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 Welcome MTF

Welcome
Mastering: that part of the music production process that takes your
track on a journey, from being a good mix to a great-sounding
commercial release. At one time it was a dark art, a hidden process
talked about only by those ‘in the know’. But increased computer power
and decreased software prices have brought the huge benefits of
mastering to within easy reach of project studio owners. The message is
clear: with a few readily available tools and a little guidance, you too can
make your music productions stand side by side with the best.
And for that guidance you need look no further than this very magazine. In this special issue of Music
Tech Focus we’ve got mastering tutorials
for every major music production DAW,
so whatever your core software, there is You too can make your
something here for you. Then there are
videos from the pros demo’ing their music productions stand side
techniques, in-depth workshops on the
major production processes, plus by side with the best
super-quick guides to some of the more
creative techniques available – it’s not all about loudness and EQ, some of the side effects that you get
from the mastering process are truly inspiring.
And if you are lacking the tools to give mastering a go, don’t worry. We’ve included round-ups of the best
commercially available hardware and software and, if you are short on funds, we’ve even provided a guide
to getting and using the best freeware dedicated to mastering.
So there really is no excuse for poor sounding releases any more and using this special Music Tech
Focus could enhance your productions for ever. If you think your
music sounds good now, just imagine how great it will sound after
absorbing what’s on offer over the following pages…

Paul Pettengale Editorial Director

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FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 |3

MTF Contents

Issue 27 Mastering Volume 4

YOUR ULTIMATE
GUIDE TO SOUND
LIKE THE PROS
From mixdown to airplay – the complete guide ● 15 essential tutorials
on every major DAW ● Insider tricks from pros at the top of their trade
● The best hardware and software rounded up ● 25 pro tips for
compression and audio editing ● And much, much more…

Workshops Walkthroughs
p126

p06
p24

p60
p120

p84

p50

p109

4 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

 Contents MTF

MTF Issue 27 Full listings…

MTF Technique MTF Pro Tips 006 | Workshop
Dynamics processing
010 | Workshop
M/S processing
014 | Studio Technique

Minute 25 tips for Contemporary mastering

024 | Step-by-Step

Master
Mastering equalisation
Mastering
Compression – p28
Mastering with Ableton Live
028 | 25 Pro Tips for…
Compression
Restoring the balance… p88 Audio editing – p72 032 | Interview Miles Showell
037 | Step-by-Step
Mastering with Cubase

Round-ups Software 042 | Ten Minute Master

Key gating
Plug-ins and effects – p92 045 | Step-by-Step
Mastering with Ozone 5
050 | Workshop
Mastering with TrackS 3
054 | Step-by-Step
Audio analysis
060 | Workshop
Hardware Mastering with Logic Pro
For sheer sonic quality – p76 064 | Interview Stuart Hawkes
068 | Workshop
Ozone 5’s Meter Bridge
072 | 25 Pro Tips for…
Audio editing
076 | Round-up Hardware
080 | Step-by-Step
Mastering with WaveLab

Tuition 084 | Workshop

Mastering with Pro Tools 10
The best courses – p124
088 | Ten Minute Master
Mastering EQ
092 | Round-up Software
096 | Step-by-Step
MTF Interview Mastering for free
102 | Interview Dan Austin

Stuart 106 | Ten Minute Master

Inter-sample peaks

Hawkes 109 | Step-by-Step

Mastering with SONAR X2

“It’s a lot more 114 | Studio Technique

From mixdown to airplay
MTF Technique about getting it 120 | Step-by-Step
right for the digital The soundstage

Masterclass formats now”p64 124 | Round-up Tuition

126 | Workshop

“Today’s engineers Mastering with Reason 6.5

have to take a holistic

129 | Next Issue Mixing
130 | What’s on your MTF DVD
approach” p14
FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 |5
MTF Workshop Dynamics Processing

Dynamics Processing Workshop

Dynamics On the disc

processing
The art of dynamics processing lies at the very heart Compression
Plug-in compressors can be broadly divided into those
of mastering, but what exactly does that mean? that have contemporary designs and those that are
Hollin Jones reveals all… modelled on vintage compressors. Where you need the
compression to feature prominently as an effect (rather

M
than just for dynamic control) you will find that
astering isn’t quite as complex a process vintage-style compression plug-ins tend to produce the
as you might imagine, but even though it quickest and most effective results. 1
involves a relatively small number of One difference between vintage compression
tools, it’s as much an art as it is a plug-ins can be found in their relative response times,
science. The fundamental elements of making their effectiveness often tied to specific sounds.
the mastering process are dynamics and equalization, A slow-response, optical compressor plug-in – such as
sometimes with some tape saturation or stereo Universal Audio’s LA-2A – will often deliver excellent
widening thrown in as well. Other tools, like exciters or results on bass or vocals, for example, but might
PRO TIP
maximizers, fall broadly under the scope of dynamics Some developers produce
struggle on more transient-heavy material like drums.
and EQ; they just have different names. A lot of people suites of dynamics tools that Using a more contemporary compressor, like SSL’s
will be working with software plug-ins to process their are designed to work as one. X-Comp, opens up a greater range of compression
The Dynamics component of
tracks and others with hardware, though whichever iZotope’s Ozone 5 system for effects, as well as the ability to control dynamic range
tools you use, the fundamental principles are the same. example contains a limiter, in a more subtle and transparent way, which is often
The two dynamics processors you will use when you gate and multiband preferable when mastering. 2 These types of
compressor amongst other
are mastering are compression and limiting; both tools and can be loaded as a compressors deliver some particularly good results on
change the peak to average ratio of music as well as single plug-in on a track to low ratio settings (in the region of 1.5:1 to 2:1) coupled
take care of all your mastering
reducing dynamic range in the audio that passes dynamics needs. Of course you
with a low threshold, providing a quality of delicate and
through them. Since compression comes first in the can activate or deactivate any transparent gain control that can be difficult to
signal chain and limiting always last, let’s look at processing section and just establish on a vintage plug-in.
use the ones you want.
compression first. Another interesting feature of the X-Comp in
particular is the unique Bleed Through parameters,
which allows a part of the HF and LF signal to pass

Vintage modelled and newer compressors offer a

different kind of sound and also have different sets
of features, depending on what it is you’re after.

6 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

 Dynamics Processing Workshop MTF

4 6

Some master buss

compression during the
mixdown stage can reduce the
need to compress to add
coherence at the mastering
stage.

The two dynamics processors Be sympathetic

When you get to the mastering stage and are trying to

you will use when mastering are set up your compressor, the settings you use will of
course depend on the nature of the track you are

compression and limiting working with. On the whole though you should probably
be aiming for a relatively gentle compression effect,
unless your music is really heavy electronica or rock.
uncompressed, allowing elements like kick drums and Load up a compressor – here we are using FabFilter’s
cymbals to ‘breathe’ through a heavy dose of Pro-C – and then find the right general threshold where
compression, for example. compression starts to kick in, with a relatively high ratio
and fast release time. 5
Master buss Make sure the gain reduction meter bounces as the
Although producers generally recommend that you PRO TIP peaks in the signal occur, if your model has old style VU
consider mastering to be a completely separate process Saturation effects can also be meters. Then drop the ratio down to a very low setting
to mixing, it can still be desirable to apply some master applied at the mastering and put the release time to about 250ms to start. It’s
stage, though these must be
buss compression during mixdown, which should mean used carefully so as not to then a matter of fine tuning the attack, release and ratio
that less compression is required at the mastering colour the sound more than controls, and potentially tweaking the Threshold as
stage. It’s also handy for listening back prior to you intended. Yamaha and well, until you get the right kind of balance. 6 Ideally
Steinberg’s Vintage Open Deck
mastering, to ensure that the track isn’t too quiet. is a good example of a tape you want to set the threshold somewhere in between
To add a little punch to your mixdown, try strapping a emulation plug-in that can the lower and higher dynamics. Too low a threshold will
add warmth and very slight
buss compressor – like Duende’s Buss Compressor, or fluctuation to the signal, if
simply have the effect of capturing everything and
Waves’ SSL G-Master Buss Compressor, or even the that’s something that you’re
Master Buss Compressor in the mixer of Reason 6 after. There’s even a virtual
tape speed and the
– across your main stereo outputs. 3 Keep the settings option to
relatively light to avoid pushing the output too much, choose
but leave enough to just give the mix a little extra punch, old or new
tape.
even a slight pumping effect. On the SSL buss
compressor, for example, try using the lowest ratio and
raise the threshold just high enough to shave off about
2-4dB of the top of the mix.
The idea with this kind of pre-mastering dynamic
treatment is to create an extra sense of loudness
without affecting the general feel and character of your
mix too much. Avoid any heavy equalisation or
multiband compression, which can skew the sonic
balance dramatically, and opt for simple, tried and
tested sweetening techniques. Equalization could be as
simple as a bass rolloff at 30-40Hz (just to keep the
bottom end under control) and 1-2dB of EQ at 70Hz and
12kHz. Other buss sweetening processors, like Sonnox’s
Inflator, can also help give the mix slightly more impact
and body 4 although it’s really the Brick Wall Limiter
set to around 4-6dB of additional gain, depending on
your existing dynamic range, that adds the most
noticeable level boost when you actually come to the
full mastering stage.

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 |7

MTF Workshop Dynamics Processing

Multiband
compressors can
help home in on
problems within
mixed down files,
while many
compressors come
with presets for
different genres.

compressing it, as will too high a ratio. The aim is to Combined with EQ, the effect of this can be even more
keep some dynamic range in the signal and thus retain pronounced. Be careful however not to over-compress
a more natural effect. or indeed to get the compression settings wrong. You
might end up with a track that sounds punchy but has
Multi band compression lost all its transient impact as the quieter and louder
If a single band compressor isn’t cutting it, consider parts of the signal have been made more equal in
using a multiband model. You can sometimes use little volume and the dynamic range has been lost.
or no compression on the higher frequencies, as they The kind of compression you use will depend on the
have a tendency to naturally cut through a mix anyway. music you’re working with. Scrolling through the presets
It’s the mid and lower frequencies that usually need to on your software compressor or your mastering suite
should reveal a pretty clear picture of what settings

One great tip is to load up a work best for different genres. Presets for hip hop, rock
and dance for example will all compress relatively

couple of audio files and compare heavily, and anything targeted at chart pop probably
even more than that. 8 For classical, folk or jazz you

their waveform displays will want to use a far gentler treatment. One great tip is
to load up a couple of audio files, one something
modern and heavy and one something older and more
have punch and power added and, by identifying which mellow, and compare their waveform displays. The older
elements of a track live in which frequency ranges, you track will almost certainly be far quieter and the newer
can accurately compress the bottom and middle parts one much louder and more heavily compressed, a result
of a sound, for example, while leaving the top end of the loudness wars and a modern tendency to
relatively untouched. 7 over-compress and limit – these are things to be aware
You will probably also figure out that multiband of when mastering. 9
compression is a clever way to “cheat” and alter the mix There’s another factor that influences how you use
of a file that has already been mixed down. By dynamics during mastering. You can find that music
identifying where instruments and sounds exist in the that has been produced mostly or even entirely in the
frequency range you can compress them more or less box using plug-in instruments already sounds pretty
heavily and use makeup gain controls in many cases to heavily compressed. This can be because it has never
change their relative levels, even in a stereo file. actually seen the light of day. It was generated, recorded

10
9
11

Compare old and new tracks to get an idea of

how mastering has changed over the years.
This increase in loudness has been caused by
more limiter use and nowadays limiters also
come with plenty of ‘transparent’ presets.

8 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

 Dynamics Processing Workshop MTF

12 14

13

Add a little drive to add some volume, while

Soft Knee limiting only takes effect at a
certain threshold.

and mixed inside a computer. Many going over it, this is typically set to around
software synths and drum machines also -0.1dB or slightly lower. 12 The input drive
have compressors as part of their or gain control (there are different names
onboard effects chains so they may used in different models) is where you
already have compression applied, even choose how much to drive the input signal.
if you weren’t aware of it. Real Driven a little, you can add some volume
instruments on the other hand are and power to a signal; driven a lot, you will
entirely free of compression, unless it is squash or crush it so that the level meters
added manually. So a guitar and vocal are almost constantly squeezed up around
track for example would be completely the -0.1dB mark. The idea behind limiting is
dry until you added processing manually. that the signal does not exceed this level.
By pushing the signal you will achieve
Limiting greater volume but progressively lose
The other type of dynamic processing dynamic range as the input is driven harder
used during mastering is limiting. and harder. Like a compressor, a limiter
Limiters are designed to change the reduces the differences between quieter
sound as little as possible and simply to and louder parts of the signal, though it
make it louder. As such they come at the does it in a more transparent way. So what
end of the mastering chain and are actually you should be aiming for is some drive and
relatively simple to use, though some have only a few PRO TIP a good, solid level, but without crushing or
controls and some offer more options. Here for example Most leading DAWs support distorting the signal. The limiter will
is FabFilter’s Pro-L. 10 some form of track preset, or prevent clipping but it’s still possible to drive it too hard
channel strip preset that can
To reiterate, compression is used to add punch and and squeeze the life out of it. Many limiters have a
containing a chain of plug-ins
strength to the character of a sound; limiting is used to complete with settings. These lookahead option which can scan ahead into the signal
increase its overall volume and make it suitable to be can be a great way to use the by a few milliseconds and analyse the file for upcoming
plug-ins that come with your
sent out into the world. One of the most commonly DAW to create mastering
peaks, adjusting itself to deal with them accordingly
asked questions in music production is why someone’s setups rather than having to and resulting in more accurate overall limiting. 13 Some
track doesn’t sound as loud as commercially produced necessarily invest in also have a Soft or Hard Knee option. Soft Knee limiting
third-party processing suites.
material. Aside from the money that has been spent on Of course if you do buy extra means that limiting only kicks in when the signal
commercial tracks, the answer is almost always that plug-ins these can be used as reaches the threshold, and the transition to full limiting
part of the chains as well.
your track hasn’t been through a limiter. Maybe it hasn’t is nonlinear, producing a softer, less abrupt effect and
been through mastering compression or EQ either, but reducing distortion artefacts that can be produced by
here we’re talking about limiting. hard limiting. 14
With a fast attack time and a relatively fast release The most important thing to remember when using
setting, limiting can sound pretty transparent to the dynamic processing during limiting is to be sympathetic
ears. Indeed, some software limiters make a point of to your material. It’s easy to process the life out of a
having “transparent” presets. 11 Many limiters are track with today’s software plug-ins but that doesn’t
single band but some, particularly those from Waves, mean you should. The loudness wars have been made
work on multiple bands. Although these are much more possible by the prevalence of compressors and limiters
powerful and flexible they also bring the potential to available to more or less anyone making music, but
overcomplicate or mess up the mastering process, in a there is now something of a renaissance for the idea of
similar way to how multiband compressors can make letting music breathe, or at least there is in some
your life more difficult rather than simpler if you don’t circles. Compress to add punch and weight but not to
know what you’re doing. pump, unless you are working on heavy dance music.
Limiters basically consist of a few controls. The Limit to add volume and signal strength, but not to
output level or ceiling is the setting that determines completely flatten the sound and drain it of all
where the signal is limited and, since the goal of character. Follow these basic rules and your masters
mastering is to get as close to 0dB as possible without should come out sounding just great. MTF

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 |9

MTF Workshop M/S Processing

M/S Processing Workshop

Understanding On the disc

M/S Processing
Utilizing M/S processing could revolutionize your In essence, Mid/Side is a different way of carrying
and representing a stereo signal, formed from the
mastering workflow, as well as adding punch and ‘phantom centre’ sum of the left and right channels (the
definition to your music. Mark Cousins explains… L and R channels summed to mono, in other words), and
the difference between the left and right channels,

M
conveniently referred to as the Side channel. Audibly,
ore than any other part of the the differentiation between the centre and the sides of
production process, mastering has a mix makes sense, as most lead instruments will
embraced the techniques and reside in the Mid channel, while the Side channel will
possibilities brought about through the contain the width and detail of the mix. In short, M/S is
application of M/S processing. Put a musical division, rather than the ‘dividing line’
simply, M/S processing offers an illuminating new way approach of L/R stereo.
of perceiving and modifying the stereo imagery of a
signal, allowing you to dissect a track in ways you might Enter the matrix
have previously thought impossible. Used correctly, M/S PRO TIP Having understood the fundamentals of M/S, let’s now
can add punch and definition to your masters – whether Even if you have a proper look at some techniques we can apply it to in a typical
you are tightening up a flabby low end, for example, or two-channel compressor to DAW. The key to M/S processing is a simple Encoding/
hand, you’ll still need to check
adding a greater sense of spaciousness and expanse to its configuration before you Decoding matrix plug-in, which you can either download
your music. 1 start processing in M/S. as freeware (take a look at Voxengo’s MSED), or buy in a
Usually this involves unlinking dedicated form, like Brainworx’s bx_control V2.
the two channels so that the
M/S basics controls run independently, As a start, therefore, try instantiating a simple M/S
Given that most mastering engineers are presented and activating the two- Encoder/Decoder across the audio file included on the
channel ‘mono’ mode.
with a simple two-track audio file, you can see why they DVD, or one of your own choosing. Try solo’ing the
would want to develop a number of devious ways to different components – Mid and Side – and listen to
dissect a track. Principally speaking, a mastering what you’re hearing in each channel. In particular,
engineer has three techniques at their disposal. First, of notice how centre-panned mono instruments (like the
course, they can choose to separate a mix into Left and acoustic bass) disappear in the Side channels, as well
Right components, which is sometimes useful for the as the other pronounced differences between the
purposes of applying EQ, but is generally of little benefit instrumentation across the two channels. 1
otherwise. Secondly, and more productively, a track can What’s interesting now is if we want to start
be sliced ‘laterally’, forming a series of distinct and processing in the M/S domain, which is easy enough,
separate frequency bands using a multiband assuming that any subsequent plug-ins feature
compressor. The third, and final, dissection tool at the discrete two-channel operation (in other words,
mastering engineer’s disposal is that of Mid/Side
stereo, a term generally abbreviated to M/S.

Importantly, M/S processing doesn’t necessitate a

completely different set of plug-ins, just a few additional tools
to facilitate moving in and out of the M/S dimension.
3

10 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

 M/S Processing Workshop MTF

5 6

Once separated into Mid and Side components, the individual channels of your two-channel compressor
become independent controls for their respective part of the stereo soundstage.

separate controls for each channel of processing). In at what you can achieve with a dedicated M/S equalizer
this first example we’re going to place a compressor – in this case, the Brainworx bx_digital V2. Setting up
after the M/S matrix, ensuring that its output is set to the equalizer is suitably straightforward in that the M/S
M/S mode. Rather than receiving a L/R signal, therefore, matrix is built in, so we don’t need to do anything more
the compressor is now working with the Mid and Side than instantiate the plug-in. 6
channels respectively. 2 Of all M/S processing activities, I’d argue that M/S
To correctly hear the results of our M/S compression, equalization is one of the most beneficial areas to
we need to return the output of the compressor back explore, mainly because of the clear distinction
into L/R stereo. To do this, place a second instance of between instruments residing in the Mid and Side
the M/S Encoder/Decoder plug-in on the output of the channel respectively. Solo’ing the Mid channel, for
compressor, this time setting its input format to M/S example, we can instantly direct EQ towards the main
and its output format to L/R. In theory, of course, we instruments featured in the mix – instruments like
could insert any number of plug-ins into our M/S matrix, bass, vocals and the snare – without fear that we’ll
as long as the last plug-in in the chain returns the M/S affect other constituent parts. This ‘directed’ approach
signal back into its L/R form. 3 means you can add a pleasing presence lift to the vocal,
for example, without making the hi-hats too edgy, or
Midlife crisis boost the bass end without cluttering the bottom end of
The key to the application of signal processing in the the mix. 7
M/S domain is to differentiate between the types of EQ’ing the Side channel of the mix is a good
sound present in each channel. For example, try adding opportunity to look at the tightness of the low end in
some compression to the Mid channel to see how it your mix. To create a powerful and focused low end,
affects the presentation of the mix. Adding compression accepted wisdom dictates that the bass be firmly
to the Mid channel directs the gain reduction towards planted in the centre of your soundstage, with little or
principle lead instruments as well as the bass end of no stereo information. Using a sharp bass roll off,
the mix. Even small amounts of compression can really therefore, or some steep low shelving on the Side
help the drive and focus of the master, giving some channel won’t make your master bass-light, but instead
extra sonic energy to an important part of the stereo PRO TIP ensure that the bass is carried predominantly through
soundstage. Harder compression, of course, benefits The Fairchild 670 was the Mid channel. In effect, therefore, your adjustments
originally designed for both
from less high-end ‘pumping’ artefacts, as these signals stereo and M/S compression.
tend to reside more extensively in the Side channel. 4 In the case of the Fairchild
670, the M/S mode is
Side channel compression, of course, changes the
labelled Lat/Vert, mainly
width and detail within the master, often enhancing as a throwback to the
small details that often get drowned by the relative days of cutting music to
vinyl. The Lat section
prominence of a Mid Channel. Instruments panned past represents the Mid,
3 o’clock and 9 o’clock get a pleasing lift, and you’ll also while the Vert covers the
notice the reverberant qualities of the recording being Side.

marginally enhanced. If the Side channel is devoid of

bass, you’ll also find that Side channel compression
sounds proportionately smother, as all too often the low
end dictates the amount of compression applied when
in standard L/R mode. 5

Side line
As we’ve seen, you can use a standard two-channel
equalizer in the current matrix for the application of
M/S equalization, but in this example we’re going to look

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 11

MTF Workshop M/S Processing

8
9

The application of EQ really shines under M/S,

allowing you to tighten up the bass end of the mix,
or add a touch of air to the Sides.

are balancing both frequency characteristics and issues look at iZotope’s Ozone 5. Since version 4 of Ozone, you
of stereo width, making M/S equalization a particularly can either work in Stereo mode, where multiband signal
powerful tool. 8 processing is applied to the L/R channels concurrently;
and M/S mode, where signal processing is applied both
Dedicated M/S on a band-by-band basis, but also between Mid and
Looking at a dedicated M/S equalizer, it’s interesting to Side channels. As one example, therefore, you could
note some of the specialized features brought about apply compression to the low frequency band, but only
through the fact that the plug-in is processing in M/S. direct this to the all important Mid channel, leaving the
One of the best and most immediate features of the Side channel untouched. 11
bx_digital V2 is the Mono Maker control, which monos Moving over to some of Ozone’s other signal
the mix beneath a given frequency value. In theory, the processing sections, you can see the potential that an
Mono Maker a similar tool to what you could additional M/S mode offers. The Reverb module, for
conceivably create using some strategic Side channel example, can have a distinct bias towards adding reverb
equalization, although in theory it leaves the Side to the Side channel, adding spaciousness without
channel EQ free for other equalization activities. 9 cluttering the principle instruments in the mix. Likewise,
Another useful feature is the De-Esser, which has the Exciter, which does a good job enhancing the low
individual controls for both the Mid and Side channels end with some added saturation, can have its sound
respectively. De-essing can be difficult to apply to a applied in a more directed manner – in this case, only
two-track master, largely because of the other signals adding the desired reinforcement to the Mid channel. 12
that can occur in the frequency range of sibilance
(around 6kHz, in other words). Although the De-essing The M/S universe
tames the vocal sibilance, it also attacks instruments in Having lived in a world of left/right stereo for so long, it’s
that frequency area, so that hi-hats and cymbals start easy to dismiss M/S as a gimmick. In truth, however,
to be noticeably modulated. Given that the vocal M/S offers both a radical new way of processing audio
principally resides in the Mid channel, though, we can and an illuminating new view on the world of stereo,
push the De-Esser relatively hard without fear that our allowing you to better comprehend the stereo
modifications will affect the entirety of the mix. 10 soundstage your music resides in. Understand the
power of M/S, and you’ll unlock and new level of
Ozone layer dimensionality and flexibility in your mastering,
As an interesting example of just how far you can go demonstrating why M/S is one of the best kept secrets
with M/S processing, it’s worth taking a more detailed of the mastering profession. MTF

10

Ozone’s M/S processing offers

an unprecedented amount of
control over your master,
arguably delivering eight
separate compressors
11 12
covering four frequency bands
each with individual Mid and
Side components.

12 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

PROFESSIONAL MASTERING SOFTWARE

www.sonorissoftware.com
MTF Feature Contemporary mastering

MTF Masterclass Studio Technique

Contemporary
MASTERING
Mastering is often thought of as little more than a final gloss of EQ, compression and
limiting, but there are plenty of tasks beyond these that are required of the modern
mastering engineer. Mike Hillier explores the world of today’s mastering…

P
rogress in the mastering world moves at a glacial
pace. While mix engineers will often look for new
tools and techniques to experiment with in the
hope that they can create and define a new sound,
mastering engineers are more concerned with
consistent quality. The goal of mastering is not to stamp a
track with any sonic signature through the use of any new
technique, but simply to use the tools at your disposal to
ensure that a mix sounds as good as possible, and to ensure
that each track on an album has a uniform level and quality,

Mastering engineers have to

take a holistic approach to
everything they are working on
so listeners aren’t having to reach for the volume control at
the start of each new track. This uniformity applies not only
to the overall volume level of each track, but also to the
stereo width and the frequency spectrum across the tracks,
ensuring that no one track is significantly brighter or
darker than another, and that the amount of bass energy
remains consistent from one track to the next. Of course,
there are always artistic reasons why level or frequency
might need to change – perhaps you don’t want as much
bass on the acoustic solo track in the middle of a rock record
as the big anthem track – but you will still want a

14 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

Contemporary mastering Feature MTF

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 15

A4_print.indd 2 3/12/12 2:15 PM
 Contemporary mastering Feature MTF

MTF Step-by-Step Referencing tracks in Pro Tools

Bring up your mix for mastering in the Add any processing to the channel inserts In the Options dropdown menu go to
01 first channel and add two or more
02 of the track you are mastering, keeping
03 Solo Mode and select X-OR. Now every
subsequent tracks containing your the reference channels clean. You could time you hit the solo button on a new channel
reference material. Add a Master channel for choose to put an analysis plug-in of some any previously solo’ed channels will come out
your main outputs. description over the master channel, as long as of solo mode, enabling you to quickly flick
it isn’t ‘effecting’ the audio. through the channels without having to mute
and solo each one.

consistency that will enable the listener to enjoy include completed tracks as references when
the record as a whole without needing to get up and working on each new one. You needn’t include every
change any settings. completed track – things might get out of hand
To achieve consistency, mastering engineers have towards the end of larger album projects – but by
to take a holistic approach to everything they are including at least the first and most recent tracks
working on, paying attention not only to how a track you will know that you aren’t allowing small changes
sounds itself, but also to how it sounds against other to creep in throughout an album, and that your
tracks on the album and even how it compares with current track compares well to the previous one
tracks from the same genre. It is this that has led to (which is what the listener will notice most
the problem of the Loudness War, with engineers immediately). In the case of the acoustic track or
being asked to push tracks louder and louder to other slightly different tracks you will probably
out-do the competition. It is something to be avoided, want to include one or two other reference tracks.

From vinyl to mp3

The Chili Peppers’ I’m With You While mastering houses might not change their

was the first album to be marketed

equipment or working methods very often, changes
in distribution technology can force some

as ‘mastered for iTunes’

reappraisal. Music mastered for vinyl, for example,
has to be re-mastered for CD due to the very

though, as pushing the level higher requires reducing MTF Pro Technique The Loudness War
the dynamic range, which in turn can introduce
distortion and reduce the dramatic punch of Much has been said about the Loudness War and the damaging effect it has had
transient material like drums. on music, but one aspect that is often overlooked is how by avoiding the
This idea of mastering in context is one of the Loudness War altogether you can make your music stand out from the crowd.
most important concepts. Most mastering engineers Radio stations turn squashed material down and dynamic material up
will start a project by loading two or three similar automatically to ensure a level output. The Sound Check function in iTunes and
tracks by other artists (and perhaps even one or two iPods does the same. At the same perceived output level the more dynamic
older tracks by the same artist) into their own track is going to have considerably more punch
channel in the DAW to compare to the track currently and depth, and will
being mastered. It’s important to run these channels therefore have
out of the DAW clean, so any processing you’re more impact on
adding is being added only to the channel containing the listener than
the track being mastered and not to the master buss, the squashed
where it will also process the comparison tracks. You dynamics of
will end up chasing your tail, adding more and more the Loudness
of the effect to catch up with the additional War victim.
processing on the comparison tracks.
By comparing your master with similar Victims of the Loudness
War often display
commercial masters you can ensure that your track square-wave
is going to sit well when played alongside these and distortion, whereby
other similar tracks. However, most important of all transients have been
chopped off at the top
is ensuring that your tracks sit well alongside each to raise the overall level.
other; as you progress on a project, be sure to

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 17

 E V E A U D I O
B E R L I N · G E R M A N Y

T H E N E X T S T E P

"[...] I've had a pair of SC205s set up

beside my usual Near fields and I've
"[...] They have plenty of detail and the found them to be easy to listen to with a
fact that the response is even – from low neutral tone that doesn't wear your ears
www.nova-distribution.co.uk levels right up to their surprisingly out during long sessions...
[email protected] punchy version of loud – means you Due to their size the SC205s will probably
+44 (0)20 3589 2530 could mix on them very happily. Factor in "[...] Two things stand out from the off: be best suited to home/project studios
the price and you've got two speakers nicely controlled, clear bass, and a but they could also be used by
punching well above their weight. remarkably open and deep sound stage. professional studios in small rooms, as
Roland Stenz certainly knows a thing or With natural acoustic recordings you get part of surround or mobile setups, or for
two about loudspeaker design." a real sense of the recording space." music playback installations."
WWW.EVE-AUDIO.COM Stuart Bruce, Future Music Magazine Huw Price, MusicTech Magazine Mark Woods, AudioTechnology Magazine
 Contemporary mastering Feature MTF

different qualities of the two mediums. This is

why many early CDs are now being
remastered, as the CD master was often
rushed or done using equipment designed for TC Electronic’s System 6000
vinyl mastering. When mastering for vinyl, MKII hardware provides a
variety of dedicated
the fades and gaps need to be predetermined mastering tools, including a
and cut into the lacquer; in the case of CD selection of dynamics and
masters, the gaps and fades are edited in EQ processors, many of
which are available as 5.1
the mastering DAW along with PQ points, versions.
which determine where the track
markers will fall. With PQ editing it is
even possible to place audio before a
track, as was popular for a while
for ‘hiding’ tracks before the start
of track one on a CD.
The switch from CD to mp3/
AAC distribution isn’t causing
the same degree of difficulty
for the industry, but that
doesn’t mean companies aren’t
trying to get ahead of the game
with tracks specifically mastered for
this format. The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ I’m
With You was the first album to be marketed as processes. By comparing this to your CD master you
‘mastered for iTunes’. This meant that as well as should be able to get your lossy versions to a sound Tech Terms
producing the vinyl and CD masters, mastering that’s closer to the 16-bit CD master. ● LFE
The LFE (Low Frequency
engineer Vlado Meller produced a separate AAC Effects) channel is the ‘point
master from the original high-resolution mixes Sounds around one’ channel in a 5.1 system.
instead of simply converting the CD master into AAC Multi-channel surround sound is another area in This channel is usually sent
to a subwoofer as part of a 5.1
files, which is the usual procedure. The intention is which mastering engineers have had to make system, and is intended to
provide an experience that’s closer to listening to changes to their workflow, initially by adapting and deliver bass-only information.
the 16-bit CD when you’re actually listening to the expanding existing hardware to do the job, then by ● CODEC
The process of encoding and
lossy AAC format. adding dedicated surround processors such as the
decoding a signal, such as
To improve your AAC masters you’re going to Neve 8051 surround compressor. audio. Different codecs are
need to know what the encoding and decoding is Nowadays, of course, it’s obviously a lot easier to available, each using different
methods to encode and decode
doing to your audio. The Sonnox Fraunhofer Pro add surround capabilities to your DAW plug-ins the signal, such as mp3.
Codec enables you to audition your mixes through a than it is to get it from hardware. The majority of
variety of audio codecs in real time, including mp3,

To improve your AAC masters

AAC-LC (as used by the iTunes Store) and HE-AAC
(v1 and v2). By placing the Sonnox Fraunhofer Pro

you’re going to need to know what

Codec at the end of your signal chain you can make
changes to your EQ, dynamics or stereo processing

encoding is doing to your audio

and instantly hear what effect it is having on the
audio throughout the encoding and decoding

MTF Step-by-Step mp3 encoder

Place the Pro Codec plug-in last in the Add the codecs you want to use to the Once you’ve finished mastering arm the
01 02 Codec List and choose the settings for 03
signal chain on the track you want to plug-in to record the finished file using
process. This way you will be able to monitor each one. Select the codec to edit its settings. its built-in codecs, so you can be sure that
the effects of each plug-in you place before You can create multiple entries in the Codec your finished mp3 or AAC is as you hear it.
the codec. Place a clean version of the track List with different settings to see how, for This is important as different encoders may
on another channel to use as a reference. instance, different bit rates affect the quality. have different artifacts and characteristics.

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 19

MTF Feature Contemporary mastering

Artist
Q&A
DAWs now have built-in surround support, and
most plug-ins scale up into surround easily enough.
Surround still hasn’t really caught on in the music
Neil Wilkes
M
world, but with more and more households now
putting surround-sound home-cinema systems in astering engineer Neil Wilkes has recently
their homes, the technology is expected to catch on finished working on 5.1 versions of King
(both DVD-A and Blu-ray audio provide support for Crimson albums In The Court Of The
multi-channel surround). Crimson King, Lizard and Red from mixes
Mastering for surround multiplies the potential completed by Porcupine Tree founder Steven Wilson
problems considerably: not only do you have to work and King Crimson’s Robert Fripp. He also recently
with six channels of audio, but you also have to be authored the new 5.1 release of The Who’s
Quadrophenia. We caught up with him in his Opus
Productions studio to talk about surround mastering.
Engineers perform tasks How do you deal with the LFE channel when mastering?
that would previously have been Should the mixer have already placed the kick and bass
in this channel?
performed during the mix What the mixer has put into it is really down to him or
her and is a personal choice, but they often leave
material as full-range – I have seen LFE channels with
aware that many of the end-user listening content way past 1kHz.
environments are going to be far from perfectly set One of the biggest problems with the LFE channel is
up. What’s more, many surround projects are that it is so often confused with a subwoofer, and the
actually brought to mastering as stereo files, which two are, of course, very different animals. For surround
need to be up-mixed to produce a surround master. mixing the main guideline is that all five main channels
There are various tools for doing this, which usually should be treated as equal and full-range and to avoid
create an ambience in the rear channels and use piping anything exclusively into the LFE – and believe
mid-side techniques to separate the phantom mono me when I say you could do a whole article just on this
image from the stereo files and place it in the centre issue, as it gets very difficult.
channel. When using up-mixing tools start with the Of course, it is going to happen that the disc will
stereo mix, not the master, then perform the EQ and inevitably end up being played on one of those
dynamics processing on the finished up-mix. home-theatre-type speaker setups with a subwoofer
If you are lucky, instead of a stereo mix the and five bookshelf speakers and if we are lucky this will
have been correctly set up and the title will translate.
There is no way I know of to compensate for a badly or
just plain incorrectly set up playback system though.

One of the biggest

problems with the
LFE channel is that it is
so often confused
with a subwoofer
When dealing with catalogue material it isn’t always
possible to go back to the multitracks and get a new
surround mix. What plug-ins and techniques do you
use for up-mixing stereo material into surround?
Depends on the source material – there are a few
choices available to us these days and what way we go
SADiE 6 is a popular DAW in dedicated mastering
houses thanks to the inclusion of features
depends very much on not only the source, but
such as DDP export and PQ editing. whether or not it needs to also be prepared for
fold-down to two channels, or if we have the luxury of

20 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

 Contemporary mastering Feature MTF

a separate stereo stream. The latter scenario gives us Neil Wilkes getting
so much more flexibility. Another consideration is how hands-on with
hardware.
do the clients want the 5.1 experience to be? What I
mean is are they after a complete immersion in the
sound, or one that simply places the listener about ten
rows back from the front of a stage?
It’s almost impossible to state ‘I generally use
plug-in X and technique Y followed by tool Z’ as it really
does depend on the source as well as the intended
surround experience. I might find that I work on an
up-mix for a few hours, getting maybe 95% of the way
there and it all has to start over as I cannot, no matter
what I try, get rid of that last 5% of problems – which
will usually be artifacts of some sort or a soundfield
deficiency of some form caused by a process.
If a piece is causing me particular trouble I will
often make a call or two and get in a specialist
up-mixer for an additional pair of ears and advice.

