Mastering With Software Tutorial _ MusicTech

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Published On: Tue, Feb 26th, 2013

Tutorials | By Andy Price

Mastering With Software The Ultimate GuideProducing a well-mastered demo at home is a task thats perfectly possible these days if you have the right tools andknow how to apply them. Alex Holmes does it for himself.

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With the music world now more competitive than ever, theres a real need to showcase your tracks in the best possible light.And this guide to Mastering With Software will help achieve that objective: Whether thats sending demos to labels oruploading your music to SoundCloud and YouTube, rough demos will no longer cut it. No one wants the A&R man to playthree seconds of their MP3 before hastily sending it to the trash because its too quiet and doesnt sound quite as polished asthe ten hes just listened to.

The solution, assuming youve already achieved the most professional-sounding mix that you can, is to get the track masteredto add some polish. Of course, not everyone wants to spend several hundred pounds sending a demo to a mastering house,not least because you may feel the track isnt 100 per cent finished and you may be looking to get feedback to help makesome final tweaks. These days, though, with the right amount of know-how and some select plug-ins its cheaper and easierthan ever to master your own tracks on your own computer.

Will it sound as good as a pro studio master? Probably not, as these guys have thousands and thousands of pounds worth ofhardware and correctly treated rooms as well as whats known as the Golden Ear. However, you can certainly get closeenough to make your tracks stand up confidently against other pro releases, giving you and your music the best opportunity toattract attention.

Tools Of The TradeSo what do you need to master tracks at home? Well, its highly likely that youll have everything included in your DAW, asmost now have a comprehensive set of native plug-ins. The essential ingredients include a high-quality EQ (possibly linear-phase for transparent frequency adjustments), a compressor to help glue the mix together and tame peaks (possibly amultiband compressor for more flexible and transparent compression) and a brickwall limiter to help raise the overall volumewithout letting peaks through.



Youll also need the ability to apply dither for when you reduce the bit-rate to your final output medium (normally 16-bit/44.1kHz CD-quality WAV/AIFF or MP3), although this can often be found in your DAWs bounce-to-disc settings.

To expand on this you may also want to use a little reverb to place all the elements in the same acoustic space, some form oftape or tube saturation to add some analogue warmth, a stereo width plug-in to to help widen your mix, and perhaps someslightly more characterful EQ or compression plug-ins to help colour the mix in a flattering way. With this in mind, if you want toachieve the best results you may want to invest

in a few choice extra plug-ins or an all-in-one mastering plug-in such as iZotopes Ozone or IK Multimedias T-RackS.

Click here for our guide to mastering in Ozone 5

Another critical factor to consider is your listening environment and speakers. Its quite unlikely that youll have the perfectacoustic room in which to work, so its vitally important that you learn the sound of your room and setup by listening to as muchmusic as possible. You might also consider getting a decent set of headphones with which to test your mixes as these willbypass any potential problems or frequency spikes that may occur because of the shape of the room.



To get a really true understanding of your tracks youll also need some metering plug-ins. A high-resolution spectrum analyserwill help you achieve an even frequency distribution, and also allow you to see any problematic sub frequencies that could beeating up headroom and are too low to be reproduced by your speakers. Next youll want a volume meter that shows theaverage level of the track otherwise known as an RMS meter as this will allow you to assess the perceived volume a lotmore accurately than a standard peak level meter.

Finally, you may also want a vectorscope for viewing the distribution of the signal across the stereo field, and a correlationmeter, which can check for phase issues.

Again, many of these tools can be found within your DAW, but there are also some incredibly comprehensive metering suiteswith additional types of visual feedback, such as Fluxs Pure Analyzer System and iZotopes new Insight software.

Copy CatSo youve got your finished stereo mix with all the plug-ins ready and the metering tools loaded. Before you begin, select aprofessional reference track in the style that youre aiming for so that you can copy its frequency distribution and loudnesscharacteristics.

Its vital that you pick a well-mixed track in a high-quality file format thats most importantly as sonically and musically closeto your piece as possible. Even when working in the same genre, theres no point in picking an electro track with flat sustainedbass notes when yours are all staccato hits, as this will have a significant effect on the readings youll get from your RMSmeter.



As you dont want to be applying your mastering plug-ins to the reference material, wed recommend putting your processingdirectly onto the channel your track is on (or at the very least sending it to a buss and putting the processing there, thenkeeping the master channel clear apart from your metering plug-ins). This way you can switch between both tracks whilekeeping an eye on the differences in the meters.

