Mastering Techniques

Other mastering tools

Signal processors are like tools in a carpenter's toolbox. Spectral processors or dynamic equalizers can pull instruments out of a mix or de-ess a vocal. Exciters can boost harmonics, at the cost of making the top end grainy. There are better ways to enhance highs. I can also create surround-sound feels, using analog or digital techniques. Vintage tube gear can "warm up" tracks, counteracting some of the effects of digital storage chains. Since vintage gear is often too noisy for mastering, I first correct the circuit and component flaws that were common 40 years ago. This keeps the clarity and the fat sound, while bringing the noise floor closer to modern standards. When digital is appropriate, I use 24-bit hardware processors by TC Electronics, ATT/Wolfrum and others. These offer the standard suite of dynamics control, EQ and reverb. I've developed some custom DSP algorithms useful for subtle effects. I also have a full range of 24-bit software based processors, but tend to use them only where they are clearly superior - noise reduction for example. Once you have the right tools, its a matter of deciding which ones to use. Certain combinations can make tracks sound "bigger." Which ones and in what combinations exactly? Tough to say in advance. You actually have to work with a given track. This is where mastering becomes more art than science. When you select processors, as when you select converters, the trick is to provide what the music needs, and no more.

Back to Basics: Four steps to tighter mixes - from the mastering perspective.

This section was published in the October 2000 issue of EQ magazine. It covers four areas that experienced recording engineers take care of automatically: how to create problem-free mixes that are ready for mastering. Let's assume that you are working on a Rock track with electric bass, drums, guitars, keys and vocals. You need a stereo mix for radio release.

The Stereo Field

The stereo field is both a way of determining how instruments are positioned from left to right, and a way of creating a sense of depth behind the speakers. The two common tools for creating it are the panpot, which positions a sound by controlling it's volume in each channel, and reverb, which creates sense of space. The short delays at the beginning of a reverb signal, called early reflections, create "room sound" and a feeling of size, while the longer reverb tail can simulate a large space and add depth.

Panning tips: Keep instruments that convey power and solidity in the center, unless you want a retro ping-pong stereo feel. Kick, snare, bass, lead vocal and most instrumental solos all can benefit by staying in the center. Doubled crunch guitar tracks or keyboard parts, plus background vocals, can often be panned way out to create a sense of space. The Fender Rhodes piano is also a natural for this treatment. Toms and drum overheads can be placed at least halfway out with good effect.

Monaural compatibility: One hallmark of pro mixes is that they sound great in mono. This is important for songs that will be played on FM radio. In fringe listening areas, most stereo receivers automatically revert to monaural reproduction to reduce noise. You can't control when this will happen, but you can make sure that you don't aggravate the problem. Frequently hit the MONO button on your console when you record and mix. This combines the left and right channels into one signal that is sent to both speakers. When you switch to mono, the image will collapse to the center, but both the tones of the instruments and their relative volumes should stay the same. If the sound of an instrument changes drastically, the likely suspect is time delay.

Digital delay lines, guitar processors, synths and stereo room mics can generate wide stereo output. Check all of these channel pairs closely for mono compatibility. Short time delays can produce huge stereo effects, but when the two channels recombine, all out-of-phase information will disappear, along with the sense of size that it created. In extreme cases, an instrument can change tone completely or vanish from the mix in mono!

(Note: If you have a stereo instrument track that sums poorly to mono, try adding a few milliseconds of delay to one of the channels. You may be able to "time-slip" the track back into mono compatibility. This is easy if you have a digital editor such as ProTools or SAW. Just drag and drop one side of the pair. This may save you having to re-track the part!)

Mix Balance

After the instruments are positioned, you need the right volume and correct tone for each one. Volume is fairly easy to set. We've all heard well-balanced mixes on CD and radio. If you can clearly hear what an instrument is playing, then the volume setting is close. The tone part is harder. For discussion, tone can be broken down into two components, spectral content - bass, mids, highs - and attack, the leading edge of a note. On a wide-range instrument, the fundamental tone conveys power, the lower harmonics (midrange) convey sense of fullness or presence, and the higher harmonics, attack and definition. A few examples:

Midrange Guitar and keyboard leads need to be forward in the mix. To make this happen, many people reach for the midrange EQ control. The 1 kHz to 2 kHz frequency area is critical to the body of the sound. Players doing Metal styles tend to cut this range out to create an aggressive sound, but if you pull it too far back, the presence will disappear. If your EQ includes a BANDWIDTH control, start with a one-octave setting. Use narrowband settings to tune out annoying tones such as the low-frequency resonance of a guitar body or snare drum.

Enhancing Attack Many engineers assume that treble EQ is the best way to produce attack. While its common to chase clarity this way, you can end up with the treble cranked on every channel, and things will start to sound tinny. Try using compression, which can control the attack and smooth out volume variations at the same time. Adjusting the compressor's ATTACK control to slow setting will let the sound's leading edge pass through, while the body of the sound is reduced in level. This gives increased definition. A faster ATTACK setting will clamp the leading edge, so the body of the tone will dominate. Set the RELEASE control so that the compression cycle is finished by the time the next note is played. With the right settings, you'll have a clear tone without the added grit that sometimes comes with treble boost.

Tighter Low end Compression can also do a lot to give the sound of the bottom end more weight. The attack of a kick drum or bass guitar will get your attention, while the body of the sound moves the air that you feel. Its worth spending whatever time you need to get solid lows. You can build anything on that foundation. If you fail, the track will never have power.

Sub-Bass Watch out for frequencies below 40Hz. They eat up airspace in the mix and are too low to be heard on a many systems. An exception might be 5-string basses or HipHop drops that are designed to rattle the windows in the car next to you. Even in those cases, much power comes across in the second harmonic, from 80Hz to 100Hz. Many engineers roll off everything below 40 Hz to make the mix sound cleaner.

Snare level Most tunes benefit from a strong backbeat. You can mix snares hot because they are staccato, but they'll sound weak without enough low/mid body. Try stepping on the initial peak of the sound with fast-attack compression, and allow the body to come through as the gain control circuit releases.

Vocals Everyone loves air and vocal clarity, so 10 kHz gets boosted. Consonants become more understandable, and you hear throat sounds. If you love this feel, add a de-esser to your equipment rack. De-essers can control just the excess sibilant sounds that lie in the 8kHz to 13kHz range, while leaving the detail and body of the sound untouched. Add some low-ratio compression to help the consistency of the performance, and you're 90% of the way to solid vocals. The mastering engineer can de-ess the entire mix, but its always better to fix a single track when possible.

Mixing Technique

Its easy to get overwhelmed when time is short and you have an album to mix. Try slicing the work into manageable chunks: Create a short mix. Focus your attention on a section of the tune no more than sixty seconds long. Include a piece of

the main hook, part of one verse and some of the bridge if possible. If you have a digital machine, set it up to play back the section as a loop. Now work on the tones. Auditory memory is short. There are times when you might want to loop ten seconds of music to concentrate on the sound of one instrument.

Start with the basic tracks. Bass, drums, one rhythmn instrument, and lead vocal. Go for clarity and impact first. Work until your short section sounds killer, then document the EQ, level and compression settings. You'll be able to use most of what you learned so far on the remainder of the tune.

Add parts one at a time. Resist the temptation to dial in all nineteen awesome groove tracks and cool licks that the guitar and keyboard players wrote. That is the way of the Dark Side. If you give in, you'll use up your resources too soon, the mix will become dense and lose it's focus. There will be less tension and release, which is what involves people emotionally in the music.

When the mix gets away from you, remember the silence. (Deep wisdom, Grasshoppa.) All kidding aside, you want to hear the instruments clearly, so become sensitive to that transition point where too many things are going on at once. When you can't hear any silence behind the notes, cut away instruments until the energy of the mix returns. In extreme cases, return to the settings you saved before your ears and judgement became toasted. Take a break and try again.

Maintain sane levels. Don't record super-hot signals onto a digital mixdown deck. With DAT and CDR, any level above -6dB means you have a 16-bit recording. There is no advantage to pushing it harder. If the clipping indicator comes on, you have already lost music. Try for maximum peak levels of -3 to -1, and let mastering bring the volume up to commercial standards. If you use a Finalizer/ Quantum/ Masterlink/ Maximizer /Ultramizer during mixdown, try a very few dB of low-ratio program compression, to tighen up the sound a bit. If you use the Crush-O-Matic preset and change your mind later, you may have to remix the album to undo the damage. Fair warning.

Recap

If your mixes have a good sense of space, clear instrumental and vocal tones, and energy that builds to a strong finish, the mastering engineer can spend more time building on the strong points, less time fixing problems. The final sound will work on radio, home and car systems, and everyone will be happy. Have at it!

More On Improving Your Final Product:

I've had quite a few conversations with artists and owners of smaller studios on ways to improve recordings. Here are a few more tips, expanding on the info in the article above. They might be of interest if you are engineering your own album: Stereo processing: If you elect to use a local facility for assembly editing, ask the engineer to not normalize, EQ or compress the music with their computer based editor. If you have a stereo compressor or spectral processor that you love the sound of, then use it on the mix - moderately, and before the mix goes to stereo tape. If you send a tape that is heavily limited or EQ'd too aggressively, then I have less room to maneuver, and may not be able to create the sound you need. Even if you want the final sound to be stepped-on or processed with effects, I can almost certainly do that with higher quality than you get with commonly available studio gear. In general, the less stereo processing you do, the better the final result. (This includes BBE and Aphex exciters, which often add CD-unfriendly grit to the top. I've had a number of clients remix tracks that were originally BBE'd. It turns out their mixdown monitors were too smooth in the treble. They had used the exciter to compensate for speaker defects (or blown hearing), and the results - on an accurate system - were not pretty.)EQ Technique: Using a few channels of sweepable or fully parametric EQ to remove problem frequencies is often more effective than boosting the characteristics you like. Find the offending frequency range by boosting 6 to 12 dB and sweeping back and forth - at fairly narrow bandwidth, if you have the option. Make the sound worse. Then switch from boost to a few dB of cut at the problem frequency. Vary the bandwidth to fine tune. This technique is effective for toning down the inherent resonance in snares, acoustic guitars and other instruments.A related technique is removing unneeded frequencies, as opposed to objectionable ones. If your mix is sounding denser than you like, try notching out (one track at a time) sections of the musical spectrum above or below the frequencies where a track makes it's major contribution to the mix. The EQ'd result might sound odd when you solo it, but could be the right answer in the context of the whole mix. You will free up 'airspace' needed for other instruments.Creating Space: When you double track any instrument or vocal, try moving the microphone and the performer within the recording space. Have the backup vocalists step back six inches or switch places for the second pass. Add in a different room mic, etc. Our ears are sensitive to the complex nature of acoustical ambiance. When you provide variation, it comes across as richness. This why having a few different reverbs - even inexpensive ones- is better than having just one, no matter how good the one is.Kick drum / Bass blend. Half of all problems I correct are related to this, so its worth restating a couple of points from the previous article: A convincing kick sound has at least two major components, the attack, or beater hit, which lies well above 1000 Hz, and the low-frequency impact, usually located between 40 and 100 Hz. If you don't have the attack component, you get woof, but no definition. Without the lows, you know the kick is there, but it moves no air. The two have to balance. The tuning of the drum, damping, mic technique, and above all, playing create the right combination. Its tempting to add EQ boost below 50Hz to substitute for poor tuning/playing/mic technique etc, but the results are rarely great. Bass guitar has similar components of string attack and the fundamental tone. If the bass player does not generate enough attack, or you are using a direct feed to the console, another option is to enhance the attack created by the kick drum. This can create the effect of locking the two together more tightly. Again, avoid trying to generate power by boosting ultra-lows. Epic super-low stadium-rock bass tones turn into mush on many systems. The fundamental below 80Hz contributes power, but volume and definition come from the second harmonic. Its not an accident that the classic frequency for bass boost is 100Hz. Another snare drum note: Many engineers successfully use simple mics like a Shure SM57 on the top of the drum only. You can generate some extra snap with EQ. A muffled, laid back sound generates little excitement. Crisp snare tones take up surprisingly little airspace, but can give the feel of apparent treble boost and energy to the whole mix without sacrificing the warmth of the more legato instruments farther down the midrange. The Halo processor I designed does a great job of handling snare peaks, so don't be afraid to have a strong backbeat. If you have limiter channels available, try 3 to 6dB on kick and snare as a starting point. Alternate Mixes: When you have the perfect mix on tape, and all the changes are fresh in your mind, consider creating one or two alternate mixes before moving on to the next track:

Vocals: Push up the vocal faders one or two dB, then rerun the mix with all other settings identical. Vocals often get a bit buried in the heat of a long mix session. When you go back through the mix tapes to choose the keepers, you may prefer the version with slightly hotter vocals.