You do all your surround processing in-the-box. Are

there any hardware units you’d like to add to your
studio or do you think in the world of surround Currently, one of my favourites is to gang three of
mastering that software offers more flexibility? the UAD Ampex ATR-102 Master Tape emulations so
Definitely. I’d love a full TC System 6000, as well as the they all operate as one unit and tweak until it does
new Penteo system. Currently there is nothing in what I want – it’s an awesome plug-in and worth the
software that does what the Penteo does and the price of the DSP card for this alone.
Another very important tool is the correct LPF to

There is something almost

use on the LFE channel. The recommended setting is
usually 80Hz with a minimum of 48dB/octave slope,

magical about the sound of

but this tends to lead to the possibility of artifacts so
it can be a good idea to use two in series with 24dB/

good analogue gear

octave per filter – you get the smoothness of the
gentler slopes with the cumulative effect of a steep
48dB one.
software implementation of the TC Unwrap leaves out
all the little things that make the hardware version You use the WK Audio ID console. Does having tactile
work so well. Add in a nice Neve 8051 Surround control over your plug-ins enable you to escape from
Compressor, please, and also the SPL EQ – that still the screen?
Although the ATR-102 is only a
sounds beautiful to me. While software does often stereo plug-in, Neil likes to set Absolutely it does. There is simply no substitute for
offer more flexibility, there is something almost up three busses with the being able to adjust attack and release
ATR-102 on each one to emulate
magical about good analogue gear as it seems to simultaneously, or frequency and Q. It’s also
a surround setup.
affect the sound in a way that is very difficult to wonderful being able to work in software
describe – it just seems to sound better, for some but without a screen of any description
reason. Steven Slate Digital has done – it removes the visual element and gets
research on this and it seems that the you back to listening instead.
act of passing audio through discrete
components adds non-linearities to It’s fair to say that surround systems
the audio that affect it in a very remain largely the domain of audiophile
pleasing way. listeners. Does this mean you are
insulated from the Loudness War?
What are your favourite plug-ins for Sadly, no. There are all too many out
processing surround material? there who still seemingly regard louder
Very difficult question, as I do not have as being better.
a ‘preferred chain’. It’s impossible to
know what you will need to do to a mix Neil Wilkes initially worked as a live mix
until you have sat down and played it engineer and went into the studio in 2000
through a few times to get a handle on after forming Opus Productions Ltd. Since
what needs to be done – if anything. I then, Opus has established an
do have certain tools that I tend to try international client portfolio and has just
ahead of others, although sadly they gone into partnership with Simon
are not multi-channel-capable, so a Heyworth’s Super Audio Mastering to
certain amount of creative bussing actively promote high-resolution audio
needs to be done to use them. There just and surround sound.
are not very many properly configured www.opusproductions.com
surround-capable plug-ins out there. www.so-audio.com

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 21

MTF Feature Contemporary mastering

MTF Pro Technique Multi-band compression

Mastering compressors will respond to any and all transients, reducing the level of
all sounds at that point. When used carefully they can gel instruments together in
a mix, but when pushed too hard can introduce unwanted pumping in response to
stereo processors across the left and right front
high-energy instruments such as the kick drum. Some compressors have a
channels, but bear in mind that these have to sit
sidechain with a high-pass filter to remove much of the low-end energy.
comfortably with the
Another way to deal with this problem is to use a multi-band compressor; this
centre channel, and that
enables you to compress some frequency bands more than
some mixers may have
others. When used carefully it’s a powerful trick
kept a phantom centre in
that can give weight to the bass while not
these channels as well as
causing any pumping of the high frequencies.
using the centre channel
Setting up a multi-band compressor is more
itself. Again, stereo
complex than a standard compressor, though,
processors can be applied
so be careful when setting the crossover points
to the rears, which if they
and remember to set the ratio, attack and
contain only ambiance
release settings for each band.
should be the easiest to
The T-RackS MultiBand Limiter is a powerful tool process. Finally,
with three bands of compression, each with their
depending on how it’s
own Threshold and Level controls.
being used, the LFE
channel can also be
original multitracks will have been mixed explicitly processed in mono, but as
for surround. In this case the rear channels are still it is likely not to contain
likely to contain little more than reverb, with most anything above 80Hz, it should be easy enough to
surround mixers preferring to position the music EQ. Remember to always check your surround mix
coming from the band in front of the listener. There for fold-down compatibility. Just as you would check
will always be exceptions, with some bands a stereo mix in mono, you need to check your
experimenting with sounds coming from the rear surround mixes in both stereo and mono.
Tech Terms and even moving around the soundstage, but this
● ANALOGUE SUMMING
Many engineers prefer the
remains the exception that proves the rule. Stems and summing
sound of analogue summing to Just as with a stereo mix you will usually EQ and As well as balancing levels, EQ and spatial
the summing in their DAW and compress both channels as a stereo pair, in surround properties in audio tracks and dealing with gaps
choose to output each stem to
its own channel on an outboard
you will often process all of the channels together. and fades, mastering engineers are now routinely
summing mixer rather than However, you might also want to apply a mono EQ being asked to perform tasks that previously would
sending them to a master and compressor to the centre channel, which is likely have been performed during the mix. Mastering
channel inside-the-box.
to house the lead vocal, kick, snare and bass. Apply from stems is one such example: the mastering

MTF Buyer’s Guide Summing mixers

FOLCROM RMS216 Manufacturer Roll Music Price $775
The Folcrom is a 16-channel passive summing mixer without gain or
level controls. Each channel has only a pair of pushbutton switches
to assign the channel to the left, right or both outputs. The
simplicity of the signal path enables Roll Music to make no
compromises with the passive components, giving a transparent
D-BOX signal path. The output can be fed to any of your mic preamps to
Manufacturer Dangerous Music Price £1,200 provide the tonal characteristics you prefer.
The Dangerous Music D-Box is an eight-channel summing amp with Web www.rollmusic.com
onboard digital-to-analogue conversion and built-in talkback section
with two headphone outputs. The D-Box enables you to send eight
channels of AES or S/PDIF digital directly out of your DAW ready for
analogue summing inside the unit.
Web www.dangerousmusic.com

8816 Manufacturer Neve Price £2,100

The 16-input Neve 8816 is hand-built and wired with the same circuit
topology as the 80 Series consoles, and features two custom Carnhill
transformers on the stereo output to deliver the classic, punchy
Neve console sound. Each channel has up to +15dB gain, level, pan,
cut/solo and cue controls.
Web www.ams-neve.com
FAT BUSTARD
Manufacturer Thermionic Culture Price £3,699
The valve-based, 12-channel analogue summing mixer has four
stereo ins and four mono ins, plus low- and high-shelving filters
set at 50Hz and 10kHz respectively. There are also Stereo Width
and Depth controls and an Attitude distortion section.
Web www.thermionicculture.com

22 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

 Contemporary mastering Feature MTF

MTF Step-by-Step What’s possible in iZotope RX

Simply drag your audio file into iZotope Using the tools on the right it is possible As well as restoration tools, iZotope
01 02 to De-Clip, De-Click and De-Crackle, 03
to begin editing it. You should see a RX 2 has a useful real-time spectrum
waveform view appear in blue, with an orange Remove Hum, De-Noise and perform a analyser that can be great for helping to
spectral view underneath it. You can fade Spectral Repair. Simply select the section you isolate specific frequency bands that are
between these views using the slider under want to repair with the various selection tools causing problems in your audio.
the sample window. and click on the restoration tool of your choice.

engineer is given two, or usually more, stems to edit stage, when a region is cut without a fade,
work with in order to balance the levels of the for example. However, with good audio-
various parts of the mix. Ideally the engineer should restoration tools clicks are among the easiest
be able to bring in all of the stems at unity gain and things to remove, and removing them even as
hear the mix as intended by the mix engineer. This late as mastering shouldn’t have a noticeable
gives the mastering engineer the option of raising or effect on the audio quality.
lowering any stem directly without trying to bring Of course, if you can go back to the mix and
out the vocal by raising a specific frequency band. correct it by introducing a fade or pulling all
As in mastering, EQ usually involves only very small the faders down by a few dB, that is by far the
changes, so you would need to make only very small best course of action. It’s not always possible,
changes to the mix, but being able to bring out the however, and if you’re working to a deadline
stems rather than a frequency band (or even a and it’s not your track you’re mastering it’s
frequency band within a stem, so raising 2kHz for best to have a restoration tool to hand. There
instance in the vocal) ensures that the other isn’t an overwhelming number of options, but
instruments remain properly balanced. iZotope’s RX2 is cross-platform and does an
As stem mixing has become more common in exceptional job of removing clicks and other
mastering, some mastering facilities have added a noise artefacts. We’re also fans of the CEDAR
hardware summing mixer to their equipment list, suite running on the SADiE platform.
giving yet another reason for some mix engineers to
provide stems rather than simply a stereo mix.
However, stems aren’t right for every mix, especially Another job commonly
if you have outboard summing of your own that you
feel makes up part of the mix, or any mix-buss performed by mastering
processors that you want to add to the mix. Mix-
buss compression, for instance, will respond engineers is audio restoration
differently to each of the stems separately than it
would the whole mix, which effectively means that Mastering started off as nothing more than
you have to take it off the mix buss. The mastering the process of turning the final mix into a
engineer can and almost certainly will add their own lacquer ready for printing vinyls. Any
flavour of compression, of course, but if you were processing was done simply to ensure that the
using the compressor to achieve a specific sound in lathe would be able to cut the grooves and that
your mix you can’t really use stems. the needle wouldn’t skip on playback. However,
as engineers got more creative with EQ and
Noise reduction dynamics processing during the mastering
Another job commonly performed by mastering process, the process of pre-mastering for vinyl
engineers is audio restoration. Hiss, hum, buzz and morphed into the creative process we know
clicks can all make their way into a recording at any today. In today’s mastering facilities, the
stage, and while it can be advantageous to remove engineer’s job has become focused on that
them as early as possible in the mix (so as not to creative process. With the tasks of cutting
amplify the problem later) some will always slip lacquers and even printing CDs now almost
through the net. Clicks in particular often end up in obsolete, the mastering engineer is doing more
the final mix as levels are pushed higher and higher and more to ensure that the final CD sounds as
(one of the reasons why we always suggest leaving great and is as close to the artist’s vision as it
headroom in your mixes), but they also crop up in the is possible to be. MTF

focus Mastering Volume 4 | 23

MTF Walkthrough Ableton Live

Ableton Live Step-by-Step

Mastering with On the disc

Ableton Live
There’s much more to Ableton Live than looping and applying plug-ins. It’s possible to apply mastering
processing at the mixdown stage but I would discourage
DJ’ing, it can also be put to great use as a mastering this because the mix and mastering processes are
tool, as Hollin Jones explains… fundamentally different. Mixing down involves perfectly
balancing all the elements of a track together and

A
outputting a file where the overall level is good but not
bleton Live has gained a reputation for necessarily really loud. Mastering on the other hand
being a great tool for DJs and performers, involves bringing the track’s level up and glueing the mix
with a wide selection of built-in effects and together as a whole to make it sound more cohesive and
instruments and a novel approach to also to ensure that it is ready for playback on any number
recording and composition that involves of devices.
looping, stretching and warping audio. As the software One of the most commonly asked questions in music
has matured, however, it has also taken on many more production is why a track doesn’t sound as loud as the
features of a conventional DAW, and is quite capable of ones you get on CD or hear on the radio. Commercially
mastering using its own plug-ins, plus of course any produced tracks are professionally mastered to sound
third-party models in VST or AU format (for the Mac) that loud, clear and punchy and although they have
you might have installed. thousands of pounds spent on them, you can achieve
The process simply involves loading a mixed down great results yourself with a far more modest setup. In
stereo audio file onto a track in a new project and fact the plug-ins that come with Live can be employed to
master your tracks and, with a little knowhow, you can

Live’s system of effect Racks get great results.

makes it easy to combine a number Rack ‘em up

Live’s system of effect Racks means that it’s easy to

of processors into a chain combine a number of processors into a chain for

mastering and other purposes. In fact, if you take a look

MTF Navigation Mastering with Ableton Live

EQUALISATION
b EQ is vital at the mastering
stage and the 8-band EQ unit is good
for shaping the overall character of
your master prior to final export.

COMPRESSORS
c There are various compressors
a bundled, including single and multi
band models. Apply compression to
gel a mix together – this preset is
even called Mix Gel.

MASTERING PATCHES
a Live comes with some
PLUG-IN
great preset mastering patches d CHAINS
that use its own processors. You
Although you may
can of course create your own d think of Live as a
including third-party plug-ins
and use these as well.
c looping tool it’s just
as adept at loading
regular stereo
mixdowns and then
processing them
through mastering
plug-in chains.

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 Ableton Live Walkthrough MTF

MTF Step-by-Step Using mastering presets in Live

Load up a stereo audio file into Live and This preset is good because it contains all The Limit Gain knob controls the
01 make sure there are no other tracks or
02 the essential elements you need to
03 amount of drive applied using the
plug-ins going when you start. Use a master a track. You will see that the main limiter. Click on the Show / Hide Devices
completely fresh project. Now go into Live’s control panel consolidates the most important button to reveal the plug-ins that make up
Devices menu and locate the Audio Effect mastering parameters into a single section and the chain, then click on the Multiband
Rack section. Then look in the Mastering you can tweak these to affect the sound. The Dynamics model to open its editor window.
subfolder. Try applying one of the presets, for first three are EQ controls and the fourth is the Raise the Comp Amount quick control to
example the Mastering Suite patch. You will amount of compression that is applied. Tone bring the compressor into the signal, then
see the plug-ins appear at the base of the changes the character of the processing and drag the three bands to affect the amount of
window. Stereo Width affects the stereo field. compression applied to each one.

Move on to the EQ Eight module that The Limiter sits at the end of the audio Finally in this particular chain you will
04 comes next in the chain. Activate as
05 processing chain and adds gain. The
06 see a Spectrum plug-in. This isn’t
many bands as you feel you need to sweeten Ceiling is set to -0.10 dB by default, which is a actually processing any sound, it’s just
and fine tune the overall EQ of the sound. If pretty safe setting to use. It’s not going to analysing the sound that is passing through
your mixdown was decent you shouldn’t have result in clipping but it’s loud enough that you it, so it’s safe to have it after the limiter in the
to be doing too much at this stage, it’s should end up with a decent amount of gain, signal path. It’s a good way to get an idea of
probably just a case of adding a few small especially if you drive the input a little. how the frequency bands are behaving in
boosts to draw out certain elements. Use the Parameters mapped to quick controls, as in the your track, since it looks at the sound before
Q control for each band to affect the amount case of the input gain knob here, may need to it has passed to the speakers. In this example
of frequency around the EQ point affected. be altered from the Quick Control section. we can see a lot of energy in the bass and
upper mid ranges.

inside Live’s Audio Effects folder you will see a subfolder compress an EQ’d signal. If you put the EQ first, any
called Mastering. The presets contained within this
PRO TIP changes that you make are likely to be negated or at least
Activate MIDI Mapping mode in
folder can help you to understand how the mastering Live by right clicking on any dulled by the compressor as the signal passes to it. If the
process works in Live. If you load up the preset called assignable parameter and signal is being compressed first, EQ changes made after
Simple Mastering Chain, for example, you will see a choosing Edit MIDI Map or compression are more accurately represented in what
selecting Options > Edit MIDI
number of controls grouped into a simple interface. Click Map. Assignable controls will you hear.
to expand the devices and you will see that it is made up be outlined in purple and can
be assigned to any connected
of an EQ and a Compressor, though not in this particular
hardware MIDI controller or
Mastering chains
case a limiter. software-based controller There are other, more complex mastering chains
You can of course manually change any of the settings connected wirelessly and available in Live’s library. The Vintage Mastering 1 preset,
running, for example, on an
in each effect but the major controls have been iPad. They just need to be set for example, starts with a multiband compressor.
pre-mapped through to the main control area for you. So up in the MIDI preferences. Multiband compression is more flexible than single band
you can change the EQ scale, low boost, stereo width and compression, though it can also introduce some extra
overall gain. The lower row of dials controls the factors to think about. By compressing different bands
compressor’s behaviour. For more complete control, using different amounts of processing you can get better
delve into the effects themselves. You can re-order the control of a complex mix, or one where single band
plug-ins by dragging their title bars left or right, and this compression isn’t cutting it. It could be that the bass end
has some bearing on the effect you get. needs reining in but single band compression has the
It’s not a set rule, but a lot of producers like to use effect of also cutting the mid range and so sucking the
compression first and EQ second. The reason for this is life out of the mix. In a situation like that, multiband
that it’s easier to EQ a compressed signal than it is to compression would be more useful.

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MTF Walkthrough Ableton Live

This preset also takes advantage of some of Live’s course to build your own mastering chains in Live. Inside
PRO TIP
other processors. There’s the Saturator, which is able to the Dynamic Processing plug-in subfolder you will find a
Live can see your VST plug-in
drive the signal and add analogue warmth and has a Soft collection and, on a Mac, your number of compressors suitable to use as the starting
Clip stage to tame any peaks. The utility plug-in contains Audio Unit plug-ins. You can point. The Vintage Finalizer, for example, contains a single
control which ones it loads by
a handy stereo width tool that can be used to add some band compressor and a Saturator, and is great for adding
going into Preferences > File
widening to the signal. There’s also the Limiter, which and Folder. Here you can turn some richness to the signal. Away from the ready-made
always comes at the end of a mastering signal chain and AU plugs on or off on the Mac racks, you can use individual plug-ins to build a chain
and use VST plug-in system
is used to add punch and gain to the signal. It is this that and custom folders, which are
and of course add in any third-party ones you like as well.
gives a track as much volume as possible without going useful if you have installed You have a choice of EQ units and while some people
over 0dB and clipping. It’s the vital component in making certain plugs outside of your prefer the simplicity of the EQ Three, others opt for the
default plug-in location.
a track sound loud, though the coherence and balance of greater power and flexibility of the EQ Eight since it has
the mix are handled by the compressor and EQ units more bands. These can always be turned on and off, so
respectively. You can set the ceiling to fractionally below you could for example use six or five bands – you don’t
zero and then use the Gain knob to drive the input signal. have to use all eight. Inside the Limiter folder you will find
There’s a lookahead section too, which can help you some good presets for various different strengths of
achieve more accurate limiting by constantly seeking limiting, from gentle through to very hard brickwall for an
slightly ahead in the signal to look for changes. ultra-loud sound.
Once you have built a processing chain it can of
Build your own course be saved, and it so comes time to export your
Aside from the mastering presets it’s quite possible of processed file. You can choose to render out from the

MTF Step-by-Step Build a plug-in chain in Live

Part of Live’s flexibility and power lies in If the compressor is sucking some of the With a Multiband Compressor, you can
01 the way it enables you to quickly and
02 gain out of the signal you can use the
03 set the threshold of each band by
easily build plug-in processing chains. In the Makeup button to restore some gain, though dragging the handles of the three bars, and
case of mastering we want to build an audio as mentioned previously, gain is mostly dragging the mouse up or down to change the
effect rack. There are several ways to do this. handled at the limiting stage. When mastering volume. There’s a master Amount dial too so
You could for example drag an empty rack in you are looking to add some fairly gentle you don’t have to apply all or nothing, it’s
and then begin adding to it. Or, start building compression to the signal, and your aim should possible to apply a variable amount of
your chain and group the component parts be to “glue” the sound together rather than multiband compression to the signal. Often
together as you go along. Try adding a necessarily making it really loud. For complex this is preferable to applying 100% all the
Compressor to the track. mixes, try a multiband compressor instead. time.

Now proceed to add the remainder of With the Rack created you can add to it When your chains are complete and you
04 the elements of the chain. We have
05 either by dropping further processors into
06 are happy with the sound, choose to
added an EQ and a Limiter. To group them into the main view or by clicking to reveal the Chain export the audio file. Switch off
a Rack, hold down the Shift key while left List. Drag and drop further effects into this Normalization and choose which of the
clicking on the title bar of each effect so that area and they are layered up on top of the tracks you wish to output, either the Master
they are all selected, and all shown lit up in original chain. So here for example we have channel or the track your audio lives on.
yellow. Then right click anywhere in any of the added a Saturator to the Rack and it exists as a Remember that you need to include all the
title bars and from the resulting menu, second chain within the Rack. Chains can be processing so it makes sense to keep all the
choose Group. This groups them together and re-ordered by dragging them up or down and it plug-ins on a single track to make things
Live knows that since they are audio effects it makes it easy to blend chains for different easier to manage.
will be an audio effect rack. treatments.

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 Ableton Live Walkthrough MTF

master track or from the specific track containing your iZotope’s Ozone, you might want to use Live simply as a
PRO TIP
audio and plug-ins. container for the audio and apply Ozone as the only
Live’s single-window interface
You should deselect the Normalize option prior to makes it easy to see how your mastering plug-in that you use. It can also be a good idea
export. This is because normalisation is really better projects are progressing. Each to meter and analyse your audio properly during
part is resizable and your
suited to raising the volume of audio that is too quiet, but mastering and for this you might want to use Live’s own
plug-in chains live in the area
if you have done your job properly with the compressor along the base of the window. Spectrum or some good third-party analysis plug-ins,
and limiter, the signal should already be loud enough. Using the View menu you can such as those from Blue Cat Audio or Waves. There are
put Live into fullscreen mode
Normalization is fine for exporting loops, and even stems, – great for taking advantage of
even some good free ones floating around the internet.
but properly mastered files shouldn’t need it. screen space, or when DJ’ing, Since analysis plug-ins look at your audio signal while it
There are dithering options available on export too, so as it removes the distraction of is still inside the computer and before it has been passed
other screen elements.
if your project is set to a higher quality, like 24- or 32-bit to your speakers and fired out into the room, they are
or a sample rate higher than 44.1kHz, you can use much more accurate in telling you about phasing and
dithering to convert the file, say to CD quality, without frequency response than simply relying on your ears,
introducing any unwanted distortion. where factors like room shape and monitor quality come
into play.
Going Live You may spend much of your time in Live looping and
Naturally, if you have any specialised third-party plug-ins recording, but you can see that it’s also a capable
that are suitable for use in Live you will be able to add mastering tool, if you know which of its plug-ins to
them into the processing chain as well. If you have employ and how best to use them. With a little knowhow
something specifically dedicated to mastering, like your tracks can sound radio-ready. MTF

MTF Step-by-Step Assigning Macros

Live’s plug-in system is great but the You can use a hardware MIDI controller Choose Map to Macro 1 and the
01 layout can make it a little fiddly when it
02 or enter Map Mode to quickly make
03 Threshold control will be assigned to
comes to making continual small changes to assignments. Click on the Map Mode button Macro slot 1 in the Macro area. You can do
parameters, as you are likely to do during and the assignable parameters of your the same to add other parameters to other
mastering. Many preset Racks have Macros plug-ins will gain green outlines. Move to the macros. So here for example we have
already assigned, and these are a great way Compressor and right click on one of the mapped the Attack control of the
to make changes without having to keep parameters, say for example the Threshold Compressor to the second Macro slot. Come
going back into the plug-ins and finding the control. From the resulting menu you will see out of Map Mode and you will see that the
relevant controls. Take a Rack and click on the option to add it to a Macro. Macro controls when moved now affect
the Show / Hide macro Controls button. those parameters on the Compressor.

Another parameter that can be useful to In the top left corner of Live’s window you You may even want to map hardware
04 have instant access to when mastering
05 should have seen a Macro Mappings
06 controls or the controls from a wireless
is the limiter’s Input Gain control, since this section appear as soon as you entered Map device like an iPad running controller
controls the overall level of the finished Mode. Here you can view all currently assigned software to the mastering Macro controls. So
master. Returning to Map Mode, scroll across Macros for the selected chain and make edits. you could for example tweak the settings
to the limiter and right click on this dial to For example you might want the limiter’s input while walking around the studio. To do this
assign it to one of the Macro slots. Remember gain to only be switchable up to a certain level you would go into the MIDI Preferences and
that with any mapped control you can unmap and not beyond. You could set this by going to set up your remote device. Then right click on
it by simply right clicking and choosing the Max box for that parameter and entering a a Macro control or any other control and
“unmap” instead of map. value. choose Edit MIDI Map and assign a hardware
controller.

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MTF 25 Pro Tips Compression

Pro tips for

Compression

Compression is a vital part of everyday music-making and production – and recently the
subject of much intense debate as the Loudness Wars continue to rage. So how and
when is it best to deploy it? Hollin Jones gives you the lowdown…

USE WITH CAUTION ROUND THE SIDE

01 Compression should not be seen as a way of
03 An interesting use for compression can be found if your
squeezing elements of a track too hard, but rather as a compressor supports sidechaining. This enables you to use
means of keeping things controlled and smooth within a one signal to control how much compression is applied to
mix. Settings are very much project and genre-dependent, another signal. For example, you could feed a compressor’s
but on a typical guitar track you might want to look at using external sidechain input with a copy of a kick drum track and
a ratio of around 4:1 for moderate compression or perhaps
8:1 for heavier stuff like lead guitars. Compress drums
individually if possible rather than as a whole, as different
parts of the kit require different treatments. Bass often
requires a little more compression than other tracks
because of the large difference in volume and energy
between low and high bass notes.

SPLIT THE BANDS

02 Consider using a multi-band compressor in situations 02
where you are dealing with audio material that is more
complex, such as an entire mix. You can have three or four
bands, and each has its own set of gain controls, enabling
you to shape each band separately. The bottom end of the
track, for example, could have slow attack and release times
and a smooth amount of gain reduction. The top end, on the
other hand, could require faster attack and release settings
so that it is more reactive to peaks. A benefit of multi-band
compressors is that no single frequency controls the
amount of gain reduction applied to the whole track, so you
can push each one harder (or, indeed, leave it more
natural-sounding) but treat other parts of the frequency
spectrum differently.

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 Compression 25 Pro Tips MTF

rather, you could use some kind of rhythmic source (such as a

MIDI-triggered instrument or a sample) to apply a rhythmic
feel to the way that another part is compressed.
03
BLEND IT IN
06 You can achieve some interesting effects by blending
compressed and uncompressed versions of the same signal.
For example, you could try taking the lowest things in a track,
typically the bass and the kick drum, and bussing them to a
stereo compressor. Apply a relatively large amount of
compression to these so that they are squeezed – the exact
amount will be up to you – then route them back to a new
channel and blend that with the uncompressed signal. This
can help the bottom end sound controlled while still leaving
space for other sound sources, such as guitars or vocals.

MAKE-UP GAIN
then feed a bass track to the compressor’s processing input.
07 Remember to pay attention to the make-up gain
If you use a very low attack alongside a low or medium control, which your compressor will almost certainly have.
release value on the compressor, the result should be that This is especially important in the case of multi-band
the volume of the bass part is pulled down more or less compressors, since compression effectively turns down the
instantly every time the kick drum sounds and then released signal, so you could end up with certain frequencies being
just as quickly. This can avoid the overwhelming volume that controlled but too quiet in relation to the rest of the track.
can result from two very bass-heavy sounds occurring at the Bands that have been more heavily compressed may
same time, but leave the bass louder when it isn’t coinciding therefore need more make-up gain applied to bring them
with the kick drum part. back up. Be careful, however, since what you are doing is
almost re-mixing or re-EQ’ing the track by doing this. You
SIGNAL PATH should be using only a few dB of difference when making up
04 When compressing bass guitar, consider placing the gain. Many compressors have an auto control for this, which
compressor before any EQ in your signal chain. If you do this can be helpful.
the other way round, the frequencies you boost with EQ will
be compressed more and you might lose, for example, highs MASTER BUSS COMPRESSION
08 Stereo buss compression can be useful, but remember
that it affects the whole mix. Producers sometimes add a dB
Sidechaining a compressor or two of compression when mixing down to add some punch
or clarity to the mix. This is fine, but how much you add

is a great way to achieve depends on how the track is going to be mastered. Usually,
mastering engineers will add compression and limiting to a

advanced dynamics control

track during the mastering process, so it may not be
necessary to add it at the mixdown stage (at least, not across
the whole mix). Radio and TV broadcasters also add their own
form of volume boosting during transmission, so you can see
and mids. If you compress the signal prior to EQ’ing it and that it’s easy to get a little carried away with compression.
then use EQ to add bottom end, you will end up with a more
even, weighty and accurate sound. You can use compression
pedals but it’s sometimes better to add the effect as a
plug-in so that it can be freely modified after recording.

TAKE CONTROL
05 Sidechaining your compressor – if this feature is
supported – is a great way to achieve advanced dynamics
control without the tedious business of automating
compressor settings repeatedly over the duration of a
track. You don’t even have to use an actual element
from your track as the sidechain input source –
08

07

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MTF 25 Pro Tips Compression

MASTERING COMPRESSION
12 If you are compressing at the mastering stage, it’s
helpful to know if compression has already been applied
across the stereo buss (and if so, how much). Compression
settings in mastering range from around 1.5:1 and 3:1 and
thresholds can be around -20 to -10. If you’re unsure about
how these kinds of settings will affect your masters, try
loading up a preset in your mastering plug-in; look at its
settings and how these are changing the sound. Try different
12 presets and you’ll quickly start to understand how different
settings will affect that particular track.

BE SELECTIVE
13 The amount of compression you apply depends greatly
on what you are working on. 6dB or less of compression is
considered moderate and is useful for controlling peaks and
dynamics rather than imparting any specific colour to the
sound. Higher levels, such as 15–20dB of compression, can
PARALLEL LINES be used on elements such as drums and electric guitars. In
09 To compress during mastering, consider using parallel the case of snare drums, for example, you can set the
compression. Take one version of the track and apply threshold of your compressor to either compress every hit or
moderate mastering processing (compression, limiting and to compress only those hits above a certain level, which will
EQ). Duplicate the audio file to a new audio track – perfectly maintain a more natural feel.
in sync with the first – and dial in some more extreme
settings. Use the mixer faders to slowly blend in a small
amount of the heavily processed track with the original and
see how this affects the overall sound.

HARDWARE COMPRESSION
10 If you’re recording live sources such as guitars, drums or
vocals, it’s possible to apply a little compression between the
source and your DAW to control any unexpected peaks in the
signal. This works best, however, when the effect is inserted
between the two end points and as such is rather easier to 14
achieve with hardware effects. It’s also common to record a
bass, for example, through a compressor pedal to give a more
consistent sound. Remember that any processing applied
during recording can’t be removed later.

LET IT BREATHE
11 The best way to get compression to add punch to a
track is to allow the attack of the sound through and
experiment with release times to tweak the effect. Faster
attack times will reduce the amount of punch that the signal
has; slower release times can cause an unwanted ‘pumping’
effect as the compressor takes too long to ‘let go’. The ideal COMPARE AND CONTRAST
setup, which you can find by experimentation, is to make the
14 If you compare, for example, an old jazz record with a
compressor seem to breathe at the same pace as the track. modern pop song you will hear a tremendous difference in
For hardcore dance music you might actually want to the dynamic range. The old record will almost certainly sound
encourage the pumping effect. much quieter and more natural, while the new one will be
consistently very loud. This is thanks to compression – and
also limiting – being applied to squeeze the pop song very
hard and make the ‘quiet’ parts as loud as the loud parts. In
general there’s a balance to be struck between these
extremes for many genres of music. Compress to give it lots
of body, but not to crush or destroy the dynamics.

MIX CONTROL
15 Some compressors have a Mix control, which enables
you to feed a certain amount of the dry signal back into the
wet signal path, giving you more control over the way in
which the compression is working. This is not dissimilar to
13 the way that parallel compression works, only it’s rather
easier to set up. Also remember to periodically mute effects
such as compressors to remind yourself how they are
affecting the sound – it’s easy to forget after prolonged
periods of listening.

SPLIT THE FREQUENCIES

16 Percussive sounds contain more energy than sounds
that occur continuously over time. If you are using a
multi-band compressor, consider applying more gentle
compression to the higher frequencies – higher threshold
and lower ratio settings – which should have the effect of
letting the transients of the percussive sounds through while

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 Compression 25 Pro Tips MTF

16 COMPRESSION VS LIMITING
21 Although compressors and limiters both affect volume,
they must be used in different ways. Compression changes a
sound more than limiting does – compression is best thought
of as a tool for changing the dynamics of the music in a way
that is more subtle and musical. Limiters are best when they
are more transparent, not colouring the sound too much but
adding loudness without significantly altering the character
of the sound. A side effect of limiting can be to add punch and
clarity, which is often desirable.

SIMPLE COMPRESSION
22 One of the most gentle forms of compression is to use it
simply for controlling the peaks in recorded material, leaving
the majority of the recording untouched and unaffected. To
achieve this you would usually set a threshold level that is
slightly above the average level of the track. By using this
retaining a punchy effect on the sustain of the continuous technique only the peaks will be compressed; you could
sounds. Experiment with the crossover points of your compress them more heavily by raising the ratio setting, up
multi-band compressor to suit the makeup of the track you as far as 8:1. Consider an upper limit of around 10dB of gain
are working on. reduction as a rule of thumb.

CHOOSE YOUR WEAPONS TOTAL EFFECTS

17 Compression can be used to bring out elements of a
23 Another way in which to use a compressor is to process
mix, but should not necessarily be applied to every track (at an entire track. In this case you might want to set a low ratio
least, not heavily). Some elements need to be in the of between 1.1:1 and 1.5:1 and a threshold of around 30–35dB
background for the track to work, while others are best kept below the peak level of the track. You will need to play with
in the foreground. It’s easy to over-compress and suddenly the levels a little until your specific track sounds right to you,
find that everything’s fighting with everything else. A good but this is a good way to help sounds blend into a mix better,
gently evening out the differences between quiet and loud
passages without dramatically reducing dynamic range.

Compression is best thought 24 LESS IS MORE

If you are applying master buss compression when
of as a tool for changing the mixing down whole tracks or stems, err on the side of
caution. The idea during mixdown isn’t to squeeze loads of

dynamics of the music volume out of the track – that can be done with a limiter at
the mastering stage. Instead, aim to make the track gel
together properly; to sound like it’s musically finished, if not
really loud as yet. Also bear in mind that any tracks in the mix
rule of thumb is to decide what needs to live where in the that have heavy compression applied to their channel might
mix and in the soundstage, then use light compression more sound over-compressed when further compression is
generally and heavy compression more sparingly. applied down the line, so take care.

SUB SONICS CROSSING OVER

18 Very low frequencies can cause problems for
25 When using a multi-band compressor, be aware of the
compressors (and especially limiters) as they force such crossover points – many models let you set these manually
effects to work harder to process them, potentially resulting (within certain limits). Listen to the track and identify where
in too much gain reduction being applied across the whole the different frequencies intersect. Admittedly, this is easier
mix and leaving your master quieter than it could otherwise in dub than in rock, for example, but you can use multi-band
have been (and with less dynamic range). Try using a compression to gain better control over the overall dynamics
high-pass filter to filter out any sounds below 30 or 35Hz and of a track (providing that the crossover points are correctly
see if this frees up more headroom for the track as a whole. set). Remember that your mix should be correct prior to
mixdown – don’t rely on multi-band compression or
DE-ESSING mastering to fix it. MTF
19 A de-esser is basically a compressor with a very specific
frequency target. You can use the Threshold setting to
determine how much of the sibilance is removed through
compression; sometimes there’s also a Frequency control,
which enables you to target a precise area. De-essing is
almost always best used with caution, since over-application
very quickly starts to sound unnatural and squashed. It’s
better to take precautions during recording – by using a good
popshield – than try to fix problems afterwards.

BACKGROUND NOISE
20 Compression can amplify the noise in the sound being 21
treated because when a signal is below the threshold, the
compressor raises the gain. It’s possible, therefore, to
accidentally raise the volume of hiss and other background
noise during compression. It’s important, however, not to
obsess about removing all of this, as in doing so you will
almost certainly lose part of the music that you wanted to
keep. A little hiss is a natural part of recording, so be gentle in
your efforts to eliminate it.

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 Miles Showell Interview MTF

“There’s something about

the vinyl medium when
you go direct to a disc. It
captures the sound
of the room’’ The MTF Interview Miles Showell

MTF meets Metropolis Mastering’s Miles Showell and discovers how old techniques are
bringing a new, pure sound into a world dominated by digital. Photography by Zen Inoya

M
astering veteran Miles Showell started his career at Utopia in 1984.
Before this, his musical background came from working at his
father’s record shop, which exposed him to a large range of musical
styles and artists. Since those days he has kept this musical
open-mindedness, as a glimpse at his discography will show. He
gained his first job, with Utopia, by means of a fluke when he saw an ad for a
trainee disc-cutter/tape-copier in a music trade mag . He only happened to be
reading through this due to his father’s absence from work that day.
Miles recalls how luck was on his side: “I was the first to call, on the day the mag
came out, so I wanted to make sure I was also the first to be interviewed so they’d
remember me. I was one of four who got an interview from 48 applications… then it
came down to two of us and I got the job by the flip of a coin!”
Although digital gear was already starting to appear within Miles’ first year at
Utopia, he luckily managed to get fully trained in the handling and setting up of
analogue tape, which would prove handy for the rest of his career. After five years
at Utopia he went on to work at Copymasters (now Masterpiece); nine years later
he moved to Metropolis, where he works to this day.

The first cut

At Utopia, the first thing Miles cut on a lathe was the Live Aid single in 1985. As
junior boy, he didn’t master the track itself: his job was to cut 43 seven-inch
acetates from the mastered tape. These were crucial in getting the track to the
various radio stations a week before the single was released to the public, as this
was such a time-sensitive fundraising event.
Miles tells us all about it. “Cutting acetates was the only way to get a track to
radio stations without waiting a week for the pressing plant to produce the
duplicated vinyl. For Live Aid, they wanted Radio 1 to have a copy, as well as the
local commercial stations, for a week’s rotation before the release. I was shown
how the lathe works, then told to just get on with it.” This was the first time Miles
was left alone with the lathe, and the first of many cutting sessions to come.
The first number one single he cut and mastered was the now infamous Never
Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley. He recalls the specific moment: “I remember
playing it at the start of the session and after the third play I thought, ‘This could

focus Mastering Volume 4 | 33

MTF Interview Miles Showell

be huge’ – it was really well done pop. It also went to number MTF StudioEye Miles’ mastering suite at Metropolis
one on my 21st birthday, which was a great present for a
NEUMANN SAL 74B PMC BB5 and XBD
young sound engineer!” a “This runs 500W per
b “The most important pieces
We ask Miles about some of the kit used at the time for channel into the cutting head like of equipment in the room! I love
the job. “At Utopia we had Klein & Hummel parametric EQs. a speaker in reverse, etching the the sound of them, which is
groove into an acetate disc. effortless, natural and unforced,
They were good in their day, which was really in the mid-70s,
Thankfully, Neumann built these even at low levels. They can be a bit
but they were used in many places until the late 80s until to military specifications so they cruel at times: if there is anything
there was much better stuff on the market. Utopia had them were over-engineered: that’s why wrong with a mix, they will show it
they’ve lasted over 35 years.” up in all its ugly glory!”
everywhere, as they had the best of everything when they
started. Neumann consoles were also used, which again
were good at one point, but don’t sound great compared to
what you can get hold of these days.”
When asked why he moved to Copymasters he replies:
“Utopia was a great place and I was really thankful to the
owners for getting me started. But you could just see that
things were starting to get a bit tatty. Mastering made money
but the recording studio lost it, so there wasn’t much around
for the investment in new gear. I thought to myself, this isn’t
really sustainable… and I then got approached by
Copymasters, who wanted to expand from duplication into
proper mastering.”

The vinyl paradigm b

Miles is one of just two engineers in the world offering the
a
half-time vinyl cutting technique dubbed ‘the paradigm
process’. He’s keen to tell us all about it.
“In the 60s, before Decca moved to stereo, they had a
mono cutting head they developed themselves. It was a
product that came from research in the Second World War
– it could cut radar signals! To do this, it had to cut at a
fantastically high quality – this was all part of the FFRR [Full
Frequency Range Recordings] period. But the world’s record
“Then in the late 70s, Stan Ricker from Mobile Fidelity

“Rick Astley went to Sound Laboratories would do it for licensed classic albums,
creating small runs of very high-quality pressings which

number one on my 21st

were also pressed on very high quality vinyl in Japan. I’ve got
a few of them at home and they sound incredible.”
Miles always wanted to try cutting this way himself, but it

birthday, which was a wasn’t until he worked at Metropolis that his interests were
encouraged. He recalls their first attempts. “We first did a

great present for a young

very crude mock-up, which involved bypassing some of the
circuitry in the lathe, and it sounded good enough for us to
pursue the technique further.”

sound engineer!” The next stage was to build custom equalisers for the
process, as all records impose their own EQ curve which has
to be accounted for with EQ beforehand, to get the frequency
people at the time got together and decided to go with the balance you expect upon playback. To test if people would be
stereo vinyl system we use now, not Decca’s own stereo interested in using the service, they sent out double-sided
system. So Decca’s engineers were forced to use the acetates to potential clients with one side cut at normal and
Neumann heads and cutting gear. They weren’t very happy the other at half speed. Miles recalls some of the feedback:
with the quality of the high frequencies so they developed “They all said that they loved it, but they thought the half
the technique to cut at half speed. speed had been treated with extra high-end EQ. It was
“This would involve running a master tape at 15 IPS if it actually that the record just sounded more like the master
normally ran at 30, and the lathe would be set at half speed tape or file it was cut from, not how it normally sounds when
too. This means all of that difficult-to-cut high end changed for the standard cutting techniques.“
information becomes midrange while it’s being cut, then it Miles points out that they’ve managed to add to this
will play back at normal speed afterwards. So they did this in technique, using technology from the last 30 years to iron out
the 60s, until the general cutting technology had improved to weaknesses in the original system. “When Decca did it, they
the extent that they abandoned the process. used tape machines that didn’t have a great bass response.

Miles’ 1994 | Portishead – Dummy 2003 | Dido – Life For Rent

best-of... “Really ground-breaking and different in its day. Beth’s vocal “I doubt I’ll master another album that sells 13 million copies! It
Four classic performances on that album are some of the most emotional was a long, drawn-out mastering process, but Dido and her brother
Showell cuts I have ever worked on.” Rollo are a joy to work with, so despite the hours, it was a breeze.”

34 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

 Miles Showell Interview MTF

NEUMANN VMS-80 AMPEX ATR-100

f “This lathe was made
g “This beautiful-sounding
around 1981, and it’s had various machine is fitted with extended
custom tweaks made to it. The bass-response tape heads and
cutting head is incredibly modified with both transformer-
expensive, at around £8,000 to less transistor electronics and
repair, so I have to be really valve electronics. These are
careful with it.” switchable, so I can have either
transistor or valve amplifiers in
the signal path. Utopia and
Copymasters had Studer units
and although they are built
better, they don’t sound as good.
We used this unit to cut Layla
directly from the tape masters.”
e f
c

CUSTOM CONSOLE SONTEK MES-432 MANLEY

c “The central section is
d “The most musical EQ
e VARIABLE MU
all custom equipment that’s I’ve ever heard. If you want “I had this modified by
either been made in-house or to add 12dB at 16kHz or Simon Saywood at
externally built to our own higher, it won’t ring or sound Analogue Tube. He had JJ
specifications elsewhere. For ‘processed’. Even a rotten Electronics develop a new g
instance, there are EQs that recording will be better for generation of the 6368
were built in-house, and a going through this EQ, and if triode valve, which offers
custom stereo manipulation you’ve got a great recording, me far more limiting and
processor that was made for just a minor tweak will make sounds way better than the
us by Maselec.” it sound even better.” off-the-shelf unit.”

