of headphones with which to test your mixes as these willbypass any
potential problems or frequency spikes that may occur because of
the shape of the room.
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To get a really true understanding of your tracks youll also
need some metering plug-ins. A high-resolution spectrum
analyserwill help you achieve an even frequency distribution, and
also allow you to see any problematic sub frequencies that could
beeating up headroom and are too low to be reproduced by your
speakers. Next youll want a volume meter that shows theaverage
level of the track otherwise known as an RMS meter as this will
allow you to assess the perceived volume a lotmore accurately than
a standard peak level meter.
Finally, you may also want a vectorscope for viewing the
distribution of the signal across the stereo field, and a
correlationmeter, which can check for phase issues.
Again, many of these tools can be found within your DAW, but
there are also some incredibly comprehensive metering suiteswith
additional types of visual feedback, such as Fluxs Pure Analyzer
System and iZotopes new Insight software.
Copy CatSo youve got your finished stereo mix with all the
plug-ins ready and the metering tools loaded. Before you begin,
select aprofessional reference track in the style that youre aiming
for so that you can copy its frequency distribution and
loudnesscharacteristics.
Its vital that you pick a well-mixed track in a high-quality
file format thats most importantly as sonically and musically
closeto your piece as possible. Even when working in the same
genre, theres no point in picking an electro track with flat
sustainedbass notes when yours are all staccato hits, as this will
have a significant effect on the readings youll get from your
RMSmeter.
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As you dont want to be applying your mastering plug-ins to the
reference material, wed recommend putting your processingdirectly
onto the channel your track is on (or at the very least sending it
to a buss and putting the processing there, thenkeeping the master
channel clear apart from your metering plug-ins). This way you can
switch between both tracks whilekeeping an eye on the differences
in the meters.
That said, one of our favourite tricks for really honing in on
the extreme lows and crispy highs is to place either a high-cut
filterset to around 120Hz or a low-cut up to around 10kHz on the
master output. Then you can do the same and flick between
thereference and your own track and get a better idea on how each
frequency range matches up without being influenced by therest of
the mix.
To compare the frequency distribution more accurately, use a
spectrum analyser to take a snapshot of the reference materialthen
play your track and compare the difference in shape. If this
facility isnt available in your DAW theres an excellentfreeware
spectrum analyser from Voxengo called Span that will do the trick.
Youll want to set the decay time to long or infinitein order to
capture the average frequency shape of each track. If youre lucky
theyll be pretty close, but if not youll knowwhere to aim your EQ
and processing to make up the difference. You might also consider
trying a match EQ plug-in, whichcan shape your tracks frequency
distribution to make it more like your reference track.
Theres one included in Logic called Match EQ, plus one built-in
to Ozones EQ module, as well as third-party EQs from thelikes of
MeldaProduction and Voxengo that have the matching function
built-in. Youll generally have a sliding scale that letsyou select
how close you want your frequency distribution to be to your
target, along with a resolution control to smooth outpeaks.
In practice, weve had varying success using Match EQ on a
master. While we would rather recommend the use of traditionaltools
to get the right balance, this can be a useful trick for
experimenting with different shapes when your ears have
becomeoverused to your mix, even if you ultimately dont end up
using it. Overall, though, your EQ tweaks at this stage should be
verybroad and subtle. If you need to boost or cut more than around
3dB you should probably go back to your mix and make
someadjustments there.
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Voxengos Span is an excellent freeware spectrum analyser and
loudness meter that you can use to view the frequencydistribution
and RMS volume of your mix and reference tracks.
A Little SqueezeWith your EQ tweaks in place you can now move on
to compression. We talked in-depth about buss compression in
ourrecent feature in Issue 117, which covered some important points
on putting a compressor across the master channel. Itsworth
considering what you want to achieve at this point, as every mix
will be different. A little gentle RMS compression thatducks 23dB
will help to thicken the overall sound and bring up the quieter
parts; alternatively, you may have some straypeaks in a certain
frequency range that could be tamed with a single band on a
multiband compressor, set with a fast attackand release.
Initially you may be looking for highly transparent results, for
which something like PSPs MasterComp plug-in would be agood choice.
However, many engineers use the colouring characteristics of
classics such as the SSL G-series BussCompressor or Fairchild 670,
which add their own form of analogue-sounding mojo to the mix. Its
worth noting that the use ofcompression can skew the original
frequency balance, so its not unusual to insert a second EQ after
the compressor toreplace some sparkle.
As just mentioned with the compressors, your choice of EQ can
range from high-quality, transparent linear-phase EQs to
morecharacterful, analogue-modelled plug-ins such as the Pultec
emulations from Waves, UAD and Softube. A boost around the1216kHz
range on one of these plug-ins can add a smooth sense of air to the
mix, without any of the harshness that can be aside effect of some
digital EQs.
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The Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor sells for around 6,000,
which is way above most peoples budget. However youcan pick up a
high-quality software version by Brainworx and Universal Audio for
$299
Studio WarmersPeople talk a lot about analogue warmth in all
aspects of music production, from composing with synths to mixing
andmastering. Theres just a certain je nais se quoi that analogue
hardware can bring to the table, which is why 5,000 masteringEQs
and compressors arent uncommon, and also why professional mastering
engineers with huge studios can charge extrafor their work. At the
end of the day, theres no way a 200 piece of software can compete,
but as computers have becomemore powerful and component modelling
more accurate, were creeping ever closer.