Varispeed: If you can varispeed the multitrack recorder, speed it up a few cents, up to maybe 1% total. Rerun the mix. The resulting mix may drive people with perfect pitch nuts, but others will notice a subtly higher energy level in the

How to Use Mid-Side Processing in MasteringJul 8th in Mixing & Mastering by Mo Volans Mastering is always a hot topic. Most of us love to use the latest technique to make our masters bigger, badder and usually louder. Unfortunately, not all mastering techniques get as much airtime as others, and M/S processing is one of these lesser known subjects.

It's likely that a lot of budding producers who do their own mastering won't be aware of M/S processing and its benefits. If you're not taking advantage of what this technique has to offer you could be missing out, so let's take a look at how it works and its practical applications.

Author: Mo Volans

Step 1 - What is M/S Processing and How Does it Work?

If you are experienced in the areas of recording and microphones, you may already be aware of M/S (mid/side) technique. Using the M/S method, a single mono source is recorded using two microphones. This will then produce a stereo signal — nothing fantastic there, you may think, but when you consider that stereo width can be adjusted, retaining perfect mono compatibility, you may think again. This type of recording basically involves mixing one mic dead center (essentially going to both left and right sides) and the second sent to two channels. These two channels are then panned hard left and right, with one side phase correct and the other phase reversed. The stereo width can be adjusted after the performance has been recorded, but the fact that it uses a complex set-up and requires specific kinds of microphones may cause some to find alternative methods.M/S microphone technique can get a bit complicated, and as we are concentrating on using M/S in mixing and mastering here I don't really have the space to explain it fully. If you are interested in this side of it you can have a look at articles such as this. Here you can learn about the specific microphone types required and how to set them up.

M/S microphone technique diagram

Step 2 - Using M/S Processing with Stereo Recordings

All this talk of microphone technique is all very well but how does this relate to treating an entire mix? Well, once our three M/S mic channels are mixed, they are bounced down or decoded to stereo, and in turn the reverse can be achieved relatively easily using the right encoder and decoder software.With our stereo audio encoded into an M/S matrix we can not only manipulate the stereo image of the signal but actually treat the stereo information separately from the mono. For anyone who has not used this technique in their mastering chain before, you may just find it revolutionary.Imagine a situation where your track has been mixed down and during the mastering stage and you want to be able to raise the level of stereo string, or EQ a mono kick drum. Using M/S plug-ins this is all possible. Some plug-ins even allow you to de-ess either mono or stereo vocals that are buried in the mix, which is pretty impressive. All this magic happens under the hood as the M/S decoding is all internal.Of course these processors are also at home when used on individual mix elements. For example you could manipulate the mono and stereo percussion instruments within a drum loop to allow the loop to fit perfectly with your mix. The applications of this technology are pretty diverse. The free Voxengo MSED plug-in.

Step 4 - Basic M/S Processing in Mastering

The main thing you will find useful during a mastering session is the M/S processors ability to raise and lower the level of stereo or mono information in your mix. I often find that by boosting the stereo information by just a few db, the mix is given a lift and a wider, more open sound is imparted to the track.You may want to make more precise adjustments than just a general stereo width enhancement. Imagine your mix has been recorded with a mono lead vocal but it was mixed too high, giving the overall track a very narrow feel. By reducing the level of the mono material with the M/S processor you should be able to go some way to rectifying this. If you find this effects other levels too much you may need to go back to the mix or seek out other options.Brainworx include other useful tools for basic processing of your tracks. The mono maker for example will take any audio below a certain frequency and make it strictly mono. I find this often gives a track a more focused and coherent low end mix. It also allows you to process this new area in the mono section and gives you the piece of mind that you won't color other instruments when doing so.

Step 5 - Using M/S Based Equalization

Another advantage of having control over the mid/side portions of your mix is the ability to equalize them independently.This can allow you the freedom to enhance the upper mids of stereo strings, or even reverbs, whilst leaving the mono, core instruments untouched. Or you could enhance the low end of your kick and bass and roll off some top end from stereo percussion or backing vocals. These can be indispensable tools during a challenging mastering session.Another great trick here is to use the high pass filters to remove the low end from the stereo signal. When this is used in conjunction with the mono maker you can be 100% sure that the very low frequencies in your mix are focused and in mono.

Step 6 - M/S Dynamics Processing

Although M/S compression and limiting has been around for as long as compression itself, it is a relatively new area in virtual realm. Brainworx are doing some very exciting stuff in this area and it's worth checking out.Their full blown M/S dynamics processor the 'bx_dynEQ' allows the user to home in on specific elements in the mix and compress not only certain frequencies, but also the mono or stereo sides. This is the perfect tool for boosting a kick drum or bass part in your mix. An absolute godsend to dance and hip hop producers.

How to Boost Your Audio’s Stereo ImageJul 6th in Cubase, Logic Pro, Mixing & Mastering by Mo Volans There's no doubt that wide stereo sounds are pleasing to the ear. It can bring a mix to life or make individual elements shine. It's certainly a subject I get asked about a lot and something that many producers seem eager to be able to master.Here's a rundown of the different methods we can use to boost the stereo image of both our whole mix or individual instruments. Of course some of these are more sensible options than others when it comes to producing a coherent, intelligible mix. It's worth taking a minute before you turn your new stereo enhancer plug-in up to 11.

Step 1 - Creating Contrast & Balance

One of the best (but least exciting ways) of boosting the perceived width of your stereo sound stage is to actually use more mono material in your mix. This may seem like a bit of a contradiction but by introducing more mono elements, your stereo audio will be perceived as wider and will make more of a stand in the mix.Let's say your mix is made up primarily of stereo files, now these may not have a huge stereo image but nevertheless, they are stereo and will have some sort of spread.After hearing these stereo sounds for some time the listener will perceive this as the narrowest stereo point, if you then attempt to add a sound with a very wide stereo image, or an effect that widens a particular sound it may go unnoticed as the difference between the new sound and the main mix is minimal. It's all about perception.A way to close the gap between these stereo sounds is to decrease the stereo image of some sounds or actually use mono versions. Many drum sounds work really well in mono and not every guitar or synth in the mix has to be spread right across the stereo field or saturated with stereo chorus.With the width of the overall mix reigned in your stereo sounds will now have much more impact and will become really pleasing to the ear. Stereo enhancers and special effects with a wide image will really jump out of your mix and should give the desired effect.

Step 2 - Using Small Delay Times

An age-old trick used by sound engineers to create a wider stereo image, is to delay one side of the audio using a very small delay time. Plug-ins that induce this sort of delay on either side of the stereo field are freely available in most formats and often come supplied with DAWs as standard.The great thing about this sort of treatment is that it's very transparent and doesn't affect your audio in any negative way. It doesn't detune or heavily process your signal to create the stereo enhancement.Subtle use of this method and delay times of 5-15ms on either side should preserve your mono compatibility pretty well and you shouldn't affect the dynamic signature or energy of the original audio. This method can work really well on many different sources but be aware this isn't an 'in your face' effect and if you're looking for something extreme you may want to check out other routes.

Step 3 - Using EQ and Filters to Widen Your Sounds

Another great way of opening your stereo (or even mono) sounds up a little is to create differences in frequency on either side of the image. This can be achieved using a variety of different processors but does work very well with either an EQ or filter plug-in.Whether your sound is stereo or mono simply create two mono channels in your DAW and place duplicates of the audio file on both channels. Now pan them hard left and right and place your chosen eq plug in on each channel. It is a good idea to a use a clear graphical parametric model here.Now try adding 4 - 6db of high mids to one side and removing exactly the same amount and frequency from the opposite side. On playback you will notice a definite difference in either side and a widening of the stereo image. Essentially stereo width is created by differing signals in both sides of the field, so this is one easy way to produce the effect.Be aware in a lot of cases this is the most subtle way of creating a stereo image. In my example the difference is pretty negligible but in some circumstances this can work very well. Try experimenting with more extreme settings and resonant filters.

Step 4 - Dedicated Stereo Enhancers

Of course, there are a number of processors out there that offer a one-stop solution for creating wider and more impressive stereo sounds. Some of these are great when used sparingly but without knowing exactly what is going on under the hood you might want to move with a certain amount of caution, as damage can be done here.The method used to widen the stereo image often differs from plug-in to plug-in so turning the mix up on one of these bad boys can completely transform your sound. Be warned, you may lose your mono compatibility and introduce phase issues. Warnings aside, some of these plug-ins do sound great and can really add something to your mix.It's well worth checking out PSP's stereo pack, the Flux, and the stereo expansion tools inside iZotope's excellent Ozone mastering plug-in. There are also some worthy offerings included in popular DAWs such as Logic, Reason, Cubase and Live.

Step 5 - Using Chorus, Unison & Stereo Detune

Modulation effects are still one of the firm favorites when it comes to getting a wide sound. First up you have to ensure you are using a true stereo chorus unit, as not all chorus processors are stereo.While most chorus, flanger and ensemble plug-ins will make your audio sound great, you may notice that you lose some punch and definition at high levels. This is pretty common and is a pay off for the shimmering stereo effect that a chorus effect produces. Some chorus units, such as the classic Roland Dimension D, are famous for creating thick chorus effects without robbing the direct quality of the dry audio. UAD do a great reproduction of this unit and it's well worth a spin.You will find that some instruments will feature dedicated stereo unison effects. These will often have algorithms that filter out the effect on the lower frequencies, minimizing the smearing that can occur in the lows. These effects will also often split the voices of a synth up across the stereo spread, leaving a dry mono version in the center to retain clarity. The stereo unison on the Korg Polysix is an excellent example of this done well.

How to Achieve Good Translation in Your MixesMar 4th in Mixing & Mastering by Mo Volans What is 'translation' and how does it relate to our mixes? A mix that displays good translation will play back well on a number of sound systems, with all its individual elements remaining clear and balanced. In this tutorial, we look at how you can achieve this with your own mixes.

Author: Mo Volans

This means that in a perfect world your final mix should 'translate' to a cheap mono radio in the kitchen as well as it does to a large club system, with every mix element just as clear and defined on both. Of course this is a difficult trick and if your track achieves good translation on 80% of the systems you test it on, you're doing pretty well.To achieve even a passable level of translation there are a few guidelines you should try and follow. Hopefully following this tutorial will get you started and help you avoid being disappointed with your new track when you play it anywhere outside of your studio.

Step 1 - From the Top

The art of achieving good translation starts during the earliest stages of production and isn't just something that is achieved through a few tricks at mixdown. To create mixes that are really clear on a number of systems you need to really think about the elements you are putting into the project from the get-go.Less really is more here. A track with 100 different instruments may sound great on your studio monitors in a controlled environment, but it's likely to make people's ears bleed when played back through a $10,000 live rig.It's well worth taking a very considered approach when throwing down parts for a new track. It's not always easy in the heat of the moment, when the creative juices are flowing, but at the very least take a break when you have recorded your initial instruments, come back to the project and be ruthless about what stays and what goes. When you have chosen the final parts that will make up the track, sculpt them carefully so they occupy their own space and are not at odds with each other. If you can achieve this during each project, half the battle is won before you even get to the final

mixing and mastering stage. It's common sense but clear uncluttered mixes tend to work on more systems than mixes with huge numbers of conflicting elements.