Playing them at half speed then halved the frequencies, brings back the direct connection between the performance
making matters worse and resulting in very clear but and what the consumer will hear. It was while Miles listened
bass-light cuts. We don’t have that problem.” to a Thelma Houston album called Pressure Cooker that he
Underworld’s Barking was cut this way and pressed in a got the idea to try out this almost forgotten process. “I heard
high-quality plant in Holland. Miles says this is an important that album about five years ago and it just changed my
point to note: “We tell people not to skimp on their pressing attitude to recorded music,” he says. “It sounded incredible.”
costs. If they do, they might save some money per disc, but After suggesting the idea in passing to Duke Special, they
they’ll throw away all of the extra money they’ve spent with went on to successfully record The Anniversary EP. Miles
me cutting this way, because you just won’t hear it.” also recorded various artists this way for the Channel 4/Seat
project On Track, including Ellie Goulding, Tinchy Stryder, The
Direct to disc Bees, Robyn, The Coral and many others.
Another older technique that Miles has given new life to is the The process requires Miles to be ready at the lathe in his
art of cutting a live performance straight to acetate. This is mastering suite while communicating with the mix engineer
how things were done before multitrack tape arrived, and and performers. Start times have to be very precise as the
disc will go into duplication exactly as cut, so it can’t have

“Direct to disc brings a any unnecessary silence at the start, background noises,
false starts, etc. Miles explains the set-up: “It’s an all-

nervous energy to the

analogue process, using high-quality tie lines between here
and the studio. There’s just something about the vinyl
medium when you go direct to a disc: it captures the sound

process and this generally of the room like no other recording medium since, more so
than tape and a lot more than digital. We don’t know quite

works in your favour, like

what it is, but it could be because the sound hasn’t been
chopped up, like digital, or passed through various amps and
then to magnetic pulses, like tape. Direct to disc brings a

the buzz of a live gig” nervous energy to the process and this generally works in
your favour, like the energy and buzz of a live gig.” MTF

2010 | Underworld – Barking 2011 | Derek & The Dominos – Layla

“Their best album in years. It sounds great, too, as we avoided excessive “The vinyl lacquers were cut all analogue, no digital, from
digital limiting. The vinyl version was cut at half speed and sounds superb.” the original masters, so it sounds really musical. There
was no false digital ‘enhancement’ applied whatsoever.”

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 35

 Cubase Walkthrough MTF

Cubase Step-by-Step

Master your tracks On the disc

in Cubase
Cubase has some excellent mastering tools included its own as well as being able to load any third-party VSTs,
so you won’t be short of options.
with the software – in fact it has everything you need
to get great masters, as Hollin Jones reveals… Getting started
One of Cubase’s more helpful features is the Project

W
Assistant which appears when you first boot the
ith its VST format, Steinberg helped to software. This contains project presets and amongst
kick start a revolution in music these you will find one called Stereo Mastering, which is
technology by bringing studio grade set up for you to import a stereo audio file and get to
processing tools to the personal work straight away. You can create your own template
computer, where previously they had

The ability to run processor-

only been available in hardware form. This was also the
start of the “home” mastering revolution, making it

intensive effects, potentially at very

possible for tracks to be mastered somewhere other
than a professional mastering facility. That’s still a great

high sample rates, is important

place to go if you can afford it, but it’s good to have the
option of doing it yourself if budgets are an issue, as they
are for most people.
In the last decade or so, software audio processing
tools have increased dramatically, both in number and in files and place them in the file directory path displayed
fidelity, and computers have become much more in this window, which is where templates live. Do this and
powerful and so able to run more, higher quality plug-ins. they should appear in your Project Assistant list. You can
And while mastering doesn’t generally require high also save any project as a template quickly by choosing
plug-in counts, the ability to run processor-intensive File > Save As template, at which point you are presented
effects, potentially at very high sample rates, is with the option to add metadata for easier searching.
important. Cubase comes with some excellent tools of The mastering preset places a couple of plug-ins into

MTF Navigation Mastering in Cubase COMPRESSION

b Compression is a vital part of the mastering process
and Cubase’s own Compressor has handy points that you
can drag around to set the Ratio and
Threshold, making compression quite
intuitive.
a
b
LIMITING
c Limiting
helps to squeeze a
powerful overall
level out of your
tracks and the
bundled Limiter
module is
straightforward
INSERT SLOTS and easy to use.
a The Insert slots are where
you layer up your plug-ins to
process your master. This can be
done per track or, if you are only d c
mastering one track, they can be
placed onto the master channel.
STUDIO EQ
d Cubase has a dedicated parametric
EQ called StudioEQ and this is great for
fine tuning and sweetening your master
prior to export.

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 37

MTF Walkthrough Cubase

MTF Step-by-Step Building a typical mastering setup

In this example we have a short section Start by adding a compressor. Here we The makeup gain may be set to Auto by
01 of a mixed down track that hasn’t been
02 have chosen Cubase’s own Compressor
03 default but you can change this if you
mastered yet. Import it onto a new stereo plug-in from the Dynamics submenu, applied like. Deactivate the Auto button and you can
audio track, making sure that your project as an insert on the audio track. We have dialled dial in some volume boost manually to make
settings match those of your imported audio. in a mastering preset but these will always up for any overall volume reduction that may
You can check this in the Project Setup menu. need changing to suit your track, so modify the be resulting from the compression. Worry
Set up a loop around your track with the left Threshold and Ratio knobs or their about absolute overall level later when you
and right markers and activate looping since corresponding points on the grid to achieve a limit, but add some here if the track seems
you will be listening back for a while during nice, even compression. Your aim here is to particularly quiet. There’s also the option to
this process. sweeten the sound, controlling any peaks. use soft knee compression.

You can use a multiband compressor if Next you can add EQ and here we have Finally you can apply some limiting and
04 your mix is more complex and a single
05 chosen Cubase’s own StudioEQ. Activate
06 you will find the Limiter inside the
band compressor isn’t cutting it. Cubase has its four bands and dial in frequency and gain Dyanmics subfolder on any standard Cubase
one and you can use up to four bands, settings for each one. This is more intuitive to installation. Presets can be helpful here, so
dragging the boundaries between each one do if you use the mouse to drag the EQ points try loading up one that sounds similar to the
to alter the crossover points and dragging in the main part of the display. The Q control for kind of stuff you’re working with. The idea is
each one’s top surface up or down to apply each band can be used to determine the width to set the output gain at or very slightly below
more or less compression to any band. of the area around each point and thus the zero and then drive the input gain to squeeze
Multiband compression is more complex but amount of signal that is affected. Aim to maximum volume out, being careful not to
helpful if a single band model is missing or sweeten and balance your sound with the EQ. over-crush the sound or introduce distortion.
accentuating frequencies that it shouldn’t be.

insert slots on the master output channel, though you Signal chain
could also place them in insert slots on the audio track
PRO TIP Mastering in Cubase is much the same as using a wave
In Cubase’s export window
that contains your file. When mastering multiple tracks there’s a box at the bottom that
editor, only it employs the interface and tools that you are
in one project, avoid inserting plug-ins on the master allows you to specify an action already familiar with. The first things you may want to
buss. If you are starting from scratch, import your mixed to take place after processing apply are EQ and compression, and the order is largely a
is finished. The options include
down file into a fresh project, making sure the project opening a file in Wavelab 7 if matter of preference. Some people however do prefer to
settings as determined in the Project Setup menu match this is installed on your system compress first and EQ second, since otherwise the
and also uploading it directly
the characteristics of your audio file. You don’t want changes you make to EQ can be cancelled out or harder
to your SoundCloud account.
Cubase to be resampling or otherwise altering your Both of these are possible to distinguish because they are being fought by the
original file so be sure to match up the settings. Also, manually, but using the Post compressor. If you compress first then EQ, you are
Process tool saves a little time,
there’s no real advantage to be gained by mastering especially if you’re working
tweaking the compressed signal, not compressing an
using higher settings than you used when mixing down, with lots of files. already EQ’d signal.
as this will only add file size and not audio fidelity. There are some good bundled dynamics plug-ins that
This is why it’s so important to start a project using you can use as a starting point for your master.
high quality settings, mix down at the same settings and VSTDynamics is probably the best all-round model and
if possible also master at those quality settings. Only contains gate, compressor and limiter sections, though
when you export your mastered track or think about at this stage you will probably only want to activate the
converting for CD or the web do you need to begin compressor section. If you prefer, there is a smaller effect
downsampling new versions. It never hurts to maintain a called simply Compressor, which omits these other two
“gold master” at the highest quality resolution, and use processing stages. As well as a number of instrument-
that as the basis for any subsequent copies. specific presets this one has patches for mastering

38 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

 Cubase Walkthrough MTF

which can provide a good starting point for working with perhaps the StudioEQ that comes bundled. There are
PRO TIP
your sound. also 10 and 30 band graphic equalisers, though these
Third-party plug-ins can lend
In addition to regular dials for making compressor a particular sound to your tend to be less useful and not as precise for mastering
settings, the Compressor plug-in has a handy grid masters. Yamaha’s Vintage due to their lack of Q controls or band type options. The
Open Deck is a tape simulator
display with a couple of handles that let you set the StudioEQ only has four bands but this should be
with interchangeable models
Threshold and Ratio in a more natural way, and help you of recording and reproduction sufficient for most mastering EQ tasks. Indeed,
to see how much attenuation is being applied to any modules you can swap out and sometimes having more bands just encourages you to
tweak to get a vintage sound.
signal that passes the threshold. There’s a makeup gain Some tape simulation is
play around more when there’s actually nothing wrong
section that can be used to add a little gain if your possible with Cubase’s with the sound.
compression is subtracting some energy from the overall soundset, but a specialised
tool makes it easier.
level, though be careful to use this only sparingly here: Boosting frequencies
absolute volume can be dealt with later at the limiting Dialling in EQ for a master is a very subjective thing of
stage. The main thing to ensure is that things aren’t course, and every track will be different. Having said that,
made too quiet by the compressor, which they shouldn’t when mastering you often find yourself boosting
be if you are setting it up properly. There’s an Auto button frequencies rather than cutting them, adding sweetness
on the makeup gain control if you want Cubase to handle in certain frequency ranges rather than trying to back
this for you. things off. The only exception might be applying a low cut
Cubase has a good built-in equalizer on every track in to the very bottom end of the sound, to remove any
a track’s VST Audio Channel Settings window, but you will unwanted sub bass frequencies. You’re not restricted to
probably want to use a slightly more advanced model, using one EQ module, but do try to keep setups simple.

MTF Step-by-Step Building a plug-in chain

If you are working on a number of tracks There are several ways to create a Track You can access the same Save option
01 or clips, you might typically spend a
02 Preset. From the Track Inspector in the
03 by right clicking on a track’s control area
while getting the processing chain sounding Project window, go to the Track Preset area at in a Project and from the resulting contextual
right, then save it in order to be able to use the top and click on the tiny box icon to the left menu, choose Save Track Preset. It’s worth
again in future or call it up quickly for the next of the text. Then choose Save Track Preset and giving things detailed names if you intend to
task. Cubase makes this easy. First let’s say the Save window appears. Here you can create use a lot of presets, since using vague
you have already done the work and have a a new folder, if you like, and enter a preset naming schemes means they will be harder
plug-in chain that fixes the audio you are name. Clicking on the Expand button at the to identify down the line. Using meta tagging
working on. It might be easiest to view it in bottom lets you add other metatags for easier can help greatly with this.
the project window or the VST Audio window. searching.

You can manage track presets on a It’s also possible to search for track If you want to create a new track based
04 global level by opening the MediaBay
05 presets from this menu using specific
06 on a track preset simply right click in an
browser from the Media menu and then criteria. Right click on one and then choose empty area of a project and select Add Track
navigating to the VST Sound > User Content > Search For and from the resulting menu, select Using Track Preset. From the Choose window
Track Presets section. Here you can view and a criteria. You could use this to find another you can filter by multiple criteria or use a
edit all your saved presets as well as right preset you had created on a specific day for simple text search field to jump straight to the
clicking on any one to perform tasks like example, but whose name you may have preset you want. Then hit Add Track and your
write protection, revealing the file on your forgotten in the meantime. track is loaded complete with plug-in chain.
hard drive and copying and pasting settings.
You can also create a track using a preset
from here.

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 39

MTF Walkthrough Cubase

Cubase also has a limiter and this is very for mastering, adding stereo width to the soundstage.
PRO TIP
straightforward, letting you drive the input signal without Use this sparingly however, if you use it at all, because
Cubase comes with a Soft
clipping by keeping the output set just below 0dB. Clipper plug-in. Soft clipping is adding a lot of width to a signal can quickly start to play
Applying some light to medium strength limiting should where peaks are brought down havoc with the mix, as instruments are pushed out to the
in level so they do not cause
give your sound a boost and more overall power. It’s not distortion at the ceiling: they
sides of the soundstage. If you are ready to export your
supposed to colour it particularly, just make it louder. are not allowed to square off. master, in the Mastering subfolder of the inserts you will
There’s also a Maximizer, which includes a Soft Clipping This can add softness to a mix find the UV22HR dithering plug-in, which is able to
in the digital domain because
option. You wouldn’t use both of these on a track since you can avoid the harshness convert bit rates during export accurately without adding
they produce very similar kinds of effects, so it’s better to that ordinary limiters cause any unwanted noise.
when they are squaring off the
stick to one, probably the limiter. We have mentioned Cubase’s own plug-ins but it is of
peaks at the clipping level.
course able to load any third-party models you care to
Track Presets add to your setup, so you shouldn’t run short of tools.
You can save your mastering plug-in chain in Cubase as When you’re done, use the File > Export Audio Mixdown
a Track preset by right clicking on it in the project window command and choose the Stereo Outs as the channels
and choosing Save Track Preset, at which point you can to include, making sure that your sample rate and bit
enter all sorts of metadata that will be picked up by depth are either the same as the project you have been
MediaBay. There are a few other interesting modules that working in, or at least set to the highest quality you’re
you might explore while mastering in Cubase too. In the going to need for distribution, such as 44.1kHz, 16-bit for
Spatial submenu of the Inserts list for example you will CD. Use Cubase’s built-in mastering tools and you will be
find a model called StereoEnhancer and this has presets making radio ready tracks in no time. MTF

MTF Step-by-Step Mastering multiple tracks

In many cases you will want to master To quickly solo or mute tracks in a It’s actually possible to perform
01 more than one track and there are
02 project, select a track then use the arrow
03 actions on tracks that are not even
various tips and workflow tricks that you keys on your keyboard to move up and down, shown in the Project window, as long as they
can employ to make this faster than loading and press the M key to mute a track or the S have been imported into your project at
them one by one. We have looked at saving key to solo it. This is a great way to compare some point. Open the Pool window from the
Track Presets of chains of plug-ins but there the relative volumes and treatments of a Project menu and locate any track in the
are also other ways to quickly move plug-ins number of tracks in a project, say for example Pool. Right click on it and from the resulting
between tracks. If you go to the Mixer and if they all need to end up on the same album menu go to the Process submenu. Here you
reveal the Inserts view for example, you can and thus have a similar overall gain level and can normalize, fade and perform other
hold Alt and drag a plug-in from one mixer sound. processing tasks on one or more files
insert slot onto any other in a project. quickly and easily.

It’s a very good idea when mastering to You can set Cubase’s mixer to show you a When you output your final master you
04 A/B your tracks with other,
05 range of different views and for mastering,
06 can choose a single channel export if
commercially produced tracks in the same one of the most useful is the big meter view. By you have just worked on one file, or a channel
style as those you are working on. This can setting the track and the master output batch export if you have worked on more than
give you a good indication of whether you’re channels to show this view, you get an idea of one. This should export each file separately
processing enough or not enough or indeed how close you are coming to zero, as well as if complete with its own mastering treatment
too much. You can drag and drop many kinds any clipping is occurring. The meter can be set and provide you with a folder full of freshly
of digital audio file straight into a project and to remember peaks and you can click on them mastered and great sounding tracks.
also use the Import from Audio CD command to clear them if you have subsequently made
to rip directly from a disc for this purpose. adjustments.

40 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

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MTF 10MM Key gating

Minute
Master
Key gating
techniques
Key gating illustrates that there’s more an audio gate
can do than simply reduce unwanted background Assuming that your DAW supports sidechain routing in its plug-in
signal path, you should be able to explore the wonders of key
noise. Mark Cousins unlocks its secrets... gating even if you don’t have the necessary hardware.

J
ust like a compressor, a noise gate is a far more mic preamps and tape recorders had less than perfect
Tech Terms
versatile tool than you might imagine. While most of recording specs. However, to achieve satisfactory noise
● GAin-reDuCTion
us are aware of the device’s ‘corrective’ properties CirCuiTry reduction, noise gates require more than just a threshold
– particularly in regard to noise reduction – a noise The gain-reduction circuitry control. Firstly, the amount of gain reduction (or the noise
is the ‘muscle’ behind the
gate can also be used to perform several unique takes on noise gate, usually taking the
gate’s range, in other words) applied as the signal falls
dynamic control. One of the most popular of these is the form of a Voltage Controlled below the threshold is crucial for transparent control.
effect of key gating, which became a staple component of Amplifier (or VCA) that is used Complete attenuation is too brutal, whereas a range of
to attenuate the input.
record production in the 70s and 80s and is still about 10dB or so makes the overall output
● rATe-leVel
extensively used is genres such as dance. But what is key enVelope GenerATor proportionately cleaner without the ear being too aware
gating and how can the effect be configured in the Complicated envelopes that of its application.
modern-day DAW? fall outside a conventional Another point to consider is the movement in and out
ADSr shape can be created
with a rate-level envelope of gain reduction. On the one hand, the gain-reduction
Heaven’s gate generator. The envelope has circuitry needs to be quick to respond as an input triggers
multiple steps, with each
Before we explore the intricacies of key gating, let’s first having its own rate and
the threshold to ‘open’ the noise gate, so that transient
consider the principles behind a traditional noise gate. level parameters. information isn’t lost. The same isn’t so true when the
Like a compressor, a noise gate is a form of dynamics ● BreAKpoinT noise gate needs to shut, especially as a slow decay on
processor that adjusts gain in response to the input’s A rate-level envelope the input will often make the noise gate ‘chatter’ (rapidly
can be seen as a series of
signal level. In the case of a compressor, gain reduction is breakpoints, with each open and shut, in other words) around the threshold.
applied above a given threshold, with the net result being step defined by the relative The solution to the problem is, of course, fully variable
position of a given breakpoint.
that ‘loud’ signals are attenuated and the overall dynamic attack and release controls. The attack time sets the
range is restricted. A noise gate works in reverse, applying movement of the noise gate as it moves in and out of gain
gain reduction when an input falls below a given reduction – ideally, set fast enough to preserve transient
threshold (turning down quieter signals, in other words). detail but not so fast that the gate opening becomes
As the name implies, noise gates were developed as a audible. The release is suitably graduated, accounting for
means of controlling background noise in the days when the decay characteristics of the input as well as allowing
the movement into gain reduction to be smooth enough
so that it’s relatively transparent to the ear.
INPUT
Keys to the kingdom
Although they were obviously primarily designed for the
Threshold
purposes of noise reduction, engineers subsequently
started to investigate how a noise gate could be turned to
more creative ends – not simply removing noise, but
actively shaping the volume of the input to create a new
0dB Gain Reduction dynamic envelope to the sound. The key to this process is
the facility granted to sidechain the noise gate.
Release
Range Sidechaining enables an engineer to make a distinction
between the audio input being used to drive – or ‘key’
Attack – the gain-reduction circuitry, and an external source
(unrelated to the input) being used to control the noise
-96dB gate’s movements.
A classic example of a sidechained noise gate is
Adjusting the various parameters on the noise gate contours the something like a bass guitar track being ‘keyed’ by the
key gating effect, moving between an almost percussive-like kick drum. With a suitable amount of range established
effect and a subtle pulsing.
(6dB, for example), the bass guitar is attenuated when

42 | Mastering Volume 4 focus

 Key gating 10MM MTF

the kick isn’t playing. When the kick is playing, though,

Key gating makes a distinction between a sustained
the gate opens, effectively accenting the bass guitar. As a
SUSTAINED PAD signal fed into the noise gate’s audio input and a
result of this ‘keyed’ noise gate, the bass guitar gains a percussive trigger fed into the sidechain input.
new degree of tightness, locked in with the movement of
the kick drum.

OUTPUT
Gate keeper
Key gating, however, takes the concept of a sidechained
noise gate to its logical – and more extreme – conclusion. AUDIO INPUT
The defining ingredients of the key gating effect are the NOISE GATE
two signals used to feed the noise gate – one acting as
the audio input to the gate, the other running into the SIDE-CHAIN
HI HAT INPUT
noise gate’s sidechain input (external key). In the case of
the audio input, we need a sound with plenty of sustain,
which could be anything from a heavily distorted electric
guitar to a rich sawtooth pad coming from a synth. The
external key, though, should be a short, clipped sound
following some form of rhythm – the hi-hat, for example.
Returning to the parameters mentioned earlier, it’s
interesting to see how these become key components of
the gating effect. The basic effect, of course, is defined
by the interaction between the two forms of input: the and shuts. Fast attack and release will lend a spiky
external key (hi-hat) opening and closing the gate in a percussive-quality to the effect, which is favoured for its
rhythmic fashion over the sustained input, effectively ability to create sequencer-like lines from any sustained
creating a new, staccato-like sound. Given the different synthesizer. In much the same way as decreasing the
durations of the two hi-hat sounds – open and closed – range, slowing down the attack and release softens the
edges of the effect, giving it more of a pulsing quality.

Key gating became a staple Chain gang

The ability to execute a key gating effect in your DAW falls

component of record production down to its ability to utilise sidechaining (the extent to
which varies from DAW to DAW). Failing that, there’s

during the 70s and 80s always the possibility of using a software synth’s
amplifier section, feeding the pad elements into the
audio input then opening and shutting the amplifier
it might also be that the effect is given extra rhythmic using a MIDI input. In Reason, for example, you can use
interest, producing a ‘duh-duh-dah’-type sound. the Matrix pattern sequencer and feed its gate output to
In the case of the range parameter, we have control a suitable Amp Env Gate input on Subtractor.
over the intensity of the effect and, therefore, the amount To achieve internal key gating effects, many software
of staccato. At the maximum range, the key gating effect synths now feature complicated rate-level envelope
will be extreme, with silence between each of the hi-hat generators, which allow you to embed key gating effects
hits being fed into the external key. Decreasing the range directly into a patch. A good example of this is
will let more of the pad sound through, softening the Omnisphere’s Envelope Zoom page, which has an almost
effect and making it closer to a subtle ‘pulsing’ effect. limitless number of breakpoints that can be used to
Attack and release in the context of key gating have an create complicated ‘rhythmic’ envelope sequences. By
immediate and intuitive effect on the output, enabling you routing the desired envelope through to the amplifier you
to shape the dynamic envelope each time the gate opens can create the classic key gating effect.

Dynamic delights
Although there’s a variety of ways of achieving the effect
nowadays, the sound of key gating remains an ever-
present part of music production. Whether you’re
creating the effect using a sidechained noise gate or by
using one of the various options in software, the
distinctive tempo-sync’ed movement that key gating can
add to a piece of music is always a welcome addition.
Dynamic processing, therefore, offers far more than just
compression, with a variety of techniques and
possibilities at the engineer’s disposal. MTF

FURTHER INFO
● For more on gates and expanders: www.musictech
mag.co.uk/mtm/features/gates-and-expanders
Many software synths feature rate-level envelopes, arguably ● For more on envelopes: www.musictechmag.co.uk/
negating the need to use a noise gate for key gating effects.
mtm/features/10mm113-modulation-with-envelopes

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 43

 Ozone 5 Walkthrough MTF

Ozone 5 Step-by-Step

Make better masters On the disc

using Ozone 5
Thanks to accomplished software from the likes of incredibly deep plug-in – but all of its major parts will get
a full workout. Let’s start with the first link in the Ozone
iZotope, mastering is now a perfectly feasible task signal chain: the equaliser.
in the project studio. Rob Boffard gets you started…
All things equal

P
Ozone 5 actually has two EQs. They’re both
revious versions had a decidedly old-school fundamentally similar, but have different roles in the
feel, with chunky buttons and a science-lab signal chain. The first – simply labelled Equaliser – lets
look, but the latest version of iZotope’s you make broad-brush adjustments to your track right at
mastering plug-in looks gorgeous, with sleek the start of the mastering process, while the other – Post
graphics and a clean feel. And in the

In the battlefield of home

battlefield of home mastering, Ozone has become
something of a howitzer. It’s a great all-in-one system,

mastering, Ozone has become

and ideal if you’re looking to put an extra sheen on your
tracks but don’t have enough cash to send them to a

something of a howitzer
dedicated mastering studio – or you just want to take a
crack at it yourself.
That said, Ozone can be a little overwhelming, and
that’s what this guide is for. We’re going to show you how
to get the best out of Ozone 5, running through some of Equaliser – is positioned at the end of the process,
the key processes you’ll be using to make your tracks enabling you to fine-tune any frequencies affected by the
sound crisp and loud – both ones established in the other processing modules.
plug-in and brand-new ones. This is everything you need There are two main modes for Ozone’s EQs: Analog
to know to not only get up and running, but also to and Digital. The former is for when you want a little colour,
achieve some great mastering. We can’t cover absolutely while the latter is for when you need things to be a little
everything – for all its compact charm, Ozone really is an more transparent. In general terms, you shouldn’t need to

MTF Navigation Ozone 5 key features MAIN WINDOW

c Most modules have the same format: controls at the bottom, visual window
a GLOBAL CONTROLS
Ozone’s modules all have
at the top. You can usually choose how you want your sound to be displayed, too.

the same controls next to them: a

big square button to select your
module, an on/off button, and a
little arrow for the preset menu.

a
d

METER CONTROLS
d Nice little combo here:
b AMOUNT SLIDERS
Not just wet/dry controls
zoom buttons, a mid/side
monitoring switch (the blue/
– they’re a very subtle way of orange number) and buttons
controlling how much each
module affects the mix. You get a
b to lock the left and right
channels. Handy.
global slider, plus individual ones
for each module.

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 45

MTF Walkthrough Ozone 5

MTF Step-by-Step Mid/side processing

One of Ozone’s most potent weapons is You have M/S processing in all Ozone We’re going to do some mid/side EQ’ing
01 its mid/side processing, which enables
02 modules except the Stereo Imager and
03 on our track. For starters, make sure
you to separate the main parts of the stereo the Maximiser. It’s reasonably straightforward that the Digital and Linear options are
field and treat them separately. This will to work out: you can access the mids (orange) selected (this will help prevent any phase
allow you to make your tracks seem wider or the sides (blue), and you can solo or bypass problems). Select the side option – you’ll
and have more depth. To access it, click on either side. The two joined circles in the middle notice that the EQ curve turns blue to match.
the button labelled Stereo on the bottom-left is a link button, enabling you to control both at The sides of a stereo mix often benefit from a
of Ozone’s main screen. Cycle through the once. Load in a track and play around with little boost in the upper frequencies, so raise
options until you get to Mid/Side. To the right, soloing the mids and sides to get a feel for it a few dB at around 5kHz. This will give your
you’ll see little section coloured blue and what’s happening. track a little extra ‘air’ – solo the sides to see
orange. This is your main Mid/Side control. what we mean.

Select the mids and you’ll have an By now, you’ll have noticed that certain Be aware that M/S processing can often
04 orange EQ curve that remains separate
05 instruments are dominant in the sides
06 have unexpected results when you start
from your blue one. Try boosting the mids a (vocals, hi-hats, lead synths) and others tend playing around with the other modules, such
little at around 1kHz – this will give the track to be concentrated in the mids (bass lines, as reverb or compression. As a general rule, if
a little more body. As with all mastering, the kick drums). You can use M/S processing to you use it once, activate it for every
key is to be very gentle, and keep A/B’ing make sure that they don’t stray out of their subsequent module in your signal chain to
(using the History tab) to make sure that your zones – just apply a couple of shelving cuts at hear what’s happening in the different parts
changes are doing good things to the mix. the extreme top and bottom ends to, for of your mix. If necessary, use the Post
You’ll see that there are two EQ spectra: one example, remove bass frequencies in the sides. Equaliser to correct any unwanted changes
each for the mids and sides. you’re hearing in your song.

use EQ to make huge changes to your track: think soft, Then there’s Matching. Let’s say you’ve heard a song
shallow slopes as opposed to deep spikes. If you need to that has fantastic mastering on it, and you’re thinking, “I
be precise, pick the Digital option, select your preferred want to make my track sound like that!” Matching is a
style of EQ (linear is a good choice for complete PRO TIP good first step. Drag the ‘target’ song into your DAW,
transparency) and cut/boost to your heart’s content. Ozone 5 comes in Standard placing it on the same track as the one you’re mastering.
There are a few other useful tools. Click the little ‘+’ and Advanced, which costs While it’s playing, use Ozone to take a snapshot of it, and
more. Advanced gives you
icon on the bottom left and some tabs will pop up. things like a meter bridge, it will store itself next to the capture window. Click
Alongside the standard EQ Bands tab you’ll notice two spectrum analyser, component Matching and you’ll see your target snapshot displayed
others: Snapshot and Matching. plug-ins for use on individual on the right. Select it and use the Amount slider to
tracks in a mix, stereo reverb
Snapshot is a seriously handy little widget. Select how split and more. If you’re looking determine how closely you want Ozone’s EQ to try to
long you want it to capture for, press play and hit Start for fine-grained control, the match the sound. Used sparingly, it can be a useful tool.
Advanced edition could be
Capture. Ozone will provide a freeze-framed version of worth the investment.
your track’s frequency spectrum, making it easy to see Reverb nation
where the dominant areas are. And by the way, see the Working out how much reverb to apply is one of the
little Guides tab, just under the Capture section? The 6dB trickiest bits of the mastering process. After all, if you’ve
and the Pink option might seem a little strange at first, spent ages getting a crisp, clean mix, why muddy it up
but what they let you do is put a guiding line over your with reverb? But when used correctly, it can give some
track, so you can try to match your EQ to it. And since wonderful colour, and can be a real asset to your track.
these guide lines represent a common EQ profile for First, click the Solo Wet button under the mix controls
mastered songs, you might want to use them (Pink, by the to the left. Ozone separates the ‘verb into early
way, doesn’t refer to the pop singer – it’s a 3dB guide line). reflections and late tails: the Mode and Pre-delay

46 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

 Ozone 5 Walkthrough MTF

selectors (and Early Reflections, if you’ve got the little red clipping icon never illuminated? Well, the boring
advanced version) control the former, while the various bit’s over. Time to make this sucker loud, and that’s the
PRO TIP
Decay controls sort out the latter. The key to getting a job of Ozone’s Maximizer.
Ozone’s default signal chain is
great reverb sound – as with the EQ – comes in being reasonably sensible, but it First, you’ll need to select a Mode for it. The IRC
very gentle and listening very closely to exactly what the does give you the option to (Intelligent Release Control) modes are designed to be
switch it around. You can do
reverb is doing. used when you want completely clear, transparent
this by clicking on the Graph
Pick a reasonably gentle mode – Room, say – and button then clicking and limiting. Pick plain IRC for your normal limiting needs,
start raising the faders one by one. In the View window dragging devices around to and select IRC II or III when you really decide to blow
change their order. Try, for
above the faders, click the Impulse Response button example, swapping around the
some speakers. Be careful, though – the IRC II and III can
(which looks like a sloped hill). This will give you a visual dynamics and the exciter leave you with some latency issues, and can put some
representation of your reverb tail – handy when you’re modules to change the quality strain on your computer. Hard and soft limiting are
of the sound.
looking to make fine adjustments. The button above it reasonably self-explanatory, but you’ll notice that the
gives you access to a rudimentary EQ with low and high controls change slightly when you select them. For now,
cut-off filters – handy if you don’t want your reverb to we’ll stick with the IRC options.
muddy up your carefully crafted bass. Your main tools here are the Threshold/Margin
controls – think of it as working like a compressor. The
Maximum boost Threshold tells the Maximizer when to kick in, while the
This is the fun bit. Remember how, in your mix, you Margin tells it what to push the gain up to. Bring the
restrained yourself from trying to make it loud, taking Threshold down until the central red meter kicks in, and
pains to watch your headroom and making sure that the then bring the Margin down accordingly. While we’d

MTF Step-by-Step Multi-band compression

Multi-band processing is something You can control the different parts of the We tend to start with the limiter, and
01 you’ll see pop up a lot in Ozone. The
02 compressor visually (using the nodes) or
03 when you’re using it, it’s best to make a
compressor, however, is where it’s at its most by adjusting the sliders on the left. Each band global change to the bands first. To do this,
powerful. Select the compressor and look in can have its own separate compression, click on the Show All button below the View
the View window at the top. You’ll see a limiting and gate options, enabling you to craft window, which will give you a detailed
default four bands across the frequency a compression curve for each part of your readout of your compression values. Click the
spectrum. You can bypass and solo individual track. Note the threshold sliders on the far left: little stereo link button to the left of it, then
bands, change their width by dragging the start playing with your ratios and you’ll see the adjust your limiter values accordingly. This
lines, and even remove bands by right- red compression indicator start dropping will give you a good base to work from; you
clicking on the window. Helpfully, clicking on down between them. can always dip into the individual bands if
a band changes the Ozone colour scheme. you want to make fine adjustments later on.

As a rule, you’ll want to put slightly The gate is among Ozone’s most subtle There are a couple of other bits worth
04 heavier compression on the middle and
05 effects, and it can often be hard to tell if
06 looking at. Firstly, when you’re A/B’ing,
lower bands than the upper ones. This will it’s making a difference. At a ratio of more than make sure that you’ve selected the Auto Gain
give your mix some real body and still let it 1, it starts reducing the volume of all sounds option under the Mix and Gain faders, so when
retain some dynamic range. In mastering, the below the threshold, but push it the other way you bypass the compression, Ozone raises the
attack and release values can make a real and it acts as an expander, boosting everything volume, giving a clearer mix picture. Secondly,
difference; we find a medium attack and a below the threshold. We’d suggest you can switch between RMS and Peak
reasonably quick release often has the experimenting to find out what it does to your monitoring via the button under the Threshold
desired effect, but spend a little time finding sound, as it can have different effects control. If you’re using heavy compression,
out what works best. depending on what is passed through it. choose RMS. If you’re just taming the peaks,
well, Peak is the one to go for.

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 47

MTF Walkthrough Ozone 5

always suggest using your ears to judge, Ozone provides In a dither

a handy visual aid. In the View window up top, select the When Ozone was first released, it came with two guides:
uppermost button (Gain Reduction Trace) and hit play. one for how to use the program, and an equally long one
You’ll see your waveform scrolling across and, above that focused just on dithering. We’re not going to spend
it, a bold line indicating the limiting. Bring the Margin too much time on dither – mostly because if we did, you’d
down until the bold line just touches the waveform. It’s be bored to tears.
not a concrete rule by any means, but it will help give you What the dithering process actually does is add a
natural limiting. When Hard or Soft modes are selected, very low, virtually inaudible layer of noise to your track,
you’ll get access to a Release slider for the limiter. You which helps to maintain the sound quality when the
can fine-tune your loudness by adjusting the Character track is subsequently converted to a lower sample rate
fader (in other words, how fast it kicks in, and how – for example, if you want to export it in a number of
smoothly) and choose to work on the left and right different formats.
channels separately by selecting Stereo Link. You’ll find the controls for it located on the far side of
There are a couple of final tricks, too: the Intersample the Maximizer. If you’re not au fait with the complexities
Detection button (essentially a nifty tool for when you of dither it can initially seem like gibberish. Don’t let it
make the levels really hot and want to avoid distortion) scare you too much, though – if you know that you’re
and the Transient Recovery fader, which you get in the going to be dealing with lower sample rates, then MBIT+
advanced version and which helps to sharpen the is generally considered to be the most suitable option,
transients in your track – useful if you’ve got a song with and more often than not you can usually leave the other
a lot of percussion elements in it. options untouched. MTF

MTF Step-by-Step Stereo imaging

Widening your mix is one of the main You’ll also notice meters alongside and The stereo imager is multi-band, so you
01 reasons for doing mastering in the first
02 below the vectorscope. The horizontal
03 can control the spread at different
place, and a few tweaks can really help one – the balance meter – tracks which side points in your mix. The clever bit here is that
separate it from the crowd. Look at Ozone’s of the mix is the most dominant, while the you can make things narrower as well as
Stereo Imager with your track playing. The vertical one – the correlation meter – tracks spreading them out: a common trick is to
first thing you’ll notice is the funky-looking how similar the sides are (the closer it is to +1, draw in the bass sounds in your mix by
vectorscope, available in a bunch of flavours the closer the sides are). You can use this to pulling down the first two Width faders, while
via the button on the top right. The different make informed decisions about how to pushing the second two up make the highs
displays give different information about spread your sound: if an instrument has spread out to the sides. That way, you get a
your track, but in practice they’re showing unwanted dominance in one side of the mix, wide stereo field without sacrificing the
the same thing: its stereo spread. the meters will let you know. punch of your mix.

Because of the way Ozone is laid-out, Phase cancellation can become a If you’ve got the Advanced version of
04 it’s easy to think that the Width faders
05 problem when expanding a stereo field,
06 Ozone you’ll also have access to
and the Offset controls (click the Offset tab especially if your track has live elements in it, something called the Stereoizer, which is a
under the vectorscope) are the same thing. and Ozone has a couple of tools to help you godsend if you have a narrow-sounding or
They’re not. The former just widen the fields watch for this. Select the bottom button on the even a mono recording. What it does is add
of a given band, while the latter introduces top left, by the View window, and play a track. width to these recordings by introducing
delay. Using the Offsets to introduce a couple Anything in red indicates that something is delay. The effect is quite a subtle one, but if
of milliseconds’ delay into each band can dipping out-of-phase. The phase and channel you’re looking to add some shine to a track
really help to give the impression of depth, options below the vectorscope also give you without too many stereo elements, it’s well
and they sound particularly good when some insight, including the ability to hear your worth using.
applied to the highs in a mix. track in mono (always worth checking!).

48 | Mastering Volume 4 focus

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INSIGHT.indd 1 19/11/2012 11:07

MTF Workshop T-RackS 3

T-RackS 3 Workshop

Mastering with On the disc

IK T-RackS 3
IK’s suite was the first solution for mastering using standalone application and each of its component
modules can be loaded individually inside your DAW, so
software, and today it’s better than ever, as they can be used not just for mastering but at any point
Hollin Jones explains… in the production process. There are great features, like
the ability to load multiple files, which is handy for

W
mastering whole albums, and metering systems that
hen you look at the way music can be tailored to show, amongst other things, the
technology has evolved there have been optimum levels for specific genres of music. The
a number of milestones in the last Standard version has four processing modules and the
couple of decades. The first was Deluxe version comes with nine, but otherwise they
probably the sampling of digital audio in work in much the same way.
the mid 1980s. This was followed by digital
multitracking, plug-ins and virtual instruments in the Making tracks
1990s. There’s a strong case to be made that at around Running in standalone mode, T-RackS presents you
the same time, the release of IK Multimedia’s T-RackS with a number of sections and the first thing you’ll need
mastering suite had almost as big an impact on the way
PRO TIP to do is load an audio file. You can do this either by
Using the Show Chain button
that the production process was being democratised. helps you to understand how dragging and dropping one or more files into the main
Even though mastering as a technique remained little your signal is being processed part of the window, or by using the Load button at the
understood at the time, among many working in home by T-RackS. It passes from left bottom left hand corner to navigate to some compatible
to right and there’s the option
studios, the advent of affordable, software-based tools to process in parallel as well files. Your mixdowns will almost certainly be in WAV or
that let you do it for yourself was incredibly important. as in serial configurations by AIFF format and should have been exported at the
using the “B” slots available in
Now at version 3, T-RackS has of course since been the first four module slots.
highest quality to match the quality you were working at
joined by many other software mastering solutions and Parallel and serial processing in your DAW. 1
computing power has increased immeasurably in the can often yield significantly You can load MP3s and other compressed file
different results.
intervening years. Nonetheless it remains one of the formats, but by mastering them and exporting from
easiest to use and most flexible sets of tools out there. T-RackS as higher quality formats you aren’t actually
This is due in part to the fact that it runs both as a adding any quality, just empty file size. Your master is
only as good as the quality and fidelity of the file you

The Standard version has four import, which is why it’s so important to maintain full
quality settings throughout mixing and mastering.

processing modules and the T-RackS should automatically detect the settings of
the file you import but if for any reason you wish to

Deluxe version comes with nine change settings you can go to the File menu and choose
Project Properties. Here you can set the file format,

3
Load multiple files into T-RackS for processing,
ensuring that they are of the highest quality,
matching that at which they existed in your
DAW. Then you can start to load processors…

50 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

 T-RackS 3 Workshop MTF

5 6

Load global or per-module presets and

add compression to start to smooth out
your mix and add punch.

