Professional Analog Mastering.
Professional Analog Mastering.
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For some of these tricks, I’ll use other dynamics processors that include compression, like multiband compression, and some upward processors.
This trick can be performed with either a dynamic EQ or a multiband dynamics processor.
It’s a simple idea, I’ll use frequency-specific dynamics processing to reduce the range of the vocal which causes muddiness while expanding the range responsible for clarity.
By using dynamic filters, the vocal will still retain those ranges, while only attenuating and amplifying when needed or when the threshold is crossed.
I’ll set a downward compression filter around the fundamental and second-order harmonic. If you’re in doubt or the vocal spans multiple registers, 250Hz is a good center frequency for this filter.
I’ll use a somewhat narrow range and carefully set the threshold and range to only compress when needed and only by a few dB at most.
For the higher filter, I’ll still use compression. However, I’ll set a positive range - meaning the range is amplified, but if becomes too loud and crosses the threshold, it’ll be pulled down.
Again, I’ll carefully set the threshold and range to ensure the amplification isn’t too aggressive or too subtle.
This filter should be between roughly 2-5kHz, with a little variance in either direction.
This will ensure that the vocal’s 3rd formant is affected - which is a range responsible for vowel and consonant intelligibility.
Meanwhile, the low filter will reduce masking to this higher range.
The combination instantly adds a lot of clarity and will help a vocal cut through a dense mix - again just be sure not to attenuate or amplify by too much.
Let’s take a listen to the effect on a vocal and within the context of a mix.
Watch the video to learn more >
Ducking the bass whenever the kick hits has been a useful trick for a long time, but it can be made more effective.
With the typical setup - that is using a stereo compressor on the bass with the kick side-chained, the entire bass is attenuated whenever the kick hits.
The issue with this is that it’s not the entire bass that’s causing the issue or interfering with the kick.
If the kick and bass’s fundamental ranges overlap too heavily, that's when we have an issue.
By using a multiband compressor instead, we can isolate the attenuation on the bass to the kick’s fundamental.
In this example, the kick’s fundamental occupies between 50 and 100Hz.
So, I’ll put the MB compressor on the bass, side-chain the kick or in this case the drum stem since that’s all I have for this track, ensure the external side-chain is triggering the filter, and then adjust.
This brings up another point - if you’re working with stems and don’t have access to the individual kick, this method still allows for a more accurate form of bass ducking.
Whereas ducking with a stereo compressor would cause the bass to be attenuated by the full drum stem, this method lets me isolate the trigger to just the kick.
If the bass performance and kick are busy, you’ll want a faster attack and release - if available, use lookahead to avoid distortion. If not, you’ll need to set a slightly longer attack to avoid distortion. Additionally, I wouldn’t use a time faster than 50ms for the release, again to avoid distortion.
Feel free to use this method for other instruments, but it’s definitely helpful if the kick and bass are overlapping, which is often the case.
Let’s listen, and notice that even though I’m using the drum stem as the external side-chain, only the kick is affecting the trigger.
Additionally, notice how this method retains the higher register of the bass guitar, whereas the traditional method would’ve attenuated it.
Watch the video to learn more >
This is a personal favorite that works well for both buses and full stereo mixes if done subtly.
In short, I use a stereo compressor that’s capable of M/S processing and delink the detection and the processing.
This way I can compress either the mid or the side image.
Compressing the mid-image affects everything in the left and right channels that are identical - this is what makes a mix or master mono compatible and focused.
Compressing the side image affects everything in the left and right channels that are different from one another - this is what makes a mix or master wide or expand into the stereo field.
There are two methods here for expanding the stereo width of a signal - the first is to compress the mid image but not the side. This way, whenever the mid image is attenuated, the amplitude of the side image is higher, relative to the mid.
This has a nice effect, but there’s another method I think sounds better.
I’ll leave the mid image alone and not compress it - then, I’ll compress the side image by a couple of dB. If it’s a bus I could compress more, if mastering anywhere between 1-2dB is enough.
Then, I’ll enable automatic makeup gain to the side image.
This way, the peaks are controlled, but more importantly, quieter aspects of the side image are pushed forward.
The auto-gain with the increased detail amplifies the side image while making it more impressive by reducing masking to it. In other words, the quieter details are now loud enough to cut through in the mix.
Let’s try this method on the drum stem - I find that this method is great for a drum bus since it retains the punch and drive of the center image while adding those stereo details that really complement the sound.
Watch the video to learn more >
A compression method that often gets overlooked is very consistent, very gradual compression. This isn’t something that you have heard of, but surprisingly, most people avoid it.
Typically we focus on finding just the right threshold to only attenuate peaks when needed.
However, soft-knee high ratio compression has a great sound - its shaping is so subtle that the signal doesn’t distort, nor is the compression even audible.
However, compression is constantly occurring to the signal.
For example, if the guitars need more body, I’d set a 100:1 ratio and keep the threshold high. Then, I’d use a completely soft knee. When paired with makeup gain, we get a sound similar to that of subtle waveshaping.
All of the quieter details are boosted, making the instrument full and more impressive.
I find this works incredibly well for already dynamically controlled signals - for example, a distorted guitar will already be compressed by the nature of the distortion.
But this method pulls out all of the remaining details while keeping it from sounding squashed.
Let’s take a listen.