Step 2 - Monitors and Acoustics

Before you start your mixdown or mastering, you first need to think about your monitoring situation and how accurately your mix is represented to you in your workspace. If things aren't right at this point, no matter what you do during the final stages, the end result will sound different as soon as you play it back on any other system.The main thing you are trying to achieve here is a flat response, with minimal reflection, no standing waves, no exaggerated nodes and some controlled diffusion. If these terms are all meaningless jargon to you, you may want to delve into the subject of acoustics. There is a whole tutorial in there really (and possibly one coming up) but there is certainly plenty of reading available on the subject.

Step 3 - The Right Audio Interface

Some of you that are less experienced in the world of production may wonder how the audio interface you use is related to good mix translation but they are actually very closely related. The interface you use can have a direct result on not only the quality of your mix but how well it translates to multiple listening environments. It really comes down to the digital to analog converters used in any particular interface. This is the component used to convert the music in your DAW from zeros and ones, to actual audio that can be heard through your monitors.Some cheaper products will use lower quality conversion chips and this can result in colored or inaccurate representation of your overall mix. Just as with the monitors you use, if the converters in your audio interface are not telling you the whole story, creating a mix that will translate well is going to be an uphill battle.A lot of the time you get what you pay for and the interface you choose to purchase may be directly effected by your budget. Not everyone can afford high end Apogee Rosetta or Prism converters, but the technology is certainly more affordable now than ever before. You don't have to break the bank to acquire an interface containing converters that will do your mix justice. Companies such as Apogee, TC Electronic and Focusrite all produce entry level products, which perhaps sport less in and outs but feature really excellent sound quality. A stand out contender here is the Apogee Duet, which sports professional grade converters and preamps at a very reasonable price point. Well worth checking out.

Step 4 - Mixdown and Mastering

The mixing and mastering phase is obviously going to be an important one when it comes to creating a mix with satisfactory translation, so it's worth taking your time here.The trick is not to overcook things. Applying huge amounts of compression and limiting to your mix may sound great in the studio and create a mix with a high density and volume level but you have to remember that some playback systems will apply their own treatments and compression. Radio stations and live installations will apply further limiting for example. This doesn't mean you can't use some of these processes but giving your dynamics some room to breathe will ensure that your mix isn't smashed when it is put through one of these systems.Another good tip is to treat each stage of production as separate entities. Splitting it into groups such as writing, recording, arranging, mixing and mastering can be a very healthy approach. In doing this you will take breaks and allow your ears rest

between each stage and the result should be a more accurate mix. It's really not a good idea to spend a whole day writing and arranging your project at high volumes and then move straight into making critical mix decisions. Take a break or even sleep on it and come back to your mixing session refreshed and ready to make the important decisions needed for a clear balanced mix.

Step 5 - Critical Listening Sessions

Once you have the closest thing to a final mix you can get, it's time to start testing it out on more systems and some extra ears. It's well worth getting the opinion of a few people you respect before you take it out of the studio. You'll be surprised how this can bring out faults in the mix. Often you become so accustomed to something, you no longer hear it as clearly as you should. Take any criticism on the shoulders and then weigh up whether it's worth making any changes. If 10 people think the bass is too loud it's just possible that it might be! Now you are ready to start listening to your prized final mix on other systems. In an ideal world, this would happen in the studio but not all budgets stretch to having multiple monitor set ups. You may have seen these sorts of set ups in professional studios and they are specifically designed for achieving good translation in mixes.Assuming you haven't got three different pairs of speakers in your studio, you will have to settle with listening to your mix on as many systems as you can get access to. Try to get a varied picture by using very different test systems, such as a small mono radio, a car system, large hi-fi and a live PA if you can get your hands on one.Obviously every system will sound very different. Remember you are just looking for a passable result on each, and it is unlikely that it will sound excellent on all of them so don't be disheartened. What you are looking for is a common thread throughout. If your low end is weak on all of them it is likely that you need to boost it, and if it sounds alright in your studio this maybe a sign of an acoustic treatment problem that needs looking at.With the new information fresh in your mind, go back to the studio and make some subtle adjustments. Don't do anything rash and definitely try to avoid making changes based on things you have heard on one particular system. Some common sense is required here. You can now go back and forth until you have a good compromise between all the systems. Eventually you will gain enough experience and get to know your speakers well enough so that less cross checking is required to get a good result.

A Beginner’s Introduction to LimitersFeb 2nd in Logic Pro, Mixing & Mastering by Mo Volans Limiters are possibly the most simple dynamics processors there, with few controls and often simple metering. Saying this, I think it’s possible the humble limiter is often misunderstood, mistaken for a compressor or simply overlooked. To try and clear things up I thought it might be useful for me to show some examples of different limiters (some from DAWs and some commercial) in action. When it comes down to it, it’s all about using the correct intensity of treatment for the job. It also helps to have a few different flavors of limiter as some will offer features and functions others do not.

Author: Mo Volans

I’ve used a varied collection of plug-ins here to show that you should be able to achieve good results using pretty much any limiter and lets face it, it’s highly likely that most of us have a few to choose from in our collection.

Limiting versus Compression

Before we look at some audio examples of actual limiting its important that we clearly define how a limiter functions and in doing that hopefully clearly explain the difference between limiters and compressors. Although limiters and compressors both work by applying gain reduction to attenuate (reduce) transients and dynamics, they do it in slightly different ways and it’s this difference that makes them suited to different situations. A compressor uses a threshold control which lets the user decide where in the peak the gain reduction process starts, then a ratio control determines the amount the gain is reduced. This process is perfect for making the gap between low and high levels in your audio smaller and generally leveling the dynamic signature of your sounds. Compression is really at home treating vocals, drums and instruments that need some correction in their general dynamics. Now limiters also use gain reduction and just to confuse you a little more, can often feature a threshold control but the main difference here is that the gain reduction occurring in a limiter is not decided by a ratio control but by an absolute output ceiling decided by the use. Basically this means you set the ‘limit’ and the level of the audio passing through the unit cannot go above this value. Some limiters are stricter than others in this area, for instance some older analog limiters might of had a slightly relaxed approach to their upper limit, whereas modern mastering limiters are extremely precise and wont allow anything over their upper limit, once set. This type of limiter is known as a brick wall limiter but we’ll come to that later. The amount of gain reduction that occurs in a limiter is set in one of two ways. Some limiters feature an input gain. With this method the sound is driven into the limiter and becomes denser and less dynamic as the gain reduction rises. Imagine water being forced into a pipe at higher and higher pressures, when the pressure reaches a critical point the pipe will become full, or in the case of the limiter you will have successfully turned your audio into meaningless noise! Another way a limiter can decide the amount of gain reduction use is by utilizing a threshold control. Setting this will decide when the limiting kicks in and the limiter will then amplify the signal to be pushed against the upper output limit you have set.

Some limiters will often include a release control to fine tune the speed of its recovery. This is really useful for getting a transparent sound which is especially important when treating whole busses or during mastering. Occasionally you will see an attack parameter but this is less common. Hopefully this helps differentiate between limiters and compressors and will help you to choose the right tool for the job in the future. Now lets look at four real world examples of limiting and the results we can achieve.

Safety Net — Transparent Limiting

A really simple use of a limiter is to create a sort of audio safety net on a specific channel. If you apply a lot of processing to a sound it can produce slightly erratic dynamics. Even some light compression can create these sorts of peaks and you will find that adding chorus, delay and reverb will only increase the chances of this occurring. Of course in most cases we don’t want to lose the dynamics of a sound and try to keep the original feel of the audio intact but on the other hand, clips and overs are something we want to avoid at all costs. The answer is a limiter acting as a cap on the overall level of the channel. Placed last in the chain of processors a limiter with very subtle settings will ensure that no clipping occurs and will apply only small amounts of gain reduction when things get out of hand.

Reducing Peaks

Taken a step further, limiters can be used to reduce the peaks of a sound, not just to stop clipping but to actually sculpt the sound’s dynamics. It’s really just a case of pushing the threshold of the limiter a little further. In doing this a dynamic sound with varying levels can be made denser and while everything is brought into line and the audio becomes denser, the illusion of the original dynamics can still be retained. A really good example of this slightly more aggressive limiting being useful is when using side-chain compression. Often this sort of compression can add really enjoyable pumping effects but these can lead to issues in the mix, creating an uneven overall level. By inserting a limiter directly after the side chain compressor the peaks can be cut off, bringing the lower level of the side chain signal up. You may think this would defeat the purpose of having varying levels but the feel of the side chain can be retained and your signal made a little more consistent and of course without the fear of any overs. Everyone loves a bit of volume but a mix would be a bit of a mess if every element was super loud. Not only would it give you a headache, but there would be no dynamics and therefore no definition. Saying that, there’s no harm in a few elements in your mix having a higher perceived volume than others, and this creates contrast and can actually work well as an effect.

This technique does involve pushing your limiters pretty hard and in turn destroying some of your sound’s dynamics, so use it with caution and only on a few elements at a time. I’ve used a Universal audio precision limiter to treat a straight forward drum loop here and I’ve really pushed it hard so you can hear the effect. It’s actually a pretty exciting sound but it will become fatiguing to listen to after time and it may not gel 100% with other elements. Like anything else it’s a tool and there will be the right time and place for it.

Limiters in Mastering

Limiters are often used for mastering to increase the perceived volume of an entire track. To achieve this, the limiter must be strapped across the master buss and really should be the last process you apply, bar perhaps dithering.

As in the previous example, this treatment will add considerable volume to your music but unlike the previous clip you really shouldn’t be pushing your limiter hard here. You are looking for total transparency and coloration of the sound should be avoided. When I first started mixing and mastering tracks someone told me that -3db was about the ceiling for gain reduction on your final mastering limiter and this seems to be a pretty good guideline, although some tracks call for a little more or a little less.

I have shown a clip of a track being treated with only a simple mastering limiter from Wavearts and you can see that the most gain reduction applied at any point was about -4db or so. This should increase the tracks volume without destroying its dynamics.

8 Easy Steps To Better EQDec 3rd in Mixing & Mastering, Pro Tools by Mark Garrison Knowing how to use an equalizer is a fundamental skill for anyone working with audio, yet it is one of the most abused. Here are some tips and tricks for using your EQ more effectively. You’ll notice there are more don'ts than dos on this list; that’s because EQ is best when used in moderation.

Step 1: Find The Frequency

Finding the right frequency to adjust is, of course, the most important thing. With time, some of the more common frequencies become second nature, but what if you’re dealing with a new sound, or just don’t have the experience to know where to start? Here is an easy way to find the right frequency every time.

What you need is a parametric EQ, or at least an EQ that allows you to control the target frequency. Boost one band all the way. If the band has a “Q” control make it quite high (Q stands for “quality factor” and it controls how much on either side of the target frequency is being affected).Then, play the sound and slowly sweep the frequency back and forth until you find the point where the tone you are looking to focus on is loudest. Make a note of the frequency and put the EQ back to zero. You now know the frequency where your target tone occurs and can cut or boost appropriately.

Step 2: Think First, Record Second

Before you hit record think about where this instrument is going to sit in the mix, and what it needs to accomplish. For example, an acoustic guitar in a two-piece band will need to be fairly rich and full. But, if an acoustic guitar is part of a ten-piece band, then any fullness will be buried and will just end up contributing to a muddy mix.These two situations require very different tone, and so therefore should be recorded differently. Take time at the very beginning of the recording process to think about what role every instrument has in the mix and plan its tone accordingly. This should affect your choice of instrument, mic, mic placement, and what sort of room you choose to record in.

Step 3: Understand What You Need To Worry About

Don't waste your time and energy. It's important to understand that it's okay if an individual instrument sounds terrible when you listen to it by itself, as long as it sounds great in the mix. Any individual track only needs to sound good on its own if you hear it on its own at some point in the song; otherwise all that matters is how it sounds in the mix.In fact, the qualities that make an instrument sound fantastic solo, are often the ones that make it hardest to polish in a full mix.

Step 4: Don't "Fix In The Mix"

EQ should be the last resort. That is to say, try to get your tone as perfect as possible right from the beginning. If you've followed step 2 then you're half way there, but don't fall into the "I'll fix it in the mix" mentality. If you're not completely happy with the tone you're getting without an EQ then keep trying.Mic placement can be one of the biggest factors here. Don't be afraid to spend the time trying as many different placements as necessary to get the right tone. Keep in mind that small changes in placement can make a big difference. If you have great tone from the start, then EQing during the mixing process will be little more than massaging the sound into place.