T-RackS has two ways of you are limiting, but for now your focus should be on
smoothing out the sound and adding punch but not

loading processors, to be found sheer volume, even though some gain will be added. The
right and left Threshold controls set the amount of

at the top left of the window compression. Fully clockwise means maximum
compression and fully to the left means no
compression. The left and right Time Constant dials set
resolution up to 64-bit float, sample rate up to 192kHz the compressor release time; positions 1 to 4 are quick
and choose to add dithering. There’s an option to link to slow, with 5 and 6 being dual time constants which
T-RackS’ processors to the imported file, which is work better on mixed stereo material. 7
sensible to leave switched on. 2 Again you can With the AGC dial set to Left or Right, the
upsample here, entering higher settings than your compressor will work on unlinked stereo channels. Set
original file possesses, but although it won’t do any to Link, which you will probably want to leave on, it
harm it won’t add any fidelity either. works in linked stereo mode with both channels having
the same settings to help with image stability. Set to Lat
Loading processors PRO TIP / Vert, the compressor works on the middle and side
You should see your file load into the waveform viewer The waveform view at the base portions of the stereo field, with Lat being the centre
at the base of the window and if your mixdown was of the window has some useful and Vert being the sides.
performed using broadly the right settings your file will tricks of its own. As well as
letting you set loop points it
probably look fairly solid but will retain some dynamic also has Fade In and Out Modular system
range, meaning that you’ll be able to spot plenty of handles that are draggable or You can change presets or indeed swap the module out
can be set by clicking and
transients. 3 The waveform shouldn’t look really small for any other, including the other model of compressor,
dragging in the time display
nor should it be squashed up against the top and boxes. You can even set curve
bottom of the display, which would mean it was too types for the fades
using the curve
quiet or too loud respectively. chooser boxes for
T-RackS has two ways of loading processors and each fade. This
these are found at the top left of the window. If you click saves you topping
and tailing files in a
on the Global button, the presets menu will display wave editor app
presets containing multiple processors along with their afterwards.
settings. If you select Module, you will see presets
grouped by individual module. To get started let’s load a
compressor, which involves selecting the Module option
and then going to the preset menu. I’m going to choose
a Model 670 compressor with a “warm” preset. 4 Since
you will be doing a lot of listening during mastering you
may also want to set up a loop over a specific section,
which you can do by activating looping in the Transport
panel and then dragging the Loop markers. 5
Depending on the source material you may find the
compression preset you have chosen is a little too hot
and is pushing your material a bit hard. You will be able
to tell this from looking at the Peak meters and seeing if
they hit the red. If they are, back the compression off a
little by lowering the input channel gain knobs for the
left and right channels. 6 Do this until the levels stop
peaking. You can deal with absolute levels later when

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 51

MTF Workshop T-RackS 3

8 10

You can chain compressors together to allow

parallel processing and then bring in other
modules like EQ.

by using the menu system at the top. The first frequency and so is better for cutting or boosting
four slots feature A/B options for parallel individual sounds or groups of sounds with very
processing so you could, if you wanted, load a similar frequencies. If you found for example that
different compressor or preset into slot B and a guitar, vocal or horn sound was “sticking out” of
then toggle between slots A and B and change the soundstage during mastering, you could try
settings to process the signal through two to isolate the offending frequency by sweeping
compressors at once, perhaps one using the left around and then using the EQ point with a narrow
side of the signal and the other the right. 8 If you Q to cut it. Or do the reverse to boost it. 11
wanted to see how the chain is set up, you’d
simply click on the Show Chain button at the top To the limit
right hand corner. 9 The last stage of most masters is limiting, and
As you might expect it’s possible to mix and match here you have a choice of two models. The
PRO TIP
as many modules as you like but a typical mastering Brickwall Limiter can be used to squeeze more
Any of T-RackS’ modules can
setup might next include an EQ unit, say for example be loaded as plug-ins inside overall gain out of your tracks, and you will want to set
the Linear Phase EQ. Again this can use stereo, dual your DAW, which means the Output Ceiling dial somewhere just below 0dB then
they’re great for tracking and
mono or M/S modes and is essential during mastering drive the input to squeeze the signal without it clipping.
mixing as well as mastering. In
for sweetening and balancing the mix to account for any addition to the processing It can be sensible to use an output value of -0.1 to -1 dB,
changes introduced by compression or other modules you can also load its depending on how hard you want to push it. 12 By
metering section by itself,
processing that is taking place. 10 Presets are available which is particularly good for
raising the input gain you can drive the signal harder,
for this as for other modules, though EQ tends to be getting a handle on how your monitoring levels to see how much gain reduction is
highly specific to any given track. So a preset might soundstage is behaving. If you being applied to the signal, and how consistently close
already own the software it’s a
sound okay but it’s almost certain to need changing to bit of a bonus to discover this. to 0dB the output level is being pushed. 13
get optimum results. The key is to get a good, powerful level without
Activate up to six bands and choose a band type over-squashing the sound, so your Output meter
using the button next to the band’s power switch. Then, shouldn’t be showing solid signal, but strong signal.
set the frequency using the Frequency dial and the Q Your ears should also tell you when the audio is being
value using the neighbouring Q dial. Q is the width of the driven too hard as it will sound forced and perhaps also
band, so a lower Q value will produce a smooth curve, distort a little. The limiter also includes Attack and
taking in more frequencies around your EQ point. A Release controls, and multiple Styles, each of which
narrow / higher Q value isolates a much more specific affects the character of the sound.

11 13
12

Up to six bands of EQ let you isolate

offending frequencies, while two
models of limiter help to squeeze
maximum power out of your signal.

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 T-RackS 3 Workshop MTF

14

15

Your ears are your first measuring instrument

but your eyes are important too.

Multi meters store up to four temporary treatments of any track.

Your ears are a great guide to how T-RackS is Click on a slot to select it, and use the Copy To button to
processing your master but your eyes need to be used copy settings between slots. This is great when for
as well. The Peak meter will show you overall levels, but example you want to try two or more setups with
the Perceived Loudness meter is important too. In the slightly different settings, but don’t want to have to
Settings menu you can go to the Loudness Suggestion keep modifying the one preset.
section and choose what kind of material you are It’s perfectly possible of course to save setups as
working with. 14 This is more than just a novelty, since presets and apply these quickly to other tracks in your
what it does is switches the Loudness meter to show track list. It’s also useful to periodically use the
different safe zones. The signal should be spending Compare button at the top right to mute all processing
and hear what your original sounds like. You will

You can of course save setups probably be surprised by how much of a difference the
processing is making. Tracks can be processed using

as presets and apply these quickly the Process button at the bottom right hand corner,
which reveals an Export window. Here you can choose

to other tracks in your track list to process either the current file or all open files, which
is good for batch processing. 17 The export settings will
reflect the settings you made earlier in the Project
most of its time in the green area, straying only Properties menu.
occasionally into the red zone. 15 With folk music, for As well as having some excellent modules, T-RackS
example, the perceived loudness should be lower, and simplifies the mastering process by giving you all the
for metal, higher. The display changes to reflect your tools you need in one easy-to-use suite with advanced
settings and if it’s consistently too low you should metering, four slots for comparing treatments and
probably be driving it a bit harder. Too high, and you flexible routing options. Keep things simple with basic
should probably back it off a little. These aren’t absolute mastering chains or get into great detail by splitting left
rules, but they’re very handy guidelines. and right channels, middle and side and applying
You also get Phase, Phase Correlation and Spectrum multiple compressors and EQs if that’s what your
analysers, each with parameters that can be set using project calls for. Use it in your DAW or on its own and you
their sections in the Settings menu. 16 Underneath will find your tracks sounding sweeter and punchier
these are four slots, A to D and these can be used to than ever before. MTF

17

16 Four slots are available to store treatments, while setups

can also easily be saved. Finally, process and export!

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MTF Walkthrough Audio analysis

Audio Analysis Step-by-Step

Analysing audio On the disc

during mastering
Analysing your audio during the mastering stage is read an analyser is critical to tracking, mixing and
mastering, as well as general studio troubleshooting.
vital if you are going to achieve the best possible Most DAWs will have some sort of analysis plug-in or
results. Hollin Jones takes a reading… feature in addition to the level meters we take for
granted, and there are some excellent third-party models

W
on the market that take audio analysis way beyond what
hen you are mixing and mastering music the stock plug-ins can offer. It can be worth investing in a
you need to trust not only your ears but dedicated analysis tool because they tend to offer more
also your eyes. As good as you may be at controls and greater flexibility than the models that
listening, variations and inconsistencies come bundled with all but the higher end DAWs.
in monitors, speaker placement, and

Understanding how to use

room size and reflections can all lead to a situation
where what your ears perceive is not quite the full story.

and read an analyser is critical to

The most commonly encountered problem is with bottom
end, which can appear artificially loud or quiet,

tracking, mixing and mastering

depending on where your speakers are and what the
shape of the room is. This is where audio metering and
analysis come in. Sitting between your audio and your
ears, analysers look at the signal before it has passed to
the speakers and so before it has been affected by any of Before getting into the details, it’s well worth asking
the physical characteristics of the room or your monitors. why audio analysis is so important, and how it can help
you. We are all used to working with level meters during
The idea behind analysis mastering, and their function is fairly obvious: to show
Some people imagine that since audio analysis tools you the volume of a track and whether it is too loud or
don’t process or generate sound, they don’t really ‘do’ quiet. They are, however, only one way of analysing audio.
anything, and yet understanding how to properly use and In a perfect world, your ears would be the only guide you

MTF Navigation Audio Analysis DYNAMIC RANGE

b Dynamic range and correlation meters are useful
for understanding how much headroom is left in your
PLUG-IN CHAINS
a Analysis plug-ins don’t actually
mix as well as how hard you are pushing the signal.
change the sound, they merely
analyse it and give you visual
feedback. So they can be safely added
to plug-in chains and mixed with plugs
that do process audio.

b
a
d

c
INCORPORATED
c Analysis plug-ins LOUDNESS METERS
that come as standard
d Some manufacturers offer free
with DAWs can be a little loudness meters as additional
more basic but they’re downloads for users, as is the case with
still useful for getting a Steinberg’s SLM 128.
handle on things.

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 Audio analysis Walkthrough MTF

MTF Step-by-Step Audio analysis with T-RackS

You don’t need to load any modules to Start with the Peak meter. You can set Under the Settings section you can
01 analyse tracks in T-RackS, even though
02 this to various scales based on how you
03 choose a musical genre that most
you will probably have at least a couple prefer to meter. Move on to the Perceived closely corresponds to yours. On this meter
running for the purposes of mastering. For a Loudness meter. This combines averaging and you want the level to be around the lower end
start you will get to see the waveform of the frequency weighting to give you a good idea of of the green zone most of the time, straying
track, which will give you an idea of its how the song will be perceived by the listener. into the red zone only for the very loudest
current volume. The middle section contains Absolute volume values are not always a parts. The Phase Correlation meter should be
the metering tools, and you can alter any of guarantee of how a track will actually sound; moving between 0 and 1, with the Phase
their settings using the Settings button this can vary depending on the kind of material Scope meter displaying values that don’t
located under the spectrum analyser display. you are working with. stray too close to being flat on either axis.

The spectrum analyser can again be The idea is that your master should be The metering section of T-RackS is also
04 tweaked using the Settings section, and
05 pushing 0dB on the Peak meter but never
06 available as an individual plug-in, which
switched between Peak, RMS and Average clipping. If you have set limiting up correctly, can be strapped across a track or across the
display types. If set to respond quickly in this is what you should be seeing. If you are master buss of your DAW or wave editor to be
Peak or RMS mode, it is good for identifying driving the input too hard you may hear some used independently of the rest of the suite.
parts of the spectrum that need to be altered distortion, in which case you need to drop it Here it can be seen across a track being
with EQ. When set to react more slowly in down a little. Remember that you can set the mastered in Cubase, and offers more insight
Average mode, it is better for keeping the Peak meter to display wider settings than -60 into the characteristics of the signal than
overall balance of the track you’re working to 0, if you are mastering for vinyl, for example. Cubase’s own metering plug-ins.
with under control.

needed to tell you what was going on inside your mixes. give you an accurate picture. One other thing worth
And while your own judgement is critical, in reality, most
PRO TIP remembering is that you can get a better idea of how the
Wave editors like Wavelab and
music setups are far from perfect in terms of the Sound Forge tend to have more professionals work by analysing the various waveforms,
listening environment and the equipment in use. advanced built in metering and levels and stereo characteristics of tracks that you rip
The most common problem is inaccurate bass analysis tools since they are from CD and, in the process, better understand how to
designed with this kind of
response, something that can lead you to deliberately thing in mind and aren’t trying improve the sound of your own masters.
mix the bass too low or high to compensate for the room, to be all in one music creation
packages. The metering in
or to get it wrong entirely if you’re not aware of the WaveLab for example can be
Types of analysis
idiosyncrasies of the space you’re working in. By placing extensively tweaked and there There are multiple types of audio analyser, each with a
an audio analyser across a mix, you can see exactly what are multiple meter types to different function. Level meters are perhaps the most
help you better understand
the bass is doing while the signal is still inside the your master. common way to analyse audio and modern digital
computer, before it gets out into the room and ‘fools’ you metering is extremely accurate. Although it’s often
due to poor acoustics, or, indeed, poor monitors. possible for software to display levels with great speed,
In addition, modern setups contain a labyrinth of level this can be difficult for the user to follow or understand
controls. There’s the master fader in your DAW, the and so in many cases an averaging system is used to
monitor level on your audio interface or amp and possibly take small sections of the audio and display an average
also volume controls on your powered monitors. If any of volume as it plays back. This makes the display smoother
these is set too low or high, your ears will not give you a and easier to look at and in some ways gives a similar
true impression of the volume of a track. Only an audio experience to traditional, needle-based VU meters, which
analyser running inside the computer or, if you are more take time to rise and fall with the volume of the signal.
hardware-based, the meters on a large mixing desk, can Unlike analogue kit, digital systems are scaled so that

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MTF Walkthrough Audio analysis

the maximum value is shown as 0dBFS and anything to certain points. Phase problems can arise when a
over this brings the possibility of clipping or distortion. source has been recorded using two or more mics,
PRO TIP
Most of the time your levels should be below zero on a perhaps onto multiple audio tracks, such as guitars,
WaveLab can analyse audio
digital meter. This is why when mastering, people often clips globally too. Here, it has pianos or drums. A phase meter can help you to identify
set limiters to -0.1dB, to ensure that zero is not reached. analysed a file for loudness and correct these problems. A phase meter ranges from
and found that since it has not
Spectrum analysers display the relative strengths of -1 to +1, with the +1 setting meaning a signal that is
yet been mastered, the left and
different frequencies and are also a commonly used form right channels only have a perfectly in phase. Zero means perfect stereo and -1
of audio analysis. Typically working on a graph system maximum loudness of around means two channels that are completely phase-inverted.
-7dB, which is normal for a
with lower frequencies on the left and higher ones on the mixdown. Post-mastering you
A signal should usually live somewhere between zero and
right, they can be used in simple or advanced ways to can expect this to be between +1 to avoid phase problems.
measure the overall frequency characteristics of audio. -1 and 0dB.

Many are able to display peak values and the more The whole spectrum
advanced models can take snapshots, zoom in on A spectrogram is a more modern kind of audio analyser,
specific frequencies, show stereo channels separately and these are a little like spectral analysers in that they
and so on. show the intensity of different frequencies. Where they
Phase meters are perhaps a little more opaque; they differ is that they use colour values rather than graphs,
meter the coherence of the phase between the left and and a scrolling interface so that the recent frequency
right channels of a mix. This is particularly important for history is always visible. The advantage they have over
ensuring mono compatibility and can also help you to spectral analysers is that you can get a picture of how a
understand why sounds might ‘disappear’ when panned track is behaving over time, which is very hard to discern

MTF Step-by-Step Working with Blue Cat Audio’s analysis tools

Blue Cat Audio makes some excellent, Swapping the plug-in for FreqAnalyst Pro, In 3D mode, you are able to pick the
01 advanced audio analysis plug-ins. Here
02 you have many more options. Here we
03 display up using the mouse and spin it
we have loaded up a stereo audio file and have switched from Spectrum to Spectrogram around in three dimensions. Here for example
inserted an instance of FreqAnalyst. Using view and chosen a 3D view. As the track plays we are looking at it from the front rather than
the controls we are able to show or hide the back, it is displayed using colours to represent the top and have isolated only the loudest
left and right channels, maximum values and frequencies and amplitude. You can use the sounds. During mastering or mixing, you
an average. This is quite a full and rich threshold slider to display only values above a could at this point adjust EQ, compression or
sounding track, which you can see from the certain level. It’s a particularly interesting way limiting to deal with any overly loud or quiet
display. There’s plenty of signal filling up the to get an overview of your sound. parts of the track. The feedback from the
main part of the window. changes will be reflected in the display.

Next we have loaded up the At the top right, click the Stereogram Finally,theDigitalPeakMeterPro shows
04 Stereoscope Pro plug-in, which lets us
05 button to switch view types. Here the 3D
06 you both peak and RMS values at the
analyse the stereo characteristics of our view is even more useful because if you pick up same time. Along the bottom are Envelope
track. Signal that displays in the red areas is the display you are able to rotate it so that you graphs which display the evolution of
beyond 100% left or right and so out of phase. can see which parts of the sound are most selected envelopes over time, which is handy
Again, you can use the Curve selector section centred and which frequencies have the most when using this plug-in as a sidechain
on the right to choose which values to display. stereo width. You could then use panning or source. The Digital Peak Meter provides
It’s a more advanced way to look at stereo stereo widening controls to alter these if you extremely accurate level monitoring either on
than you tend to get as standard with a DAW. wish, monitoring using this plug-in as you go individual tracks or more likely across a
along. stereo buss during mixdown or at the
mastering stage.

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 Audio analysis Walkthrough MTF

from a constantly changing graph. If you are compressing may be colliding and where space can be made to help
PRO TIP
a mix, for example, a spectrogram would make it easier to bring out specific elements.
In most wave editors and
understand how changing compression settings would DAWs it’s also possible to
affect different frequencies as a track played back. tweak the behaviour of level Analyse this
meters. Here in Peak, for
Advanced audio analysers like iZotope’s RX use Audio analysis is a complex subject and you can read in
example, you can set the meter
spectrogram modes, amongst others, to give you an resolution, peak hold time and great depth about the make up of digital audio and the
extremely detailed view of the frequency spectrum of a clip indicator hold time. These theory behind its analysis. In practice though, it’s maybe
determine how quickly the
piece of audio. meters respond and how soon
more important to understand how you can use this
Stereo analysers help you to see where your signal is after clipping or peaking they technology in real world applications, to help you get a
being distributed spatially within the stereo field. Some release the indicator. If your better grasp of what’s going on inside your tracks and
material is clipping a lot you
advanced models, such as NuGen’s Visualizer and Blue may need to set your meters to ultimately achieve better mixes and masters. It may not
Cat Audio’s StereoScope, feature advanced tools like 3D be more responsive. seem like the most exciting subject in the world but it is
visualization, analysis of multiple tracks in real time and an important one, both in terms of overcoming the
stereo spectrograms. Such plug-ins can be used to give problems inherent in home studios and recording setups
an overview of the left/right balance of a track or project, and also in improving your mixing and mastering
ensuring that it stays largely around the centre, unless techniques for better end results. With so many free and
you have some specific need to make it otherwise. inexpensive models around, as well as most DAWs
Advanced stereo analysers that also show frequency can coming with their own analysis tools, you can get straight
be helpful in giving you a visual idea of where certain to work analysing your masters to gain a better
frequencies sit in the stereo field, and thus where they understanding of the production process. MTF

MTF Step-by-Step Audio analysis with Logic Pro

Logic Pro has some analysis tools of its Go to the track’s Insert section and If you click on the Goniometer option
01 own that can help you understand your
02 locate Logic’s own Metering plug-in
03 button you can switch the analyser
signal better. The most basic way in which submenu. Load up a Multimeter plug-in and view to a phase correlation view that’s
you look at the amplitude of a signal is to you should see both a stereo Peak / RMS level related to the simpler phase bar running
view it as a clip in the main project area. If meter and an analyser view of the signal. along the bottom. This will show you how
this display is very large or very small, your Using the View controls to the left you can set your track is behaving with regard to its
track may be too loud or too quiet already. the range of the analyser and also its top middle, left and right characteristics in the
Before deciding to make any changes, click value. By default it’s set to a top value of stereo field. Ideally you want the track to be
on the button with the waveform icon by the +5dB, which is pretty good for checking for sitting mostly in the middle and not
horizontal project zoom slider. This resets any overs. spending too much time firing off to the
the waveform’s zoom level. outer reaches of this display.

You can also look in the Metering folder Double click on your audio file in the In Logic’s Mastering template,
04 and find a BPM counter plug-in. This
05 Project area to open it in the Sample
06 accessible from the File > New menu
isn’t necessarily an analysis plug-in that you Editor view. Here you will find a number of View option, there are some screen sets, one of
would use during mastering, but it can be options, including the ability to switch between which is set up specifically for analysis. With
really useful when trying to discover the Amplitude Percentage and Amplitude Sample your project open, go to the Screenset menu
tempo of existing material, perhaps for Value. Percentage is the more useful since it and choose 2 > Analyze Mix, or press the 2
remixing purposes. It analyses transients in shows you how the smaller transients relate to key on your keyboard. This switches to a
the sound and is able to pick out beats and the maximum ones, and thus how much streamlined view with your MultiMeter
other hits, and usually gives you a good idea dynamic range is currently present in the track, already in the foreground and the mixer
of the tempo. at least at a glance. A heavily limited track will arranged to show you track levels, with the
probably show near-100 per cent values. track itself displayed along the top edge.

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MusicTech.indd 1 23.10.2012 17:16:12
MusicTech.indd 2 23.10.2012 17:17:38
MTF Workshop Logic Pro

Logic Pro 9 Workshop

Mastering with On the disc

Logic Pro
Logic is Apple’s flagship DAW with a host of great want to load up the Stereo Mastering preset, which
already contains most of the elements you will need. 1

instruments and effects. It’s also an excellent

mastering tool, as Hollin Jones explains… Plug-in chain
If you do load up the mastering preset you will find that

L
all the effects that exist as inserts on the track are
ogic is arguably the leading DAW on the Mac currently bypassed. This is because every mastering job
platform and the choice of many professionals is different so there would be no point in having settings
as well as home users. Since Apple bought the already dialled in since they would almost certainly not
software from eMagic it has continually suit the particular track you were working with. You can
improved it, most notably when it took the enable plug-ins by opening their GUI and disabling the
remarkable step of bundling every instrument and Bypass button or by simply holding the option key while
effect plug-in that used to cost extra in for free and clicking on their name in the Insert list. Try activating
then dropping the price significantly. As a result it’s one the Multipressor first. Again you might want to start
of the most affordable ways to get yourself a top-flight with a preset to fill in some of the basic settings, and
PRO TIP
DAW on the Mac, and get access to all its many then tweak them from there. Here for example we have
Logic supports the saving and
excellent audio processing tools. loading of Channel Strip chosen a preset called Final Hip Hop Compressor, which
The chances are that if you have Logic then you will Presets, which you access by dials in some settings broadly suitable for this track. 2
clicking on the Setting field at
have recorded, edited and produced your track in it to the top of a track’s Inspector
This is a multiband compressor and so it allows you
begin with, but you should perform your final mixdown panel. It makes sense once to control the compression levels on different frequency
and then ideally wait a day or two before you begin on you have spent time setting up bands independently. This can be good or bad
a great mastering plug-in
the mastering. This is because your ears are very likely chain to save it for future use. depending on how you use it and whether you know
to be worn out from decision making and endless Although as we have noted no what you’re doing. If a mix is quite complex or perhaps
two tracks are the same, it
listening and you really ought to approach mastering not the best mix in the world, it may be that a single
may be that subsequent
with a fresh perspective. tracks require only moderate band compressor won’t cut it. You can get problems like
Start a new project and import your stereo mixdown tweaking if they are in the an overly bright midrange being pulled up too much by a
same style.
to a new track. From Logic’s Template list you may even single band compressor, or a bass end being pulled
down too much. In cases like these you might reach for

Logic is one of the most a multiband model since it offers more control. There’s
also more scope to mess it up however, so be careful.

affordable ways to get yourself a A band apart

top-flight DAW on the Mac You can move the band markers here by simply dragging
them left or right so that each one affects a larger or

1 2
Set up a new project or 4
choose the Mastering
template and start adding
plug-ins to process your
stereo mixdown. Logic has
very flexible multiband
compressors within its
presets.

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 Logic Pro Workshop MTF

Choose single or multiband compressors depending on

how complex your mix is or how well or badly it has been
mixed.

It’s all too easy to remove the gentle compression, your aim being to add some audio
“glue” to the sound, creating some punch and clarity but

sparkle from the signal with an without squashing the signal too much and making it
sound flat or squeezed. 8

errant EQ point The Equalizer

After compression you will want to add an EQ to your
smaller frequency range. You will find that changing the signal chain to deal with any frequencies that need
crossover points makes a big difference to the overall adjusting. You will almost always need to use EQ while
shape of the sound, so proceed carefully. Crossover mastering, since compression can have the effect of
frequencies are displayed beneath the band display. 3 subtly changing the balance of elements within the mix,
The actual Threshold and Ratio for each band are set perhaps accentuating or dulling things that weren’t a
in the lower part of the window, with the Threshold set problem previously. This is nothing to worry about and
using its number field or its slider, and the Ratio set easy to fix. Load up an EQ such as the Channel EQ
using its number field. 4 Other settings are made by module and you will see eight bands. 9 The first and
dragging with the mouse in number boxes, and you can last bands are disabled by default as they are shelf
bypass any band to reduce the number that are active. filters, cutting the very lowest and the very highest
So you could in fact use this as a three, two or even one PRO TIP frequencies respectively.
band compressor, though the latter is a bit pointless. WaveBurner is a CD authoring
It’s very unlikely that you will want to use any of this
More interestingly, it’s possible to solo each band up application that comes with shelf filtering at the top end when you are in the
to hear exactly what signal is passing through it by Logic Pro but it is also able to mastering stage as it’s all too easy to remove the
load plug-ins and plug-in
using the relevant Solo button. If you are not clear about chains. As such it is quite sparkle from the signal with an errant EQ point. At the
how each band is being split, solo one up and then move capable of mastering your bass end, however, you may want to apply a low cut to
audio files natively. It’s true
the crossover boundaries, which will give you a much the very bottom if you are worried that any subsonic
that you may be more familiar
better idea of where the signal is being split. 5 with the interface of Logic if frequencies may have crept into your mix. 10 This isn’t
This should help you to get a more accurate setup for you spend a lot of time always necessary and doesn’t take the place of properly
producing in it, but it’s well
your master. You can add make-up gain to each band to worth knowing that
compensate for any reduction in gain caused by WaveBurner can do the
compression, and this can be done by raising the level job too.

bars on the band displays. There’s also an Autogain

button which automatically adds as much gain as it
detects is necessary to compensate for the
compression, and programmable lookahead for more
accurate results. 6

The Compressor
It may be that you don’t want to use multiband
compression and that a simpler, single band
compressor will suffice. In that case you can find one in
Logic’s Dynamics effects folder, such as the aptly
named Compressor. This has switchable circuit types
and can be made to behave in different ways, such as
modelling VCA, FET or Opto compressors. 7
If your mix is decent you should find that a single
band compressor works well, and you can deal with any
frequency oddities using EQ in a moment. Dial in some

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MTF Workshop Logic Pro

Single band
compressors work
well on a decent
mix after which you
will want to add EQ.

EQ’ing the bass sounds you want to keep, but it’s worth distributing a selectable number of frequency bands
knowing about. from the middle frequency range to the left and right
The other bands can be modified by picking each channels. This is done alternately, so middle
one up in the curve display and dragging it with the frequencies to the left channel, middle frequencies to
mouse, or clicking on the individual parameter’s number the right channel and so on. This greatly increases the
field and dragging up or down to change values. So for perception of stereo width without making the sound
example you can easily set the frequency and gain of totally unnatural, especially when used on mono
each band in either of these ways. The third option on recordings. It’s advisable to leave the low frequencies
each band is Q and this determines the width of the more or less where they are because the bottom end
area around the EQ frequency point that is affected by carries almost all of a track’s energy and this can be lost
your changes. A point with a narrow Q value (a high as soon as you start to split it off to the sides.
number) will affect only a very specific frequency.
Conversely a wide Q value (a low number) produces a To the limit
much more gentle curve and hence affects more of the Last but not least in the signal chain is limiting, and
frequencies around the point. 11 Logic has two native models, the simple Limiter and the
This EQ module has some presets suited to Adaptive Limiter. Here we have called up an instance of
mastering, in a folder appropriately called Mastering, the Adaptive Limiter which is a great tool for controlling
though no two tracks are the same so what you’ll get is the perceived loudness of sounds. It works by rounding
a good approximation of the kind of treatment that your and smoothing peaks in the signal, producing an effect
style of music might need, but that will need a fair similar to an analogue amplifier being driven hard. Like
amount of tweaking to suit your project. 12 an amplifier, it can slightly colour the sound of the
signal. You can use the Adaptive Limiter to achieve
Go wide maximum gain without introducing generally unwanted
You may want to add some stereo widening to your file distortion and clipping, which can occur when the
during mastering, if it is sounding like it lacks scope. signal exceeds 0 dB. 14
This should always be done carefully because it can Use the Input Scale dial to drive extra power into the
quickly start to mess up the soundstage, but using a signal while ensuring the Out Ceiling is not set above
little widening can sometimes be a good thing. Inside -0.1dB and that no distortion is occurring. Use the Gain
Logic’s Imaging plug-ins folder is one called Stereo knob to set the amount of gain after input scaling has
Spread. 13 This works by extending the stereo base by taken place.

10

11

EQ is a vital part of any mastering

process and is used to draw out or
rein in any frequencies that may
be slightly off due to the effects of
compression and other
processing. EQ setups are
generally fairly gentle for
mastering.

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 Logic Pro Workshop MTF

13
14
After EQ-ing, choose from Logic’s limiters and perhaps also
12 apply some stereo widening if you feel your track needs it.
Aim to get as close to 0dB as possible without clipping.

Your ears are a good guide to strongly influence the way you perceive a sound. Since
analysers are able to look at your signal while it is still

how your masters are going but inside the computer and before it has been passed to
the speakers and hence the real physical world, they

they’re not infallible are highly accurate.

Try adding an instance of the MultiMeter
plug-in from Logic’s toolbox to your plug-in chain.
The Limiter plug-in is more transparent and 16 This will provide you with a number of useful

can be used to much the same ends. 15 It has a views of what’s going on. The Analyzer can show
configurable lookahead control and setting this to you where the energy lives in your master and
seek further ahead should make for more accurate whether any frequency ranges are particularly
limiting since it will not be surprised by any peaks strong or weak, enabling you to go back and make
it encounters. In addition to the regular Gain, tweaks if necessary. The Stereo Peak / RMS level
Release and Output Level controls there’s also a meter should indicate how close to 0dB you are
Soft Knee option, which when pressed means the getting and how consistently, so you can adjust
signal is limited only when it reaches the your limiter accordingly. The Phase Correlation
threshold. The transition to full limiting is meter running along the base of the window and
nonlinear, producing a softer, less abrupt effect, the Goniometer that can be on show both offer an
and reducing distortion artefacts that can be produced PRO TIP idea of your track’s phase characteristics. The
by hard limiting. There are several ways to meter in particular can display how much signal
achieve the same thing in
exists towards the centre of your stereo image and how
Logic. For example, in
The final analysis Preferences > General > much exists off to the sides. 17
As well as all this audio processing it’s a good idea to Editing you can set the When you are happy with the sound of your master
behaviour of the right mouse
analyse your audio during the mastering process. It’s button – to open the Tool
and everything is in order, and you have checked
safe to insert audio analysers into your plug-in chain menu, the Shortcut menu or through the analyser plug-ins, you can safely export the
because they don’t actually alter sound, they just both. Depending on how you processed file, making sure to apply any dithering if you
prefer to work you might want
analyse it, so there’s no danger of colouration. Your ears to specify one or the other. It’s are converting down to a lower bit rate. You can also
are a good guide to how your masters are going but also possible to manually set open the resulting files in WaveBurner, the CD authoring
the number of undo steps,
they’re not infallible. Factors like room shape, speaker application that comes with Logic Pro, to compile
which is handy.
placement, acoustics and other variables can all albums and add all the relevant metadata. MTF

16

15

17
After limiting, analysing audio is important in
understanding how it is actually behaving.
Your ears can give a false impression due to
room acoustics and other factors.

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 63

MTF Interview Stuart Hawkes

‘‘I’d be doing my normal

mastering work during
the day and then cut
dubplates in the
evenings’’ The MTF Interview Stuart Hawkes

After nearly 30 years in the business, this legendary cutting engineer has worked with
some of the biggest names around. MTF learns more... Photography by Zen Inoya

V
inyl is a format still loved and bought by many hardcore fans and
enthusiasts, and Stuart Hawkes is a man who’s had a huge influence
on the use of vinyl as a DJ format for electronic music. He’s cut
dubplates for the majority of drum and bass artists and DJs since the
early 90s. A dubplate is an acetate record that the mastering engineer
cuts a track onto to enable a DJ play tracks in a club that night. However, they can
be played only 20 or 30 times before the audio quality degrades too much, but until
relatively recently, this was how you got exclusive tracks into your DJ sets for club
or radio play before the actual vinyl was produced and released.
We ask Stuart what it was like to cut and master so many tracks for the main
DJs of the drum‘n’bass scene. He recalls: “Jungle and drum‘n’bass started in the
early 90s and I was at Masterpiece then. It all really started kicking off with DJs
getting dubplates cut. That’s what really got me into it. I remember a very young
LTJ Bukem and Peshay turning up wanting us to cut some dubplates. They’d tried a
few other cutting houses and wanted to try us, so I cut them three or four dubs
each and then it completely snowballed and I was cutting loads of people’s
dubplates. I was cutting so many that I had to go to hospital due to exhaustion. I’d
be doing my normal mastering work during the day and then cut dubplates in the
evenings. I’d start at 10 o’clock at night and as word spread I’d be working until
about seven in the morning. So I’d be doing nearly 24-hour days, cutting and
mastering, which was all a bit too much. But once I’d recovered and got a sensible
balance of work, the experience had gained me almost all the DJs on the scene.”

Logical progression
Stuart has mastered tens of thousands of tracks during his career. We ask him for
a brief overview of his progress over the years: “I started at Tape One in 1984 and
worked there for about four or five years. I’d started to work as a cutting engineer
at that point. Then I went to Copymasters, which later became Masterpiece
Studios. Miles Showell – who I share this room with – worked there too. Then I
started at Metropolis in 1996.”
Stuart has been training in studios since the tender age of 16. He initially
gained a tea boy/runner position after sending out CVs to multiple studios and
one did indeed come back with an interview and subsequent job offer. Stuart

64 | Mastering Volume 4 focus

Stuart Hawkes Interview MTF

focus Mastering Volume 4 | 65

MTF Interview Stuart Hawkes

already played drums and was quite a hi-fi enthusiast at the MTF StudioEye Metropolis Studios Mastering Suite
time. This all contributed to his choice to work with music,
ANTELOPE ISOCHRONE PRISM DA-2
but he recalls his thoughts on his first day: “I got to work in a TRINITY
b This is a digital-to-analogue
the morning and they showed me a room that looked like the Both of the clocks I use have a convertor but the clock on it has a
one I’m in now. I looked around thinking it looked like a different sound to them. This one phatter sound than the Antelope’s
sounds poppy, with a sparkly and nicer bass end. So I’ll go for this
recording studio, but wondered where the band would
type of sound. I mainly use this if I’m doing something when the
record as there was no live room. It was then that they told for pop tracks. bass end is quite important.
me it’s a mastering room. I then asked, ‘what's that?’. That
was the start of it all really.”

Training days
Most people when asked will have a definitive list of
influences, and Stuart does recall the time he read an article a b
about a producer called Jerry Boys who worked out of
Livingston Studios. He thought that working in a recording
studio sounded really interesting, which drove him to apply to
the various studios. We then ask him how his mastering
skills came about. Stuart replies: “I first started as a runner,
then a librarian, then doing cassette duplication, then
tape-to-tape duplication. I was then told that I was going to
shadow a mastering engineer. I started with Jack Adams for
a bit, then went on to shadow other engineers.
“I think it’s a bit like a car, really. The instructor tells you
how to pass the test, but it’s only when you pass and start to
drive on your own that you really start to learn. Then you
learn how to work with clients. So the shadowing showed me
how to press the buttons but it’s only when you start working
with actual clients that you start to really learn what they
want and how to achieve it.”
We ask if his mastering approach has been influenced by
anyone in particular: “No one, really. I guess because it’s so
client- and market-driven. You’re in your room all of the time,
the years – as they do with many genres – so we ask Stuart

‘‘It’s a lot more about how much this might have contributed to tracks getting
louder as well as his techniques. He shares his experiences:

getting it right for the

‘It’s a bit of both. I suppose it’s mainly due to the production of
the tracks. I’m delivering what’s there as well as I can, so the
production is a large factor. Nowadays it’s getting so

digital formats now, with dense-sounding – as if everything is turned up to 11 in the

mix. The earlier tracks were mainly bass, a clear snare and

DJs playing stuff using

other sounds peppered around the track. Now, all of the
sounds are kind of the lead focus. Because they’re so dense,
they’d be too much energy in the tracks to cut them to the

software or CDJs” same loudness as the earlier, more sparse-sounding stuff. In

fact, five or six years ago I made the decision to start cutting
stuff a little quieter because heads were starting to blow
working with your clients. From time to time I’ll listen to other again and there were other technical issues. But it’s a lot
people’s mastering projects, but generally I’m only listening to more about getting it right for the digital formats now, with
my work in this room.” DJs playing stuff using software or CDJs.”

Charting the changes On record

From mastering early classic hardcore tracks such as The It’s just after our conversation about the changes in music
Exorcist, Stuart’s discography reads onwards like a Who’s that he makes us aware of a lost and seemingly unnoticed
Who and What’s What of the drum‘n’bass scene – Urban element of vinyl DJ’ing that hasn’t been re-created – yet. He
Shakedown’s Some Justice ’95, LTJ Bukem’s Logical informs us: “The thing with vinyl is that it’s brighter at the
Progressions, DJ Krust’s Warhead, Bad Company’s Planet beginning of the record and slowly gets duller through to the
Dust, Pendulum’s Slam, Chase and Status’ No More Idols end. So it comes in and everyone is like ‘wow!’ in reaction to
album and many more timeless tracks from the scene. The the introduction of a new record. But then, slowly, without
production aesthetics of drum‘n’bass have changed a lot over anyone noticing, the top end slowly tapers off. When the next

Notable 1995 | Goldie Timeless 2006 | Amy Winehouse Back To Black

works.. It was great to be part of this. A very well put- I remember hearing the first demos of Rehab. I instantly
A few of Stuart’s together and intelligent album. I still think this takes thought it was going to be quite special and got more and
career highlights some beating today. more excited as the new tracks rolled in.

