Analog Obsession has been making great free plugins for a while now, and one of the latest makes for a fantastic mastering compressor. SPECOMP can be used for mixing but has particular functionality that makes it a great option for subtle but powerful mastering compression.
BPB Saturator is a free plugin that offers a great introduction into saturation - whether used on an individual instrument, bus, or full master, the harmonics it generates are complex. BPB Saturator allows you to introduce both Tape and Tube distortion as well as to attenuate the low and high-frequency range.
Although this may seem a little obvious, it helps to know that when you’re trying to perform bus compression, you need to insert the compressor on either your master output or an instrument group or stem. Bus compression always affects more than one instrument simultaneously.
Mid-side processing has become increasingly popular in audio production, especially in plugin form - but mid-side routing can also be utilized. Mid-side routing offers more flexibility and greater control of your signal’s timbre, stereo width, dynamic range, and more - making it truly helpful.
Stereo imagers are the easiest way to expand your stereo image and make your recordings sound wider - however, they also introduce the most phase cancellation. Using a dedicated stereo image plugin may be okay on an instrument but it’s best to avoid it when mastering a full mix.
Oversampling is an increasingly common function in most plugins, which increases the sampling rate of the signal it’s processing by a fixed multiple like 2 or 4. So if the sampling rate of your session is 48kHz, a 2x oversampling setting will make the sampling rate 96kHz.
Start your master using subtractive equalization. For this step, I’ll use the stock Logic Pro X equalizer, and use the linear phase option to avoid creating phase changes to the signal.
Multi-band saturation is a relatively new form of processing, but an incredibly useful one nonetheless. Essentially, it allows you to saturate individual bands of your frequency response using various forms and amounts of distortion and compression - in turn giving you a lot more control.
The easiest way to add clarity during a mastering session is to amplify the frequencies most often associated with clarity - 4kHz to 20kHz.
Thickening vocals with short, high-density reverb has been a strategy of music production and performance for literally thousands of years. It’s the reason opera houses were designed to be a particular size and shape, and why we sound better when we sing in the shower than in a large room.
Britpressor - Analog ObsessionWeiss DS1 MK3 - SoftubeDrawmer S73 - SoftubeComp Tube STA - ArturiaPresswork - u-hePro-C 2 - FabFilterTRackS Opto Compressor - IK Multimedia
This plugin greatly improves the detail and clarity of an instrument or a full mix by compressing quieter details and bringing them forward. It can also make a master sound full and warm, but you can greatly increase clarity with the high-frequency band.
When you use 2 limiters, you split the processing between the two, in turn mildly reducing the effect of distortion while achieving a louder overall level. Furthermore, if the 2 limiters you use have a unique or complex timbre, combining these can have a beneficial effect.
Although just about all compression will control your dynamics, specific advanced settings will greatly control the level of your vocals. Start by using a higher ratio of 5:1 and combining it with the shortest attack time possible - this will ensure that the totality of the vocal is being compressed.
Stereo expansion is typically static; in other words, it doesn’t respond to the incoming signal or change its setting - this results in a somewhat predictable stereo image. If you use dynamic or program-dependent stereo imaging, you can make your stereo width respond to the incoming signal, making it interesting.