As such, there are now plenty of processing plug-ins aimed at
giving you analogue warmth inside-the-box, from tube and
tapesaturation to software emulating signal paths of the large
analogue mixing desks of yesteryear. With the possible exception
ofcertain classical recordings or music that needs to sound harsh
and digital, wed struggle to think of a genre that wouldnt
beenhanced by the subtle application of analogue-style processing.
That said, the point at which warmth and saturation startdistorting
the signal and become invasive is an incredibly fine one, meaning
that these plug-ins should be used with extremecaution.
In practice, you may decide to use analogue-emulated plug-ins on
every track throughout the mixing stage, where you willbenefit from
the accumulative harmonics that each plug-in brings. However, when
it comes to mastering a stereo mix, it can begood to use a single
multiband saturation plug-in such as FabFilters Saturn or
Brainworxs bx_saturator, as applyingsaturation to a smaller
selection of frequencies can result in a smoother sound. Most
plug-ins also have a wet/dry knob so youcan blend the effected
sound with the original, which can further help to keep things
subtle and can be especially useful foradding bulk and volume to
your track without the need for extra compression.
Check your SumsAlthough stereo widening isnt a fundamental part
of the mastering process, it can work wonders on complex mixes,
helping toseparate instruments and provide an extra sense of size
and space. Most wideners use psychoacoustic processing to
pushsounds beyond the range of the speakers, creating an almost
impossibly wide sound when pushed to extremes. Of course,
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like everything else in the mastering process, a deft touch is
the best way to go.
Its common practice to split the frequency range into sections,
enabling you to reduce the low frequencies to mono to spreadtheir
power evenly across both speakers, then open things up wider as you
go higher up the spectrum. One of the potentialpitfalls of too much
stereo processing is the introduction of phase problems to your
mix, which may result in your finely craftedstereo masterpiece
turning to mush when played in mono.
Its important to regularly check how your mix sounds when summed
to a single channel, ideally at the mixing stage, whenspecific
instruments may be causing problems that can be fixed. Some DAWs
enable you to simply switch your masterchannels output to mono at
the click of a button; others may have a relevant plug-in in the
Utilities section. Its here that thecorrelation meter comes in
handy, displaying the difference between the left and right
channels.
As long as you have a reading somewhere near +1 and higher than
0, you shouldnt have any serious phase problems inyour track. But
why do we need to worry about this, as surely the majority of music
is now played in stereo?Well, in an idealworld yes, but in reality
youll find a number of mediums such as large PAs, the speaker
setups in certain clubs and low-bandwidth radio stations that pump
out a mono signal, so its better to be safe than sorry.
With these potential problems in mind, several companies have
come up with ingenious plug-in solution, such asMeldaProductions
MStereoSpread and Brainworxs bx_stereomaker, which enable you to
increase the stereo width whilemaintaining complete mono
compatibility.
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Another way to consider working with the width of your tracks is
to use a plug-in that splits the signal into middle and
sidecomponents as opposed to left and right. One example would be
to work with the side channel and EQ out the bass to keepall the
important low-end information central, giving a gentle boost to the
higher frequencies to draw more attention to thesides and make the
track sound wider. Similarly, you may want to add just small amount
of reverb to your entire mix to helpglue the sounds together. If
you process the side channel with a little more reverb than the
centre, youll achieve a nice widesound without washing-out your
main central instruments.
Hit the WallFinally, we come to what many would consider the
most essential part of mastering (and the item that goes last in
the chain):the brickwall limiter. These come in many shapes and
sizes, from Waves L2 Ultramaximizer and Ozones built-in limiter to
theAdaptive Limiter that comes with Logic. The best examples offer
intelligent algorithms that enable you to push up the volumeof a
track without destroying the dynamics. Youll generally have a
control to set the ceiling threshold (the level above whichno
signal will pass) and a control to increase the input, which
essentially squashes your track up into the ceiling.
It can be easy to get carried away here, but its important to
use your ears and make sure youre not crushing the life out ofyour
music. We find the best way to work is to check the RMS of your
target track using an RMS meter, then push up the inputon your
limiter until you get to a similar place. If you cant get anywhere
near without it causing pumping or if youre applyingmuch more than
around 3dB of reduction, you probably need to go back to your mix
and work out whats causing the problem.Often this might be clashing
bass and kick frequencies, or some rough percussive transients.
Bear in mind, though, that if your reference material has been
mastered professionally, its possible you might not be able toget
it sounding quite as loud. If this is the case, dont worry about
it! Just pull back on the limiter until it sounds good. Its
betterto have a really good-sounding master that people can simply
turn up a little than a crushed master that sounds loud
andlifeless. Over time you can perfect your mixes to the point
where you need less mastering EQ, compression and limiting toreach
your goal.
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Practice Makes PerfectWith so many producers now working totally
in-the-box, its more common than ever for the composer to also mix
and mastertheir own music. When you combine this approach with a
toolkit of powerful mastering plug-ins, youve got the ability to
createsome incredibly professional-sounding music at home. However,
youve also got the power to completely ruin all your hardwork
through excessive processing and listening to the same track over
and over again, so its vitally important to exerciserestraint. With
a little patience and practice, though, your tracks will sound
fuller and more polished than ever. Who knows,maybe youll go on to
a career as a mastering engineer
Click here to read How Loud To Go?
Click here for our guide to Analogue sounding Plug-ins
Tags: Beginners Guide, Features, Home, Mastering With Software,
Music Mastering, Shadow Hills, Tutorials, Voxengo, WavesRelated
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