66 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

 Stuart Hawkes Interview MTF

MASELEC MMC-2 NEUMANN SX 74 HEAD

f The Stereo Width control
g When I was cutting a lot of
on this custom build lets me dubplates for drum‘n’bass DJs
open out the stereo width. I can I’d be pushing these heads up to
boost the sides and get things +8 or 9dBu. This wasn’t the way I
sounding a little louder. It also was told to do it. I was told that
lets you split off the mid and side the lathes cost around £200,000
to process them separately. and the heads were £15,000, so it
c was quite scary when exploring
how much I could push things. I
remember blowing two heads at
f Masterpiece so the worry of that
happening was a constant scare.

b
d

UNITY AUDIO MASELEC MEA-2 SONTEK MES-432C

c THE ROCK
d This sounds very
e This is a very old
I use these as a smaller warm so I use it a lot of the piece of classic kit these g
reference speaker so I know time when doing the bass days – very hard to come
what the music sounds like end of things. I’ll often use by. It’s got a lovely top end
when you’re not getting quite this and the Sonteq in series to it that you can never get
as much bottom or top end. I – one before the other to get from digital. It just sounds
mainly use the PMC BB5 XBDs the best of both. wider and taller. A real 3D
as they are full-range and I feel to it. Digital, to me, just
can go loud or quite without sounds very linear and
any ear-fatigue. one-dimensional.

record is mixed in, it lifts the set up again and so on. So it’s a to change the audiophile quality of the track. But then, pretty
subliminal dynamic tool that is lost with digital formats. If I quickly, it became volume-driven. Now dubstep is as loud – if
was to design a piece of DJ’ing software, I’d have that not louder – than drum‘n’bass. I get some ridiculously loud
available as an option to keep the interest there for each new dubstep audio files sent to me for mastering, which is a
tune being mixed in.” horrible problem. When someone gives you a track and it’s
Stuart also tells us a little more about how digital and ridiculously loud, if you’re going to add anything to it you’ve got
vinyl differ: “You can get a lot more intensity from the digital nowhere to go as you’ll be instantly hitting a ceiling
format, but to me that’s a weakness as it can soon get a bit somewhere. So you’d have to take the volume of the whole
harsh-sounding. Vinyl is lovely because it behaves in a similar track down in order to get some bass in. In that case, if you
response to your ear as they both work in the analogue give it back to the client there’s a good chance they’re gonna
domain. You can turn up vinyl loud and it doesn’t start to hurt complain that it’s quieter than it was. So whereas I’ll usually
like a digital signal does.” try three or so limiters to see which is best for the job, if
someone’s already limited the track there’s no undo button I
Modern mastering can use. So I’m stuck with the way they’ve done it. I quite often
Although Stuart’s reputation is very big for his drum‘n’bass ask clients to give me the file they’ve applied limiting to so I
work, he does actually work on a variety of genres; more know how far they want to push the track and what they’re
recently he’s been mastering some dubstep, notably the hoping to arrive at in the end. But I’ll want the unlimited
famous supergroup Magnetic Man. We ask him if there’s version too as I can probably arrive at the same levels as the
much difference to his approach with this slower-tempo- version they’ve done but with a better-sounding limiter. But
based child of drum‘n’bass. before doing that I can also add that bit of bass that I can’t on
Stuart says: “To me there’s an obvious synergy between the pre-limited version. It just comes out a lot nicer-sounding
dubstep and drum‘n’bass. I don’t understand why some when I’m not dealing with squared-off waveforms as a
people say there isn’t. It all feels kind of similar to me: it’s got a starting point. It’s better when I’m dealing with more
big bass end with a big snare and likewise it’s what a bulk of analogue, round waves.”
the tracks are built around. When I started to master dubstep Check out the DVD for our Pro Technique video with Stuart,
the clients were all about not having it mastered to be loud in which he takes us through his approach to mastering a
– never going hard with limiting or anything else that’s going typical drum ‘n’ bass track. MTF

2010 | Magnetic Man Magnetic Man 2011 | Chase and Status No More Idols 2011 | Katy B On A Mission
This sounds fantastic and has some great Very clever songwriting and production. A real joy to I think Katy B should be up there with
collaborations. I think it’s a very significant work on. It’s really nice to see how the public react to the likes of Jessie J in terms of public
album and it sounds so good on a big system. certain tracks on the album when I’m out. awareness. She’s a real talent.

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 67

MTF Workshop Ozone 5’s Meter Bridge

Ozone 5 Workshop

Exploring Ozone 5’s On the disc

Meter Bridge
Producing a professional sounding master requires you a detailed and informed view on areas like signal
levels, loudness, timbre and stereo width. You can
informative, easy-to-read metering. Mark Cousins access the enhanced metering functionality by clicking
takes an analytical approach to sound… on the Meter Bridge button positioned immediately
below Ozone 5’s main Input/Output meters. Once open,

A
the default setup shows all four sections of the Meter
lthough our ears should always be the final Bridge – including Spectrogram, Spectrum Analyzer,
judge of any process we carry out during Vectorscope and Level meters – all of which can be
mastering, there’s little doubt that some freely resized as you see fit. 1
effective metering is an invaluable tool in the Of all four metering options you have at your
mastering process. Indeed, given the detailed disposal, it’s arguably the Level Meters that address the
and almost forensic attention to detail most mastering PRO TIP most important information contained in the Meter
engineers take with audio, you can see why Ozone 5 Even if you don’t have Ozone 5 Bridge, namely signal amplitude. As with all the
Advanced’s Meter Bridge function has propelled the Advanced you can always sections, you can move over to an expanded view by
download a demo version from
plug-in out of the home studio market and into various the iZotope site to try the clicking on the small ‘boxes’ icon in any of the four
professional mastering facilities. In short, Ozone 5’s metering features out. Users metering sections. When you move to an expanded
Meter Bridge function is one of the most informative of the standard Ozone 5 might meter section you will also get access to a series of
also want to check their
audio analysis tools available, making it an ideal part of General Preferences, as it’s meter settings that are to be found under the Options
anybody’s mastering workflow. possible to audition the tab on the bottom of the interface. In the case of the
enhanced version under the
Just having access to good metering, though, doesn’t Auth & Updates section.
Level Meters, one of the most important settings is the
necessarily mean you’ll improve the sound of your Metering Mode, moving between Peak + RMS,
masters. As you’d expect, the skill lies in interpreting K-System and BS.1770 Loudness. 2
the meters correctly; understanding what they’re telling
you, and how they can direct you in an appropriate way. Feeling peaky
In this workshop, we’ll explore the thinking behind the Although most users will be familiar with Peak + RMS
Meter Bridge and how you can practically apply it in metering, the K-System and BS.1770 Loudness modes
your own mastering tasks. Even if you don’t have Ozone are less familiar. In essence, both solutions are
5 Advanced, many of the metering features can also be designed to devise new standards in light of heavy peak
found in equivalent areas of the main plug-in, like the limiting and a need to properly assess loudness. In the
Vectorscope in the Stereo Imaging section, for example, case of the K-System standard, the change in display is
or the FFT Analyzer as part of the Equalizer page. largely in relation to the ballistics and scaling of the
meters, showing a greater bias towards averaged RMS
Under the bridge values, and a better colour coding to indicate
Ozone 5’s Meter Bridge feature works as a floating acceptable amounts of dynamic range. Try moving
window in addition to the main plug-in interface, giving between the three different K-System settings (K-20,

The meter bridge includes four different types of metering:

including a Spectrogram, Spectrum Analyzer, Vectorscope
and Level meters. 2

68 | Mastering Volume 4 focus

 Ozone 5’s Meter Bridge Workshop MTF

6
3
5
4

Both the K-System and

BS.1770 Loudness modes
provide a more informed
overview of the perceived
amplitude of your master.

K-14 and K-12), noticing how the 0dB calibration point timbre and harmonic structure behaves over time,
changes with each mode. 3 arguably identifying any particular frequency peaks that
In essence, the K-System method is an attempt to might be dictating our overall signal levels. Hovering
move away from the absolute Peak readings that tend over the peaks with a mouse will allow you to identify
to dictate sound levels in the digital universe, and the exact Hz reading (found in the bottom right-hand
instead focus on an averaged level of sound. Try using corner of the window), allowing you to set a
the K-12 or K-14 system with a limiter and note how you corresponding parametric notch to tame the aggressive
get a far more meaningful reading of the perceived frequency peak. 7
loudness, arguably setting your final levels around the To get a broader insight into the timbral properties of
0dB calibration point on the RMS reading. 4 your track, try moving over to the Spectrogram. The
The BS.1770 is arguably the next development from Spectrogram is arguably less of a ‘forensic’ tool, but it is
the K-System method, giving an even more in-depth much better at decoding some of the wider spectral
reading of the perceived loudness. In this case, the key movements and patterns within a track – seeing how
meter readings are in the centre of the display covering the bass moves with a kick drum, for example, or how a
Momentary (M), Short-term (S) and Integrated (I) levels. high-hat pattern cuts across the top of a mix.
Between these three readings we can form a more PRO TIP The settings largely relate to the display properties
rounded understanding of loudness, seeing the Although it marginally steps of the Spectrogram – use the 2D mode in situation
cumulative effect of signal levels on the track’s out of the realm of mastering where you want a precise reading of frequency
as such, the Spectrogram’s
perceived amplitude. The Momentary levels might vary Meter Tap function is well (especially if you’re using the Spectrogram to assist
over a relatively wide range, although not a greatly as a worth exploring. Place the Tap your equalisation moves), whereas the 3D mode
Peak meter reading. As we move up through the meters plug-ins at various points in probably delivers a better understanding of the shape
your mixer, then open the
– using the S and I readings – the movements are more Spectrogram and activate the of the track. 8
sluggish, but arguably just as informative. Ultimately, Meter Taps function, and
assign each of the channels to
it’s about understanding how amplitude works over a different Colour option.
time, which with experience becomes far more
important than the Peak readings. 5

The colour of sound

Understanding the timbre of your master comes down
to two types of meter: the colourful Spectrogram and
the Spectrum Analyzer, which are both based on FFT
analysis. The Spectrum Analyzer should be familiar
from Ozone’s Equalizer, although in this example we get
a few extra useful tools to play with. One beneficial
feature is the different Display options, which usually
defaults to the Left/Right stereo mode. Rather than just
viewing the Left/Right display option, it’s also
interesting to take a look at the Stereo Average (Mid)
and Stereo Difference (Side) plots. Arguably, the aim
here is to identify any bass-heavy movements in the
Side channel, as these can affect the tightness of the
bass in the final master. 6
Another useful feature of the Spectrum Analyzer is
the Peak Hold feature. Try enabling the ‘show peak hold’
option and setting the peak hold time to Infinite. In
theory, the peak hold setting allows us to see how the

focus Mastering Volume 4 | 69

MTF Workshop Ozone 5’s Meter Bridge

7
9

8 Use the Spectrogram to gauge broad timbral

qualities of your track, while the Spectrum
Analyzer offers a display that better suits precise
frequency readings.

Stereophonic sound across the stereo image, as the display takes on a

Decoding the stereo information contained in a greater amount of ‘stereo divergence’, although it’s still
recording might not seem that important at first, but possible to deduce the basic panning information. 11
once you’ve seen the power of the Vectorscope you’ll What’s particularly interesting is when we start to
appreciate the clarity of information it delivers, from the consider the addition of some ‘true stereo’, in this case,
precise panning of instruments, through to the width of an output from a reverb unit. In this example, the reverb
the soundstage and, of course, the all important phase level increases throughout the duration of the file, so we
relationship. The Vectorscope works with three different can see how the width of the soundstage almost seems
display modes: Polar Sample, Polar Level, and Lissajous. to flower outwards from the centre. In theory, points
Broadly speaking, all three modes display the same beyond the 45-degree safe line represent out of phase
information, so the preference is largely down to what components, which either indicates a degree of mono
you feel most comfortable reading. 9 incompatibility or a ‘super-wide’ stereo soundstage,
To understand how the Vectorscope works, it’s best depending on your stance on phase. For additional
to experiment with a series of audio files – mono, reference, the meter along the side also aids the
panned mono and true stereo, which we’ve included on assessment of phase, moving between +1, for in-phase
the DVD – and seeing how the meter changes in audio, and -1, for out-of-phase audio. 12
response to those signals. Starting with the mono
signal, we can see a line planted firmly down the centre Look, listen and learn
of the display. What’s interesting here is that we can see Although we’ve covered all the essential principles here,
the difference between a signal that is completely the best way to understand the Meter Bridge is to
mono – a straight line, in other words – and one that spend plenty of time reading the meters in relation to
has a minimal amount of stereo information, something known ‘audio entities’ – whether it’s a test file, for
that can be difficult to discern 100 per cent accurately example, or a recording you know as being trusted
by ear. 10 source. What’s interesting is that a good mix or, for that
Moving on to the panned mono recording, we can matter, a good master, meters in a logical and defined
initial see a display that indicates that the signal is in way, whether it’s a reasoned balance of dynamics, a
mono – again, we see a straight line – but the line has wide uncoloured frequency response, or the use of the
been marginally offset to indicate its relative pan stereo soundstage, all of which supports the important
position. Things get slightly more complicated when we scientifically objective view that good metering can
have a number of concurrent mono signals panned provide you with. MTF

12
11

10
Try feeding a variety of different
stereo and mono signals into the
Vectorscope to better
understand the unique way it
can decode a stereo soundstage.

70 | Mastering Volume 4 focus

Pro-Codec Version 2
Real Time Codec Auditioning

Master directly for iTunes

The revolutionary Sonnox Fraunhofer Pro-Codec plug-in enables the

auditioning, encoding and decoding of audio with codecs such as mp3
and AAC, making it possible to produce online-ready mixes in real time!

Now with the inclusion of Apple’s iTunes Plus codec you can mix
directly for the “Mastered for iTunes” programme, monitoring the same
clip behaviour as the iTunes encoding chain – saving you time and
ensuring high quality output during the mixing process.

Also new in Version 2:

• 64-bit compatibility
• Additional codec – Fraunhofer MPEG Surround
• Additional codec – Apple AAC iTunes Plus (Mac only)
• AAC-LC support for 256kbps VBR
• AAC-LC and HE-AAC support for 96kHz sample rate
• HD-AAC support for 16-bit files

www.sonnox.com
MTF 25 pro tips Audio editing

Pro tips for

audio editing

Audio edits are a vital part of the production process – and mastering them will help you turn
imperfect tracks into perfect ones. Hollin Jones reveals the experts’ tips…

Work non-destructively
01 Most DAWs are non-destructive in the way that they to set up a fade manually. Typically they are extremely short
deal with audio edits, meaning that when you cut a file, for crossfades and will smooth out the transition, getting rid of
example, you are not actually cutting the original but any clips. To get rid of multiple glitches where a loop has
merely referencing the original file differently. In some been copied and pasted several times, select all instances of
cases – such as when an edit fundamentally changes an it and perform the crossfade function.
audio file by reversing it – your DAW will automatically
create a new version of the file, leaving the original
untouched, and reference the new file instead. It is
sometimes possible to switch Preferences to keep fewer
copies of files – typically it’s in the ‘undo level’ section or
similar – but it’s worth keeping lots of undo files as they
give you maximum flexibility.

cut at zero crossing points

02 If you zoom right into an audio waveform you can find
the exact point at which it hits zero – where it goes from
being positive to negative. If you can manage to make your
cut at this point you will avoid clicks and pops in your audio
at the edit point. If, on the other hand, you cut mid-
waveform, you may get a nasty glitch when the playhead
passes the edit point, as the waveform ends abruptly. Note
that it is not always possible to edit at the zero crossing
point, though many wave editors can snap to it for you.

use crossfades
03 Where two loops or sections of audio come together, if
they have not got perfect zero start and end points or
silence, you can get a clipping sound as they cross. Most
DAWs are able to crossfade between audio clips to get 02
around this problem, either automatically or by enabling you

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 Audio editing 25 pro tips MTF

edit before Mixing

08
03 While it’s possible to automate tracks on and off or
automate faders up and down to knock out sections of tracks
where there’s supposed to be silence, it’s often better to edit
out the bits that aren’t supposed to be there. That way, you
can be sure of silence where you need it. If you export a mix
as separate stems, your DAW will simply insert silence into
the blank areas anyway, so you have nothing to lose and
everything to gain from this approach.

CoMp your pArts

09 In recent years, DAWs have got very good at comp’ing,
use voluMe hAndles which is the process of combining several takes into one
04 This doesn’t relate to editing waveforms, but in most perfect take. Imagine you are playing or singing a part and go
DAWs you can use volume handles on audio clips both to set around it in a loop, recording four or five versions. You might
live start and end fades and also to set the clip’s volume like your playing on the first half of the second take and the
individually. This is a really good trick to use when you have second half of the fourth. By comp’ing the take together and
one or more clips whose volume is out of step with the other with careful use of fades – often done automatically,
clips on the track, but you don’t want to move them to a new depending on your DAW – you can fairly easily create the
track. Rather than automating the volume fader, use volume perfect take in a few minutes. There is often an option to then
handles to set a clip’s volume to bring it into line with the rest bounce the take to a new file, making it permanent.
of the track (or, indeed, to make it quieter or louder, if
necessary, than the rest of the track).

Cut rAther thAn gAting

05 You can use gating to cut off unwanted sounds when a
track is supposed to be silent, such as between words on a
vocal track or while a guitarist is waiting between playing two
passages. Gating is fine, but unless set correctly can cut off
too much signal or miss some background noise. A better
solution, if you have the patience, is to simply cut out any
parts of an audio clip where there is not supposed to be any
sound – being careful, of course, to avoid lopping off anything
you meant to keep.

use gentle fAdes

06 When you edit an audio part you can sometimes end up
with sounds at the start or end – such as a breath sound on a
vocal part – that are too close to the start or end of a word to
safely cut off without it sounding strange. A good way to deal
with these is to apply a very short fade to the affected area,
which will quickly fade the sound in or out more smoothly 09
than you could manage with automation or with a cut. Some
DAWs have an ‘auto-fade’ feature that will do this for you.

Move regions
10 Digital audio affords us amazing flexibility, and you can
copy and paste it freely. If a passage has been played really
well at one point but badly at another, then providing it has
been recorded to a click you can usually copy and paste the
good take in place of the bad one. You may have to deactivate
snapping to precisely nudge the new part into time with its
new location, but again, if a click is involved this should be
06 relatively easy. You can even move smaller sections such as
snare hits to deal with minor annoyances such as a quiet hit
elsewhere in a track.

Audio wArp
11
07 double up
A good trick for making parts sound beefier is to simply
Most leading DAWs now feature some sort of flexi-time
technology for audio, meaning that it can be edited almost as
double-track them. While there are plug-ins that emulate the flexibly as MIDI. By analysing an audio part and inserting beat
effect, it’s just as easy to duplicate an audio track so that markers, DAWs enable you pick up part of a waveform and
vocals or guitars, for example, exist twice in the mix. Left as move it without affecting the overall length of the clip or the
they are these can sound a little strange, so it’s common audio around it. Using this technique you can quickly
practice to pan one or either of them slightly to differentiate time-correct or quantize audio parts or change their feel. By
them, or perhaps to add a small amount of effect to one of groove-quantizing audio parts you can match their feel to
them, such as chorus or phasing. With some tweaking you other parts or to MIDI files. Again, you can usually bounce
can achieve a fuller sound. down a version to make it permanent.

focus Mastering Volume 4 | 73

MTF 25 pro tips Audio editing

MAke your own sAMpled instruMents

15 By recording individual notes or hits and then editing
them you can build up a collection of samples that can be
used as the basis of an instrument in something like Kontakt
or Reason’s NN-XT. The key when editing these is usually to
get the start point of the sample exactly right, and also allow
11 some tail to account for any sustain (but not so much that the
note holds on for too long). Software samplers usually enable
you to tweak parameters such as start and end times as well.

use your eyes

16 Wave editing makes it pretty easy to see what’s going on
in an audio file. Smaller sections mean quieter audio and
larger peaks mean louder sound. If you are looking at an audio
file and spot some huge peaking transients, it’s likely that you
might have an issue with clipping (or at the very least
inconsistent volume at that point). At the other end of the
scale, zooming right in to an audio file at sample level enables
you to identify any digital glitching, which can look like right
angles in an otherwise smooth curve.
Audio snApping
12
A tool such as iZotope’s rX is
When quantizing audio – or even just when moving it
around the timeline in your DAW – you must be aware of the
snap settings. When you have loops with perfectly edited
start and end points at the project tempo, things are pretty
easy. When you have clips of imperfect lengths you may be able to give you a spectrographic
more reliant on lining up waveforms with grid markers to set
start points. In these cases, regular snapping might not help
you much, so you can try deactivating snapping or switching
view of an audio file
it to a very precise value (eg, 1/64) until your audio is lined up,
then reactivating more regular snapping (eg, 1/16).

use speciAlist Audio repAir

13 When there’s a rogue element in an audio clip, simple
wave editing won’t be able to get rid of it because these
things generally occur at the same time as other sounds and
so can’t be erased through cutting or EQ. A tool such as
iZotope’s RX, on the other hand, is able to give you a 13
spectrographic view of an audio file, which will make it much
easier to identify and ‘paint out’ a sound such as an audience
cough on a live recording. It’s remarkable how effective this
technology is in everyday situations.

process Audio
14 Sometimes you want to make changes to an entire
audio clip, such as altering its volume or reversing it. In cases
like these the quickest way to do it is usually to use audio
processing, which all wave editors and DAWs have in some
form. Select the clip or section of a clip and then choose the
function to apply to it. You may, for example, process silence
over part of a clip to get rid of a sound without cutting the clip.
Or reverse part of a clip, creating a special effect while leaving
the rest of the clip intact.

Quick AnAlysis
17 A number of DAWs and wave editors have analysis
tools that can scan audio for peaks, clips and other issues.
This can be a good way to quickly search for problems when
they might be harder to pick out one by one. You also usually
14 get tools and options to fix these problems with a couple of
clicks, or you can go in and manually paint them out yourself.

Audio scrubbing
18 Sometimes, problems in audio files can occur so
quickly (and for such short bursts of time) that they can be
tricky to deal with even when you set up a loop. In these
situations, using a Scrub tool to scrub through the waveform
in slow motion will enable you to hear exactly where a glitch
or problem is occurring. You can then zoom in and deal with
it as appropriate. This is a useful way of finding clipping in
audio parts.

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 Audio editing 25 pro tips MTF

Stuck like glue

24 When you have made lots of small edits to audio parts,
you sometimes end up with many small sections of sound
dotted across a track, often very close to each other. These
can be fiddly to work with and difficult to move all at the
same time, so you can select them all and then use a Glue or
19 similar tool or command to collect them all together into a
single part. This enables you to treat them as a single entity
for the purposes of moving, copying and pasting, while the
individual sections remain editable.

edit audio aS flexibly aS Midi

19 There are some incredible tools on the market that
enable you to ‘reach inside’ polyphonic audio parts and play
around with the notes. Among the best is Melodyne Editor,
which works by sampling a section of audio, analysing it and
then giving you access to individual notes – even notes inside a
strummed guitar chord – so that you can change them. So it’s
easy to turn a major chord into a minor one, for example, or
change the timing of notes within a chord. Audio can be edited
with as much flexibility as MIDI.

While some genres require

absolutely perfect audio edits, 25
others (like hip hop) do not
Slice your loopS extreMe Stretching
20 Using ReCycle you can turn audio loops into REX files,
25 Timestretching is commonplace these days, and you
adjusting their tempo and feel in the process. This will make can stretch audio parts with ease. Consider extreme
them adjust their tempo to the tempo of any project they are stretching – to 500 or even 1,000 per cent of a clip’s original
loaded into. The same applies to ACID, and ACIDised files are length – to create something totally new, like a texture or a
able to be read by most applications. An advantage of using pad sound from something that started life as a vocal or a
REX files in a program like Reason is that the slices are very drum hit, for example. Digital audio is inherently very flexible,
easy to play with and re-sequence – easier than audio clips so there are no limits to your creativity. MTF
that have been sliced on a regular DAW audio track.

get creative 21
21 There are a number of plug-ins available that are able
to take audio input and mangle it based on settings that you
choose or on MIDI input. iZotope’s Stutter Edit is one of
these, enabling you to create totally new sounds, effects,
rhythms and loops from a regular audio part without actually
making any edits to it at all. You always have the option of
rendering or bouncing down the effected signal to create a
hard copy of the mangled sound.

keep it gritty
22 While some genres (such as pop) generally require
absolutely perfect audio edits, others (such as hip hop) do
not. If you listen to some classic hip hop albums you can
clearly hear the joins where a sample has been looped, or
hear loud plosives on the vocal track. Whether they are there
by design or by accident is somewhat academic – it all goes
to show that sometimes a little imperfection can add
character to a sound.

create new fileS

23 In most software packages you are able to open a clip
to view its waveform, select a part of that waveform, then
create a new file from it. This is placed into your computer’s
memory until it is saved somewhere. This is a quick way to
take a word, riff or sound from an existing clip and get a new
copy of it to start altering or editing without having to do any
cutting up of the original file.

focus Mastering Volume 4 | 75

MTF Round-up Hardware

Round-up
Mastering hardware
Mastering with hardware might use more space than doing it in the box, but it offers rewards in
terms of sheer sonic quality. Many of the units that are suitable for mastering can also be used
for everyday tracking and mixing tasks, so investing in hardware can be a great idea…

1
1 PRISM MASELEC MLA-2
Price £2,600
Contact Prism Sound 01353 648 888
The MLA-2 is a stereo or two-channel compressor with
stepped drive, ratio, attack and release time and output
gain controls. The MLA-2 is a very special compressor that 2 RUPERT NEVE DESIGNS PORTICO 5043 H
COMPRESSOR / LIMITER DUO
has been designed to provide effective but subtle Price £1,562 Contact Sonic Distribution 0845 500 2 500
compression and uses the principle of a fixed threshold, This unit delivers the rich warmth that is so revered in Mr
with adjustable drive or input gain. This makes for more Rupert Neve’s classic designs; two channels of musical
intuitive operation than an adjustable threshold – turn the sounding dynamics as well as ultra-transparent “brickwall”
drive control clockwise and increase the compression limiting in a half rack 1RU space. It embodies two independent
depth. The MLA-2 is used extensively in mastering but it Compressor-Limiters (Channels A and B) that can be used
also works well on an insertion point in recording or mixing, independently or connected in sequence to provide two
as demonstrated with a rear-mounted range control switch separate control slopes. Multiple 5043s may be daisychained

2
that adjusts the threshold range to suit either mastering or via the rear panel jacks, and it offers extremely low distortion
recording/mixing applications. and noise levels.
Web www.maselec.com Web www.rupertneve.com

3 TL AUDIO IVORY 5052

MK2 STEREO VALVE
PROCESSOR
Price discontinued
Contact MSLPro 020 7118 0133
A high quality ‘channel strip’ product,
3
only doubled, making this the ideal
system front end, and the perfect
stereo mixdown and mastering device.
The 5052 provides two channels of each
with independent stereo linking of the
compressor, EQ and limiter sections. It
comes in to its own by offering full
stereo linked EQ and dynamics, allowing
unparalleled processing of the stereo
buss while mixing and mastering.
Web www.tlaudio.co.uk

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 Hardware Round-up MTF

4 TC ELECTRONIC FINALIZER EXPRESS

Price £828
Contact via website
Costing a little less than its bigger brother, the Finalizer
Express nonetheless has tons of bang for your buck. Run your
mixed track through it and out to some form of recording
medium and dial up presets or settings to add punch, clarity
and sparkle to your music. It has a multiband compressor and
limiter, spectral balance controls, a soft clipper, lookahead
facility, a matrix to create variations on your treatments,
automatic makeup gain, 24-bit resolution and 16- and 20-bit
dithering capability. The Finalizer Express is a fast and
cost-effective way to enter the world of pro mastering.
4 5 DBX 1046 QUAD COMPRESSOR LIMITER
Price £551
Contact Sound Technology 01462 480000
The 1046 provides four channels of smooth classic dbx
OverEasy or Hard Knee compression that are perfectly suited
for use on individual tracks of your multitrack recorder, and in
Web www.tcelectronic.com most cases the separate channels can be individually
interfaced and used for entirely independent purposes like
mastering. Additionally, the newly developed PeakStopPlus is
ideal for protecting your system from the oppressive peaks
that can take out valuable drivers in your sound reinforcement
rig or studio monitors. The Stereo Link feature allows you to
link channels 1&2 and 3&4 for two channels of true stereo
compression.
Web www.dbxpro.com

6 API 2500 STEREO BUSS COMPRESSOR

Price £2,400
Contact Source Distribution 020 8962 5080
The API 2500 Stereo Bus Compressor allows adjustment of sonic qualities
to alter the punch and tone of the stereo mix. One of the 2500’s more
notable qualities is its use of API’s patented Thrust circuit for a chest-
5
6
hitting, punchy bottom end. In addition to this, the output stage exhibits an
auto-makeup gain button that permits the user to vary the threshold or ratio
while automatically maintaining a constant output level. Furthermore, the
2500 ensures fidelity with its all-discrete, fully balanced design with two
front panel VU meters showing input, output and gain reduction levels.
Web www.apiaudio.com

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MTF Round-up Hardware

7
7 MILLENNIA NSEQ-2
Price £3,400
Contact SCV London 020 8418 1470
For the more serious mastering
engineer, good outboard EQ is a must.
Millennia’s custom-built NSEQ-2 offers 8 PRISM MASELEC MEA-2
four bands of EQ with a range of 20Hz to MASTERING EQUALIZER
20kHz, each with a Q control ranging Price £4,641
from 0.4 to 4.0 for a precise control over Contact Prism Sound 01353 648888
each band. There’s an extremely high The MEA-2 Precision Stereo Equalizer is designed for
build quality internally, with only one recording and mastering applications where ultimate sonic
active stage in the audio path, gold performance is required. With four separate equalizers per
relays, connectors, switches and tube channel, all controls are stepped for accurate recall of
sockets and a choice of all-triode 300V settings and you get completely overlapping frequencies in
vacuum tube or all-discrete J-FET solid parallel bands for total creative freedom. There’s great
state signal path. It’s a fully parametric channel-to-channel phase compatibility for better stereo
stereo EQ with amazing sonic purity. imaging, interactive Gain and Bandwidth controls and 84
discrete frequencies per channel. All sections are switchable
Web www.mil-media.com
between shelving and five different bell bandwidths and the
unit has a dynamic range of more than 110dB.
Web www.maselec.com

8 9 DRAWMER MX30

9
Price £350 Contact Drawmer 01709 527574
The Drawmer has several great features for mastering on a budget.
There’s a soft knee auto compressor that deals with large and small
transients differently to produce gentle compression. Peak Limiting sets
an absolute limit that the output signal will not be permitted to exceed.
The limiter is ‘zero response time’ and controls peaks without any audible
distortion. For transparent ‘peak protection’ the output gain control
should be set to ensure that the Peak Limiter operates only occasionally.
Alternatively, the unit can be driven into heavy limiting for creative effects.
Web www.drawmer.com

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MTF Walkthrough WaveLab

WaveLab Step-by-Step

Mastering music On the disc

with WaveLab
WaveLab is Steinberg’s premiere wave editor and it’s well as different views of your material. It’s amongst the
most comprehensive audio applications when it comes
just as good at mastering as it is with other aspects of to metering, with a wide range of built-in tools to help
audio production. Hollin Jones rides the wave… you see how your audio is behaving. And if its interface
feels a little confused graphically, this can be changed

W
using Themes from within the Preferences section.
aveLab is Steinberg’s flagship
mastering, wave editing and audio Getting started
analysis application and comes in a WaveLab is able to work with almost any kind of audio
number of versions with different format, from the conventional AIFF and WAV through
feature sets. Although it has some compressed MP3 and AAC to stuff you’ve probably never
similar features to Cubase, it is much more focused on
working with digital audio files than actually creating
music. Its strengths include batch processing, advanced WaveLab is much more focused
audio analysis, audio montage for things like creating
radio broadcasts and podcasts, surround sound and on working with digital audio files
detailed wave editing. It can also record audio in high
quality, though again in this regard it’s better suited to than actually creating music
voiceover or overdubbing tasks than it is to multi
tracking, for which you’d probably be better off working heard of, like OSQ format. Its interface is so configurable
with Cubase. that your copy may very well look different to that of the
WaveLab has long been Steinberg’s go-to application next user, but window layouts can be easily saved, loaded
for mastering, and for many years existed only on the and managed using the Workspace > Layouts menu. The
Windows platform, with a Mac version being produced a first thing you will want to do is load one or more audio
couple of years ago. It relies heavily on tabbed windows, files and this is generally done using the File Browser,
making it easy to maintain multiple open documents as which can be set up to auto play compatible files if you

MTF Navigation Mastering with WaveLab

BATCH PROCESSOR
a Create and edit plug-in chains
to process your tracks and also take
advantage of an excellent batch
b
processor.

a
d ADVANCED METERING
c Advanced metering is available
including customisable VU Meters.
You also get spectrographic displays,
Phase Scope and Bit meters to help
you understand the mastering
process.

AUDIO DATA
AUDIO MONTAGE d
b Load one or more audio files
You can view your audio data in
a number of ways including viewing
into separate projects or into an as a waveform, a Spectrum view and
Audio Montage. Almost any audio also a Loudness view.
format you can think of is supported.

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 WaveLab Walkthrough MTF

MTF Step-by-Step Creating mastering presets

Open a project in WaveLab and load up WaveLab has a number of plug-ins For now, choose a third-party plug-in.
01 an audio file that you need to master. If
02 bundled and these are aimed largely at
03 If you don’t have many of these you can
it is not already visible, reveal the Master mastering. You can see them named in the download a number of free ones, or install
Section from the Workspace > Shared Tool lower part of the effects menu. The others are some inexpensive alternatives. If you have a
Windows menu and expand the Effects tab VST plug-ins and there’s also an ASIO option good selection already, so much the better.
by clicking on its maximize button. This is where you can choose to use an external audio Start with a compressor. Here we have opted
where you will load your effects chain. Left channel to process hardware effects as part of for the Steinberg Portico 5043, which is an
click on the first effect slot and you will see a the signal. This is great if you have a specific excellent compression unit. We carefully dial
list of the plug-ins installed on your system. piece of outboard that you’d like to incorporate. in some settings to help glue the sound of the
master together.

Next try adding an EQ module. Here we Finally we add a limiter. If you look inside With your plug-in chain created you may
04 have the Maag EQ, which lets us dial
05 the Steinberg folder in the plug-in list you
06 want to save it and then load it again
some sweetness into the middle and top of should see all of the bundled Steinberg later, making tweaks for the track you happen
our sound. You could also use a parametric plug-ins, including any that come with Cubase to be working on at that point. Go to the
EQ but will probably want to avoid graphic if you happen to have that installed. Here we bottom of the Master section and click on the
equalizers since they are less precise for this have loaded up a limiter and pushed the input preset name field, then choose Save or Save
particular set of tasks. Mute or solo plug-ins drive so that our track gains some power and As. In the resulting window, assign it a name
using their power buttons periodically to see boost. Keep an eye on the VU meters at the top and select options for which plug-ins to
how your processing is affecting the sound. right of the screen. include. Then recall this preset at any time.

like, helping to save time. Once a file has been loaded it and behaviours of any of these views by clicking on the
appears in the waveform view and can be scrolled,
PRO TIP tiny wrench icon underneath the display.
In WaveLab’s Preferences
zoomed and viewed in various different ways. It’s worth section you can tweak the way
mentioning that WaveLab has many functions beyond it looks, responds and Read the meter
mastering and there isn’t room to touch on them here, operates. You may prefer an You can invoke other meters by using the Meters
alternative theme, wish to turn
but they should be fairly clear to you as you work your tooltips on or off or activate dropdown menu in WaveLab and these include several
way around the application. You can for example start a auto folding of menus and that are handy for mastering. The Phase Scope can be
window sections. Parts of the
new, blank audio recording, audio montage or podcast interface can be docked and
used to check for phasing problems with your signal, and
directly from the main window. undocked and window layouts the Bit Meter displays the resolution of the audio file as it
Your waveform display should give you a good idea of saved and recalled. This helps plays back in real time. This can be helpful for
you set up the application for
how your mixdown is looking and by judging the size of mastering, audio editing, understanding whether dithering is necessary or not. For
the peaks you will get a sense of how loud it is already creating podcasts and various example, if you are mixing down to 16-bit for CD but the
and what might need doing to it during mastering. Ideally, other tasks. Bit Meter shows that more than 16 bits are being used,
the mixdown should have a healthy level but should not you should apply some dithering.
be coming close to the 0dB mark displayed in the Perhaps the most useful display type in WaveLab for
waveform view margins. There’s the option to switch the mastering is the VU Meter. This is used to display the
view to a spectral or loudness display, both in the smaller peak and average loudness/decibel level of your audio
overview and the larger one that sits underneath. file and also displays the pan, or the balance between
Spectral can be more useful in diagnosing problems like the left and right channels in a stereo file. During
clicks and clips, though loudness is good for mastering. mastering you pay close attention to the levels of your
Incidentally, it is possible to customise the appearance track and the aim is to end up with a loud track that is

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MTF Walkthrough WaveLab

consistently up near 0dB but without losing too much sound attractive but it actually pulls up not only the
dynamic range. The VU Meter is indispensable in audio signal but also any noise present in the file. So
achieving this and, like other meters, has advanced PRO TIP unless your signal is extremely quiet, in which case you
behaviour settings like zoning, release rate and peak The Audio Montage feature in should try to do another, louder mixdown, you should be
WaveLab lets you essentially
hold that can help you get a handle on how your multitrack with existing audio
relying on compression and limiting to boost the signal,
processing is working. It can also be flipped to work files. Let’s say you wanted to not normalization.
horizontally or vertically, depending on your preferences, run or fade tracks together Applying realtime processing in WaveLab works in
during mastering for an album,
and can store up to five sets of preset display settings. instead of having them all as much the same way as it does in Cubase, in that you use
So you might for example want to master for several completely separate entities plug-ins applied as inserts or sends. Typically for
on the disc. You could do this
different media and meter accordingly for each one. This mastering a single file you would use inserts in the
by using Montage and then
could be done by using VU Meter display presets. either fading clips together on Master section, where there are multiple slots available
the same track or fading them to load any of WaveLab’s own plug-ins or any third-party
over different tracks.
Parts of the process VST models. You will probably want to stick to
All manner of audio processing tools are available in conventional kinds of mastering processors, perhaps
WaveLab but this is not something that is usually done beginning with a compressor, either single or multi band,
during mastering, with the possible exception of fades in and then an EQ module. It may be desirable to add some
and out, sample rate conversion or topping and tailing an stereo widening, perhaps sidechain another compressor
audio file. Under the Process menu are normalizers, if you are having problems with specific frequencies, and
phase inverters and time stretching tools but they need then end with a limiter of some description to squeeze
not concern you during mastering. Normalization may maximum gain out of your signal.

MTF Step-by-Step Metering your masters

When you master in WaveLab, the main Click on the VU Meter’s Functions window In the central section you can set up the
01 metering view that you use will probably
02 and you can customise the way it
03 Ballistics of the meter as well as
be VU Meters, which you can reveal using the behaves by making changes in the Settings colouring zones and, to the right, set the
Meters menu, and generally sits at the top window. To the left you can set the release rate visibility and characteristics of the Panning
right of the screen. This displays the peak and peak hold time of the Peak meter, which meter. When you have created a setup that
levels of your track and is invaluable in helps you identify if you are pushing a master you like, click on the Preset field at the
understanding how close to zero you are too hard, as well as customising the colours of bottom of this window and either choose to
pushing the signal. A control to its left can be each zone. You can set the lowest and highest Save a preset or Save As to assign it a new
used to switch between horizontal and dB values visible on the scale too. name. You also have the option to assign it
vertical display types. straight to one of the five display preset slots.

Also available from the Meter menu is The Phase Scope meter can help you to Last but not least for mastering is the
04 the Bit Meter. This displays how many
05 understand how phase is working in your
06 Spectroscope, which can give you a
bits are being used in the audio, in real time. signal and whether any part of the audio is good overview of the frequency content of
If it shows the bit rate going over into the red, going out of phase, which can cause a loss of your master. Use the Functions menu to
this means you will need to add dithering energy and thus of volume. The central area choose whether to show predominantly low,
when exporting, or change the project displays a realtime view and along the base the medium or high frequencies, and toggle
settings to match the bit rate of the file. numbered line shows whether the audio is in between these options to get an idea of how
There’s also a Settings menu here where you phase, in which case it should be shown things are behaving. This meter helps you to
can set up display colours and the mode in between 0 and +1, or out of phase, in which understand where the energy lives in your
which the meter operates. case it is between 0 and -1. audio file.