Step 5: Cut Narrow, Boost Wide

It's a good rule of thumb that when cutting it's best to use a narrow (high) Q, while it is better to have a wide (low) Q when boosting. This will help keep your EQ subtle.

Step 6: Make Cutting Your First Instinct

There are two reasons why it is better to cut than to boost. The first reason is that excessive EQ boosting in a mix usually results in muddiness and loss of clarity. The second is that too much boosting can lead to phasing problems.In a nutshell, phasing problems occur when waveforms get slightly out of alignment. The result to your tone can be drastic and is generally very undesirable—but I'll leave the details of phase for another tutorial. Boosting should be done sparingly.

Step 7: Check Into Low-Mid Rehab

Hi, my name is Mark and I'm a recovering low-mid junky. The low-mid range is where all the fullness and body lies for many instruments. For this reason it can be tempting to give those instruments plenty of low-mids. The problem is that all those low-mids fight for room in the mix and if you aren't careful you'll be left with a muffled, unintelligible mess.This problem is furthered by the fact that the low-mid range is an overlapping point for many of the instruments most common in modern music. The chart below shows the approximate range of some common instruments, including their harmonics. You'll notice that the low mid has a lot going on. Be aware of what's happening in the low-mid range of your songs and use the EQ appropriately. In some cases it may be necessary to change the arrangement or instrumentation of a track to avoid a low-mid mess.

Step 8: Make Room

Think of your mix as a physical space. The more you put in that space, the smaller the items need to be to fit nicely. So, the more instruments you put in your mix, the harder it will be to fit everything in.In step 6 we talked about the pile up that occurs in the low-mids. Well, with each additional instrument in a mix, the more important it becomes to keep an eye on the areas where their tonal ranges overlap (look again at the chart from Step 7). Each instrument needs its own place to sit in the mix, so any time there is a common range you need to pick which instrument takes the forefront in that frequency range.For instruments that have the same basic range, such as bass and kick drum or two guitars, you can use the EQ to interlock them making them both distinct.This means that any frequency boosted on one should be cut in the other and vice-versa. In the example of a bass and kick drum, if you boost the thump of the bass (100 Hz) then cut at 100 Hz from the kick drum.

Improve Your Mixes With This Critical Listening ExerciseOct 13th in Mixing & Mastering by Mark Garrison When I teach recording classes my favorite lesson is this critical listening exercise. It’s fun and light, and practicing it helps us all improve our mixes. First, let’s look at what makes a great mix, then we’ll jump into the exercise.

Author: Mark Garrison

Thumbnail image courtesy of rudolf_schuba.

The Elements of a Mix

In his book The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook, Bobby Owsinski suggested that there are six elements of a great mix: Balance, Panorama, Frequency Range, Dimension, Dynamic and Interest. Below I’ll outline what these elements mean. My definitions vary a little from Owsinski’s, as I feel these definitions add some important factors that were missing from his definitions.Balance: Do all instruments feel like they have appropriate weight in the mix? Are any instruments being lost in the mix because they are being overpowered? Are some instruments more prominent then others? (The answer may often be yes to the last one, but that should be a deliberate decision, not an accident.)Panorama: Do instruments sit at various points in stereo field (left to right speakers)? Does the point of interest shift within this field?Frequency Range: Are all frequencies represented somewhat equally? Is there something happening in all frequency ranges? (There are times when we deliberately have little happening in a frequency range – a violin concerto would sound silly with pounding bass – but again this should be a conscious decision.)Dimension: Do some instruments sound closer or farther away that others? Is there a sense of movement in the mix?Dynamics: Does the song change over its duration? Most often in recording we use the term dynamics to refer to changes in volume, but we need to consider other dynamic changes such as tempo, time signature, key, or major/minor tonality.

Interest: There are two important sides to interest. First is the hook; Is there something memorable about the mix? This could be a melodic hook, or a memorable tonality (think Cher’s “Do You Believe” or Smashmouth’s “Walking On The Sun”).The second, and less thought about, side of interest is this: What pulls the listener through the song? When the lead instrument stops playing, what takes over as the focus of the song? The analogy I like to use is that of a TV show or play. If the characters leave the stage, other characters must enter right away to keep the viewer’s interest. If a TV show had long gaps of just background between dialogue and action everyone would get bored and change the channel. Music is no different.

It All Starts With Arrangement

Keep in mind that the first step in all of these comes with arrangement. Keeping these elements in mind during the arrangement process will make mixing far easier.

Step 1: Listen For Balance

Try to pick out each instrument being used and take note of exactly what it is doing. In a well mixed song this should not be difficult. Poor balance often results in instruments being hard to pinpoint. What instruments do you notice the most?What instruments are subtle enough that you only notice when listening carfully? In this song the bass and percussion are very prominent. They are what drives the song forward. The vocals are clear and upfront as they are the focal point of the mix (after all, it’s Michael’s name on the album cover).

Step 2: Check For Panorama

Picture where from left to right each instrument seems to be coming from. If it helps, you may want to draw a line on a piece of paper and make a tick for where each instument seems to be.The percussion, synths and backing vocals in this tune take full advantage of the stereo field. Note the double-tracked backing vocals panned left and right such as at 0:44 and leading into the chorus at about 1:28.

Step 3: Examine The Frequency Range Being Used

Listen for low, low-mid, high-mid and high frequencies. Is there content in each if those ranges? Does it feel like there is too much in any given range? In this song the thin kick and snare make room for the thick bass.The synth fills the mids subtly in the verse, thickening along with some guitar and additional vocals in the chorus. The highs have some percussion, backing vocals, and the higher overtones of the synth.

Step 4: Listen For Dimension

This is a harder one. It may help to close your eyes. Imaging that you are watching this being performed on stage. Which instruments feel closer to you? Which feel farther away?In Billie Jean the bass and kick feel right up front. The snare and other percussion is farther back, as are the lead vocals. The syths are father back still. The layered backing vocals sit at various depths (such as at about 2:50).

Step 5: Observe Any Dynamic Changes

Take note of changes in the song. The most obvious dynamic changes in this song are the energetic choruses which contrast nicely with the more reserved verses (see about 1:30).Within the chorus itself the guitar provides a dynamic change. It comes in first at 1:39 and plays double time in alternating 2 bars on, 2 bars off and then 2 more bars on, greatly changing the feel of the chorus while it plays.

Step 6: Take Note Of Where Your Interest Goes

Pay attention to what is holding your interest at each moment in the song. Again, pen and paper may help. Here, the interest is pulled forward by the interplay between the additional vocal tracks, the guitar and the synth which each take their turn as focal point when the lead vocals pause.Let’s take the turnaround at the end of the first verse as an example (1:14). At the end of the first line the sax-like synth takes over our attention between lines (1:17), then after the next line the backing vocals (the famous Michael Jackson “Heee-eee”) do the same (1:20), then the synth again (1:25), then the layered backing vocals pull us into the chorus (1:26).Below are a couple more examples of great mixes and how they hold up to this exercise.

How to Create Rich Depth with Doubling TechniquesSep 20th in Logic Pro, Mixing & Mastering by Joel Falconer Depth by doubling. You can hear it in almost any song. Big, booming guitars and wide chorus vocals are just some of the most popular times that double tracking and fake doubling are pulled out of the trick bag and dropped into a mix.

If your mixes sound hollow, empty, lifeless and small, you may need a bit more depth. Try one of these techniques and see if they work for you.

True Double-tracking

It’s very rare that you’ll record a song that doesn’t have any sort of double tracking in it. This is one of the most popular effects out there, and yet it doesn’t require any of the extra signal processing that effects like reverb and chorus require.

Step 1

Record the same riff, progression or vocal twice. The second take should use the first as a guide so they both have the same sense of timing and play like two guitarists playing in unison (except with the same guitar and guitarist).This creates two very similar sounds—so similar you can tell it’s the same guitarist playing the same riff on the same guitar—but with enough difference in the various harmonic overtones and the waveform itself that they’ll produce a rich, doubled effect, like one massive guitar playing.

Step 2

Now, the guitar sound will be a bit louder in your mix and you’ll be able to hear the sound of two different guitars playing at once, but as they are there’s not a whole lot of added depth.The differences in the sound become apparent when you pan them. If you have identical audio on two tracks with each panned hard left and hard right, you’ll hear no difference to having one track centered, of course, but with these slightly different tracks the difference is huge.So, pan your top track to the left and the second one to the right, and you’ll get this huge sounding, very wide stereo image:It’s up to you how far you pan them. When I’m doing double tracked guitars, I like to swing each out 100% panned. When I’m doing vocals I prefer to blend them together a bit more with 50% pans.

Step 3

Spend some time mixing the two guitars to get the most pleasing result. While the two tracks are very similar, they are still different and one may be louder or slightly quieter than the other. Try and get a nice, even match.Because they’re so similar, though, it takes close listening and time to get that match right.

Step 4

If your guitarist has some uncanny ability to generate two very similar waveforms, you might not hear that much of a difference. It’ll be there by necessity, since you simply cannot recreate an identical waveform like this, but it might be a very minor difference.If that’s the case, you can try varying the left and right guitars a bit. Maybe cut a little bass from the left and a little high from the right; there will be a greater difference in the sound, making it easier to tell the difference, and at the same time the cuts are complimentary and the sounds combine more easily.There are many ways you can differentiate the sounds. Have an experiment and find out what works for you.

Step 5

I like to run my double-tracked instruments through an aux send so that once I’ve found the perfect mix, they stay perfectly mixed. I can change the volume of the instrument relative to the rest of the mix while leaving the relationship between the double tracks the same.This also has the benefit of allowing you to compress, EQ, or otherwise affect the sounds as a single identity, which can help to blend them together a bit more and provide a more unified sound.

Quick Tip for Stereo Mic Placements

If you’ve used stereo micing, there’s a little trick you can try if you want a really wide sound. This can be overkill for simple songs, and it requires skill and patience from the performer since accuracy is important.Record your instrument twice, as you’d normally do with double tracking. This will leave you with four tracks—two takes, with two tracks per take from each microphone. Now, cut one of the microphone tracks from each take, but make sure you don’t cut the same mic from both. If you’re using an SM57 and U87, delete the SM57 recording from one take and the U87 take from the other.Now, take the left over track from the second take and drag it up to the empty track from the first take. You’ve now got one stereo take with double tracking on each microphone.

Finally, repeat the process so you have two “main” double-tracked takes, with both comprised of two double-tracked takes. This does require accuracy and you need to keep each take pretty close, but the extra width can sound great when this is done right.

Doubling by Delay

If you can’t go back and track a double, there’s a “fake” doubling technique you can use. It’s definitely worth doing your double tracking properly if you can, since this method doesn’t sound as good and is to be used only when you need a wider sound, but can’t possible go back into the studio for tracking.It involves making a copy of the original waveform on another track and shifting it forwards by somewhere between 5 and 25 milliseconds. The whole point of double-tracking is to create a similar waveform with slightly different harmonic characteristics. If you copy and paste a waveform and play them both at exactly the same time, all you’ll hear is the one instrument sounding a bit louder.If you shift the waveform by a tiny amount in milliseconds, you emulate this slight difference in harmonic quality. A point in the audio 5 milliseconds earlier or later is going to sound very close to the starting point, which is why this works.

The danger here is that you’ll run into phasing issues, so be careful about the placement and just test the sound and shift the waveform until there is no phasing and the sound is wide.Some people think this sounds even better than double-tracking. Most people think it’s a measure of last resort, but have a listen for yourself.Not what I’d call the best way to create depth, but very handy in an emergency. You could probably use a delay plug-in if you don’t want to shift audio regions around on such a small scale.

How to Process Vocals for an Amazing Professional SoundSep 8th in Logic Pro, Mixing & Mastering by Mo Volans Persuading a problematic vocal recording to play nicely with the rest of your mix can seem like a futile task. Well-recorded vocals and poorly-recorded vocals both need to be correctly prepared, and the processes we're going through today will help you turn your untreated vocal take into a polished and commercial sound.