That said, one of our favourite tricks for really honing in on the extreme lows and crispy highs is to place either a high-cut filterset to around 120Hz or a low-cut up to around 10kHz on the master output. Then you can do the same and flick between thereference and your own track and get a better idea on how each frequency range matches up without being influenced by therest of the mix.

To compare the frequency distribution more accurately, use a spectrum analyser to take a snapshot of the reference materialthen play your track and compare the difference in shape. If this facility isnt available in your DAW theres an excellentfreeware spectrum analyser from Voxengo called Span that will do the trick. Youll want to set the decay time to long or infinitein order to capture the average frequency shape of each track. If youre lucky theyll be pretty close, but if not youll knowwhere to aim your EQ and processing to make up the difference. You might also consider trying a match EQ plug-in, whichcan shape your tracks frequency distribution to make it more like your reference track.

Theres one included in Logic called Match EQ, plus one built-in to Ozones EQ module, as well as third-party EQs from thelikes of MeldaProduction and Voxengo that have the matching function built-in. Youll generally have a sliding scale that letsyou select how close you want your frequency distribution to be to your target, along with a resolution control to smooth outpeaks.

In practice, weve had varying success using Match EQ on a master. While we would rather recommend the use of traditionaltools to get the right balance, this can be a useful trick for experimenting with different shapes when your ears have becomeoverused to your mix, even if you ultimately dont end up using it. Overall, though, your EQ tweaks at this stage should be verybroad and subtle. If you need to boost or cut more than around 3dB you should probably go back to your mix and make someadjustments there.



Voxengos Span is an excellent freeware spectrum analyser and loudness meter that you can use to view the frequencydistribution and RMS volume of your mix and reference tracks.

A Little SqueezeWith your EQ tweaks in place you can now move on to compression. We talked in-depth about buss compression in ourrecent feature in Issue 117, which covered some important points on putting a compressor across the master channel. Itsworth considering what you want to achieve at this point, as every mix will be different. A little gentle RMS compression thatducks 23dB will help to thicken the overall sound and bring up the quieter parts; alternatively, you may have some straypeaks in a certain frequency range that could be tamed with a single band on a multiband compressor, set with a fast attackand release.

Initially you may be looking for highly transparent results, for which something like PSPs MasterComp plug-in would be agood choice. However, many engineers use the colouring characteristics of classics such as the SSL G-series BussCompressor or Fairchild 670, which add their own form of analogue-sounding mojo to the mix. Its worth noting that the use ofcompression can skew the original frequency balance, so its not unusual to insert a second EQ after the compressor toreplace some sparkle.

As just mentioned with the compressors, your choice of EQ can range from high-quality, transparent linear-phase EQs to morecharacterful, analogue-modelled plug-ins such as the Pultec emulations from Waves, UAD and Softube. A boost around the1216kHz range on one of these plug-ins can add a smooth sense of air to the mix, without any of the harshness that can be aside effect of some digital EQs.



The Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor sells for around 6,000, which is way above most peoples budget. However youcan pick up a high-quality software version by Brainworx and Universal Audio for $299

Studio WarmersPeople talk a lot about analogue warmth in all aspects of music production, from composing with synths to mixing andmastering. Theres just a certain je nais se quoi that analogue hardware can bring to the table, which is why 5,000 masteringEQs and compressors arent uncommon, and also why professional mastering engineers with huge studios can charge extrafor their work. At the end of the day, theres no way a 200 piece of software can compete, but as computers have becomemore powerful and component modelling more accurate, were creeping ever closer.

As such, there are now plenty of processing plug-ins aimed at giving you analogue warmth inside-the-box, from tube and tapesaturation to software emulating signal paths of the large analogue mixing desks of yesteryear. With the possible exception ofcertain classical recordings or music that needs to sound harsh and digital, wed struggle to think of a genre that wouldnt beenhanced by the subtle application of analogue-style processing. That said, the point at which warmth and saturation startdistorting the signal and become invasive is an incredibly fine one, meaning that these plug-ins should be used with extremecaution.

In practice, you may decide to use analogue-emulated plug-ins on every track throughout the mixing stage, where you willbenefit from the accumulative harmonics that each plug-in brings. However, when it comes to mastering a stereo mix, it can begood to use a single multiband saturation plug-in such as FabFilters Saturn or Brainworxs bx_saturator, as applyingsaturation to a smaller selection of frequencies can result in a smoother sound. Most plug-ins also have a wet/dry knob so youcan blend the effected sound with the original, which can further help to keep things subtle and can be especially useful foradding bulk and volume to your track without the need for extra compression.