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 WaveLab Walkthrough MTF

All the while you should be keeping an eye on the VU them all up in separate tabs and then use multiple
PRO TIP
Meter section to see how your processing is affecting the master effect presets to process each one differently.
WaveLab is adept at audio
sound. The aim is to ‘glue’ a master together with some error detection and correction When you are satisfied with the sound you can render
compression, sweeten and balance the mixdown using – useful if a clip or click has a track out through the effects chain, and this should be
crept into a mixdown but it’s
EQ and then eventually use limiting to create a clear, loud your finished master. The Render section actually has a
not possible to re-do the
sound. As ever you should be careful not to over- export before the mastering number of options, including the ability to render regions
compress or limit and risk squashing the sound, which process takes place. WaveLab or whole files and to bypass the master section, if you
can analyse sections of audio
can be tiring on the ears of the listener. It also depends and identify problems, then
have set your project up to use plug-ins in Montage
on the kind of music you are working with. Jazz for use customisable waveform mode. There’s also an excellent batch processor that can
example would require a much more gentle treatment correction tools to remove the be configured to process multiple files through any
errors and leave you with a
than heavy dance music. clean and great sounding file number of effects chains and output the resulting files to
ready for mastering. a destination of your choice complete with custom
Mix to master naming. Although mastering each track will require a
When you have created a plug-in chain that works for slightly different treatment, batch processing can be
your specific track you can save the chain as a preset so great for performing parts of the process like sample
that it can be recalled. There’s also the option to create rate conversion, renaming, limiting or low cut filtering on
an Audio Montage – a multi track project where different lots of files before you come to the business of making
audio files on different tracks can have different plug-in more detailed changes. WaveLab is an incredibly
treatments. Or if you are mastering a number of tracks powerful tool for audio editing and mastering and will
but don’t want to use the Montage feature you can load help you get the most out of your productions. MTF

MTF Step-by-Step Batch processing in WaveLab

Go to the Utilities menu in WaveLab For a more comprehensive set of Click on the blank file icon to create a
01 and choose Batch Conversion of Audio
02 processing options, go to the Global
03 new empty document inside the batch
Files. This opens a special window into menu and choose New Workspace > Batch processor. Drag the relevant files from the
which you can quickly drop a folder or a list processor. This essentially opens a new Browser to the Files To Process area on the
of audio files. Click on the File Format menu project that is set up for batch processing left. With the Plug-ins section revealed on
and you will see a range of options, including complete with effects chain and other the left, drag and drop a saved processing
the ability to change file type, channel options. Using the File Browser section at the chain from the Master Section Presets
number, sample rate and bit resolution. This top left, navigate to your files and use the section into the Audio Plug-In Chain area to
is useful if you want to sample or bit rate Select Audio Files button to choose to see apply it to the tracks.
convert a bunch of files. audio files in the Browser.

Alternatively, go to the Master Section From the Output section at the base of Choose an export location, assign as
04 Plug-Ins list or one of the other plug-in
05 the window you can click on Rename and
06 many cores as you want to the batch
collection sections and drag and drop choose a naming convention from the resulting – probably all of them – and press the Start
plug-ins into the chain area one by one. window. For example you might want to choose button. WaveLab will apply all the requested
Double click on any plug-in’s name to open its to add the text “mastered” to all the files to processing and changes to all the files and
UI and make settings. It helps to have preset save you having to do this manually. You can output them to the required location. You can
patches available or to have set up a also choose to insert text at specific points in a save the batch as a project and recall it later,
dedicated plug-in chain in WaveLab’s main file name, and also to remove or convert text at adding different files but retaining the same
view first. Keep adding plug-ins until your the same time. You can batch process text processing chain.
chain is complete. changes on export.

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 83

MTF Workshop Pro Tools 10

Pro Tools 10 Workshop

Mastering with On the disc

Pro Tools10
Pro Tools is considered by many to be the industry to import. Your stereo mixdown may well be at
something like 48kHz and 24-bit resolution, so set the
standard for music production, but it’s also great for Session up to reflect this. 1
mastering, as Hollin Jones explains… With the Session started, choose File > Import >
Import Audio and, from the file browser, navigate to your

P
file. It’s worth knowing that if your source file does not
ro Tools has always had a reputation as one match the settings of the project, it is possible to
of the best DAWs around, with particular convert it during import. Pro Tools will warn you that a
strengths in the arena of tracking and mixing file at the wrong sample rate, for example, will play back
audio. The tools and features that make it so at the wrong speed. Click Add or Convert, depending on
popular for those tasks are the very same whether you need to perform conversion, and double
ones that make it great for mastering too, with its check the sample rate conversion settings at the
advanced audio plug-ins and metering tools. In fact bottom right hand corner of the window if this is
during the mastering process you’re unlikely to use necessary. 2
many of the tools that Pro Tools offers, since what you PRO TIP With your file imported and playing at the right
are essentially doing is processing a stereo file through When you bounce tracks to speed, you can move on to adding processors to the
disk from Pro Tools, including
a relatively small number of audio plug-ins. Things like tracks you are mastering, you
track to begin mastering. During the mixing stage you
timestretching, comping and automation are not carried have several options. You can should have spent time perfectly balancing the various
out at the mastering stage. choose various file format and elements within your track, but not necessarily worrying
quality options as well as
opting to convert sample and too much about its overall volume. Indeed, you should
Tools of the trade bit rates during or after the have left some headroom in the mix so that mastering
bounce process. You can also
Your first step should be to start a new, blank Session. would be easier. So ideally you will have a well mixed
add a track directly from here
From the New Session menu, choose a template to an iTunes library, or upload file that has a decent level but is certainly not squashed
Session, if you happen to have already set one up that is it to SoundCloud. or over loud when you bring it into this Session.
suitable for mastering, or create a Blank Session with The conventional wisdom is that you begin with a
parameters that match that of the audio you are going compressor, and the aim of compressing during
mastering is to add a coherence to the track, to glue the

During the mastering process signal together and lend some punch and power
especially to the lower and mid frequencies. This isn’t

you’re unlikely to use many of the about sheer volume; that comes later with limiting. But
you’re looking to add some character and a little boost,

tools that Pro Tools offers for certain. Go to the track’s Inserts section and click on
the first slot. Pro Tools can see compatible third-party
plug-ins on your system of course, but we’re going to

2 Start a new, blank

Session with the
correct audio 3
settings, plus
sample and bit
rates, and then
move on to
choosing your
mastering
weapons.

84 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

 Pro Tools 10 Workshop MTF

4
5

Use gentle compression to add punch

and warmth to a mix, being careful not
to over-compress or pump the signal
at this stage. Then it’s time to move on
to EQ…

You shouldn’t need to apply applying a filter to remove the very lowest frequencies
in a track. We don’t mean bass frequencies that are

too much compression at the supposed to be there but rather subsonic frequencies
that may have crept in somewhere during the recording

mastering stage process. To do this, use the HPF control to cut

somewhere between 30 and 20Hz. 6 You can do the
same at the very top end, though it’s less common as
stick for now with the models that come bundled with you risk dulling the sparkle of the high frequencies and
Pro Tools 10. Start by trying a Compressor / Limiter unit any hiss should have been dealt with during mixing.
from the Dynamics folder. 3 The use of EQ during mastering is intended to make
subtle changes to the overall tonal balance of a track.
Take the pressure You shouldn’t have to be pulling frequency bands up or
You shouldn’t need to apply too much compression at down by too much, as that is indicative of a poor mix.
the mastering stage, and even less if your mix had some More likely you will find yourself making gentle
master buss compression applied at the mixdown adjustments to the various bands, adding some
stage. If you have some experience of production you PRO TIP presence to specific elements by boosting their EQ
will probably be able to detect from listening to the There’s a digital store built values. 7 By identifying where certain things live –
mixdown and looking at its waveform whether it has right into Pro Tools and if you vocals in the mid and upper ranges, also guitars and
click on the AudioSuite menu
had any compression already strapped across it. If not, you will see an option called horns, and things like kick drums at the bottom end and
you’re safe to apply a little here. Start with a low ratio of Avid Marketplace. Select this cymbals at the top – you can start to shape the track
somewhere between 1.1:1 and 2:1, and a Threshold set and, as long as you are online, just as you wish. If you get a setting that works
you will be taken to the
quite high so only the louder peaks get compressed. 4 company’s online store where particularly well, consider saving it for recall later. 8
You should only be looking at applying a couple of dB you can
purchase and
of gain reduction when mastering, otherwise your music download
can end up sounding crushed as you remove too much additional
dynamic range from it. Remember that compression virtual
instruments
has the effect of reducing the differences between the and effects as
loudest and quietest parts of an audio signal. Taken too well as Pro Tools
far, this can result in a sound that is dull and lifeless. sound libraries
and expand the
What you want to do is leave some dynamic range in functionality of
there, unless you have a specific reason for really the DAW itself
with upgrades.
squashing the sound. Go for a fast attack and release
time if your material is more upbeat and has lots of
transients, or slower settings if it’s more sedate. If you
find that compressing is sucking some of the level out
of the overall signal you can use the Gain control to add
some volume back in. Don’t go too far though, since you
can deal with absolute level at the limiting stage. 5

Making things equal

When you’re done with the compressor it’s time to move
on to EQ. Add a seven-band EQ3 from the plug-in list.
You could choose one with fewer bands, though since
you’re going to be processing the whole soundscape,
having more bands allows you greater control at this
stage. One of the first things you may want to try is

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 85

MTF Workshop Pro Tools 10

EQ is vital to sweetening and fine tuning the overall sonic character

of a track, and you shouldn’t have to be making any huge changes if
the mix was good.

Order, order particular can wreck the image of a piece of

There is a good argument for ordering your audio if used incorrectly.
processors in the way we have described,
although not everyone chooses to do it that way. Take it to the limit
If you place the EQ first in the chain and the The final part of the chain is the limiter, and Pro
compressor second, the compressor is working Tools has the Maxim limiting plug-in, also found
on the EQ’d signal. Any changes that you make to in the Dynamics folder. 10 The idea with limiting
EQ may be partially negated by the compressor is to squeeze maximum gain out of your signal
that follows it reading that signal and absorbing without squashing the sound too much and
a boosted frequency, resulting in little overall without ever going over 0dB. Limiting should be
change – so you can find yourself having to push transparent: it shouldn’t colour the sound but
an EQ artificially hard to make any difference. If simply add level. The character of the sound is
you compress first, however, this doesn’t happen. dealt with by the compressor, EQ and other
9 By feeding the compressed signal to the EQ, associated processors. Here, it’s just about level. 11
you get a more accurate representation of how PRO TIP Your Output Ceiling control is where you set the level
equalization is affecting the signal. It’s true that Inside Pro Tools’ preferences to which the signal will be limited and it’s best to set
changing compressor settings will affect the way the you can set all kinds of this around the -0.2 or -0.1 dB mark for a really strong
parameters that determine
EQ receives its signal, but the overall effect remains how the software will behave, sounding master, or slightly lower for a more gentle
more accurate than if the plug-ins are connected the and customise it to your treatment. This will prevent the signal from being driven
other way round. preferred way of working. One above zero, which would result in digital clipping and
handy thing is the ability to
You will probably spend quite some time carefully organise plug-in menus by hence ruin your master. Use the Threshold control to set
tweaking the compression and EQ settings to get your category, manufacturer or the level at which limiting kicks in, and monitor the
both, or a simple alphabetical
master sounding sweet, punchy and balanced. You list. This is great for when you
attenuation meter to see how much gain reduction is
might also want to apply other processors, such as have lots of plug-ins installed being applied, shown in orange. 12 You shouldn’t be
saturation or tape emulation, which can add a sense of to help you navigate them seeing loads of attenuation, as this means you are
more easily.
warmth and gentle overdrive, and perhaps some stereo limiting the signal very hard, which will probably result
widening. These are non-essential to the mastering in a “crushed” sound, possibly with some distortion. You
process but some people find that they can work in the can drive the input signal to increase the gain of the
context of a particular project. If you do use them, do so track, though the limiter will always stop it at the level
carefully and with restraint. Stereo widening in you have specified.

10

11

Use Pro Tools’ Maxim limiter to squeeze 12

more level out of a track, being careful not
to over-squash it. Some kinds of music
need less limiting than others.

86 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

 Pro Tools 10 Workshop MTF

13
15

14

Apply dithering if sample or bit rate conversion is required

during export. Use Pro Tools’ advanced and configurable
metering plug-ins to keep an eye on your levels.

It’s also possible to control the amount of limiting space in which you are listening, neither of which are
that is applied using Maxim’s mix control, located to the generally completely perfect. So poor bass response in
right. This controls the blend of processed and original your room, for example, might lead you to incorrectly
signal and can be useful when you don’t want a fully process the bottom end of a track, maybe adding bass
limited sound but rather want to add some volume that doesn’t need to be there, or taking it away when in
more gently. To the right there are also options to apply fact the boominess is a result of reflections in the room.
Dither and Noise Shaping, both of which control the
Best of the rest

Metering and analysis are really Inside the Other folder in Pro Tools’ insert effects menu
you will find some analysis plug-ins. The Correlation

important because your ears meter shows you how your track’s phase is behaving. 14
If all is good the needle should be somewhere between

may not tell the whole story 0 and +1 on this scale. If not you need to look at panning
inside your mix. The Meter Bridge plug-in is able to
analyse both sides of the stereo image and show RMS
or Peak values. It can be calibrated to show different
adding of non-correlated noise to mask noise decibel ranges, which is useful when mastering
introduced by quantization of the signal during bit rate different kinds of material. 15 Inside the Sound Field
conversion. 13 Your aim with limiting is to get a really folder you will find a couple of other interesting bits, like
strong signal without pushing it over the boundary into the Stereo Width plug-in which can be used to add
distortion. Your output meters should be consistently width to three bands of your signal. You would probably
up near the top, though not jammed permanently up apply slightly more to the upper and mid bands and
against zero. little or none to the bass, since this is where most of a
This should be more or less it for your processing, track’s energy resides and thus it needs to stay centred.
but there’s another thing that you might want to 16 Also inside that folder, a Phase Scope plug-in will

consider. Indeed, this could be added at any stage in the give you a visual display of how the phase of your track
process. Metering and analysis are really important is looking. You want it to be relatively centred and not
when mastering because the way your ears perceive a pushing the sides too much unless you have a lot of
master may not tell the whole story. The sound of a panning going on. 17 Stick with the essential processors
master is affected by your monitoring setup and the and you won’t go far wrong. MTF

17
16

Use analysis tools to get an idea

of how your audio processing is
working before the sound is
passed to your speakers. This
is more accurate than relying
solely on your ears.

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 87

MTF 10MM Mastering EQ

Minute
Master
Mastering
equalisation With real-time EQ graphing and vintage-modelled filter curves,
Waves’ Renaissance Equalizer is a versatile paragraphic EQ.
Arguably the most important process in mastering,
EQ is often not given the attention it deserves. Another role of the cutting engineer was to ensure
Russ Hepworth-Sawyer restores the balance… that a stylus would reliably remain in a record’s grooves
during loud and sudden transients that could cause
jumping. These were dealt with via the tone control,

T
he EQ section of a recording desk is perhaps its attenuating any larger than normal low frequency. For
Tech Terms
most often-used feature after the faders and more specific management, filters may have been
● bAndS
pan controls. But its role in mastering is no less bands describe the way in adopted. Devised by George Massenburg in the
important, as it’s capable of inflicting deep which the available frequency mid-1960s and presented at the 1972 Audio Engineering
range is divided. For example,
wounds on recorded material unless used carefully. a parametric equaliser
Society Convention, his concept of parametric EQ now
Nothing should replace the ‘less is more’ maxim of is typically four-band, represents a powerful and flexible solution, and is the
mastering, particularly when a mix can be ‘repaired’ back comprising low, low-mid, high- backbone of many well-regarded units, such as the
mid and high-frequency bands.
at the studio before it reaches the mastering suite’s doors. Prism Maselec EQ.
● pARAMETRic EQ
The mastering engineer’s choice of EQ unit or plug-in parametric EQ was invented
is determined by a variety of factors – perhaps for its by George Massenburg in the EQ to taste
transparency; its character; its linear-phase attributes; mid-1960s and is considered Mastering engineers tend to covet their EQs and rightly
to be the most musical and
or simply because it adds some valve warmth considered powerful of EQs. so, as each has its own unique character and, therefore,
missing in the audio. This rich tapestry provides a purpose. For example, one engineer might instinctively
welcome palette of resources to choose from.

Take to the slopes

In the early days of the mastering engineer (or the [disc]
The mastering engineer’s choice
cutting engineer as they were commonly referred to
then) one of the primary tools for making tonal
of EQ unit or plug-in is determined
adjustments would be a simple tone control, the curves
for which were invented by Peter Baxandall. Baxandall’s
by a variety of factors
curves were gentle, continually sloping slowly but
steadily, unlike the steeper steps offered by shelf employ Prism’s Maselec EQ for precision repair work
equalisers. These tone controls later found a home in the because of its stepped controls, while others might
domestic hi-fi system, and Baxandall’s curves are still reach for Millennia’s NSEQ-2 unit to treat a sterile mix,
frequently dialled up by mastering engineers today to as it’s capable of injecting a touch of pleasing warmth
give a little ‘air’ to the high frequencies or to gently tame into recordings thanks to its valve circuitry. In a similar
boomy low-frequency recordings. way to a seasoned recording engineer mentally

The MEA-2 is a stereo (two-channel), four-band precision analogue equaliser with stepped Q/shelf, Multi-band compression can unintentionally alter the perceived
frequency and cut/boost controls on each band. ‘EQ relationship’ between bands.

88 | Mastering Volume 4 focus

 Mastering EQ 10MM MTF

cataloging a microphone to reflect its most suited

applications, so too might a mastering engineer with his
outboard gear.

Keep in line
In analogue EQ circuits, a very small delay is caused as a
band’s signal is subjected to, for example, the gain The Baxandall curve shown here illustrates how gentle and forgiving the slope actually is by
comparison to a more traditional shelf EQ.
control. This character is one of the ‘covetable’ aspects of
many equalisers as the phase distortion gives a little
‘something’ to a record. However, the widespread
Tech Terms
adoption of digital audio workstations (DAWs) now offers Applying even seemingly simple treatments during
● lInEAr PHASE
an alternative through phase-aligned equalisation. linear-phase EQ avoids the
mastering can have a dramatic effect on the material at
Linear-phase EQ doesn’t demonstrate the phase shifts attributes of phase distortion hand, so care is paramount. Choosing the right EQ
that analogue EQ does (and many digital emulations) and added to a signal by standard application is the most important first consideration, and
analogue EQ.
as such can be considered more neutral than the original each engineer will have their own solution. Have a listen
● BAxAndAll curVE
(see the Ten Minute Master No133, Music Tech Magazine Electronics engineer Peter to as many plug-ins as you have access to and hear how
Issue 65, August 2008, for more information). Baxandall developed the tone- different they sound even with the same parameter
control circuits widely adopted
Whether or not you should apply linear-phase by early audio engineers and
settings. You will appreciate quite quickly the character
equalisation will depend on the effect you’re intending to domestic hi-fi manufacturers. that each algorithm provides and its potential best use.
have on the music you’re mastering. For tasks such as For tracks that appear to be lacking high frequencies
restoration or preservation (as in the case of album across a wide area of the frequency spectrum, employ a
re-issues) it might be prudent to make any remedial high shelf with a very wide Q setting emulating a
changes to the audio using a linear-phase equaliser. Baxandall curve (plug-ins such as the Waves
However, in the throes of mastering a new rock album, Renaissance EQ have faithful Baxandall re-creations).
you may choose to engage in some character-altering
analogue EQ.

On the side
Applying even seemingly simple
Many mastering engineers live by the motto that ‘less is
more’ and will make their EQ adjustments accordingly
treatments can have a dramatic
using gentle slopes, aiming ultimately to preserve the
integrity of the music. However, with multi-band
effect on the material
processing it has become possible to make broad
changes to the tonal balance of any audio material, Adding 1dB boost to a curve like this can have a dramatic
which can happen unintentionally through neglecting to impact. The same treatment could be applied to the bass
rebalance the make-up gains, or intentionally by altering end, too, but tread with caution as you may boost low
the bands’ relationships. frequencies that your monitors cannot reproduce, though
Processors such as an aural exciter can alter the zap whatever dynamic range is available. A common trick
perceived relationship between bands. Employing an is to employ a high-pass filter set anywhere from
exciter can give some much-needed body to a track in 25–50Hz depending on the material. This will result in
certain bands, but it too can alter the tonal balance of the unwanted low frequencies being set aside, but take care
material. Care needs to be taken to rebalance any not to cut off those frequencies that your monitors can’t
relationship between bands that may have been altered. re-create but a club’s subwoofer would eat for breakfast.
It is often necessary to enhance a vocal portion of a
track that might appear a little dull or lacking in focus. To
enhance this, choose a relatively wide Q setting and add
a small boost around the 3–5kHz range. You’ll notice the
‘presence’ lift in the vocal, but as with all EQ changes in
mastering, you’re likely to affect other instruments
occupying the same band. In this frequency range we
might over-enhance some of the cymbals, for example.
While mastering, it is often necessary to be a little
more surgical when removing sharp-sounding
frequencies in a mix. For this kind of task a parametric
EQ is probably the best bet, choosing a fine Q setting,
honing in on the offensive frequency and removing it.
But, as always, be aware of anything else in the mix that
you might simultaneously affect. All too often it’s
necessary to compromise. MTF

FurTHEr InFO
● For more details on Peter Baxandall, see: www.aes.
org/aeshc/docs/jaes.obit/JAES_V44_9_PG796.pdf
If you’re after analogue character, Ozone 5’s Harmonic Exciter can add tube or tape saturation, ● For more details on parametric equalisation, visit:
accentuate harmonics or bring punch and sparkle to a project.
www.massenburg.com/about_george

focus Mastering Volume 4 | 89

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MTF Round-up Software

1 T-RACKS 3
Price €160 (Deluxe version)
Contact IK Multimedia 0800 0934066
IK Multimedia’s T-RackS was the first software
mastering suite on the market and, at version 3, is still
2 2 WAVES GRAND MASTERS
Price $1,560
Contact Sonic Distribution
going strong. The Standard version comes as a 0845 500 2 500
standalone application and its four processors are also Waves has an excellent pedigree when
available as individual plug-ins inside your host DAW. The it comes to software audio processing
application itself has advanced metering tools, including and Grand Masters is a complete set
Peak, Perceived Loudness, Phase, and RMS meters, plus of precision mastering software
a Spectrum Analyzer with Peak, RMS and Averaging processors that gives you the mastering muscle
indicators. You can A/B between setups and queue up you need for subtle or surgical manipulation of your mixes.

1
tracks to compare mastering settings. It’s very easy to Including the complete Masters bundle (L2, LinEQ, LinMB)
use and you can upgrade to the Deluxe version if you like, plus 13 new plug-ins, the Grand Masters expands upon the
which features more modules. legacy of the original, delivering the world’s first truly
all-inclusive mastering toolset in one collection. There is a
Web www.ikmultimedia.com
wide range of tools supplied to help you get the best
sounding master possible.
Web www.waves.com

Round-Up
Software
Mastering with software is space efficient and can
be more cost effective than using hardware. And
doing it yourself is an increasingly popular option for
many producers. With modern computers more
than capable of running pro-quality plug-ins and
effects suites, there’s never been a better time to
explore the world of software mastering…

3 BLUE CAT AUDIO

ANALYSIS PACK
Price €199 Contact via website
Audio analysis is an essential part of the
mastering process and Blue Cat makes a
range of tools to do it. The Peak Meter Pro
plug-in will tell you everything about your
audio levels; FreqAnalyst Pro and FreqAnalyst
Multi plug-ins provide extremely smooth spectrum
and frequency content analysis; and the StereoScope
plug-ins series lets you visualize the stereo image of
your audio content in details. While the ‘Pro’ plug-ins
offer unique possibilities to create your own signal-
controlled effects, the ‘Multi’ versions have unique
multiple instances features to perform the analysis on
several tracks, or anywhere in a signal chain.
Web www.bluecataudio.com

92 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

 Software Round-up MTF

4 IZOTOPE OZONE 5
Price £145
Contact via website
iZotope’s Ozone suite has always been one of the most
capable software mastering solutions around and, now at
version 5, it’s more powerful than ever. It comes in Normal and
Advanced versions, with the latter adding detailed audio
analysis tools like the Meter Bridge and various spectral
analysis tools, as well as the ability to load each processing
stage in your DAW as a separate plug-in. Both versions have a
range of excellent tools, including a maximizer, EQ, reverb,
dither, exciter, multiband dynamics, stereo imaging and
limiting, and each section is highly configurable.
Web www.izotope.com

5 5 PSP MASTERCOMP
Price $249
Contact via website
PSP’s MasterComp is a stereo dynamics processor that

4
offers transparent compression even at extreme
compression settings and high sample rates. It features
double sampled processing, low distortion thanks to a
Smooth Level Detector algorithm, optional automatic
attack and release times, advanced side chain filtering,
channel linking and compression tilting controls, as well
as a brickwall limiting mode and advanced PPU / VU
meters. It runs on Mac and PC in all major formats and is
just as good for compressing during tracking and mixing
as during mastering.
Web www.pspaudioware.com

6 MMASTERING BUNDLE
Price €199
Contact [email protected]
MeldaProduction makes a huge range of audio
processing plug-ins and many are available as
bundles targeted to specific tasks. The
MMastering bundle contains a suite of 22 effects
which will more than cover all the bases you need
to master quickly and accurately. To pick just a
few, there’s the MaudioDynamic EQ, a parametric
equalizer, MautoAlign for dealing with phase
problems, Multiband Dynamics and Spectral
Dynamics for controlling compression, three
separate limiter effects and an eight-band linear
mastering equalizer. There are multiple types of
each category of effect to choose from and they
can, of course, be used in everyday
tracking and mixing as well.
Web www.meldaproduction.com

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 93

MTF Round-up Software

7 SSL DUENDE NATIVE

Price £179-£199 each 7
Contact [email protected]
SSL has brought the faithfully modelled characteristics of its
legendary hardware to the computer with its Duende Native
series of processors, suitable for mixing and mastering. The
SSL Stereo Buss Compressor is the secret behind many great
sounding recordings, a simple unit with a simple purpose: it
makes complete mixes sound bigger, with more power, punch
and drive. It brings cohesion and strength to your mix without
compromising clarity. The X-EQ is a 10-band parametric EQ
where each band can be set to provide a different EQ type, for
almost limitless possibilities.
Web www.solidstatelogic.com

8 PSP VINTAGEWARMER 2
Price $149
Contact via website
The PSP VIntageWarmer is a high quality digital
simulation of an analogue-style, single- or
multi-band compressor/limiter. It combines rich,
warm analogue processing with a straightforward user
interface and comes with a comprehensive library of presets.
The plug-in processor is highly flexible and can be used for
both softknee compression and brickwall limiting, making it a
useful tool for mixing and mastering engineers. Careful
attention has been paid to its overload characteristics with
the processor being capable of generating saturation effects
typical of analogue tape recorders. PSP Vintage Warmer also
incorporates professional VU and PPM metering together with
accurate overload indicators thereby assuring professional
quality results.
Web www.pspaudioware.com

9 STEINBERG RND PORTICO

PLUG-INS
Price £647
Contact Yamaha UK 0844 811 1116
They might seem pricey for two plug-ins but
these are personally approved by Rupert Neve
himself and based on the legendary hardware
units of the same name. The 5033 is a world class
five-band parametric EQ with high and low shelf
filters as well as three bands with filter width
regulation. The 5043 is a high quality compressor
with input and gain reduction metering, feed
forward and back modes for different
compression characteristics and is based on
Neve’s own compressor / limiter. Both use
Yamaha’s VCM technology and can bring a
gorgeous sound to mixes and masters.
Web www.steinberg.net

94 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

 h
wit
Now
4 G b
6 am
RD DR3
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0M
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Rated 9/10
MTF Walkthrough Mastering for free

Mastering for free Step-by-Step

Mastering with free On the disc

and shareware tools

Getting a great master doesn’t have to cost the earth. not going to touch on those here since they are covered in
the DAW-specific workshops elsewhere in the issue. Free
There are some free and inexpensive tools out there plug-ins might lack the finesse of a top end product but,
that can really help. Hollin Jones looks for bargains… ultimately, if you’re not flush with cash, it’s better to
master on a budget than not at all.

W
hen times are tough it’s nice to have Doing it on the cheap
alternatives to commercial software Once your mixdowns exist as stereo files, as they almost
when it comes to music production. certainly will as you approach the mastering stage, you
There are of course lots of excellent need an application to load them into so you can start
commercial products out there and

The developer community is

there’s generally a reason why they cost money: because
they sound great and work really well. If you have a

very active in producing free audio

budget to build a mastering setup, that’s fantastic. But
not everybody does, and thankfully there are other

processing tools
options around in addition to buying the big name
applications and plug-ins. These are all software, of
course, since we’ve yet to hear of anybody giving
hardware away for free.
The developer community is very active in producing applying processing. If you don’t have a full version of a
free audio processing tools, and commercial developers DAW you may be interested to know that it’s perfectly
often release free or lite, cut-down versions of their tools possible to master in a wave editing package, as long as
as appetisers. There’s no reason to think that these are in it supports plug-ins. There are some full-fat ones out
any way inferior; they probably just have fewer options or there but also some great free ones. The best known is
are feature-limited. You will get some plug-ins suitable Audacity, which runs on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux
for mastering included with your DAW of course, but we’re and, after many years in development, is becoming a

MTF Navigation Mastering for free WAVE EDITORS

a Free wave editors can be
used for mastering, though
you’ll often find much more
elegance and refinement if
you spend a small amount
a on a commercial one.

b b OS X OPTIONS
Apple provides a
c number of Audio Unit
plug-ins that can be
used for mastering with
OS X. These should
show up in any
AU-compatible host.

FREEBIES AND DEMOS

c Some developers release
free plug-ins, like the excellent
d FreeComp from FXpansion. Others
provide demos or lite versions for
you to try.

APPLE EQ
d Apple’s Parametric EQ
plug-in, though not particularly
advanced, is another free AU
provided with every Mac.

96 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

 Mastering for free Walkthrough MTF

MTF Step-by-Step Mastering for free with Audacity

Head over to http://audacity. Drag and drop your mixed down stereo You can choose how to view the track by
01 sourceforge.net and download the
02 audio file into Audacity or import it using
03 clicking on its name field in the panning
latest version of Audacity for your platform. the File > Import Audio command. Audacity will area to the left. Probably the most useful
It is available for Mac, Windows and Linux. prompt you to choose how to reference the file. view for mastering is the Waveform (dB)
Installation is pretty simple. The first thing to You can make a copy, which will preserve the option as this shows you the track’s
do when you fire it up is assign it to use your original, or edit the original directly, which is amplitude relative to 0dB. In the Preferences
audio outputs. You can mix and match quicker and uses less space but isn’t as safe. > Interface section you can set the meter
devices for input and output; on most Once imported, your file’s waveform should range to a different sensitivity if you are
systems it should easily pick up all available appear in the main part of the window. working with specific kinds of material, such
I/O options. as mastering for vinyl.

Audacity isn’t able to run plug-ins in real From the same menu you will also find an When your master is done, choose File >
04 time but it can preview and process
05 EQ unit and you can draw in EQ points to
06 Export and you will be able to output
them, and if you don’t like the results you can the grid to sweeten your master. Again you can your mastered track to the format of your
always undo it and have another go. It has preview or process this effect onto the track. choice. You should stick with full quality,
some plug-ins of its own that can be found You may also want to apply some limiting; for uncompressed versions here, and then
under the Effect menu at the top of the list. this you will have to seek out a third-party compress to other formats like MP3 or AAC
One of these is compression, so try applying a limiting plug-in. Find and apply one from the later if you need to create smaller versions of
little gentle compression across the track to list of third-party tools and then process that the audio file. Audacity can export to some of
even it out. effect onto the track. these formats, or you could use iTunes.

surprisingly capable piece of kit. A modest download, it Keep it light

comes with some of its own plug-ins plus some optional
PRO TIP For a modest outlay you could get a budget DAW, which
MDA free plug-ins have been
extra ones and it can see any VST plug-ins you have around for years and are all would suitable both for making the music in the first
installed on your system, which helps greatly when you still compatible with the latest place, as well as mixing and mastering. Many of the
are mastering. It also supports plug-in instruments and versions of VST hosts on both leading DAWs have an entry level, lite version with most
Windows and the Mac. They
although that’s not necessary for mastering, it is handy to are simple but useful, and the of the essential features. Steinberg’s Cubase Elements,
know for when you are making music. It has some helpful free bundle includes for example, is surprisingly well featured for just £63.20
distortions, amp and speaker
modes like spectrographic views to help you get a picture simulation, delays, loudness,
and runs both on Windows and Mac OS X. Cakewalk’s
of what’s going on in your audio file, plus an effect multiband compressors and Windows-only SONAR X2 Essential also goes for around
chaining feature so you can set up and save your own much more. Among the models £80. Again, like other DAWs, it supports plug-ins so you’re
on offer there are some good
mastering plug-in chains. free units that can be not restricted to the ones that come with it, good though
If you are after something slightly more refined, employed for mastering. they are.
Amadeus Pro for the Mac is a smooth wave editor Apple’s Logic Pro for the Mac is only £140 and comes
available for around £40 (the Lite version is £18) that also with over 70 audio effects as well as some great
supports VST and Audio Units plug-ins, though without instruments. It’s the only version of Logic still around,
MIDI functionality it’s for audio only. Windows users could with the Express version having been discontinued. Avid’s
look at Wavosaur, an audio recording and editing app for Pro Tools M-Powered can cost as little as £80 with a
Windows only that supports VST plug-ins and is available compatible audio interface. FL Studio Producer Edition is
for free. It has some good features for mastering such as also capable of mastering and can be yours for around
support for up to 32-bit audio files, effect chain support, €150, while Cockos Reaper is a remarkably powerful DAW
audio analysis and audio statistics. that costs as little as $60 for an individual license.

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 97

MTF Walkthrough Mastering for free

Plug it in compress up to three bands – low, mid and high. This is

PRO TIP
Once you have chosen the software you’re going to use, especially useful for mastering tasks, when you might
MeldaProduction makes an
you will need to think about the plug-ins that will do your almost bewildering array of need to apply different levels of compression to different
mastering. Plug-in suites like iZotope’s Ozone are plug-ins and amongst these frequency bands instead of using one catch all setting for
are lots of free ones,
excellent, but they also have a price tag attached. There the whole signal.
encompassing a range of
are a number of excellent free alternatives, the only modulators and special effects The C3 Multi Band Compressor looks a bit basic but
caveat being that they are individual plug-ins rather than as well as compressors, EQs can be used to selectively compress different bands at
and other suitable effects.
an all in one solution. Despite that, the ability of most They come in all major formats
the mix and mastering stages; and Blockfish is another
DAWs to save plug-in chains means that once you have and actually have an amazing well liked compressor plug-in. SSL makes the free
set up a mastering chain you can recall it instantly in any depth of features, if you care to LMC-1, a listen mic compressor as well as the X-ISM
dig under the surface.
project anyway. intersample peak meter, and you could also check out
Compression is the glue that binds your mix together the GVST GComp compressor / limiter with soft knee
and creates a coherent and balanced sound. There are features. Stardust VST is a multi stage channel processor
many good free compressors available that are suitable that includes a stereo enhancer, multiband and wide
for mastering. MeldaProductions’ MCompressor, for band compressors and detailed VU meters for
example, has signal maximization for mastering monitoring. T-Sledge is a multiband compressor for
purposes, hard, linear and smooth knee shapes, mastering, equipped with peak limiter, level maximizer
sidechaining, randomization and the ability to process up and four compressors/expanders/limiters. And it is
to eight channels of surround sound. The mda Multiband equipped with two kinds of dividing filter, IIR/FIR so, it
is a multiband compressor that lets you selectively also operates as a dynamic EQ.

MTF Step-by-Step Mastering for free with Wavosaur

Go to Wavosaur.com and download and There are tools that you can apply and To make Wavosaur see the VST plug-ins
01 install the latest version of this free
02 these are located in the Tools menu.
03 on your system, click on the button with
audio recording and editing package. Select Select part or all of the waveform of your track, the spanner icon, which reveals the Editor
File > Open or drag a WAV file into the main and choose from various analysis tools. By Configuration window. Here you can point it
part of the window to have the application choosing the Spectrum Analysis tool for at your VST plug-ins path. Select the folder in
open it. You will see information along the example, you can get an overview of the which you store all or most of your plug-ins,
base of the waveform window about its characteristics of your track. The 3D analysis which will probably be your DAW’s VST folder.
sample and bit rate. It’s preferable to use tool will provide a similar view only in 3D. If you don’t have a VST folder you can create
uncompressed WAV files for mastering on There’s also an input or output oscilloscope. one manually.
Windows.

With a plug-in folder assigned you can Try adding more plug-ins. Here we have Click on the Processing > Apply button
04 begin to apply processing. Press the VST
05 added a free compressor to process the
06 and the plug-ins will be applied. In the
Rack button and then from the Rack window, sound. Once you are happy with the chain, it’s Preferences you can set Wavosaur to
choose a plug-in from the list to add. Its possible to save it using the Save Chain button suspend plug-ins from doing any extra
parameters will appear in a list and you can on the lower right, which lets you recall it at processing once they have been rendered
click each one, setting its level using the any time in the future. You can also manually down. A notification at the bottom left of the
slider to the right of the window. You can load load any VST using the Load VST button at the window tells you that plug-in processing has
or save FX bank or patch presets using the top right of this window, if it lives outside of been applied. When done you can export your
FXB and FXP buttons running along the right your assigned VST folder. file in multiple formats, but stick to
hand side. uncompressed WAV files for now, and then
compress later.

98 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

 Mastering for free Walkthrough MTF

The equalizer Sky’s the limit

PRO TIP
After compression you would typically use EQ during the Whatever other processing you apply you will eventually
FXpansion makes some
mastering stage, with the aim of sweetening and tuning excellent instruments and need a limiter. Sweetboys Volcano Limiter / Maximizer
the overall sound of the track, making subtle changes effects and even gives away a combines a peak limiter and a level maximizer and is
few freebies to people who set
across the frequency spectrum to enhance or tame simple to use. Endorphin provides free dual band
up an account on their website.
specific parts of the track. Your DAW will have EQ built-in The DCAM FreeComp is a great compression and an analogue style brickwall limiter,
but there are many free alternatives, some of which are free compressor that can be while TLs Pocket Limiter is a simple but effective limiting
used for mastering. A model of
more flexible. a console bus compressor, it is
effect with low latency performance supporting sample
The Kjaerhus Free EQ has seven bands and an good for enhancing punch and rates up to 192 kHz. MeldaProductions makes the
analogue character to its sound, and Voxengo makes the definition as well as glueing MMultiBand Limiter, an accomplished brickwall
mixes and masters together.
EssEQ and Overtone GEQ, graphic equalizers offering mastering limiter with minimal distortion and three
linear phase equalization. The Linear Phase Graphic EQ 2 limiting modes. It costs €149 but is much more advanced
by Slim Slow Slider is a free linear phase EQ module that than many of the free models we have looked at.
is very light on your CPU, and Blue Cat Audio makes the So there’s no shortage of free or at least inexpensive
excellent Triple EQ, a free three band semi parametric EQ mastering software available online, and even where
with detailed visual feedback. Electri-Q is a graphic there is a charge there is also often a free demo or trial
parametric EQ plug-in that is simple to use, and Voxengo period, so you can try before you buy. Mastering is of
produces the free Marvel GEQ, a linear phase 16-band course vital to producing great sounding tracks but, as
graphic equalizer AU and VST plug-in that offers a we have seen, you don’t necessarily have to spend lots of
mastering grade sound quality. money on the tools you need to do it. MTF

MTF Step-by-Step Mastering with Amadeus Pro for Mac

Amadeus Pro is an inexpensive but Under the Analyze menu you will find Under the Effects dropdown menu you
01 capable wave editor for the Mac. Drag
02 some useful analysis tools, many of
03 will find some built-in effects, including
and drop your mixdown into the app to open which work in real time. Here we have loaded equalizers. Perhaps most interestingly
it. If you need to top and tail the file you can the Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer and set it to there’s a tool called the LP / 78rpm
do this easily by selecting the relevant area work in stereo. It gives us a great overview of Equalizer, which lets you choose between a
then right clicking and choosing Cut to the frequencies going on in the track as it range of EQ types based on classic vinyl
remove the area containing silence. You can plays back. Other options include record types and the way that different
also add fades in and out by selecting and oscilloscope, sonogram and waveform labels used to master their releases. You
using the Effects > Fading menu options. analysers. They can be set up to respond can manually set low and high frequencies.
extremely quickly to signals. It’s a little different from standard EQs,
which are also available.

Amadeus Pro can see the VST and AU Any effects that you add using the To render the processing effects down
04 plug-ins on your system and these are
05 previous technique must be processed
06 onto the file, select Sound > Bounce
also available from the Effects dropdown before they can be heard. However, if you click Document, or Bounce Document to New File
menu. If you have a DAW or other audio on the gear icon at the top right, you can reveal to create a new file inside Amadeus with the
software installed, it should pick up any the realtime plug-ins section. Go to the plus effects rendered down. Alternatively, use the
plug-ins that belong to them and these will button icon at the base of this section and click File > Save A Copy As option to export to an
appear as options. Here, for example, we have on it. You will be able to see your installed uncompressed or compressed format for use
added an instance of the excellent Steinberg plug-ins and add any you like, and they are elsewhere. Amadeus Pro native documents
Portico EQ, which we can use to sweeten and processed in real time. can also be saved and retain their editability.
fine tune the balance of our master.