1. Get Rid of Background Noise with Gating

The first thing you’ll probably notice about any vocal recording (good or bad) is the presence of background noise, ranging from subtle to annoying. This can be caused by anything; a computer in the studio, traffic, background conversation and, of course, headphone output bleeding onto the microphone.Before the core of the vocal signal can be tackled and processed efficiently, as much of this background noise as possible must be removed. You have a few options here as there are plenty of techniques available, including manually editing the areas of noise or even using automation to lower the level of these regions. Although perfectly valid techniques, the most convenient tool for tackling the issue is a noise gate.Noise gates are supplied in one form or another with pretty much every DAW (digital audio workstation). Products such as Cubase, Logic, Ableton and Digital Performer all include feature-rich gate plug-ins out of the box. I’m using Logic Pro 8 here, but the techniques are generic and can be used with any software and similar plug-ins.Once you have selected your gate plug, it's simply a case of setting the threshold so that the body of your vocal is heard but the areas of silence or noise are muted. Even with the most precise setting here, you may notice that your vocal sounds unnatural when coming in and out. This can be solved with some tweaking of the attack and release settings. Some gates will have extra controls such as hold time and gain reduction amount to get an even more natural sound.

2. Dealing with Low Frequencies

Once your vocal is playing back without any noise it’s time to start thinking about a chain of processing that will compliment the vocal and bring out the best in the performance. The order that I have here is by no means set in stone and is simply one way you can work. Once you have a good understanding of each process you can mess with the order of the processors as you see fit.It is important to filter out low frequencies and it is always a good idea to do it early in your chain as this will allow any plug-ins after this point to operate at optimal capacity since they won't have to process large amounts of unwanted low frequency energy. Many problems due to vibration, further noise during the recording and so on can be eradicated with this simple process.I have used an EQ plug-in with the high pass filter engaged. Watch the slope and frequency you use here, as these will need to be adjusted depending on the type of vocal you are working with. For instance, I was able to filter quite a lot of low end as I am working with a female vocal.

3. Controlling Dynamics with Compression

Of course, it’s likely that in any vocal performance the singer is louder at some points and quieter during others. This may be because the piece requires lots of dynamic variance, or just that they were too close or too far away from the mic at times. Whatever the cause, if your take contains these issues you are going to want to fix them and this is where dynamics processing comes in.

The use of compressors to control dynamics should be no secret to even a beginner in the field of production. Even the most simple production software will include some form of compression plug-in or limiter that is capable of evening the peaks and troughs in any audio signal. Vocals react especially well to compression and once the correct attack and release settings are applied, pretty large amounts of gain reduction can be used without introducing any negative side effects to your sound.Again, if you are not sure how to set up a compressor, start with an initiated patch and try some subtle settings to begin with. You can resort to presets to get the ball rolling and tweak things as you go. Once you have a compressor working correctly on your vocal, you should be able to enjoy an even and more powerful overall sound. If you still feel there are some wayward dynamics leaping out of the vocal channel, some light limiting can be used to put a cap on things.

4. Take the Hiss Out with De-Essing

If “ssss” and “ch” sounds are causing spikes in your vocal recording, these need to be processed out. This unwanted artefact is called sibilance and is pretty hard to avoid during the recording process. You can tackle mild cases of sibilance with a high pass EQ or low pass filter. You may even prefer reducing the gain of the problem areas manually in an audio editor, but again, the easiest route is to use a processor called a de-esser, an automated process designed especially for the job.De-essers are pretty common plug-ins with a simple set of controls. Usually one would set the frequency of the problem area and then move onto the sensitivity or threshold setting to ensure the process only kicks in when needed. If you are in any doubt try using the plug-in presets as a guideline and starting point.You can hear the de-esser working on the ‘its’ section of the vocal here. Be careful - over use of the process can effect the signal in undesirable ways and make words sound unrealistic and illegible.

5. EQ and enhancers

After using compression and de-essing, it is possible you may have lost some of the important higher frequencies in your vocal. Although dynamics processing has obvious bonuses, it can leave the signal sounding slightly dull. These frequencies can be dialled back in with the use of subtle shelving equalization or the use of an enhancer.In this case I have used Logic’s own EQ to add some upper mids, just to claw back some of the ‘air’ lost in previous processing. Be careful here as you can end up re-introducing the sibilance you spent time removing in previous steps. ‘Less is more’ is the way forward here. Keep things subtle.

6. Keep Organized with Grouping

Although there was no use for it in this example, as there is only one vocal track being used, setting up groups or busses can be extremely useful. It is not uncommon to have several similar vocals playing on numerous tracks in any one project. If this is the case, send them all through a master buss and apply your chain of vocal processors to it. Not only will this give you a more cohesive vocal sound but it can save CPU resources as you are only applying the plug-ins once.Of course backing vocals and ad libs may need to be sent through their own buss to avoid confusion and masking. It can also be useful to apply different more subtle processes to these secondary vocals to create some contrast between them and your lead part.

7. Adding Reverb and Delay

Finally, to add space and an ethereal quality you can use some delay and reverb effects. These can be used as inserts, but become especially useful when used in a send/return configuration. This way any automation on your vocal track will not effect the processing and any tails will stay intact. Also the delay and reverb can be used on any channel in your mix. Try not to swamp the vocal with extra effects as it will lose presence and clarity.

8. Pitch correction and other trouble shooting

There wasn’t a huge amount left to do to this vocal as everything was working nicely after all this processing was applied, but in some cases extra work may need to be done. For instance, if the singer was a little shaky (or tone deaf!) you might feel the need for some pitch correction. This process was made famous by the Antares Auto-Tune plug-in, but there are plenty of other options. Logic 8 has a great bundled pitch correction plug.

Another final alteration you may want to make is the use of automation to reduce the level of any remaining problem transients. If you aren’t happy with any sibilance or pops that have managed to find their way though the chain of processors, you can simply apply a small dip in the volume automation lane. This will really help to soften the area and eliminate the problem.

How to Process and Improve Home Recorded Vocals

So, you’ve recorded a vocal, and now you want to mix it and process it so it sounds great in your mix. We’re not going to look at tracking vocals in this tutorial. Instead, we're going to focus on how to process vocals once you've recorded them. Depending on your room, your mic and placements, your pre-amps and inputs and, above all, your skill-level, the quality of your recorded vocal sound is going vary.

Vocal processing can seem like a bit of a dark art when you’re just trying to get by recording your material at home with budget equipment. But, no matter how bad your initial sound is, you can improve it.

In this tutorial, we’re going to look at some areas that can get pretty complicated, and bring them back down to earth so we can begin to understand what makes them tick and how to apply them to your vocals. These areas are compression, EQ, and reverb. There will be a few minor edits to the audio region, too, but there’s nothing “dark-artsy” about that.

If you’re recording at home, you should have a set of monitoring headphones. If you’ve gone and dropped $3,000 on studio monitors without having an acoustically treated room first, I’m sorry to say that your money just went down a drain. While it’s best to mix with monitors in a balanced room, good headphones are the second best option.

Step 1

Import the Original VocalHave a listen to the original vocal I’ve pulled from a Pro Tools session. We’ll be using Logic in this tutorial, but the same principles would apply in any DAW.We’ve got a good starting point as far as sound quality is concerned here; the sound was pulled from a proper recording room, using a good Avalon pre-amp and a personal favorite mic of mine, the Rode Classic II.The first step of the process, of course, is to get your audio into the application. If you’re tracking and mixing in the same app, using the same session, you’ve already got it. Otherwise, drag the wave file into the arranger or use File > Import Audio File.

Step 2

Apply Vocal CompressionThe biggest difference between our raw vocal as it is and the vocal you hear on, for instance, one of your favorite albums is that it’s totally uncompressed. If you’re using the same file as me, that’s actually not true—the Avalon preamp did some compression, but not too much, so that we could have more room to make adjustments later on. If you’re recording at home there’s a pretty good chance your raw signal is totally uncompressed.Apply a compressor insert. I’ve used the one found under Dynamics > Compressor. If you’re recording at home and reading this, you may not be familiar with all the compression variables, so begin with a preset and tweak the settings to suit from there. Don’t try starting from scratch until you’ve read up on the topic and understand how compression works.If you’ve got a vocal that jumps around in dynamic range a lot, you’ll need to make the attack shorter so that the compressor kicks in faster. While you’re fiddling, dial-up the attack as high as you can and play your file back so you can hear the difference in sounds side-by-side; before the compressor kicks in, and after.

Once you’ve tweaked the compressor to suit your vocal, you’ll need to compensate for the loss of level that compression causes. Most compression plug-ins have a “Gain” variable—tweak this until an A/B test (using the Bypass button) produces approximately the same volume.

Step 3

Use Equalization to Remove Bad FrequenciesAgain, while this file had some analogue EQ done thanks to the preamp, yours probably won’t. We need to clean up the frequencies in the audio a bit so that it’ll sound better on its own, and mesh with the rest of the instruments in our song. This means cutting frequencies that the vocal isn’t meant to occupy, and perhaps some slight boost in frequencies where the vocal should stick out, but remember that subtractive EQ is always better than additive EQ.I’ve loaded the plug-in found under EQ > Channel EQ. Here we want to scoop out a bunch of the very bottom end, a slight dip in the 200Hz area, and give a slight boost to the natural frequency range of the human voice around 2.5kHz.The human ear has evolved to lock in on the human voice. It locks in based on frequency, which is why we’re just as easily distracted by other noises in the same frequency range. So it’s always good to accentuate that frequency in your vocals and get some attention.Many musicians struggle with the idea of scooping out large chunks of a given frequency. It’s important to understand that recorded music is about creating a controlled environment and deciding in advance which instruments are going to take up which frequencies, and sculpting them to adhere to this. It’s essential to create “holes” in some sounds to let other sounds shine through.

Step 4

Create Space with ReverbOur vocal sounds incredibly dry at this point. Obviously this is partly because it was recorded in a deadened room that has been specially treated for recording purposes, but you’re usually going to apply some sort of reverb no matter how dead or live your initial recording is.Even though we’re only working with one file at this point, it’s good to get in the habit of using an auxiliary send for resource intensive plug-ins such as reverb. Route a Send (under Inserts) to Bus 1, and Logic will create an auxiliary channel strip and

place it next to the vocal channel strip. Change the input (under I/O) of the aux track to Bus 1, and place a reverb unit on the aux as an insert. Make this reverb as wet as possible—we’ll control how much is sent through via the send.

Somewhere between -20dB and -10dB is a good place on the send. -20dB is where I prefer to start, and -10dB is really quite wet. Experiment until you’re happy.

Step 5

Clean Up the AudioYou probably noticed the breath at the end of the audio file. We don’t want this hanging around. When working with larger sections of audio, we’d crossfade or insert a silence in spots like this, but since it’s an isolated file just switch to the Crossfade cursor and drag from just before the end of the last word, to the end of the file. Play back and tweak until you can no longer hear the breathiness at the end.

Step 6

Thicken the SoundNow our vocal is starting to get somewhere, but it’s still a bit thin. The best thing to do is double track your vocals in the studio. Just have the singer sing the line again on a new track and mix them together. But sometimes you don’t have the opportunity or the time to go back in for extra recording, and you have to make do with what you’ve got.

Copy the audio file to a new track and apply some compression, EQ and reverb, just as we’ve done with the original. Now, get a pitch shifter on an insert. I’ve used the insert plug-in found under Pitch > Pitch Shifter II.Ensure that Semitones is set to 0. We don’t want massive multi-tone harmonies, we want to double a bit, so having anything but 0 set here is bad.Now, change the Cents variable to about -20 and drag the Mix all the way up to 100%. If you play back, you’ll hear the doubled effect. It’s not as natural as real double tracking and doesn’t sound as good, but it does the job.

