Professional Analog Mastering.
Professional Analog Mastering.
224K+ subscribers
In short, we’ll be using a variation of stem mastering - but we’ll do it within the mix session to streamline the process.
So, in the mix session, we have all of our tracks, all the intended effects, and then each instrument has its relevant bus - so all the drums are going to a drum bus, all of the guitars are routed to a guitar bus, and so on.
The buses also have the relevant effects that we want - so, the mix is done in other words. Everything has been affected and processed aside from the stereo output.
What I’ll do now is solo the instrument groups, like the drums, and bounce them. We can either solo the bus and export the stem, or we can solo all of the tracks and use the bounce-in-place function.
Either way, we’ll import our stems into the mix session and organize them accordingly. To save on CPU, we’ll turn off the tracks. In Logic, an on/off function bypasses the effects, but this may look different in your DAW.
For the sake of simplicity, I’m going to organize this session so that we only see these stems but know that the mix session is still in the background and can be easily accessed if we need to change anything.
Let’s quickly listen to the mix we’re mastering as I solo some of the stems so you can get a good idea of what we’re working with.
Watch the video to learn more >
For now, we’ll leave all of the stems at unity and start with a limiter on the output to protect from overs and avoid monitoring unintended clipping distortion.
While monitoring all stems at once, I will start by adding some upward processing to the various stems. Some personal favorites include the Weiss MM-1, Eventide’s Omnipressor, and the Enhance function of Oxford’s Limiter.
Some free options include Melda Audio’s MCompressor, with which you can use a custom shape to maximize the signal subtly.
With these types of processors, I’ll increase the quieter details of each group, making the overall master louder, fuller, and more impressive. Subtle settings work the best but use your ears since what you introduce depends heavily on the source material and the processing you’ve introduced during mixing.
Let’s listen to how this type of processing improves the track.
Watch the video to learn more >
Next, let’s add some additional saturation to each stem - this will help create a more complex sound.
The type you choose is entirely up to you, but I find that tape saturation creates a nice emphasis on the mids.
If you have Saturn 2, you can use something like the Mythical 3D preset to create additional depth if needed, but if not, we can achieve something like this with Mid-Side EQ later on.
You might find that you’ve already added enough saturation to the mix, so feel free to skip additional saturation, but I’ve found that very subtle settings at this point will improve the mix.
Let’s take a quick listen.
Watch the video to learn more >
Next, let’s introduce some mild transient expansion to some of the stems - this works well on drums and guitars, but feel free to add it however you see fit.
I like a couple of plugins for this - Newfangled Audio’s Punctuate and Eventide’s SplitEQ.
With Punctuate, I typically turn off any of the multi-band functions to avoid unneeded phase cancellation. Any transient expander could be used in the place of this plugin.
Flash by Wavesfactory is a great free option - just be sure to set the mix dial low and carefully adjust the attack and sustain to achieve the sound you want.
I find SplitEQ works very well if I want to achieve more texture and hit from the kick drum - so on the drums, I’ll insert the EQ, create a low-shelf transient band, and subtly amplify. Then, using the M/S option, I’ll pan the band to the mid-image with just one tick. I’ve found this dramatically improves the kick and helps keep the track driving.
The trick here is to listen incredibly carefully - transient expanders can quickly introduce phase cancellation that negates any of the positive effects of the expansion, so subtlety and simplicity with the effects is essential.
Let’s check out how the master is sounding now.
Watch the video to learn more >
Last up on the stems, we’ll use traditional EQ to shape the signals and help them fit together - the processing we’ve added so far has altered the frequency responses of our stems, so putting EQ last gives us the control we need to finalize the sound.
If I need to center some of the lows, I can use a M/S EQ and use a HP filter on the side image - this works well if the kick or bass has moved too far into the side image. Additionally, if the kick and bass are blurring too much, I can attenuate some of the kick’s fundamental on the bass to create a more balanced low end.
I often notice that processing on the vocals has added a good amount of signal below its fundamental, so I typically attenuate this with a stereo HP filter. If the vocals or anything else is missing some clarity, I can dip 250Hz. And boost a little of 2.5-5kHz.
On guitars or synths, a boost to the low mids to mids, usually somewhere between 400 and 1000Hz. on the side image helps fill them out and gives the overall master a more impressive width without reducing the track’s drive or clarity.
Instead of a parametric EQ, you could use an analog emulation if you want some more stylized changes, but something like the Pro-Q 3 or the free MEqualizer works well.
Once everything is shaped and balanced, I’ll introduce an exciter if needed. Usually, the free plugin Fresh Air is a great option. I don’t like using this plugin on the stereo output, but I find it sounds great if the settings are tailored to each instrument group.
Like most things in this video, the effect is best if used subtly.
Let’s listen to the master before moving on to the stereo output.
Watch the video to learn more >
Last up for this video and our session, let’s add some processing to the stereo output. So far, we only have our 1 limiter serving as protection from clipping, but let’s add 1 to 2 other processors, as well as use this limiter to increase the gain.
I really enjoy Sonnox Oxford’s limiter at this point due to the Enhance function, but any subtle to moderate maximization will work well here. This might not be relevant to your session, but I try to avoid engaging the limiter function since it really smooths out transients more than I’d like.
A longer attack should help with this.
For the actual limiting stage, you’ll notice that I'm using this Elephant limiter by Voxengo - it’s a personal favorite and, in my opinion, works a lot better than the FabFilter Pro-L2 or similar multi-algorithmic limiter.
It helps that I can adjust its behavior in the settings window, creating more or less aggressive settings depending on the source material. If you have a different limiter, that’s completely fine, but this isn’t too common of a plugin, so I wanted to share it in case you’re looking for a new limiter.
One thing I notice with this setup is that it often makes the master louder than it needs to be, even with moderate settings on the limiter, so some balancing between the levels via the stem’s channel faders and some less aggressive settings may be needed.
That’s one thing I really like about this setup - with traditional stereo mastering it can be difficult to get a master loud without sounding squashed. However, with this method, I find I have a master that’s too loud, and I don’t realize it until I measure since I don’t notice any pumping or unwanted distortion.
Let’s listen to the final master, and let me know in the comments if you’re going to try this method.