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 99

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magazine January 2011 | 67

MTF Interview Dan Austin

‘‘They had a huge

collection of vintage
synths and analogue
gear: I was a kid in a
sweet shop’’ .
The MTF Interview Dan Austin

From Maximo Park to the Doves, Dan Austin has been the mastermind behind many great
guitar tones. MTF finds out more about the tricks of his trade. Photography by Zen Inoya

B
eing as MTF is a UK magazine, based in the city of Bath, this interview
offered a perfect opportunity for us to visit a local yet famous location
– Moles Studio. This is where our tea boy-turned-engineer and producer
Dan Austin frequently books to work from. The studio lives above the
equally famous Moles nightclub. The first floor hosts two live rooms, one
that Dan favours for drums and the other for recording guitar. The floor above
houses a large SSL E Series desk, racks of outboard and a vocal booth. Following
the theme of many engineers who are working more and more in-the-box, Dan
admits that nowadays he’s using only 16 channels of the SSL for mixing from Pro
Tools, making it more of a summing mixer. But he tells us why this is still important:
“I did a lot of shootouts with Gil Norton [Foo Fighters, Feeder] between eight-way
and sixteen-way summing mixers. The Chandler summing mixer and SSL desk
sounded much better than just coming out through a stereo output from Pro Tools.
Everything was calibrated to make the tests as reliable as possible. The Chandler is
really coloured, but in a similar way to a good desk. You get a heavy bottom end and
a big openness to everything.”
He also admits to using a lot of plug-ins – having waiting first until they proved
they sounded up to the job. Dan also tells us that working in-the-box and easier
recall are modern necessities due to the demands for recalls, different edits, stem
exports for remixes and parts to use for live shows. He shares his thoughts on this:
“It all makes sense to do the various exports and so on, but it’s also great for
archive purposes as I can recall something from five years ago really easily. When it
was tape it was a whole different story.”

On the up
Dan’s vast range of skills were accumulated over the years during his gradual
progression from tea-maker to recording, mixing, programming and production
duties: “With some producers I’d just be sitting at the back taking notes, whereas
others would give me the chance to set up things like the guitar or drum sounds in
a session. I remember picking up lots of tips from Paul Corkett, who did many of the
Biffy Clyro sessions. A big thing I learned from him was his guitar and drum sounds.
They are just amazing and he dials stuff up so quickly. He wasn’t too fussy about
things, he’d just make things sound really great, quickly. Before that I used to get a

102 | Mastering Volume 4 focus

Dan Austin Interview MTF

focus Mastering Volume 4 | 103

MTF Interview Dan Austin

little too picky about stuff and maybe spend an hour on a MTF StudioEye Moles Studios, Bath, UK
sound when the performer just wanted to play guitar. I
EMS VCS 3 NEUMANN U87
learned not to think ‘is it right?’ all the time and instead a This a fantastic-sounding
b Unlike other condensers,
gained the confidence to think that it’s good and move on. synth but I use it for a lot of this can take a ton of level from a
While Dan will take on all roles as a producer for some processing. If I’m recording cab while sounding open and not
drums I’ll always have a mic like squeezed. Other condensers can
projects, on others he will be part of a team, with a more
an SM58 on the kit going through sound good with lower, cleaner
specific role. He gives us some examples: “On my own this so I can push the input stage signals, but I like how this can cope
sessions I’ll do everything, like the records with Doves and for distortion; sometimes I use a with high volume. Its brightness
bit of filtering, too. also complements a dynamic mic.
Cherry Ghost. But Massive Attack is a good example of when
I’ve had just one specific role, as they weren’t looking for an
engineer, they just wanted a programmer. I played them some
of my stuff and it went from there.
“I was taken on to work on what became Heligoland, but
during that time we also did film soundtrack work and
adverts, plus remixes of older tracks and alternative versions
for their Best Of. It was very different from the work I’d been
doing because I’d never really just worked as a programmer. It
had always been mixed with engineering or mixing. We all got
on really well and generated an incredible amount of material.
Some was set to a very specific brief, like the advert bits had
to adhere to what the client wanted. Other days we’d start with a
a blank Pro Tools session and try out ideas, or get something
out of the loft, where they had a huge collection of vintage b
synths and analogue gear. I had a programming room and was
like a kid in a sweet shop, going into the loft to explore what
there was. A lot of the work I was doing was creating
atmospheres and noises, especially for the film work.”

Making movies
We wanted to know a bit more about how he might start
creating sonic beds for film work. Dan happily shares some of
his tricks: “Sometimes I’d start with a vocal or maybe a guitar
through kit like guitar pedals, the Arp 2600 or a Sequential

‘‘If we wanted to get Circuits Pro One. There was a lot of continual processing
involved to get something that was unrecognisable from the

width, instead of double-

source sounds. We used a lot of hardware but I also used
Reaktor a lot, too. I still do; it’s an amazing tool.”

tracking we’d pan apart Tone meister

When listening to the projects Dan has worked on over the

the separate amps

years, noticeable differences in guitar tones and production
aesthetics become apparent. Dan gives us an idea as to why,
and explains how he created these sounds: “With You Me At

from a single take” Six, the sound is a lot more about precision and hugeness,
with massive depth, whereas with Pulled Apart By Horses we
were trying to retain the live energy they are renowned for.
part, then heavily edit it to make single notes, or layer things Everything on that record had to be repeatable so we didn’t
and create harmonies. There was one track when I took a do loads of layering, which is what we did for that big sound
vocal and sampled it into Reason as separate notes, which I on You Me At Six. That type of sound usually involves three
then turned into tiny little loops. This was linked up to a MIDI amps, with one take panned left, one right and one in the
controller so I could control the volume of the different notes middle. For double- and triple-tracking it’s the guitars we’ll
as they played – a bit like a Mellotron in the way you could play normally change to get different tones. Sometimes the
with it. We’d then take those sorts of things and stick them middle channel will have a crappy combo amp added to get a

Notable 2003 | The Cooper Temple Clause 2009 | Doves Kingdom Of Rust
works Kick Up The Fire And Let The I was a big fan of the band already and I’d
Dan and Flames Break Loose engineered on some tracks from the Some
some of the I’d started working freelance while still working Cities album before. It was great to work
career-defining at Moles. I’d engineered the first record and done for a band that I’m a really big fan of and it’s
moments of a load of B-sides for them. They asked me to set a record I’m really proud of. It wasn’t the
his years... up a studio with them and record their second easiest to make, taking around 18 months
record. This persuaded me to go freelance, aged 22. We built the studio on and off. Again, like Temple Clause, we
around a Pro Tools rig and some Neves in a barn in Reading. I still get recorded it in a studio we put together in a
work off the back of this record. It was great for the label and the band to barn. It was received really well, which was
have the confidence to let me do it. This was a real game-changer for me. good as we’d worked on it so long that we’d
got a bit lost in it. The public reaction was really reassuring.

104 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

 Dan Austin Interview MTF

TONEBONE JX2 PRO SHURE SM7

f I run at least two cabs for
g If a vocalist is really giving
any guitar sound and use this to it some, this mic manages to
split the signal. You need decent smooth out the inconsistencies
d transformers, earth-lift and created when singing really hard
phase-reversal as you can get in into a mic. It also manages to
heaps of trouble when running retain loads of detail.
multiple cabs from one source.

g
f

e
c WEM BASS
DOMINATOR
d AUDIO KITCHEN
LITTLE CHOPPER
e ROLAND SRE-555
This is such an
This is great for that classic The clean sound on this is exciting effect and you can
valve input-gain sound. It’s really glassy and open, then do so much with the delay.
just a volume control for more it goes into evil distortion, This particular model has
or less gain with some EQ. At with everything in between. chorus, sound-on-sound
full volume the distortion But its gain dial is so precise recording and a spring
becomes obscene. It’s a lot and the tone control is so reverb. I quite often use the
easier to record than a 4x12 wide. I pretty much use it on spring reverb for vocals and
cab, which need to be really every guitar sound I do. acoustic guitars.
loud to get full tilt out of them.

more gnarly sound, and that’s how we get that huge width add much in the way of compression as the distortion takes
and depth. With Pulled Apart, if we wanted to get width, care of that. If it’s a cleaner picked part I’ll squeeze it a bit to
instead of double-tracking we’d pan apart the separate amps make sure that none of the notes are disappearing.”
from a single take.”
Pure and simple
Microphones We asked about the Pure Love album by ex-Gallows frontman
Microphones are obviously another consideration in shaping Frank Carter. Dan says: “We recorded it in a studio with a big
any guitar tone. We ask Dan how he determines which is the vintage Neve desk that sounded incredible. If I have a choice
right one for the tone he is seeking: “Ordinarily I’ll have a for a rock record, I go for either a big Neve or API desk; SSL
condenser and a dynamic on every cab, occasionally a mic pres are great, but there’s something a bit more magical
dynamic and a ribbon if I want a softer and less direct sound. about a Neve or API. It’s hard to say sometimes, though, as it
Before we start recording any guitars I’ll line up all of the can also be down to the wiring; this studio had Aurora
cabinets in a row, which can sometimes be five or six of them. converters, which could play a part. Everything that came
Then I’ll go through each one and phase-align them. Next I’ll through that desk sounded huge. Our aim was to get those
trial combinations of the amps with the guitar player actually classic rock tones using 4x12 Marshalls, big open drum
playing up in the control room with me and find out what sounds and so on. It was less about distortion, more about
works best. So the final sound can be anywhere from two to purity. We had a massive drum room so didn’t need to fake
four cabs together, which are summed into a group on the ambience like in smaller rooms, using reverbs, distortion or
desk and then – if I’ve got one at the time – it’ll go through an heavy compression. When you’ve got a large tuned room with
API 550B EQ. Following that either a Urei 1176 or an just the right decay and the mic placement is right you’ll get a
Empirical Labs Distressor. If it’s a big distorted part I won’t massive sound with minimal compression.” MTF

2011 | Bayside Killing Time 2012 | Pulled Apart By Horses V.E.N.O.M. 2012 | You Me At Six The Swarm
This was the start of my working relationship This was done incredibly quickly. We recorded We actually recorded this here at Moles. It’s
with Gil Norton. We’re just about to start the whole album in 14 days and the band were a one-off track that is used as the music for
our seventh or eighth record together at the awesome. We went into the studio and got it the ride at Thorpe Park. Gil and I really like
moment. I’ve been doing a lot more mixing with down really quick. It was really fun to do and the band and this was a chance for us to work
him and at the moment there’s a lot of stuff in the band are hilarious to work with. After with them. They came in with half a track on
the charts so I can turn on recording we went to Gil’s studio, did a little a Sunday afternoon, we did
the radio and hear things tweaking and mixed it really quickly, trying to pre-production, got it recorded
I’ve been working on a lot. get it sounding good but without polishing it and had it mixed by Thursday
Starting to work with Gil on too much. It all came together really quickly – night. I like doing the type of
this record has been another I think we mixed it in about ten days. It was great to do something as production when we think,
defining moment for me. raw and as edgy as this. ‘how massive can this be?’.

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 105

MTF 10MM Inter-sample peaks

Minute
Master
Inter-sample
peaks Ozone’s Maximizer avoids inter-sample peaks by considering the
possible peak levels after conversion.

With masters becoming increasingly hot, are inter-

sample peaks an inevitable by-product of the When it comes to mixing and mastering, though, it’s
Loudness Wars? Mark Cousins investigates… increasingly common for engineers to run their final
signal levels right up to 0dBFS. Indeed, a large part of the
loudness attributed to modern music is created by

T
he phenomenon of inter-sample peaks is one Tech Terms aggressive brickwall limiting, which actively targets peak
that seems to scare and confuse budding ● DIGITAL OVER signals and pushes a master right up to 0dBFS without
mastering engineers in equal measure. Some As digital audio can’t exceed the waveform being audibly clipped. In a world in which
audiophiles insist that they are one of the many 0dBFS, a digital over seems level is everything, this approach makes complete sense,
a bit misleading. Instead, a
degrading qualities attributed to the so-called Loudness digital over means a number ensuring that your song is as loud – if not louder – than
Wars, constituting a completely avoidable form of of consecutive peaks have the competition. But is our fondness for pushing peak
been read, indicating that the
distortion. Others insist that inter-sample peaks are such meters right up to 0dBFS a good strategy in respect to
signal level has potentially
a rare and unnoticeable phenomena that they deserve exceeded 0dBFS. audio quality?
little or no attention. So, what is the truth behind ● LOSSY AUDIO CODEC
inter-sample peaks, and are they something that we A lossy audio codec changes Over and above
the original waveform so that
should all be concerned about? it can be stored in a more The problem with running masters up to 0dBFS is the
data-efficient way. Lossless assumption that digital signal levels are an absolute – in
Feeling peaky encoding, on the other hand, other words, nothing ever exceeds 0dBFS. However,
uses statistical redundancy,
To understand what is meant by an inter-sample peak we leaving the waveform intact there’s a whole area of our signal path to consider after
need to take a closer look at signal levels in the digital but reducing its data size. we’ve set our final mix or master levels – that of the
domain, and, in particular, the process of digital-to- digital-to-analogue conversion process. As yet it’s
analogue conversion. As we all know, signal levels in the impossible to stream digital audio directly into our
digital domain are represented by a fixed series of
numbers, with the loudest recordable signal denoted as
0dBFS (0dB Full Scale). When a signal is recorded in the
digital domain at a level that exceeds 0dBFS the result is Much of the loudness attributed
a clipped waveform, with a corresponding set of samples
‘squared off’ at 0dBFS. Of course, most digital source to modern music is created by
recordings are left with plenty of headroom – all
engineers steer well clear of the dreaded ‘digital over’. aggressive brickwall limiting
brains, so every piece of digital music needs to be
converted back into the analogue domain before we can
hear it. As part of this conversion, digital-to-analogue
converters employ a form of reconstruction filter –
rounding-off (or interpolating) the stepped digital
waveform and creating a smooth final output.
As part of the interpolation process, reconstruction
filters tend to create some small differences in the
eventual output levels. Of course, for a large part of our
dynamic range these small level changes aren’t an issue,
but on signals hovering near to 0dBFS even the smallest
level change can be problematic. At this point the
problem seems to vary between different grades of
converters and the electronics that follow them. An
audiophile D/A converter will allow for this headroom, but
a cheap CD player won’t have the headroom for these
inter-sample peaks. In short, your mix won’t sound
The process of mp3 conversion can also introduce unwanted distortion on peak signals, which is why distorted in the studio, but your peaks could sound
Sonnox’s Pro-Codec is useful as a means of spotting these problems early on.
decidedly clipped on a cheap hi-fi.

106 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

 Inter-sample peaks 10MM MTF

Although not explicitly part of the inter-sample peak

issue, it’s also worth considering what happens to mixes Inter-Sample Peak
that have been mastered ‘hot’ and converted to a lossy OdBFS
audio codec such as mp3. To achieve the desired amount
of data reduction, many codecs employ various forms of
filtering to reduce the amount of audio information, with
lossier codecs usually applying more brutal filtering. As
with the reconstruction filters in the D/A conversion
process, this codec filtering produces some degree of
level discrepancy between the original uncompressed
audio file and the final data-compressed version. As
-Inf.
you’d expect, the greater the amount of data
compression used, the easier it is for audio to distort.
inter-sample peaks are created as part of the D/a conversion process, whereby a reconstruction filter
creates signal levels that exceed 0dBFS.
Peak practice
Having identified some of the causes and issues behind
inter-sample peaks, what are the practical steps that you As well as increased headroom and improved
tech terms
can take to avoid them? The most immediate solution, of metering, it’s also interesting to see a number of
● inteRPolation
course, is to allow some degree of headroom between the Put simply, interpolation ‘inter-sample-aware’ products being released. iZotope’s
peak levels of your master and 0dBFS. The only issue fills in the gaps between a Ozone, for example, includes an Intersample Detection
series of data points. as a
here is differences of opinion between recommended digital recording is a series
mode as part of its Maximizer controls. With the
practices, with some audiophiles insisting that -3dBFS is of discrete samples, D/a Intersample Detection mode active, Ozone’s Maximizer
the only safe peak level, while others are happy to run the conversion needs to fill in the effectively applies its brickwall limiting based on the
gaps between these points.
master up to around -0.3dBFS. The problem is that the post-D/A conversion levels rather than the current level
appropriate margin of safety is hard to define given both of the digital sample. In short, it’s a form of intelligent
the huge variations between CD players and DACs, as limiting based on the eventual signal levels, making it a
well as the inherent dynamic and timbral qualities simple but effective tool for negating inter-sample peaks
present in the music. yet still achieving maximum loudness.

Room to breathe
Allow some degree of The issue of inter-sample peaks is an inevitable
by-product of the Loudness Wars and the lack of
headroom between the peak regulation and standardisation in the music industry. To a
large extent, the problem of inter-sample peaks could be
levels of your master and 0dBFS easily negated by an accepted peak level of -3dBFS,
following the lead of other industries such as film and TV
broadcast, where prescribed final signal levels and
Another relatively simple remedy to the problem of loudness standards are strictly adhered to. The music
inter-sample peaks is improved metering, as found in industry, though, has a distinctly more cavalier attitude,
plug-ins such as SSL’s X-ISM (www.solidstatelogic.com ) with loudness seeming to be all that counts, and that
or, in the case of data-compression distortion, Sonnox’s audio quality is often the least important point on the
Pro-Codec (www.sonnoxplugins.com). In the example of agenda. The irony, of course, is that peak levels aren’t the
the X-ISM plug-in, a digital Finite Impulse Response principal component of loudness, but instead formed by
(FIR) filter is used to model the typical interpolation the averaged RMS levels.
applied as part of a D/A conversion, which, in turn, is fed As more engineers, musicians and listeners of music
to an ‘analogue’ inter-sample clip indicator. In theory, the understand the phenomena of inter-sample peaks,
meter indicates when inter-sample peaks are likely to though, it becomes increasingly easy to start making
occur (although, of course, there’s no absolute way of more informed choices about how our music sounds.
telling), enabling you to set the final headroom in a more Arguably, industry-driven initiatives such as ‘Mastered
informed way. for iTunes’ illustrate that there’s a degree of reappraisal
happening concerning issues such as loudness and data
Max headroom compression. In the future, therefore, there may well be a
Given its ability to apply codecs in real time, Sonnox’s move towards less distortion and higher bit-rates,
Pro-Codec also provides the option to identify any meaning that inter-sample peaks could become a thing
unwanted peak distortion before the final file is of the past. MTF
rendered. Of course, in the example of audio data-
compression, you have the potential to negate the FuRtheR inFo
unwanted distortion by increasing the headroom, or by ● For more information on digital audio, see:
changing the amount of data compression applied www.musictechmag.co.uk/mtm/features/10mm-182-
(higher bit-rates produce less distortion). As with the practical-digital-audio
aforementioned X-ISM plug-in, though, it enables you to SSl’s X-iSM plug-in models
● For more information on loudness, visit:
make a much more informed decision about your the behaviour of a D/a www.musictechmag.co.uk/mtm/features/10mm128-
eventual headroom and, to some extent at least, the reconstruction filter and loudness-demystified
indicates where inter-sample
amount of limiting applied, without any shocks peaks might occur. ● For a free downloadable inter-sample peak meter, go
occurring later on. to: www.solidstatelogic.com/music/X-iSM

focus Mastering Volume 4 | 107

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 SONAR X2 Walkthrough MTF

SONAR X2 Step-by-Step

Master with SONAR On the disc

X2 Producer Edition
SONAR comes with a formidable set of plug-ins, them across both screens for even greater flexibility, or
manage window sets if screen space is at a premium.
including some specialised tools for mastering.
Hollin Jones dives deep… Getting to work
When using SONAR for mastering you will most probably

C
be using it in a conventional way, loading a single stereo
akewalk’s flagship DAW SONAR has been audio mixdown file of your track and then applying insert
around for almost as long as it has been effects to that track while leaving the master fader at
possible to make music with computers. A 0dB and monitoring the master VU meter for clipping.
recent upgrade to the X2 version brought a SONAR X2 Producer Edition has a quite amazing array of
number of new features relating to the

The Producer Edition of

refinement of the excellent Skylight interface introduced
in X1, which did away with the old, cluttered interface. All

SONAR comes with its own

versions of SONAR support third-party plug-ins but the
Producer Edition comes with its own dedicated

dedicated mastering plug-ins

mastering plug-ins, which are fully 64-bit native. This
means you can have a completely end to end 64-bit
recording, mixing and mastering system with this version
of the software if your OS, computer and drivers support
64-bit, as many do nowadays. bundled plug-ins, some of which are dedicated to the
Mastering is easier thanks to the new windowing task of mastering and that you can use to sweeten, boost
system which means you can view lots of different parts and polish your mixes before they are released out into
of a project at the same time by docking, dragging and the world.
resizing windows. So you can see your audio track, a The first is the LP-64 linear phase mastering EQ
channel strip and your plug-ins all at the same time, for module. This can be made to work in one of two ways:
example. If you have two monitors you can even split traditional parametric mode or graphical curve mode.

MTF Navigation Mastering with SONAR

RECALLING CHAINS
c Add plug-ins for mastering
processing either on the track or on the
master buss. SONAR supports plug-in
chains so it’s easy to store and recall
presets.

c d ANALYST
There are plenty of third-party
metering tools available but SONAR
has a few of its own too, such as
Analyst, which is good for
d understanding your
master.
a

LEVEL METERS
a Remember to keep an eye
on your level meters at all times,
since these are what will tell you if
your track is peaking or clipping.

b TAPE SIMULATION b
As well as conventional
processing you may want to add
things like tape simulation at the
mastering stage, to add character.

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 109

MTF Walkthrough SONAR X2

MTF Step-by-Step Process with the ProChannel in SONAR

Load up a new project with your stereo Here we have loaded a Master Buss The compressor also has a dry / wet
01 mixed down audio track on an audio
02 Medium Compression preset. To view its
03 control and a makeup gain knob so you
channel. Expand the Track Inspector section contents it’s necessary to reveal the right can control how much is applied. You may
to the left of the main part of the project section, which you can do by clicking on the also want to swap out the compressor for a
window and you should see the ProChannel ProCh tab. The first thing you will see is the different model, which you can do by right
window appear. By default it will have a blank compressor and here you can make settings to clicking on it and then from the resulting
preset loaded, though you can move to its help to glue your master together. Try some menu choosing Insert to add a new module,
name field and click the File icon to open the gentle compression with a ratio of around 2:1, a Replace to swap it out or Remove to get rid of
preset browser. Inside this you will find relatively low Threshold, fast attack and slow it. There are a number of compressors in the
various channel presets. release for a more natural sound. Producer Edition that you can try to see what
works best.

Moving down to the EQ section you get Scrolling down further still you will find a If you have created a mastering
04 four band sweepable EQ with Q controls
05 Tube section where you can dial in some
06 processing chain that you feel works
as well as sweepable low and high pass drive and add some grit and bite to the signal. really well, why not save it as a preset? This
filters. Rolling off the very bottom end with a You may also want to add an extra module – can be done by clicking in the ProChannel’s
high pass filter can be desirable when say perhaps a Saturation Knob – and you can name field and this time, using the Disk icon
mastering to eliminate any subsonic do this using the right click technique to add to invoke the Save Preset window. You will
frequencies. The EQ is switchable between one to the chain. Again, this should be used see the file save as its own ProChannel
hybrid, pure, E and G types, each of which carefully to add character but not over-colour preset format and this can be called up at
behaves differently and so alters the your master. any time or even mailed to people you are
outcome of your processing. collaborating with.

The former means that an EQ point represents filter in the Producer Edition you also get the LP-64 multi band
components that control frequency, gain and Q values. linear phase compressor / limiter which can be applied
Graphical mode means that control points sit on the PRO TIP to the signal. This gives you clean, uncoloured
curves and allow you to manipulate those EQ curves. You SONAR has a Bit Meter plug-in,
compression control over five bands, meaning that you
can add up to 20 EQ points in either mode. which doesn’t actually process can selectively compress from the low end through the
The idea behind using EQ during mastering is to sound but tells you how many mids up to the top. Multiband compression is something
bits your audio is using. This
create gentle enhancements or cuts to the overall should correspond to the bit of a mixed blessing and must be used with caution.
frequency balance of the track. You really shouldn’t be rate of the project but if you It’s much more flexible than single band compression,
find it is higher than you
making any drastic cuts or boosts with EQ at the letting you focus on specific frequency bands that might
thought you should employ a
mastering stage, since your mix should have taken care dithering plug-in during need more or less compression than others – think of it
of any major discrepancies in frequency. If you get to the export. This will help to deal as a more surgical compression tool. If you don’t know
with any noise introduced by
mastering stage and find that you’re having to make big the conversion of bit rates.
what you’re doing, however, it can cause more problems
cuts to the bass or big boosts to the mid range, you’re than it solves. You could end up with an overly
probably better off going back and revisiting the mix. compressed mid range but a top end that’s too loud. For
With mastering you should be looking to make subtle producers with some experience, multiband
and fairly minor EQ changes. It’s usually preferable to use compressors can be invaluable, especially where you
parametric EQs, since they allow precise and detailed have inherited a mix that is less than perfect. They will let
changes to be made, such as setting the Q value of each you alter the mixed file to a certain extent by
EQ point and the resulting curves. compressing different frequencies using different
Choosing from SONAR’s sonic arsenal, you can use settings and, combined with EQ, this can be a useful tool.
the single band compressor at the mastering stage, but Ideally, you shouldn’t need to make dramatic changes at

110 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

 SONAR X2 Walkthrough MTF

the mastering stage, so if you prefer you can always use out of it without ever going over 0dB. As ever it’s a
PRO TIP
the standard compressor plug-in, or a third-party model balancing act between limiting enough to get good
You can add dithering during
that works on a single band. the export of a master using a overall volume but not making the sound too squashed.
plug-in or the Dithering option Over-limiting can sound worse than under-limiting, so if
Adding warmth and drive in the Export window. You can
also set an export format,
in doubt, back off a little so you are driving the signal less
Also to be found in SONAR’s toolbox is an effect that is sample rate and bit depth and hard. The Boost 11 plug-in provides lookahead limiting,
not found in all mastering setups but can be used to add choose to export the signal at which means that it can anticipate upcoming peaks in
various different stages. Not
some drive as well as level to your masters. The TL-64 just the entire mix but also
the audio and compensate for them, preventing any
Tube Leveler is a line driving / leveling unit with analogue different tracks within a mix. unexpected anomalies in the sound, and clipping. It also
vacuum tube modelling algorithms powered by Choose to use the 64-bit uses special algorithms to prevent a pumping effect,
engine for extra precision
StudioDevil emulation. It can be used to add drive and when bouncing down. which is never particularly desirable when mastering.
saturation to the signal, either subtly, as you will
probably want to use it, or in more extreme ways for Other options
special effects during tracking. It’s rare that you would There are a few other interesting tricks up SONAR’s
want to use lots of drive during mastering, but you might sleeve. The last of its mastering plug-ins is actually more
want to use a little to add some character. of a general purpose module, but is suitable for the
Boost 11 is a relatively simple mastering limiter that mastering process. The VC-64 Vintage Channel combines
can be used to give your tracks maximum volume and a number of different processors and is a channel strip,
punch. Limiters always live at the end of the signal chain dynamics processor and EQ with de-essing, though you
and are used to boost the signal to squeeze lots of gain probably wouldn’t use that during mastering.

MTF Step-by-Step Working with mastering EQ in SONAR

Import your stereo mixdown file to an Start with an LP64 linear EQ module. You In normal mode, you have a lot of
01 audio track in SONAR and set up a
02 might want to start by loading up a
03 flexibility to pick up EQ points and
window arrangement that allows you to see preset but more probably you will begin to dial affect their Q values, which means the
the project area and the track’s fader in your own settings. Play back the track and amount of frequency around the point that is
complete with FX section. Right click on the listen for where any frequencies need boosting boosted or cut. Click on the Q button to have
FX bin for the audio track and from the or cutting. Double click to add an EQ point in SONAR show you the exact Q values
resulting menu, choose the Audio FX menu the plug-in’s window. Clicking subsequent associated with each point. Q is important
and then drill down into it to see SONAR’s times will have the effect of adding more EQ during mastering because it helps you to
bundled mastering effects. points. The parameters of each point are make very precise or conversely very broad
displayed as you drag. EQ changes to a mixdown. Much more so
than a graphic EQ, for example.

Click on any orange Q value and drag it If you click on the Mode button you can If you have found a great sound, click on
04 up or down to alter the width of the Q.
05 switch the plug-in’s mode to Curve, which
06 the VST menu and choose to save a
By using a lower Q you can create more allows you to create more gentle slopes, which preset. This can also be used to A/B between
gentle curves and with a higher Q a narrower is often better for mastering. Drag the EQ presets. Set up two or more EQ curves and
and more defined frequency range. During points along the curves to subtly cut or boost then flip between them to judge which offers
mastering you will probably be using gentler wider frequency ranges. You can also choose to the best mastering effect. You could also load
shapes, meaning broader EQ curves. It may turn the grid off, if you prefer to trust your ears more than one of these EQ modules with
sometimes be necessary however to use more than your eyes! This is an entirely different settings and then mute one then the
narrower curves to isolate a frequency to personal choice. other to audition multiple EQ treatments for
boost or cut it, though this is not so common your master.
during mastering.

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 111

MTF Walkthrough SONAR X2

Powered by Kjaerhus Audio, it features two VCA / Opto

PRO TIP Into the deep
mode compressors, serial and parallel compression and Once your mastered track is sounding just the way you
The new Skylight interface in
EQ stages as well as two four band parametric EQs with the SONAR X series makes it want it you can of course save presets in each plug-in
five filter types. By strapping one of these across a easier to keep track of what’s appropriate to that track and also save a plug-in chain
going on. As well as a more
channel you could employ the compression and EQ streamlined interface and look
for quick recall later, which saves a lot of time. Naturally
stages to handle those parts of the mastering process, you get clever features like the each track will need a different treatment, but starting
and then add a limiter afterwards for overall gain Smart tool, auto zooming, with a preset gives you the option of not starting from
translucent windows and a
boosting. You probably wouldn’t want to use all of these highly customisable interface scratch on every project.
plug-ins in a mastering chain, since some of them in which most sections can be Using the audio export dialogue window you can
resized, docked, shown and
replicate functionality. But you could use them in all choose which effects to include as part of the mixdown
hidden with ease. You can also
kinds of combinations, and in combination with SONAR’s manage window sets. and also export your audio at 16, 24, 32 or even 64-bit
other plug-ins and third-party models that you might resolution. From there, they are ready to be converted to
also have installed. CD format (16-bit and 44.1 kHz) or compressed for
You will also want to take advantage of the distribution to digital stores. There’s even SoundCloud,
ProChannel module, which is an integrated dynamic and Facebook and Twitter integration so it’s possible to fire
EQ processing section that is built into every channel in your tracks directly to the web to share with your
SONAR. You can add custom modules to it, and there are listeners. By using SONAR’s excellent mastering plug-ins
some excellent ones available for mastering, including you will find it’s possible to create great sounding
Softube’s Saturation Knob, which will add some warmth masters by taking advantage of its excellent and
to your sound. pro-sounding plug-in set. MTF

MTF Step-by-Step Mastering compression in SONAR X2

Call up SONAR’s LP64 multiband Each band can be independently Pick up any point and drag it up or down
01 compressor onto your audio track.
02 compressed using different settings and
03 to increase or decrease the amount of
There are a couple of presets that you might if you click on any of the five dots shown in the compression applied and thus the level of
want to try out, called Mastering Stronger main window you will notice that the five dials the frequencies in that band. Drag a point
and Lighter. These might provide a good along the bottom edge update to reflect the left or right to make the compression affect
starting point. Multiband compression is settings for that band. Whether you use the a lower or higher frequency band. You can
more complex than single band points in the window or the dials is a matter of see the crossover points in the display and
compression but for an experienced personal choice since the end result is the the currently selected band displays in red,
producer offers greater control and same and one will update the other. whether you pick it up manually or alter with
flexibility. its dial control.

Using the Solo buttons at the top of the To edit all the bands at the same time and Finally, you could drive the input gain of
04 plug-in you can solo up each channel
05 by the same amount, click the All button
06 the compressor a little if you’re not
and hear it in isolation. This is really helpful to the right of the dials running along the base getting quite the amount of level you need
for figuring out exactly what is going on in of the plug-in. Now when you change a out of the signal. Don’t worry too much about
each band. It’s also possible to solo up more parameter, that parameter will be set for each that though as it can also be handled later by
than one band to hear just the lower and of the bands. This is very useful when you have the limiter. Remember that depending on the
upper mids in isolation, for example, or any achieved a good relative balance between kind of music you are working with, your band
combination of the available bands. Any band bands but want to pull the level of compression setup may not look uniform, with some
can actually be disabled by clicking its E overall up or down by exactly the same amount. occupying less space and some using more.
button, so you can use fewer than four bands.

112 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

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MTF Feature From mixdown to airplay

MTF Feature Mastering Guide

From mixdown
to airplay
A COMPLETE
GUIDE TO
MASTERING
From finishing your sessions to hearing a track on the radio there’s a lot to consider.
Hollin Jones guides you through the mastering maze…

T
here are many reasons why music can end up not sounding as good
as it could have. Every part of the production process is potentially
one where you could mess up, and these mistakes are often not
fixable, or at least not completely fixable, later in the process. You
might get a bad guitar sound at source, or use a mic with some buzz
or hiss on it. Your monitoring setup might not be great and so you end up
mixing the bass way too
loud or too quiet. Your
synths might sound,
well, terrible. These are
You want nothing more than to
all risks of course but
they’re also things that
get your music out to the world but
experienced producers
will skilfully avoid. We
there is one last thing to do
all go through at least a
few disasters and that’s how we learn not to repeat mistakes next time. So
once you have figured out a few things for yourself, with the aid of a good ear
you should find yourself at the mix stage with a track that’s well balanced,
orchestrated, arranged and edited.
Even your mixdown has been exported, however, you’re not done. It might feel
like you’ve spent an eternity on a project and you want nothing more than to get
it out to the world but there is one last thing to do. This is where mastering
comes in, the final but vitally important stage between mixing down and

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From mixdown to airplay Feature MTF

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 115

MTF Feature From mixdown to airplay

distributing your tracks.

Tech Terms
You may have an idea SoundCloud is a great streaming
● PREMASTERING service but, with additional apps that
The process of applying some
what mastering is without
you connect to your account, it can
master buss compression having ever actually done also be used to sell your music online.
during mixdown, with the it, or you may have some
aim of adding coherence to
the overall sound of a mix. If experience already. It’s uncommon to spend hours or
performed, less compression essentially the process of even days mixing a track and
is usually required at the
treating a track in a lose so much perspective due
mastering stage.
specific way with effects to repetition that you can
● WAVE EDITOR
A software application that in order to add coherence convince yourself that the
is dedicated to working with to the track as a whole, mix is no good when in fact
digital audio. They do not
generally support MIDI or sweeten and tune the it’s fine. Now imagine
instruments but are very good sound and add power, throwing the mastering process in at the
at audio editing, processing punch and clarity. same time and you increase the scope for errors
and analysis.
exponentially. Generally you find that if you have a
Mixing and mastering break of at least 24 hours and come back and listen
It’s important to understand that mixing and to your mix, it’s actually not nearly as terrible as
mastering are very different processes, even though your tired self had thought. So it’s for this reason
they might appear to be similar. You use many of the that mastering should be kept separate. When you
same tools for both, but during mixing you are have decided that your mix is good, take a little time
working with lots of individual tracks, perhaps also out again and then come back and master it another
groups of tracks, and tweaking each one day. This approach can also save your bacon if your
individually. The aim when mixing is to get the mix really was bad, since you can go back and fix it,
perfect balance of individual elements together with and then move on to the mastering stage later.
a healthy overall level, but not to produce a “radio
ready” sound, at least not yet. In addition to levels, Files and formats
mixing can involve processes like automation and Your mixed down track can end up in a number of
even tempo changes to a track and, although it’s formats but more than likely these days it will be a
technically possible to start strapping mastering full quality stereo WAV or AIFF digital audio file on
processors across the outputs of your raw project, a computer. People do still use other formats but
it’s rarely if ever a good idea. since they often involve format conversion and
The reason that people separate mixing and computers are so ubiquitous, digital is usually the
mastering is primarily that a mastered track is way to go. You can still use CD or digital tape, but
supposed to be the final, definitive version and yet such media are used less and less and generally they
when mixing your ears tend to get very tired. It’s not only end up being re-digitised at a mastering facility
anyway. Printing mixes to physical media can

When you know your mix is introduce other issues too, like sample and bit rate
conversion, that may be detrimental to the overall

good, take time out and come back quality of your masters. Remember, these are
supposed to be the real deal, the culmination of all

and master it another day your hard work. Of course, if you’re burning them as
files rather than audio it’s fine to use optical media,

MTF Pro Technique Digital sales services

When digital music stores first emerged as a serious way to sell involve paying a fee, either one off or recurring, and there’s often
music, it was virtually impossible for independent artists to get their extra to pay if you want to change or remove anything later, so be
music up there without the help of a record label. That has all sure to get it right first time. In no particular order, some of the
changed and now, not only is it really easy to do, the whole process leading digital distribution services include Ditto Music,
tends to be very streamlined. The approach tends to be broadly the MondoTunes, The Orchard, CDBaby and TuneCore. Each has different
same: send your music to us in uncompressed or lossless formats, offers, though all are well established. CDBaby, for example,
we will encode it. Also send all the appropriate artwork and liner provides a lot of backup services like advice, physical distribution
notes, and pay a fee. Then it gets distributed to a selection of and website hosting. Ditto Music allows you to set
digital stores that will vary depending on who up your own label. TuneCore has detailed
you use. The biggest ones are still iTunes and accounting and weekly reports, though the site has
Amazon but there are actually hundreds of put its prices up substantially in recent years and
online stores ranging from known names right as such it offers poorer value for individual
through to obscure streaming services that run musicians than for labels. They offer a lot of
on specific mobile phone networks. services but they’re services that individuals don’t
All services offer slightly different deals really need, and there’s no ‘basic’ package option.
and have different terms, though few ask for
Big online stores like iTunes and Amazon make it easy for
any rights to your music – and you should people to buy your music, although there can be setup costs
avoid those that do. The majority of deals involved for the artist.