Step 7

Vocal Mix via AuxAs projects get more complicated, it gets increasingly hard to alter the mix to compensate for new elements without throwing out a finely-tuned balance between two or more other elements. So, we’ll mix the two vocals here together, then route them through an auxiliary channel to control the vocal as a whole.When we have more instruments involved, we can alter the vocal level using one fader and without altering the relative mix between one vocal and another.Get a good balance between your vocals—in this case I liked having the doubled vocal well below the level of the lead vocal, more of a backing than anything else. With a good double-tracked vocal, recorded separately, I would’ve had them roughly equal and panned to either side.Once you’re satisfied with the balance, route the output (under I/O on the channel strip) of both vocal tracks to Bus 2. Like with our reverb aux, the vocal aux will be created automatically and show up next to our channel strip. I threw on a gentle compressor and a limiter here, to help our vocals cut through the mix (though at this stage there’s nothing else to cut through).

Step 8

Perform a Relative MixSo far we’ve been unable to truly mix the vocal as a whole because mixing requires having something to mix against. Make sure you mix your vocal to a guitar, at the least, during your early guide tracking, unless the song is acapella, in which case this step is irrelevant for the most part.For this example I dug up the instrumental guide tracks for this song. Because they’re guides they’re far from polished, but it provided something to mix against. This song was meant to have more of that classic hard rock sound. To achieve this you need to do the opposite of the pop rule of thumb, which is having vocals way out in front of everything else, and place it somewhere closer to the guitar (but still cutting through on top).

10 Ways to Improve Your Mix-downWith so many things to remember when performing your final mix-down, it can sometimes feel like you're spinning plates. Luckily, there are a few principles you can abide by to get the most out of your mix-down process. Follow these ten tips from Mo to help keep things in check....

Step 1

Avoid over-compressionCompression is an essential tool in the mixing process and at some point you will find yourself reaching for your favourite plug-in, but a common mistake is to go too far. Some modern systems allow a nearly unlimited amount of processors to be used, but this sort of power requires the user to have a certain amount of self control. It’s really a case of asking yourself if a signal truly needs compressing or if you are applying the process simply because you can. Music is about dynamics and movement. If you squash the life out of every part in your mix the end result can closely resemble noise.Of course, there is nothing wrong with selective creative compression as an effect but remember to keep an eye on those gain reduction meters and the amount of compressor plugs across your mixer. Perfect the balance between compressed and dynamic signals and your mastering processors will thank you for it.

Step 2

Use subtractive EQ where possible There is no doubt that some sounds in your mix will need certain frequencies to be boosted or cut. There is a temptation to boost high or low frequencies on every sound, as this may flatter the sounds in isolation. Bring these heavily EQ’d sounds together in the mix and the result may be confused and over-colored. In this scenario it is likely you are listening to more EQ than actual signal.A good way around this problem is to use subtractive equalisation, as opposed to additive. This involves removing unneeded or problem areas of a signal and boosting the level. This results in the area you want to boost being raised in volume without adding any artificial processing. Using this method you will hear much more signal and less EQ, leading to a clearer and less coloured sound.

Step 3

Keep a backup of dry files As we progress through the mix-down stage more and more processing takes place and files are often bounced and exported with the new FX destructively imprinted. This is a great way to gain CPU headroom and stop your computer from melting, but if not approached cautiously, excessive bouncing of files can back you into a corner.You may have found yourself re-loading a project and realizing you over-processed a part in the last session and have to re import and the dry file. Often any edits and automation can be lost in this process, along with a few hours work. A good workflow technique to avoid this situation is to have a dry version of the part present in your mix. When re-importing the processed sound into your project make a new track and keep the processed channel intact. Turn off the processors to save CPU and mute the channel to take it out of the mix. In some DAWs you can actually hide the track or make folders to contain all your muted sounds. This keeps your work area organised and always gives you the chance to step back quickly and without too much work.

Step 4

Filter bass frequencies for a clearer mix In most genres of music a good balance in the bottom end is critical to a tight overall mix. The biggest pitfall here is to simply have too many instruments occupying the same frequency range. In electronic music, for example, it is not uncommon to have only the kick drum and bass occupying anything below about 250hz. All other instruments can be safely treated with a high pass filter to avoid anything below this area interfering with these all important instruments.In other styles of music this extreme filtering may be too much but similar rules apply and a lot of thought should be put into instruments sharing the same frequency. Of course, instruments with a more organic frequency response, such as acoustic guitars, drums, brass and wind instruments, will not react well to hard filtering, so more subtle techniques such as shelving EQs should be employed. Broadly speaking though, carving areas for your low frequencies will result in a generally more coherent mix, whatever style you work with.

Step 5

Keep control of vocalsThere is no doubt that vocals can be one of the most challenging parts of a project to mix. With problems such as varying dynamics, sibilance, pops, rumble and poor mic technique to tackle, it's no surprise some mixes come undone due to below-par vocal production.The trick is to tackle these issues with dedicated processors early on in the mixing stage. In fact, it's a good idea to get stuck-in as soon as you have the vocal recording. Simple processes like de-essing, filtering low frequencies and compression will pay dividends when it comes to placing your vocal in the mix. At this point, don’t bounce the vocal down and keep any plug-ins or processors running ‘live’, as it's very likely you will want to change them later.Once you have applied your processing you may still find there are areas that contain rogue transients or areas of sibilance that the processors didn’t clamp down on. If this is the case try loading the vocal into an external audio editor and manually reducing gain in the problem areas. This can be time-consuming but well worth the effort.

Step 6

Use sub-groups or bussesThis is a simple one, but using dedicated busses to manage the levels and processing of similar sounds can be really useful. This will get around many common problems such as changing levels due to automation, overall cohesion of sounds and general level control in your mix.Nearly every DAW makes routing tracks to groups a really easy process. They are there for a reason so try using them.

Step 7

Preserve headroomAlthough modern DAWs have a massive amount of head-room and bandwidth it's still good working practice to avoid huge overloads across your mix and on the master output. This will ensure dynamics and frequency response are preserved and files are in a good state to be transferred to third parties for purposes such as mastering and remixing. Remaining disciplined from the start of the mixing process will help.Keep your levels in check and use groups if needed to ensure the overall level being fed to your master output is well below 0db. Aim to finish your mix with the master fader at Unity gain (0db) with around 3-4db of headroom.

Step 8

Use saturation effects If some of your parts feel clinical and dry but reverbs and other effects are not called for, try using a saturation plug-in to impart some extra harmonics and warmth to the sound. There are plenty of plug-ins that perform this task very well and some producers swear by them.A firm favourite is PSP’s Vintage Warmer, now at version 2. This plug has just about everything you need to achieve that analogue crunch many of us crave.

Step 9

Build the stereo sound-stageAn area just as important as the levels in your mix is the stereo sound stage. In other words, where things are placed left to right. If everything is left in the center the sound can become confusing and unpleasant to listen to. To use an analogy, picture an acoustic band playing on stage and think about the positioning of the musicians. One guitarist may be to the left while another stands off to one side. The vocals can sit left of center, whilst backing vocals can come from extreme left and right. There are no hard and fast rules here, but try to mix things up a little so an interesting and engaging result is achieved. When you're finished, remember to check your mix in mono for good translation to other playback systems.

Step 10

Less is more!The most basic but most important tip is this: don't over complicate things. In reality, the mixing process starts as soon as you lay down your first instrument. As things are constructed try to make careful and attentive decisions about which elements you are going to use together. When it comes to mastering, a solid mix of four or five well-chosen and treated instruments will have much more impact than 30 different sounds fighting for space. If your mix doesn't sound good with a few instruments playing, it's unlikely it will sound any better if you layer another ten on there! In most cases, less really is more.

15 Ways to Diversify Your MixSometimes when you're recording an artist or a band, it's easy to fall into relaxed habits and forget how important it is to give each track its own unique flavor and excitement. It could be that you've stopped pushing yourself, or it could just be that the artist has written an album of really repetitive songs. Either way, here are 15 tips for adding some excitement and diversity to otherwise tired recordings. Photo: York Tillyer.1. Experiment with unmatched reverbsDon't try to match your reverbs so that all the instruments in the mix sound like they've been recorded in the same room. Play with using different, and even contradicting, reverbs on different instruments.2. Experiment with melodic contrastsSlap some subtle auto-tune on the backing vocals. This creates a nice contrast when you're recording a fairly plain singer, or perhaps a hard rock album, and the vocals get repetitive and need some melodic polish. Don't tell the band, most of them will have your head for this!Or, on an overly melodic track, have the backing vocalists in the room minimize the number of notes they sing to give the lead melodies more of a solid foundation.3. Dirty up your polished vocals

When you start layering up vocals and harmonies, the lead vocal can start to sound overly polished. In pop, this might be desirable, but sometimes it means you lose the grittier side of the human voice. Try sending some to a distortion plug-in and lower the send volume so it's just loud enough to give the main some grit and raw energy, but not quite detectable to the average listener with untrained ears.4. Start somewhere crazyChange the order that you usually follow when mixing instruments. It’s wise advice to begin with the bass and drums so as to give yourself some headroom, but once in a while tell the rules where to go and try using something crazy as your mix foundation.It’s always possible that it won’t turn out sounding good anyway, but it’ll make you think about the elements of the song and new ways to showcase them in the process.5. Don’t be constrained by genre-based techniquesUse recording and mixing techniques from a totally unrelated genre on an instrument and see if it fits. Differentiate from your direct competitors--other artists in the same genre as you.It doesn’t even have to be a recording technique. Try musical techniques from other genres. On a heavy song, throw an acoustic guitar rhythm track in and mix it behind the distorted guitars.6. Manage drum recordings differently in different tracksHave you ever noticed that on some albums, the sound of the drums never changes? There are engineers who grid-align and sound-replace every single drum track on every single album they record.Don't process drums the same way on every track. Instead, line them up to the grid on one song to get the sound of pure precision, replace your sounds with samples on another to get pure clarity, and on yet another one, just use them as they were recorded.This all depends, of course, on how well the drummer played and how well you captured the sound. A well-played take doesn't always need to be lined up to the millisecond. Play with different ways of drum editing so you don’t get a mechanical sounding album, just don’t let the sound suffer by neglecting to edit when it’s really required.7. Resist the urge to find the perfect middle groundThere’s too much “perfect middle ground” music out there. If the track sounds sparse, don't add more instrumentation--try and work with the space. If it sounds full and crammed, try cutting frequencies instead of cutting entire tracks completely out of the mix.As always, don't let experimentation get in the way of a good mix--delete excess tracks if you need to.8. Mic up more than you’ll needRemember that the song may only seem to call for a few mics on the drum kit, but it's much easier to set up extras and take them out of the mix later than to re-record the drums with more microphones. That extra room or hallway mic could help you vary the dynamics and depth of the song later.9. Roll your ownUsing synthesized drums? Try rolling your own instead of using your favorite patches. Need a saw for your industrial track? Fiddle with the knobs and get your own sound going.Everyone else is using the popular patches of the day, so this is an easy way to differentiate your sound and you might find that your synth serves the song in a way no preset could.10. Use new dogs for old tricksGot an old method for creating a certain sound or effect? Toss your method out and find another way to go about it. Instead of automatically reaching for reverb to make vocals sound more natural and spacious, try a short and slappy delay.11. Forget fanaticism regarding the “One True Guitar Recording Technique” for a dayI’ve seen fistfights over which method is best for recording guitars, I kid you not. I bet many of you reading this have seen similar things. Put aside your zeal and fanaticism for just one song and give the “other” method a shot.If you usually mic up an amp for your electric guitars, try plugging straight into a preamp and using a good distortion plug-in. If you usually plug straight in, run the guitar through an amp instead. Same goes with acoustic guitars--if it has the capability, try plugging it in instead of setting up microphones. You could also try plugging in and using microphones.12. It’s okay to clip once in a whileI don’t advocate being careless with your mix and letting things clip, but once in a while it’s alright to let something be if it doesn’t sound bad, or even sounds better, when the lights go red.This doesn’t apply to your master fader, though, and it shouldn’t be a common occurrence in your session, but being relaxed about your mix to a certain extent can imbue a more relaxed, natural vibe on the recording, too.13. Reverse the frequency cutsIf you cut two tracks in different frequency ranges in order to let both of them pop out more in particular ranges, try reversing the cuts. You can always put the frequencies back to the more standard settings if it doesn’t work, but sometimes the “standard” settings and rules sound worse.14. Make irreversible changesOkay, so you should only go near this one if you’re really getting stumped on how to differentiate your mix. Use AudioSuite or something similar to make permanent changes to your audio files instead of using effects as inserts.You’ll spend more time focusing on getting the sound right and listening for the nuances in the recording when you know you can’t reverse the change.15. Zoom in and cut it upBelieve it or not, there’s plenty of music where it’s not expected that the engineer will do heavy snipping, cutting and re-arranging of the instrumentation. If it’s not commonly done in your genre, give it a shot--give the song a whole new arrangement, and snap those notes to a grid while you’re at it.

