Mastering is the final step in the process of producing audio before the song is ready for duplication and distribution. Mastering requires that a song be looked at from an artistic as well as a scientific point of view. Editing can be applied which helps eliminate unwanted sounds such as clicks, hisses, and hums. Also adjusting equalization, compression, limiting, and volume can help shape the overall dynamics and quality of a song. The correct design of the mastering room is a crucial factor for engineers to hear precise details of each song. The experience of an engineer is also a key part of getting the best results because they offer the expertise and knowledge that can only come from years of practice. Learning about how to prepare your song for mastering is a great way to really help the engineer really get the most out of your music. Pre-mastering tips and tricks are a vital necessity for a musician's success. There are numerous online social media outlets, live shows, festivals, tours, that once you're a part of, mastering is a must. Once the music is at a professional level and reaches its full potential, you will be ready to proudly share your music with the world.
Quick Answer If you master or mix is sounding muddy, it’s best to use a few forms of processing to attenuate the low-frequency range of your master. Some of the best tools for this are a mid-side equalizer, a multi-band compressor, and possibly, a tape machine emulation plugin. How to Clean Up a Muddy […]
Use True Peak Limiting and Oversampling Increase the Release of a Limiter to at Least 30ms Try a Double Limiter Approach Use the MetaPlugin with 8x Oversampling Making your master loud without distorting it is one of the most challenging things a mastering engineer can do. Although many would say to simply make the […]
Step 1: Combine Mid-Side Equalization with Sub-Harmonic Excitement Step 2: Use Low-Level Compression, AKA Upward Compression Step 3: Insert a Multi-band Expander and Expand 3 Key Areas Step 4: Use a Stereo Image Enhancer or Amplify the Side Image Making a master sound bigger is a combination of a few things. It really comes […]
Exciter – Stock Logic Plugin L1 – Waves Audio Wider – Infected Mushroom Harmonics Analog Saturation Pro – Softube Tape – Softube MV2 – Waves Audio Mastering can be a complicated part of the audio production process – but the plugins used don’t need to be. Some plugins are simplistically designed, but still, sound […]
Quick Answer When mastering music for Soundcloud, it’s important to keep a few things in mind – primarily that your audio will be normalized to -14 LUFS, and that the encoding process will affect the amplitude. Mastering to roughly -14 LUFS and having a max peak of -1dBTP is a good idea. Mastering Your […]
Quick Answer Although which service sounds better may be subjective to some, Tidal provides higher quality masters using lossless files, whereas Spotify streams music using an AAC lossy format. If you intend to use lower quality formats to reduce data usage then Spotify may be better the better option. Spotify or Tidal: Which Streaming […]
The Plugin has a 4k Display and Can be Made Full Screen You can Decrease Distortion with the True Peak Limiting and Oversampling Options A DC Offset Filter is Available, but will Rarely Be Needed It’s Designed to Sound Great for Every Genre The Attack Does Not Behave Like a Compressor’s Attack It includes […]
Diving into Mastering Before Listening to the Track Listening without Giving Our Ears a Break Using Our Go-to signal Chain for Every Master Mistaking Loud for Better Using Too Much Limiting Instead of Compression Using Analyzers and Metrics Instead of our Ears Adhering too Strictly to Loudness Normalization Settings We all make mistakes when […]
Use 2 limiters and split the processing between them Use a High pass filter on your side-image Sandwich a Multi-band Expander Between 2 limiters Try EQ Matching Your Master to Another to Compare Use Parallel Compression with Low-Level Compression Set a Quicker Limiter Release for A Transparent Sound Listen to Your Master with Multiple […]
Step 1: Subtractive Side Image Equalization with ‘Channel EQ’ Step 2: Subtle Compression and Distortion with ‘Compressor’ Step 3: Additive Stereo Equalization and Distortion with ‘Tube EQ’ Step 4: (Optional) Subtle Harmonic Excitement (<1%) with ‘Exciter’ Step 5: Additive Side Image Equalization with ‘Channel EQ’ Step 6: Brick-wall Limiting using True Peak Detection with […]