Check your SumsAlthough stereo widening isnt a fundamental part of the mastering process, it can work wonders on complex mixes, helping toseparate instruments and provide an extra sense of size and space. Most wideners use psychoacoustic processing to pushsounds beyond the range of the speakers, creating an almost impossibly wide sound when pushed to extremes. Of course,



like everything else in the mastering process, a deft touch is the best way to go.

Its common practice to split the frequency range into sections, enabling you to reduce the low frequencies to mono to spreadtheir power evenly across both speakers, then open things up wider as you go higher up the spectrum. One of the potentialpitfalls of too much stereo processing is the introduction of phase problems to your mix, which may result in your finely craftedstereo masterpiece turning to mush when played in mono.

Its important to regularly check how your mix sounds when summed to a single channel, ideally at the mixing stage, whenspecific instruments may be causing problems that can be fixed. Some DAWs enable you to simply switch your masterchannels output to mono at the click of a button; others may have a relevant plug-in in the Utilities section. Its here that thecorrelation meter comes in handy, displaying the difference between the left and right channels.

As long as you have a reading somewhere near +1 and higher than 0, you shouldnt have any serious phase problems inyour track. But why do we need to worry about this, as surely the majority of music is now played in stereo?Well, in an idealworld yes, but in reality youll find a number of mediums such as large PAs, the speaker setups in certain clubs and low-bandwidth radio stations that pump out a mono signal, so its better to be safe than sorry.

With these potential problems in mind, several companies have come up with ingenious plug-in solution, such asMeldaProductions MStereoSpread and Brainworxs bx_stereomaker, which enable you to increase the stereo width whilemaintaining complete mono compatibility.



Another way to consider working with the width of your tracks is to use a plug-in that splits the signal into middle and sidecomponents as opposed to left and right. One example would be to work with the side channel and EQ out the bass to keepall the important low-end information central, giving a gentle boost to the higher frequencies to draw more attention to thesides and make the track sound wider. Similarly, you may want to add just small amount of reverb to your entire mix to helpglue the sounds together. If you process the side channel with a little more reverb than the centre, youll achieve a nice widesound without washing-out your main central instruments.

Hit the WallFinally, we come to what many would consider the most essential part of mastering (and the item that goes last in the chain):the brickwall limiter. These come in many shapes and sizes, from Waves L2 Ultramaximizer and Ozones built-in limiter to theAdaptive Limiter that comes with Logic. The best examples offer intelligent algorithms that enable you to push up the volumeof a track without destroying the dynamics. Youll generally have a control to set the ceiling threshold (the level above whichno signal will pass) and a control to increase the input, which essentially squashes your track up into the ceiling.

It can be easy to get carried away here, but its important to use your ears and make sure youre not crushing the life out ofyour music. We find the best way to work is to check the RMS of your target track using an RMS meter, then push up the inputon your limiter until you get to a similar place. If you cant get anywhere near without it causing pumping or if youre applyingmuch more than around 3dB of reduction, you probably need to go back to your mix and work out whats causing the problem.Often this might be clashing bass and kick frequencies, or some rough percussive transients.

Bear in mind, though, that if your reference material has been mastered professionally, its possible you might not be able toget it sounding quite as loud. If this is the case, dont worry about it! Just pull back on the limiter until it sounds good. Its betterto have a really good-sounding master that people can simply turn up a little than a crushed master that sounds loud andlifeless. Over time you can perfect your mixes to the point where you need less mastering EQ, compression and limiting toreach your goal.



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Practice Makes PerfectWith so many producers now working totally in-the-box, its more common than ever for the composer to also mix and mastertheir own music. When you combine this approach with a toolkit of powerful mastering plug-ins, youve got the ability to createsome incredibly professional-sounding music at home. However, youve also got the power to completely ruin all your hardwork through excessive processing and listening to the same track over and over again, so its vitally important to exerciserestraint. With a little patience and practice, though, your tracks will sound fuller and more polished than ever. Who knows,maybe youll go on to a career as a mastering engineer

Click here to read How Loud To Go?

Click here for our guide to Analogue sounding Plug-ins

Tags: Beginners Guide, Features, Home, Mastering With Software, Music Mastering, Shadow Hills, Tutorials, Voxengo, WavesRelated

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