The Elements of Home Studio Audio Mastering

How to use software processors to finalize your mix

Though the picture shows Logic setup for mastering, you can achieve this with Cubase, Sonar, Performer or others just as easily.Everyone wants the best sound quality. That is perhaps one of the only statements we can make about "everyone" involved in music production that always holds true. Think about all the issues we have covered: 16 vs. 24 bit, digital audio converters, analog vs. digital, which monitors? mics? which sequencer? Its all about the sound. For many of us, it is akin to a Search for the Holy Grail. How do we get that million dollar sound? You should know by now that your material must be good. You can polish a piece of audio garbage. You can add sugar to it, put it in a shiny cellophane wrapper, but hey, don't ask me to listen to it! :) You know that to capture good sound you have to have decent mics and preamps and a clean recording chain. You know you have to mix your tracks in a way to make the project sound listenable and enjoyable. Now lets go to the final stage, and it is here where you need to pay attention to mastering processors like those in the UAD-1 from universal audio, Waves bundles, and Izotope's Ozone. Let me say up front that I am not a mastering engineer. I am a composer and sound developer, and as the latter, I try every tool I have and tweak it to find new sounds. That's basically what a tweakhead does :) But as I have played with hardware and software processors, finalizing everything form tiny samples that last a tenth of a second to my own epic pieces, I have learned a few things. Mastering, or finalizing, is the last stage of the process of making audio. It is the final high resolution version of the production, the one from which you will spin off red book copies for cd and mp3 files for the internet. When you have a great, not just a good, song you hear the advice to get it mastered professionally. Dude, do it. They have the gear, a specially treated room, and excellent monitors that most of us could not afford. Plus it is always a good idea to have another set of ears that can listen to the piece more objectively. But for many of us who have yet to discover our magnum opus, we may want to try our own hand at it, to make the cd for friends sound better, or to make the demos we hand out sound great. Or you may be a working towards becoming a sound designer, or building material for radio shows, or as an indie film composer who has to produces volumes of material so fast that mastering is out of the question. Thanks to developments in plugin technology over the past few years, we can now turn our computers into home mastering labs. While the result will not match that of an experienced mastering engineer with tens of thousands of dollars worth of hardware, with practice and a good ear you will be able to dramatically improve your production.

Getting Started

You may already be doing your own form of home mastering. Are you adding compressors, eqs, and limiters after your mix? Then you are. Develop 2 listening environments. The first is obviously in your studio room where your computer is. The second should be in a good sized comfortable room where the speakers are farther away, a living room, with its average home audio components, can work. This gives you a reference outside your studio. Speakers that are 8-10 feet away and interacting with the room will sound immensely different than those in your control room that are 4-5 feet away. One goal is to get the audio sounding good on both.

Software file formats

Your mix should have ended with an uncompressed stereo file, ideally at high resolution, without any dither. Use 24 bit depth, and if you can during the rendering of the mix, go to a 88.2 or 96 kHz sample rate (or higher if your gear and software supports it). This lets you start with a high quality format which we will retain for the final master. If your sequencer can save an load 32 bit files and your mastering software can use it, do that. You might consider using the same software in some circumstances. If you did the mix in cubase, you could master there too. Same for Logic and Sonar. If you are going to use a different application, like Sound forge on the PC or Sound track pro or Peak on the Mac, just make sure the mix's file format is compatible. No modern application should have trouble with a a 24/96 .wav or .aif file. Most software will let you work in similar ways. Essentially you have a mixer strip for the file and an output strip for the master out. On the output strip is where your basic processors go, chained in a series in a definite order. Note the meters from Logic illustrating the basic mastering setup. I made this simple for the sake of illustrating the basic concept. The file plays through its mixer channel without any processors here. You could add them, but you risk overloading that channel, which you don't want to do. The output channel strip is where the processors go, and they always end with a limiter of the "brick wall" type. This kind of limiter will not let audio pass into the red no matter how hard it is pushed. Indeed, this allows you to get your tracks up to commercial volume levels.

Loudness

Note in the example, the mix is down significantly, nowhere near the top of the scale. It peaked at .09, but its average level is well below. Note how after going through the 3 plugins the audio is slamming against the ceiling at 0.1, and if I wanted I could set the limiter to -0.05. There is your loudness. If I stick that in my CD player I am as loud as any commercial cd.Not so easy. The example in reality sounds like garbage, because I just flattened all the dynamics out of the mix First we see the audio file before limiting. And now we see it after limiting. Look at how squashed it is. But none of that material ever overshoots 0db, so it technically has no errors. That's an example of what not to do. Of course we know that is the first thing you will try with your new software limiter, so go ahead, do it till you get sick of that sound. With a limiter you can have your audio end up anywhere between the two extremes, its really a matter of how much you dial in. You actually make a decision here, based on everything you know about what sounds good.Below you see the UAD-1 Precision Limiter, in my opinion, the best one out there in the software realm that a home studio owner may aspire to. This is a very conservative setting from one of my actual masters at a random point in time. Notice I increased the gain by 3db, which makes the whole mix 3db louder. I have the output set to -0.10 so it will never go over that. You see the gain reduction meter pegged at 0.50 which means I would have gone over by that much without the limiter. At that setting, the audio is indistinguishable from the mix, its just louder and only a tiny bit of the dynamics was lost. Yet that is another extreme. For most pop type songs you want to end up between the two and you choose by ear (not by waveform display). For a classical piece you want to be more conservative. For death metal you might like the sound of supreme squash. The more limiting you add, the louder the quietest parts of the mix will be--at the extreme all parts will be loud. Newbies often ask for the perfect setting for a limiter. There it is, somewhere in between the 2 extremes I presented.

Tonal Balance

But loudness is only one aspect to mastering audio. Its the easy one. Things get more complicated when we get into the tonal balance of the piece, which is effected by equalization or EQ. Here you "shape" the mix into final form and can correct problems with it that might make it unlistenable under some conditions. It here where you need to put in hours of experimentation to learn to use this tool. EQ at the mastering stage can drastically change the song's aural imprint. They allow you to select the bands you wish to modify and raise and lower the volume of those bands. The bands can be as narrow or as wide as you need them to be, from very wide gentle boosts or cuts to very narrow slices that are boosted or removed.Buzzwords. By boosting or cutting the bands on your equalizers, you can make your sound more or less "airy" (16khz), "bright" (3-10kHz) "harsh" (which is excessive brightness) "edgy" and "brittle" (2-6k) "sweet" (a slight but wide cut at 2-8k), "warm" (slight upper bass boost and slight 4k cut). You can make your mix sound "thin" by reducing an wide band of frequencies from around 200-400 hz and make it "thick" by increasing those. If you increase it too much you'll have a "muddy" mix. Your bass can go from "missing" to "buried" to "solid", "fat", "boomy" depending on how you set the low frequency controls.Can any EQ work? To some extent yes, but overall, for best results, you need excellent plugin eqs. Some software eqs are best for the tracking stage. At the mastering stage they will make the sound worse. Mastering EQs are usually phase compensated. Some may upsample the audio to high resolution, alter the sound, then downsample back to help prevent distortion and digital artifacts from creeping in. The first example is the Cambridge EQ from the UAD-1 collection. Above you see a gentle curve applied to one of my mixes. Notice the bass roll-off starting at 50Hz removing subsonic frequencies. The bass then is slightly boosted for 60-80Hz then there is a slight dip @400hz. The high end starts rolling downward gently to give a smoother more ear friendly result. The signal is gently "nudged" and "shaved" into place. The Cambridge is great for those getting started, due not only to its sound, but to the great graphic display. To get started finalizing your work it's essential that you have an audio graph deeply burned in your brain and know what each band sounds like when boosted or cut. You also need to know what sounds bad at different frequencies so you can back out quick when its artifacts start to appear. Every bandwidth, boosted to extreme, sounds wretched.

Here is another example using the UAD Precision Equalizer with a focused setting. Note, in this example, I want to brighten the whole mix. Notice a fairly narrow boost at 68hz for bass then a dramatic 4db cut at 315Hz. The treble bands at 4k is barely touched and at 17k the amplitude is actually cut 1 db. Yet the mix is much brighter thanks to eliminating a whole lot (4db!) of muddy frequencies at a relatively narrow band around 315Hz. Just with that control alone I can make the mix lighter or heavier sounding. So which do you dial in? Perhaps that is the hardest part--deciding which you like the best. Perhaps my favorite EQ is the Pultec EQP1A from the UAD-1. It has a pleasing sound that you notice within 10 seconds of twiddling its dials the first time. It can be used tracking too, and is a great enhancer for just about any instrument, and lovely on vocals. It has the amazing ability to both boost and cut at the same frequency, which at first may sound crazy, but has many applications. On the left you have bass controls and on the right you have treble. The attenuator dials in your roll offs for the high and low end. Here you see bass boosted at 60Hz and everything under that is rolled off. The treble is boosted at 8kHZ, something that results in harshness on other eqs--but not on the Pultec! That makes it a must-have.

Compression

Compression is another tool the mastering engineer uses to bring out the flavor of audio. Used effectively, compression can smooth out the piece. It raises the volume of the softer sounds and reduces the level of the louder ones, to make them all more uniform to the ear. Setting the attack and release of the compressor can yield a pleasing sense of dynamics that can set the whole mix in motion where all the instruments sound like they are on the beat and surging forward in the groove (even when they may not be). The loudest element of the mix that the attack segment "captures" will trigger the subsequent gain reduction. The decay will determine how long that reduction will last and the audio will rise again in volume till the next loud trigger comes through and starts the cycle all over gain. Mastering engineers tend to love compressors as each has a different sonic imprint on material. Another type of compression used at the mastering phase is a multi-band compressor. This is a processor that works to both tonally balance the piece by breaking up the audio bandwidth into 3 or more bands and having a separate compressor for each. The Waves Linear Phase Multiband has 5 bands that are totally user definable. This is a dangerously powerful tool. It's quite easy to ruin a mix you worked months on with it. The MB compressor can do major surgery on your mix when used with care. You can dial in different compression (or expansion) settings for each band till it does what you want it to do. These are settings I discovered on a fast trance like song to bring out more punch in the lower region and create a sharply defined edgy high end that was deeply buried in the original. Now that those frequencies are alive I can add other processors to smooth it out. The Multiband compressor usually goes early in the chain and may be followed by a smoothing eq and a rounder compressor. I could have used the low bass band to roll-off the bass, but here I wanted to accentuate a clean subwoofer "thump", so i will have to follow this with something to roll off the subsonic bass.

The Order of Processors in the Plugin Chain

There is really only one rule. The brickwall limiter has to be at the end to prevent any "overs" from occurring. Otherwise the order is determined by your goals for the piece you are mastering. Mastering engineers earn their pay not just because they know how to set up the machines, but because of their experience in assessing the overall mix's strengths and weaknesses and then being able to develop a plan of attack to remove or reduce the weaknesses while maintaining or enhancing the mix's strengths. You add a processor when there is a reason and need to do so. You might not need to add eq if the mixdown engineer had the troublesome frequencies under control, or you might have to surgically remove an irritating frequency. Rather than ask a question which has no absolute answer, why not experiment by changing the order in your plugin chain a few times. How did it work when eq was put before compression? Vice versa? Now you are gaining experience.

The End of the Session

By using your ears and your knowledge of what each processor may provide, you begin to develop strategies for making the master shine. The session ends when you have decided you have achieved this. Often that is a hard decision! When is done, "done"! Mastering audio is about listening and making decisions. Its your ability to listen carefully, knowing what tool to apply and when, and a strong internal sense of what good sound is that leads to a successful session. An interaction of ear and mind. We all want good sound. As you master your work, you have a shot a defining what that means, not only for others, but more importantly, for yourself.

Audio Mastering: why you need it, how to do it...

Have you ever burned a CD of the home recording you just made, and then wondered why your store bought CDs are twice as loud as yours? Of course, the major label CDs were recorded at the best studios with the best equipment and engineers, but it is possible to get close to a major label sound in your home studio, and the mastering process is an important part of obtaining that sound. If you have a decent computer setup with decent monitoring system and the right software, you can edit and master your own recordings and save a lot of money. This is especially important if you plan on having your recording mass produced, or even if you just want to burn copies for your friends, and don't want to be embarressed by how your CD pales in comparison to the professionally produced CDs on the market. Mastering also is important for making mp3's for the internet. There are three main parts in the mastering process (at least the way I do it). These are - in order- EDITING, EQUALIZATION, and COMPRESSION/LIMITING.

This is how I edit and master my own (and my friends') recordings at home. I use an eMachines 333mhz PC with a Soundblaster Live card (not the best choice for mastering), with the soundcard hooked up to a stereo system with two sets of speakers (one set of large 3-ways, and one set of small bookshelf 2-ways). Other people might have different ideas on how to master audio, but that's the beauty of audio recording - there are no real rules. It ain't like car mechanics. Here's how I like to do it...

1) Editing - This is the first step in mastering, and it's very easy to do with any decent 2-track audio editing software. I've used Cool Edit, Cool Edit Pro, Sound Forge 4.5 (my favorite), and with Macs I've used Sound Designer II and Protools - all with good results.

The first thing I do is to zoom in on the soundwave of a song and snip off everything in the beginning except for a half second before the song begins. I leave a half second at the beginning, and convert that half second to silence. Some CD players will skip about a half second of the beginning of a song when in "skip" mode, so it's a good idea to leave a half second of silence at the beginning. Next, I go to the end of the song and decide how much space I want at the end, or maybe fade the song out. I'll usually leave 1-2 seconds at the end of a track, and convert that to silence also. If there are any glitches (musical or technical) in the song, it's fairly easy to copy, cut and paste the glitches out. The key is to zoom in on the soundwave to find the right selection points. Most of the stuff I do has drums, so I look for where the kick or snare hits are - the biggest peaks in the soundwave. Once I've got the editing done, I move on to...

2) Equalization - I usually find that my own recordings need to be brightened up, so I usually will use a four band EQ and give it a bit of a boost in the upper frequencies - 4k to 10k, and a shelf boost at 10k and up for more sizzle and "air". An important thing to remember is that when you boost frequencies in your recording, the soundwave will grow - if you've normalized your track before adding EQ, you may get some digital clipping - which if you've ever heard digital clipping, you know it sounds BAD! If you must do a lot of EQ boosting, you may want to lower the volume of the track by a db or two first. For this reason, you should not "normalize" your tracks before processing them.

I've found that the standard EQs that come with most digital audio software are okay, but the best results I've gotten are with the Waves Native Power Pack, with is a set of plugins for Sound Forge. It is expensive software (around $400) but well worth it. It includes many parametric and graphic eqs that all work very well.

3) Compression/Limiting - Compression is the key to producing a LOUD CD. Once you've gotten your track sounding good with editing and EQ, it's time to apply some compression or limiting. Once again, I've found that the standard compression functions that come with most of the major audio mastering programs are good, but you can't compress a track past a certain point without it sounding mushy. I've tried many different compression/limiting plug-ins, but once again the best I've used is the L1 Ultramaximizer that comes with the Waves Native Power Pack. The L1 Ultramaximizer is a professional look ahead limiter that can add many decibals to your track without comprimising the sound. I've been able to almost double the volume on my tracks, and have produced recordings that are just as loud sounding as the major label CDs. This plug-in kicks major tail, hands down.One more word on "normalizing" - many people think that using the "normalize" function on their audio software will maximize the volume to its' full potential. All it really does is maximize the biggest peak of a track - if a snare hit in the track is 3 db above everything else, the snare hit will be maximized to the zero level, but everything else will still be 3 db lower. Compression/limiting will even it out, resulting in maximized loudness. I don't bother to normalize my tracks - I leave that to the L1 Ultramaximizer. It compresses the entire track and boosts the levels to the output you select (-.2 db is good).

There you have it... some basics to mastering your audio tracks. It may sound confusing, but if you get into it, it's a whole lot of fun! Also, TRUST YOUR EARS! Adjust the settings on each individual plugin (eq, compression) until it sounds right to you. Again, my favorite audio programs are Soundforge 4.5 for basic editing, and Waves Native Power Pack for eq and compression.

This article is an excerpt from the following book: The S.M.A.R.T. Guide To Mixing and Mastering Audio Recordings.

Strong, Solid, Yet Controlled LowsIt's extremely important to build a mix that distributes low frequencies evenly among the low-frequency tracks. If the kick is boosted at 100 Hz, the bass should not be boosted at 100 Hz—in fact, most likely the bass should be cut at 100 Hz. Always consider the ramifications of boosting or cutting the same frequency on two or more instruments. If you're limited on your mixer to simple two-band, fixed-frequency cut/boost EQ, you must use good mic choice and technique along with educated EQ choices during recording of tracks.

Mids Distributed Evenly Among Various InstrumentsThe midrange frequencies contain most of the character of each sound. However, too much midrange results in a"honky" sound, and too little midrange results in a hollow, empty sound. It's important to control this frequency range. Midrange tones tend to help a mix sound blended and smooth, but overly accentuated mids can cause a mix to sound dull and lifeless in the high-frequency range or weak and powerless in the low-frequency range.

Strong, Smooth highs That Are Easy To Listen ToA mix that has one particular high frequency boosted on several instruments can take on an abrasive and irritating character. Highs must be distributed evenly.

* There are high frequencies—typically between 2.5 and 5 kHz—that create a piercing, harsh, and edgy sound when exaggerated.* There are high frequencies—typically between 6 and 9 kHz - that add clarity without a harsh timbre.* There are high frequencies—typically above 10 kHz—that add an airy quality to the sound with less of an apparent high-frequency boost.

Avoid boosting the same high frequency range on several tracks because this could result in a harsh-sounding mix. It is best to use proper mic selection technique, avoiding drastic equalization settings; however, once the tracks are recorded and it's time to

mix, you simply need to do whatever it takes to produce an excellent mix, including correctly applying extreme equlization and other processing. Therefore, if you need to boost the high frequencies on several tracks, combine cuts and boosts across the high-frequency spectrum to create an even dispersion of tones.

BalancedA mix that sounds like it's stronger on one side than the other can be distracting. A good way to check the balance of a mix is on headphones. I'll usually listen to a mix on the phones just before I print the master. Headphones are very telling when it comes to stray instruments that might distract if not placed properly.

A mix can sound okay if it's two-dimensional ( just left-right), but when a mix sounds three-dimensional---or if the sounds seem distributed from near to far as well as left to right—it becomes much more real-sounding.

Reverberation and delays add depth. It's usually best to have one instrument define the near character and one instrument define the far character. A simple dry percussion instrument is usually a good choice for the closest instrument. A synth string pad or guitar part might be a good choice for the most distant-sounding instrument. These choices are all dependent on the desired musical impact.

WidthA stereo mix is more interesting if there are one or two instruments defining the far left and far right boundaries, although you must take care to ensure that the mix sounds good in both mono and multichannel formats. Mixes with boundaries closer in toward the center position-3:00 and 9:00 or 10:00 and 2:00—transfer very well to mono, but they aren't as fun to listen to in stereo.

MomentumIf a song maintains the same intensity and texture from start to finish, it probably won't hold the listener's interest. As a mixing engineer, you should always strive to give the song the appropriate flow. A mix with strong momentum might start with only one instrument and the lead vocal, building to a full orchestration with exaggerated effects; or it might include subtle changes throughout the song that are barely noticeable but add enough variation to maintain the listener's interest.

Consistent Playback QualityA mix is only good if it sounds good on any system it's played on. Too often a mix sounds great in the studio or on your own recording setup, but when you play the mix in your car, in your living room, on the club sound system, on the radio, or on your friend's mondo home entertainment complex, it sounds embarrassingly bad. Use near-field reference monitors to monitor most of your mix and, as a cross-check, include some larger far-field monitors and some very small radio-like monitors in your setup. Being able to check your mix on two or three sets of speakers can make the difference between good, usable mixes and bad, waste-of-time mixes.

Sounds Good in Stereo, Surround, and MonoContinually cross-reference the sound of your stereo mixes in mono. Also, check your surround mixes in stereo and mono. Multitrack mixdowns are fun because they sound great. Don't ignore the fact that your multitrack mixes are likely to be heard in mono or stereo. Even though they might sound great in one format, they could sound terrible in another.

Consistent Focal Point throughout the SongIt's very important that the listener not be left wondering. As the mix engineer, it's your job to control the focus—to build a mix that is undeniably easy to follow. Lead vocals provide the obvious focal point in most genres, but in the spaces between lyrics or musical sections, some mix ingredients need to take over, providing a bridge for the listener to the next musical section.

Controlled and Appropriate Use of EffectsThe use of effects must create a discernable depth in each mix. Most mixes should sound very large and impressive, yet somehow they must also feel very intimate and personal. Each mix must be shaped and molded to fit within the soundscape that projects the most realistic musical emotion for that specific song.

MotionThere should be a feeling of motion and flow within the mixing panorama. Tracks don't necessarily need to sweep across the panorama, but there should be strategic pan positioning so that, as mix ingredients come and go, the listener feels the natural ebb and flow across the soundscape.

Inclusion of Acoustic InformstionAcoustic ambience adds a unique sonic character to most mixes. The inclusion of appropriate amounts of natural ambience around a few recorded tracks helps the mix achieve realism that is otherwise difficult to create.

Acoustic ambience can be captured during tracking; however, it can also be added during mixdown. Simply play back the track or tracks through high-quality monitors in the desired acoustic environment, set up a stereo pair of condenser mics away from the monitors, and blend the room sound into the mix.

Are you working in stereo? I find stereo reverb to be much more natural than mono. Also, using two mics and recording in stereo captures a more realistic stereo sound than trying to recreate it using reverb and panning. If you can do a Mid-Side pair, then you

can adjust how stereo/mono it is in the mix.

Second, think about creating a virtual space, and how close different sounds are relative to the listener. The vox are probably close to the listener, while the drums will be farther away. To get things to recede into/behind the speakers, turn the direct sound down, and turn it's reverb up. When something is close to you, you usually hear more direct sound, but as it gets farther away, the direct and the the reverberant sounds start to intermix more. This is easiest to do with a pre-fader send. As a side note, too much compression can defeat this technique, by keeping the direct sound at the same level...back off the ratio, or raise the threshold to keep it more natural.

Try to think about WHAT gets compressed and WHY. Compress thos things you want at the edge of the speaker, but don't compress other elements.I always try and achieve space, before adding reverb comes into play. Part of that is having things that sound really dry and upfront, mixed with things that sound further back.

Using close mics, and room mics in different combinations can create a pretty wide palate of space, before mix time even comes in.

My ideal mix usually has vocals almost completely dry, bass dry, guitars a pinch of space, and drums with some dry attack and a real sense of depth after they strike. All other overdubs (in a typical rock deal) would have a little more space on them. Panning is a big part of this picture.

Normally I don't end up mixing this way because everyone likes their vocals better with reverb on them.

You want it three dimensional, Drumsound's last post is dead on and I'll add this, "crack a book" on why things sound near or far and replicate it. The reading will be interesting. Things further away tend to be darker, less high end, in certain freqs. Things on the left have verb on the right and vice versa. things in the back have more verb and are darker, have more predelay on them. Things further away have more prominent delay (DARK delay on top of verb) and delay times can be calculated. You can get deadly accurate with it.