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 From mixdown to airplay Feature MTF

MTF Step-by-Step Sell music online using bandcamp

SeT up aN accOuNT STarT uplOadiNg TrackS uplOad arT aNd publiSh

01 Go to bandcamp.com and set up an
02 Click on Add Track and navigate to your
03 Finish filling in all relevant information,
account. You’ll probably stick with the free mastered, uncompressed AIFF or WAV file. The such as scrolling down and adding cover art.
option to begin with. Log in and go to the Add free account doesn’t have batch uploading, so This will make the page look much more
Music > Add Album option. On the front page you’ll have to wait a little while for this part to professional and it will be embedded in the
you get multiple options so you can name the complete. Once you have uploaded all your downloaded files. You can tag your tracks too,
album, add a release date and set a pricing tracks you can re-order them, if necessary, by which will make them easier to search for. Hit
option. There are guides to tell you which dragging and dropping them in the Track list. Publish and your album will go live. Share it
pricing setups usually perform best. You’re also able to add credits, lyrics and using widgets and see detailed playback and
enable individual track download as well as sales stats.
letting fans have a “pay what you want” option.

but you’re probably better off burning to a DVD or trust the person you’re paying. Some producers don’t
using a high capacity USB memory stick or portable Tech Terms even like the idea of a great mix being mastered by
●  OuTbOard
hard drive if the files need to be moved. someone else, let alone giving them extra control
audio processing hardware
You will probably be mixing down to stereo audio that tends to be found in over the sound by providing stems. Stem mastering,
files but this isn’t always the case. Some people larger studios, often rack then, is an option that’s open to you but is probably
mounted. uses more space
favour stem mastering, a process that involves than software but some feel
only suitable in specific cases. Most of the time you
exporting groups of files rather than a single one. is of higher quality. Needs to will want to go down the more conventional route.
This has some definite downsides as well as upsides, be plumbed into mixing desks
and patchbays.
so it’s to be approached with caution and only Starting the process
●  radiO ready
considered if you’re really sure why you’re doing it. a slight misnomer, since radio When you do get to the mastering stage there are yet
If you aren’t confident of getting a good mix in the stations tend to add their own more variables to factor in. If you’re at a professional
local processing to tracks
location where you’re mixing, you might not want to mastering facility you might find that the setup
anyway when they play them.
glue the relative levels of the elements of the track really means “a good, solid, looks nothing like what you expected. It could be
down at mixdown. Ideally, you should export loud master”. various sets of monitors and a bit of outboard,
everything as stems and mix it somewhere better perhaps with a few controls to affect the way the
but, for reasons of budget or practicality, this isn’t sound is processed. If, as is more likely, you are at a
always possible. Sometimes, if there is any money, it recording studio with mastering facilities, you may
is reserved for the mastering stage. It all depends on find various combinations of hardware and software
how you are working. Some people might spend that effects pressed into service to perform the
using master buss compression
money on mixing and try to master themselves. prior to mastering can help to processing. If you are working at a home studio it
If you do export stems from your project for the cut down on the amount of might be a software-only chain of effects.
mastering engineer, the idea is that they will attempt processing that is necessary Whichever of these situations you find yourself
later, but it’s entirely optional.
to do some mixing prior to the final processing of in, the mastering process is broadly the same, it’s
the master. Imagine that you gave them a bunch of just that you might use different tools. Your first task
stems, for example the drums as one stem, vocals as should already have been completed, and that’s to
another, guitars as a third and so on, because you have the best mixes you can and also an idea of how
didn’t feel able to get a great overall mix. The you want the masters to sound. It can be a good idea
engineer could load the stems up into a DAW or wave to take some commercially produced tracks along
editor and then balance the relative levels of the with you on CD or as digital files, preferably not too
different stems to achieve a more optimal mix, heavily compressed as MP3s, for comparison.
perhaps even adding some EQ to help mix them more A/B’ing during mastering is an invaluable way of
accurately. In theory they could then print that and checking how your tracks are sounding. As with
master the resulting stereo file as normal. mixing, it’s easy to lose perspective when mastering
So this could work well, but the potential as you listen to the same track over and over again.
downsides should also be fairly clear. For a start, it Periodically flipping to a commercial track for
relies on your ability to submix stems accurately. If comparison will help to keep you on target and see
the drums are all out of whack with each other when whether you’re doing too much or not enough.
you submit them, there’s not much an engineer will You can master in a DAW, a wave editor, or even
be able to do. More importantly, it takes a lot of from physical media like tape if you like, though the
control out of your hands, so you’ll really need to standard method these days is something computer-

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MTF Feature From mixdown to airplay

Tech Terms based. We have looked elsewhere

● MULTICORE in this issue at the specifics of Queueing up material that’s destined
Modern computer CPUs using the leading software for the same album and being able to
have more than one core per A/B is important. Suites like T-RackS
packages as well as the details of allow you to load multiple tracks at
processor. Some Intel CPUs
have two processors, each the different processing stages, once.
with two cores; some have one so here we will simply mention
processor with quad cores.
Logic is able to use these for
the aim of each processing stage. already sounding relatively
better performance. The first is usually compression, punchy. If you don’t know the
● 64-BIT carried out using relatively gentle history of a file you’ll have to
64-bit compatibility means settings and intended to lend use your ears and look at the
that software is able to
address far more physical some weight to the middle and waveform to try to guess. The
RAM as well as processing bottom end of a track, as well as more compression that has been applied, the
more data per clock cycle.
providing a sense of coherence or smaller will be the difference between the quieter
● LOUDNESS WARS
audio “glue” to make everything gel together. and louder parts of the track, which you should be
The idea that, over recent
decades, music production Some people like to apply master buss able to see visually – it will have less dynamic range.
has gone for ever-louder compression at the mixdown stage and this is indeed
masters, culminating in
some heavily over-squashed
possible, often even desirable. Reason, for example, Feel the pressure
records. In some circles, it’s on has a dedicated master buss compressor, and Waves When compressing you have two options, the first of
the decrease. and Yamaha make some excellent plug-ins that are which is to use a single band compressor. These are
designed to impart the gentle warming effects of simpler and process the entire signal, usually with a
hardware buss compressors to your track. SSL also fast attack and release time, a high threshold and a
makes some excellent Duende processors for this, low ratio. You’re looking to gently pull the quietest
and you may even be lucky enough to have access to and loudest parts of the signal together but not to
a real hardware model. If you apply master buss squeeze it too much and make it sound artificial,
compression during mixdown then you should really except perhaps in the case of heavy dance music.
not have to apply much, if any, at the mastering If you find that single band compression is
stage, depending on how much was initially added. accentuating or defeating too much of one specific
Compressing entire mixes isn’t so much about frequency range, you could opt for a multiband
Outboard hardware is used a lot
for mastering in studios,
squeezing volume out of a track. A file that has been model, which most DAWs come supplied with.
especially for compression. master buss compressed should come to mastering Multiband compressors can be set to work
differently on different frequency bands and so will
deal more effectively with tracks where, for example,
the bass needs to be tamed but the lower mids do
not. By adjusting frequency crossover points you will
easily be able to control what gets compressed and
MTF Pro Technique Do it yourself by how much. They also make things easier to mess
up by accidentally squashing one band too much,
Submitting to stores like iTunes is easy but however, so be careful.
generally involves paying setup fees and After compression you will want to use some EQ
once your stuff is up there it’s hard to with the aim of pulling specific elements up or down
modify or take down as this can incur extra slightly in prominence. The more elements that exist
fees. You’ll get more control with one of the in the same frequency range the harder this will be
increasingly sophisticated sites that let to do accurately, though using a multiband
you manage everything yourself. We’re not parametric EQ with Q controls can make this easier.
talking about Facebook or the now rather EQ’ing during mastering is a little bit like doing
less than prominent MySpace, since they some rudimentary mixing, as you are able to affect
Bandcamp is a really good site you can
rely on add-ons and are not primarily the volumes of specific instruments to an extent.
use to get complete control over the way
focused on music sales. Probably the best site your music is sold online. Obviously it shouldn’t be relied on to fix a poor mix
around is bandcamp.com, which works across – it’s intended to increase sparkle, presence and
desktop and mobile devices and lets you upload a fair amount with their basic, clarity at this stage. Other processors that can be
free package and allows users to download it in a range of formats from small added to change the sound include stereo wideners
files right through to big, lossless versions. You can even allow Free Lossless and tape effect plug-ins, though neither of these is
Audio Codec (FLAC). You can allow users to download tracks for free or name considered a staple of mastering and so their use is
their own price, to set minimum pricing and to require an email address, and entirely a matter of personal choice.
even to get detailed realtime stats on visits, streams and sales. There’s easy Remembering to periodically A/B, both with
embedding with widgets. Bandcamp’s premium service adds download code commercial material and with a dry version of your
options, batch uploading and Google Analytics. own track, you can move on to limiting. Limiting
The other all-conquering streaming site is soundcloud.com and, though it’s allows you to push the input gain of the signal,
mainly focused on playback, you can sell music through it by using add-ons that stopping it before it gets to 0dB, so typically you
integrate with the website. These can be found at http://soundcloud.com/apps/ might use an output gain setting of between -0.1 and
tag/Sell and there are some great options. With Getty Images Music, for -0.5db depending on your needs.
example, you can get your music licensed for use in TV and film. CD Baby has its Some limiters have advanced features like middle
own add-on that ties in nicely, as do VibeDeck and YouLicense. Some of these do and side processing options, lookahead and soft
charge a fee so be sure to check out the terms and conditions. clippers, all of which can be used to change the way

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 From mixdown to airplay Feature MTF

MTF Pro Technique Hardware vs software

they operate. Some developers even make multiband
We have focused quite a lot on the software side of mastering but this is primarily
limiters. For many tasks a simple, transparent
because many people operating on a budget will go down the software route out
limiter is often enough, and takes care of boosting
of necessity. Software, after all, uses no space and is really very good these days,
the level of your track to give it more power. As ever
and so perfect for the independent producer. But hardware still plays a big part,
you should avoid over-limiting as this sounds
especially in commercial studios. Anything that can be done in software was
artificial and tiring to the ears.
probably originally done in hardware – and very well too in most cases.
Compressors and EQs, limiters, saturation devices and more can still be found in
Tricks of the trade
almost all bigger studios and are often used in conjunction with software. You
People rarely tend to master tracks in isolation, and
might use a hardware compressor but a software EQ, with all the associated extra
it’s much more likely that you will be mastering
wiring that using hardware introduces to the equation. Another very important
several for an EP or an album, or maybe even a
part of mastering is monitoring and this is something you can’t fake. A good set of
soundtrack. As such it’s really important to make
monitors, properly calibrated is essential both to mixing and mastering. For some
sure that all the tracks that are going onto the album
people the act of going into a professional environment to master is less about
have the same broad sonic characteristics in terms
the outboard or the plug-ins and more to do with the finely tuned and high quality
of overall level. There’s no point in mastering one
speakers and acoustic treatment that will almost certainly be present. These are
track really loud and another gently and putting
worth their weight in gold, and most places will have multiple sets of speakers,
them next to each other, as it will sound strange. Of
which makes it much easier to try different mastering treatments in the same
course you can have loud and quiet tracks, but the
listening environments, and try to get yours sounding great on every set.
key is in mastering them so that they sound like they
belong on the same album. This is very much an art Outboard is just as
form, and relies on your repeatedly comparing good for mastering as
software, sometimes
treatments as well as possibly saving presets across
better. Dedicated units
tracks or even loading up a queue of tracks and like TC’s Finalizer are
processing them, as is possible in T-RackS. Some not cheap but offer
great results.
wave editors like Sound Forge or WaveLab have
advanced features for creating audio montages,
which allow you to blend different tracks together to Book standard. If you’re sending files to a
Tech Terms
create albums where, for example, one track will duplication house they will want a master disc
● DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION
fade seamlessly into another. They also have handy Selling music online in any or a CD of files together with artwork.
tools like batch processors that can be useful when number of stores like iTunes,
Amazon or streaming it on
mastering. You’ll probably want to “top and tail” your
Spotify. Can also refer to
Going digital
files by applying fades, to get rid of any unwanted simply giving music away Increasingly, music is sold and consumed
bits of sound. through sites like Bandcamp digitally and so you can end up doing more
or SoundCloud.
Once your tracks have been mastered, you can distribution online than you do using physical
● GLASS MASTER
export them out to final digital files, after applying A master copy of a CD or
media. There are a number of services that
any necessary dithering or sample or bit rate DVD made at a processing enable you to do this, and they are discussed
conversion or again, printing to some kind of media. plant and used to press the in the boxes in this feature. Suffice it to say
hundreds or thousands of
Always maintain full quality, full resolution versions duplicate discs that will find that you’re not stuck for options when it comes
since you can easily compress or downsample later, their way to the shops. to selling music in online stores or putting it
but saving a file to a higher quality version will add ● A/B’ING out there yourself.
The process of comparing
nothing in terms of quality, only file size. From here Another important point to make in relation
your master-in-progress with
you have various options. To burn your own CDs commercially produced music to the explosion in the number of devices on
you’ll need an app capable of doing this, preferably to which you think it should which people listen to music is this: it’s
sound similar. Useful in guiding
with the ability to add PQ codes and burn to Red you during the mastering
sometimes asked how you master for iPods as
process. opposed to CDs. The truth is that most
producers simply produce the best master
they can, test it on as many systems as they
can find and go back and tweak until it’s as
close to perfect as it can be. Mastering is
supposed to produce a sound that is great on
any system it’s played on and this remains as
true today as it was when there were far fewer
playback devices in existence. The only caveat
is mastering for vinyl which is a little more
complex, though anyone doing that will be
approaching the process differently anyway.
Mastering is no longer a dark art and is
more accessible now than at any time in the
Dedicated wave editors like
WaveLab are perfect for past. A good master makes the difference
mastering, and include between a track that stands out and one that
advanced tools like the ability sounds lacklustre, so between all the options
to write to optical media
complete with detailed available to you there’s no excuse not to get
metadata. the best results you possibly can. MTF

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MTF Walkthrough Soundstage

Soundstage Step-by-Step

The importance of On the disc

the soundstage
Getting a great master starts with a good mix and at a good soundstage for your mixes and masters can make
the difference between a track sounding ‘big’ or ‘small’,
both stages, it’s about more than just EQ and volume, and everyone will probably understand the difference
as Hollin Jones explains… between the two as it appears to listeners.
The soundstage must be considered both at the

T
mixing and mastering stages, and while some things like
here are many aspects of the mastering stereo placement of individual instruments or sounds
process that are relatively easy to quantify. must be done at the mixing stage when everything exists
You should be adding a certain amount of as separate, controllable tracks, you can also control the
compression, you may want to boost a track soundstage at the mastering stage, most commonly by
at certain frequencies, and limit up to a using stereo widening to broaden the scope of the sound.
certain dB value. But other things are more intangible As always it must be done carefully, since too much
that rely as much on your ears and your perception as widening can easily mess up a carefully constructed mix
any numerical values. or rob a master of all its energy as the bass end is pushed
One of these is the soundstage of a piece of music. left and right and loses focus.
The soundstage can be thought of as the way a piece of
music is perceived by the listener, where the sounds sit in The mix phase
the mix and the ‘size’ of the sound overall. This is not Before you start experimenting with stereo placement
necessarily about volume but rather about scope. Getting during mixing, you’ll need to get a decent working mix
going, with all the levels more or less where you want

The soundstage must be them to be. Panning tracks will change their intensity in
the mix and may necessitate volume changes later,

considered both at the mixing and however, so don’t try to perfect the mix before you get to
this stage. It’s also worth panning everything to the

mastering stages centre to begin with, to get an idea of the overall balance
of the track, and making a list of all the elements so you

MTF Navigation The importance of soundstage

PANNING
a When altering
panning and stereo
widening in a track,
PLUG-IN CHAINS
d Plug-in chains in DAWs
be careful to keep an
eye on the phase
or wave editors are the best
correlation to check
way to apply multiple sets of
no energy is being lost.
processing to your tracks. a Most DAWs have one
included.

PHASE
c Ideally you want a track to d
stay in phase and this will be
denoted by a value between 0
and +1. The phase
scope here also
STEREO WIDTH
shows a centred b You can add some stereo
image. c b width artificially by using a
stereo widener across a track,
though these should be used
carefully and sparingly.

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 Soundstage Walkthrough MTF

MTF Step-by-Step Using stereo reverb and panning to place a source in the soundstage

Insert a reverb plug-in with a delay In the Advanced menu, you’ll find a tab Moving on to the Reflections tab, you
01 control onto the channel you want to
02 called I/O. At the far right of the panel in
03 can set both the time in milliseconds
position. Here we’re using IK Multimedia’s this section are two knobs marked In and Out and the level in dB for the reverb reflections
CSR Hall. The first thing to do is set the basic Image. By turning these you can alter the way for the left and right channels. As described
reverb level and type as well as the reverb the signal is summed inside the plug-in and in 02 this can have the effect of ‘placing’ a
diffusion and time so that they are broadly in thus the way the reverb sounds, as well as the sound closer to or further away from the
line with the kind of sound you want. Here, position of the sound. At certain points when virtual ‘walls’ the sound is bouncing off, and
this can be done while staying in Easy mode. turning the knobs you will reach presets thus give the illusion of the sound source
Since it’s a beat, we’ve chosen a fairly crisp including stereo, left right inverse, surround being further over to the left or right of the
reverb effect. and mono. soundstage, or closer to the back or the front.

Moving to the track’s Inspector panel One good trick with panning is to You can also get creative by automating
04 you can see a panner. This can be used
05 duplicate a track, which you can do in any
06 pan settings to move sounds around the
to place the signal anywhere on the left or DAW with a couple of clicks, and then pan one soundstage. Be careful with this however, as
right of the stereo field, though it will be copy to the left and one to the right. These too much swirling about can not only confuse
centred by default. Although you probably don’t have to be panned by the same amount in the listener but detract from the coherence
wouldn’t pan a lead sound like a lead guitar or each direction, though doing so does lend of your track as a whole. As a good rule of
vocal, at least not by very much, you can pan some consistency to the soundstage. You may thumb it can be sensible to move things
things like rhythm guitars, backing vocals also have to compensate with the faders for around the soundstage during periods of
percussion and sound effects to level up the the fact that there are now two copies of the silence rather than when they are actually
soundstage and add a sense of width to same thing and thus more signal. audible, so there’s not the sense of
proceedings. movement.

can think about what might need to be moved around in Big bottom
the soundstage. It’s generally accepted wisdom that low frequency
Working with fewer tracks is always going to be easier sounds work best when they are centred in the stereo
and give you more control. An acoustic duo for example, image. This tends to tighten them up and create a solid
with a couple of vocals and guitars, will let you place each PRO TIP ‘core’ for the soundstage. The bottom end of a mix
element in a distinct space. A busier track, with multiple The more elements you have in contains much of its energy, and this is reproduced best
keyboards, drums, guitars, vocals and bass, will afford a mix, the more complex it can on a stereo hi fi system when it is spread evenly across
be to manage all the
you less specific movement of elements on the competing frequencies. If you
both speakers. Bass is also far less directional than other
soundstage since there are more instruments fighting for can’t keep the number of frequencies and our ears aren’t much use at determining
the same limited space. In these cases, positioning tracks down, consider using directional information about low end sound – if you’ve
panning and placement in the
becomes a matter of making space for each element and stereo field using reverb and ever been woken up at 3am wondering where exactly in
ensuring that tracks in similar frequency ranges don’t other tools like EQ to separate the neighbourhood that thumping bass is coming from,
interfere with each other. If this is the goal, EQ also plays parts of the image without you’ll know all about this…
adversely affecting the
a vital role in achieving separation. musicality of the track. Therefore, kick drums, basses and anything else
Remember also that we’re talking about panning left below about 120Hz should be kept centred – and
and right, which often involves starting with a stereo possibly even converted to mono or routed to a mono
source. If your DAW only offers the ability to pan a stereo track. If a synth or guitar bass part has both very low and
track left or right, you can split it into two mono channels more middling frequencies, you could duplicate the track,
by bouncing out and re-importing, or you can duplicate and roll all the top and middle off one and the bottom
the track and then you’ll have two panners, though the end off the other, using EQ. You could then use panning or
first method is more accurate. stereo effects to move the higher of the two parts around

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MTF Walkthrough Soundstage

in the mix, while leaving the lower frequencies centred in Down the pan
the duplicate. Effects are important too. Digital reverb in particular can
Apart from leaving the bass at the centre of the stereo PRO TIP be a powerful way of placing a sound in a virtual acoustic
image, there aren’t many other absolute rules to creating Most DAWs come with some space. Modern impulse-based reverbs like Altiverb,
a soundstage, except that you should trust your ears. kind of stereo enhancement Space Designer in Logic or REverence in Cubase are
tool and these can be used
Many hardware and software instruments have stereo sparingly either during mixing
especially good at this, though less CPU-heavy models
outputs so it can be tempting to pan sources like or at the mastering stage, like IK Multimedia’s Classik Studio Reverb are too. These
keyboards, strings and synths hard left and right. This where of course they will be kinds of reverb techniques only work well when used
applied to the whole signal. To
might sound good in isolation but, oddly enough, when get a more advanced imaging carefully, because too much reverb makes it hard to
you hard pan a stereo source like this it often ends up effect consider using a pinpoint the location of a sound in the mix. Just like in a
dedicated third-party
sounding almost centred in the stereo image. Do this real space, the more something reverberates, the harder
multiband imager like those
with more than a couple of sources and you end up with a from iZotope or Waves. it is to tell where it’s coming from and so the less effective
load of instruments apparently sitting on top of each stereo positioning will be. It’s also unwise to use too many
other at the centre of the image, which defeats the point. different kinds of reverb within a mix. Putting room reverb
The answer is to be more creative with the pan pots, on the pianos, but concert hall reverb on the vocals for
placing them at points in between the centre and the example might end up sounding odd. That’s not to say
extremes. Engineers refer to these positions in terms of a you can’t mix and match reverb types, but make sure they
clock face, so panning a stereo piano to ‘10 and 2’ would work well together. Use too many types, or indeed too
mean rotating the left panner to the 10 o’clock position much reverb ,and the overall soundstage will become
and the right panner to 2 o’clock. muddled and incoherent.

MTF Step-by-Step Using stereo placement and EQ to manage a complex mix

Start by getting a good rough mix and Let’s take this marimba track, which Dropping the two tracks back into the
01 identifying which elements of your track
02 could be interfering with other sources in
03 mix, it can become evident that the
need to stay centred – namely the bottom a similar frequency range, like vocals, guitars or changes made that sounded good when
end like the bass and kick drum. Any tracks other keys. Here we have solo’ed up the two solo’ed don’t necessarily work with the rest of
you’re going to be panning may need to be competing channels and made EQ the track playing. It may be necessary to
split into left and right channels, depending adjustments to each, cutting frequencies or make further tweaks to the EQ to account for
on whether your DAW allows separate boosting them as necessary so that the two this. You can always save effect presets to
panning of stereo channels. It can be worth parts work better together. This is a clever way save time. Remember you can easily mute
ordering tracks in a project to make them to mix elements without relying on volume any EQ temporarily too to see what difference
easier to identify quickly. faders. it is making.

Here, we have panned the two tracks Many DAWs also have stereo and Logic also has an interesting plug-in
04 equally, one left and one right. This has
05 surround imaging plug-ins available, like
06 called Binaural Post Processing which,
the effect of separating them in the stereo the Direction Mixer here in Logic. With a applied across the master outs, can give you
field and making it easier to hear them when channel panned to the centre, load up the an idea of what the track might sound like
they play at the same time. It’s important not plug-in and experiment with the Spread and played through various types of headphones.
to go too far though, because that can start to Direction controls to send the output of the This is useful in helping you to make mixing
sound artificial. Using moderate panning channel to different parts of the stereo field, and stereo positioning decisions when trying
equally one way and the other can yield some not just simply the left or right but a little more to perfect your mix for all playback situations.
great results and help to separate sounds creatively. It helps to have properly spaced Mixing and mastering with headphones in
with competing frequencies. speakers to monitor on. mind is increasingly important with all the
mobile music players in use today.

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 Soundstage Walkthrough MTF

Many people strive for a wider stereo image for their overall stereo width at the mastering stage. Again though,
mixes and there are many plug-ins that can help you to be careful not to overdo it. Purists often avoid spatializers
achieve this, though all should be used carefully. Stereo and the like because they are perceived as a form of
imagers and wideners, and of course stereo reverbs and ‘cheating’ and people believe the mix should be good
PRO TIP
delays, can all be used to make mono or narrow sounding enough without them. While this is a strong argument, we
Metering is important when
tracks wider and give them more presence. Pads, strings widening tracks. Not just for don’t all have the benefit of top end mixing desks,
and keyboard, as well as instruments like acoustic levels but also for phasing and monitoring and acoustic environments in which to work,
stereo correlation. You want to
guitars and also backing vocals, can benefit from some so judicious use of plug-ins can be quite helpful, as long
ensure that your track is not
processing in this regard. Some engineers favour treating being pushed outwards too far, as you avoid awful presets that promise things like “3D
one side of a sound with a simple mono chorus effect, which will sound bad on the stereo” but actually just mangle the stereo image beyond
kinds of systems it’s likely to
which has the result of creating a kind of stereo be reproduced on when it is
all recognition.
movement between the speakers as well as adding some released out into the world. Achieving a better soundstage for your mixes is, like
richness. In truth, these effects work best when added to the other elements of the mixing process, an art as much
specific tracks in a mix and used sparingly. Simply as a science and the precise techniques you use will
whacking a stereo imager across the master outputs of depend on the kind of music you’re working with. But
your DAW might superficially sound good but could mess armed with some knowledge and understanding of how
up the mix in any number of ways. stereo panning and creative use of effects can help you
Some mastering plug-ins like iZotope’s Ozone have to achieve better clarity, coherence and separation, you
stereo widening tools built in and, working together with will find that your mixes and masters start sounding
the other modules it has, can be a good way of increasing better than ever. MTF

MTF Step-by-Step Using widening and exciters in Ozone 5

iZotope’s Ozone has some great tools Setting the band crossover points for Click on Options to go into the Imager’s
01 and amongst them you will find
02 imaging is vital to controlling the
03 setup section and you can switch the
exciters and widening, both great to use at soundstage of a master. Drag the boundary number of bands anywhere from one to four.
the mastering stage. You can use the entire handles in the main display area to set the One is a bit restrictive and two is not all that
Ozone 5 suite but here we have loaded a size of each band. Adjust the four band flexible. However, using three or four bands
single module, since all the processing controls to add a different amount of should give you some better control over the
stages are also available as individual widening to each one. You may want to sound. You can also set the crossover type
plug-ins. To begin with, skip through a few reserve the higher amounts for the higher to determine how rigidly or softly the
presets and see how they sound. bands and use little or no widening the lower frequency bands cross over.
you go.

Here we have loaded up Ozone’s Exciter Set the frequency crossover boundaries The Mode menu to the left of the faders
04 module, though again this is also
05 and make adjustments to the band
06 lets you set the kind of excitation that is
available as part of the whole suite. The faders to change the amount of excitation that used. These have quite different effects,
principle is much the same as with the is applied. Here you get not only amount but ranging from retro through to tape and warm
Imager except here you are adding sparkle also mix controls, so it’s possible to get a settings and can significantly change the
and shimmer rather than stereo widening. greater degree of control over the way the overall sound of your master. Remember to
Nonetheless it can be useful for increasing signal is being processed. Consider adding periodically bypass the effect just so you can
the sense that your master sounds big, more sparkle to the top end and the upper A/B with your original signal and get an idea
especially when used in conjunction with mids to liven up the signal. of what’s being done.
other mastering tools.

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 123

MTF Round-up Tuition

1 SSR
Price £300
Contact 0161 276 2100
With offices in Manchester and London, SSR
runs a mastering “crash course” over a
weekend to give you an overview of and
introduction to the mastering process. Taking
2
2 GARNISH MUSIC PRODUCTION SCHOOL
Price Mixing and Mastering School from £449

1
place in the Neve recording studio, students are Contact Garnish 020 3287 7734
able to bring their own tracks to the second day London-based Garnish runs this course which they state is for
and see how mastering using top quality everything in mixing and mastering you knew a bit about, but
plug-ins and pro analogue gear sounds on their now want to fully understand and make a massive
own material. The first day covers the theory improvement to your music yourself. It doesn’t matter what
and the second is a practical mastering DAW you use on your Mac or PC, or what genre of music you are
session. If you want to learn more about mixing, mixing, the principles are the same. There’s a fair bit on mixing,
you can save £100 by booking both the mixing and the mastering portion of the course covers using reference
and mastering courses at the same time. material, EQ, limiting, levels and phase, mastering for vinyl,
Web www.s-s-r.com metering and more.
Web www.musicproductioncourses.net/mixing-and-
mastering-course-london

Round-up
Tuition
Learning how to master is as much an art as a
science, so it can really help to get some professional
guidance and tuition when it comes to this vital stage
of music production. And learning in a pro mastering
facility is the icing on the cake. Luckily there are some
excellent courses available…

3 ABSTRACT SOURCE
Price £480
Contact [email protected]
Abstract Source is based on Brick Lane
in London and its introductory mixing
and mastering course allows you to
bring your own multitrack project for
mixing and mastering in their studio
facilities. Specific training on the mastering
process includes principles of premastering, mastering
basics, PQ coding and album sequencing and delivery of a
finished product. It’s a 12-hour course split into three-hour
sessions and you’re also able to tailor-make your own
course by selecting modules. Choose from balancing, EQ,
dynamics, mastering EQ, compression, limiting and
pressing plant delivery options. These “build it yourself”
sessions are £35 per hour.
Web http://abstractsource.co.uk

124 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

 Tuition Round-up MTF

4 THE GRAND MASTERS

Price $77
Contact via website
As well as providing some online text-based guides to the art
and theory behind mastering, The Grand Masters links up with
OD Music Production, which offers 12 hours of music
production tuition videos in HD. These cover the entire
production process from setup and getting started, through
musical concepts and understanding MIDI, to synthesis and
recording. After you have worked through these you come to a
series of extensive mixing and mastering guides and then an
explanation of how to export and share your music. The Grand
Masters itself offers competitively priced mastering services
if you want to have someone else master your music.

5
Web www.masteringtuition.com

5 DUBSPOT
Price $2,245.50
Contact via website
Dubspot’s online course offers mixing and mastering tuition to
help you learn how to turn your mixes into commercial
sounding masters. Using 30-40 hours of high quality online
videos and three hours of instructor-led chat sessions per
week, you also get direct video and audio feedback from
instructors. As well as the basics of mastering you have the
chance to learn specialised mixing and mastering techniques
for different genres, including dubstep, house, trance, hip hop

4
and more. It’s based in the USA but with a fast enough internet
connection you can take advantage of this course from
anywhere in the world.
Web www.dubspot.com

6 ALCHEMEA
Price £440
Contact Alchemea 0207 359 3986
Alchemea’s training course explores the basic
principles of audio mastering with a focus on
achieving great quality results in a budget
environment. Practical examples involve looking
closely at, and dealing hands on with, problems
and situations that a studio-mastering engineer
would encounter. The principle aim of this course
is to look at getting as close to a pro mastering
reference as possible, in a budget set up. They
aim to help you create your final product ready for
market, get your music ready for radio play and
live performance as well as making your
demos stand out. Prior experience of
production is helpful but not essential, and
a mixing course is offered as well.
Web www.alchemea.com

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 125

MTF Workshop Reason 6.5

Reason 6.5 Workshop

Using Reason with On the disc

Rack Extensions Separate the processes

Reason has its own mastering tools and now, with
We have already noted that you can apply mastering
Rack Extensions, you can add specialised third-party processing at the same time as mixing a project out, but
modules too, as Hollin Jones reveals… this isn’t recommended as it involves making too many
important decisions at the same juncture. Instead, let’s

R
look at mastering a stereo mixed down file.
eason has had the MClass mastering Start a new project and import the uncompressed
modules for quite a while now, but it wasn’t WAV or AIFF into Reason. 1 The process is essentially
until version 6 that it gained the ability to the same as mastering in any wave editor, except that
work with audio tracks. So although you had you get to take advantage of Reason’s great modules,
been able to master your Reason projects in which aren’t available elsewhere unless you get into
previous versions of the software, it was always much ReWiring applications together.
harder to achieve the recommended workflow practice Locate the audio track in the Rack and click on its
of separating the mixdown and mastering stages. Show Insert FX button to reveal the insert area. Click
Typically you would have had to apply mastering at the PRO TIP within this area to select it and then add mastering
mixdown stage, or master elsewhere in another DAW or As well as using Rack modules effects using one of the following two methods. The first
wave editor. for mastering you can of will be to use the Create menu; and the second is simply
course use the mixer’s
Version 6 changed all that, however, and allowed you excellent channel strips, which to right click in the area and find the Studio FX
to import a stereo mixdown directly onto a new audio have their own dynamics submenu, and then locate the MClass modules. 2
track. Version 6.5 adds even more flexibility in the form section as well as a very These modules don’t have presets of their own or
capable EQ on every channel.
of Rack Extensions, which have been developed by You might even want to use patch save / load buttons, but you can load or save
other specialist pro audio companies but still have full both, and mixer channel modules complete with settings by using Combis.
presets can be stored as easily
Rack access. The list of Rack Extensions is always as Combis, so you are free to
Indeed, if you look in the Factory Sound Bank library
growing but at present there are a number of EQ, recall settings at any point. under MClass Mastering Patches you will see a range of
dynamics and dedicated mastering modules available, mastering presets, which can save time if you load one
all with 30-day fully functional free trials available, so then tweak it to suit. 3
you can try them out before committing to them.
Squeeze the sound

Version 6 of Reason allowed you First up then, try loading an MClass Compressor
module. You could use the regular rack compressor, but

to import a stereo mixdown directly this one has been specifically designed with mastering
in mind. The settings you are going to use will depend on

onto a new audio track your source material but in most cases you should
probably be aiming for a fairly gentle amount of

2
Import a high
quality stereo
mixdown file
into an audio
track in Reason
6 or higher to
master it.

126 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

 Reason 6.5 Workshop MTF

5
7
There are dedicated
MClass mastering
modules that help
you compress,
sweeten and boost
your sound to get a
great master.

Adding an MClass Stereo the top end sparkles if necessary. 6 Hopefully you
won’t need to do extensive tweaking here, since that’s

Imager can help to add some usually indicative of a poor mix in the first place.

width to the soundstage Wide sound

Your next step might be to add an MClass Stereo Imager
as this can help to add some width to the soundstage,
compression – if your mixdown was done well you though stereo widening is always to be treated carefully
shouldn’t need lots of compression at the mastering since applying lots of it tends to radically change the
stage. This track happens to be a fairly dynamic character of a mix as instruments get pushed off to the
soundtrack piece, so a good choice might be a low-ish sides of the stereo field.
ratio of around 2:1, the Threshold set so that PRO TIP To begin with, set the crossover point of the low and
compression only kicks in a little, and with fairly fast The Rack Extensions store can high frequencies using the control in the centre. 7 You
attack and slow release settings. 4 be found on the Props’ website are going to want to keep the bottom end either in its
and contains an ever-growing
You could also drive the input a little if you felt it list of add-on modules that original state or a little more mono, to maintain the
added to the power of the signal. Don’t worry about you can try free for 30 days energy that the bass adds to the sound, but perhaps
adding lots of gain using the compressor; that’s the job before you buy. As well as also to widen the higher frequencies to add a certain
mastering tools there are all
of the Maximizer later on. The idea with the compressor kinds of weird and wonderful sense of space. So try leaving the low frequencies
is simply to even out the dynamics a little, adding some beat slicers, filters and clever mostly untouched after having set the
tools as well as instruments
clarity and boost but mainly just bringing a sort of “glue” that go beyond Reason’s
to your sound. It should be readily evident from Factory set.
tweaking the compressor’s settings whether you are
applying too much. Be sensible at this stage and don’t
go overboard.

EQ curves
Next try adding an MClass Equalizer to the track. This
has five bands and is parametric. A Low Cut can
sometimes be advisable to apply during mastering,
which applies a cut at 30Hz to remove any subsonic
frequencies that may have crept in. 5
You can also enable a Low Shelf curve, and then
sweep around using the Frequency and Gain knobs to
determine whether the low end is cut or boosted, where
and by how much. Use the Q control for this and other
bands to determine the width of the curve around the
frequency. A low Q means a gentler curve, and a high Q a
narrower one which is going to isolate a frequency much
more specifically.
Repeat with the remaining bands, again using the
Frequency, Gain and Q controls to perform the
necessary EQ adjustments. Some tracks may need a
little treatment and some might require rather more,
but your aim here is to sweeten the overall soundstage,
making sure that the bottom end is full but controlled,
the mids are sufficiently audible and bright, and that

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4 | 127

MTF Workshop Reason 6.5

After you’ve
9 spread your
soundstage it’s
time to add a
limiter for extra
volume.

10
11

crossover point. There are Solo controls to the right to

help you with this. 8 Solo the lo and hi bands and set The excellent master buss
the crossover, keeping the bassy stuff more isolated.
Solo the hi frequency and raise the dial a little to add compressor in Reason’s mixer can
some widening, if necessary. 9
The final component in a typical mastering chain is provide a great audio glue
limiting and this comes in the form of the MClass
Maximizer. This is where you deal with squeezing more Extensions available for mastering, such as the Softube
volume out of the signal, so activate the Limiter section Saturation Knob, which can be used to warm up an
and also the lookahead button, which helps to provide entire mix. 14 Others, like the Ozone Maximizer are
more accurate limiting. 10 dedicated to mastering and this one in particular has
Again you will need to adjust the speeds of the the pedigree of being descended from iZotope’s
Attack and Release to account for your material. If excellent Ozone family. 15
you’re making loud electronic music for example, go for Once you’re done you can export your master using
a faster setting. If it’s more mellow material, go a little the usual File > Export Song As Audio File command – if
slower. 11 There’s also an Output Gain knob and this for any reason you want to export multiple versions of
should be set just below 0dB, using the Input Gain to the track with differing processing treatments, use the
drive the signal. Your aim should be a consistently Bounce Mixer Channels option. It’s worth, for example,
strong signal which you can see in the level meter, exporting a version that bypasses the main mixer if you
without clipping into the red. 12 have not actually used any of the mixer’s controls to
shape your sound. This can avoid problems with gain
Rack ‘em up that might arise if you have accidentally set the master
You can of course add more than one of any MClass fader too low or too high. Remember also that there is
module and indeed add other Reason modules into the an excellent master buss compressor in Reason’s mixer
mastering chain. If you happen to hit on a great sound, and when this is activated it can help to provide a great
save it as a preset by going to the track in the main audio glue to the master, so you may want to look at
mixer and locating its Patch Save button, represented using that instead of, or in conjunction with, the MClass
by a disk icon. Save the patch to your hard drive and it compressor. However you proceed you’re sure to find
can be recalled at any time. 13 that mastering your tracks in Reason gives them that
We mentioned earlier than you can now add new radio ready sound, provided you spend a little time
Rack modules and there are some great Rack getting them just right. MTF

Add
third-party
Rack
Extensions to 14
broaden your
12 range of tools.

13

15

128 | Mastering Volume 4 FOCUS

 Next Issue MTF

100% PURE
MIXING

On sale 7 February 2013, £8.99 with free DVD.

Available at WHSmith (UK), Barnes & Noble (USA) and all good
bookstores in Australia, Canada, and throughout Europe.
Or order online at www.musictechmag.co.uk/mtm/focus
MTF On Your DVD

Whether you’re looking to master your tracks

using your DAW, or with bespoke plug-ins and
hardware, there’s plenty of pro mastering tips on
the Mastering Focus DVD. You’ll find over two
hours of video tutorials, demos and freeware of
the latest mastering software and tools,
promotional videos from Universal Audio, iZotope,
Focusrite and more, plus over 600 MB of royalty-
free samples and loops from Big Fish Audio,
Prime Loops, and Zero-G. You’ll also find high-
resolution screenshots and files to accompany
the workshops and walkthroughs.

MTF What’s on the disc Over two and a quarter hours of Pro Video Tuition

MUSIC-COURSES.COM MACPROVIDEO IAN SHEPHERD ON METERING

01 Producertech and Zeitgeist Mastering
02 The experts at macProVideo have
03 One of the simplest yet most essential
join forces for a new Mastering course on provided 11 videos of mastering tips. Learn EQ parts of your mastering setup is metering.
Music-Courses.com. We’ve got an overview and dithering in Logic Pro, adding reverb sends Mastering engineer Ian Shepherd takes a
plus three videos on tape saturation and and Master Tracks in Pro Tools, and the Master look at how to balance loudness levels using
analogue warmth, MaxxBass and LF Punch Fader Clip Light, insert FX, dither, and mixing a range of metering plug-ins, and also at new
plug-ins, and preparing a track for mastering. down high bit rate files in Cubase. standards in loudness measurement.

SONIC ACADEMY LOOPTV PLUGIN BOUTIQUE

04 MASTERING COMPRESSION
05 James Wiltshire from The Freemasons
06 A round-up of high quality mastering
Sonic Academy and Conor Dalton from discusses the subject of K-metering and plug-ins courtesy of the Plugin Boutique,
Glowcast Mastering explore parallel and glue setting the right levels in Logic to improve the including software from MeldaProduction,
compression techniques, plus how choosing definition and dynamics of your mix. Plus, Dom Vladgsound, Blue Cat Audio, 7Air Media,
different attack and release times can affect Kane takes a look the BCA Digital Peak Meter Sinevibes, and Distorque. All this and more is
the transients of the compressed signal. Pro and Flux Elixir plug-ins. also available at PluginBoutique.com

130 | Mastering Volume 4 focus

 On Your DVD MTF

MTF Your Disc

MTF DVD 27 Mastering Volume 4
For PC & Mac

MTF DVD 27
Mastering Volume 4
USING OUR
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software from DAWs to

specific mastering suites.
You’ll find hi-res images,
project files and audio on
the disc so you can follow
along at home. Be sure to
copy all the files to your
computer before opening
a project.

AUDIO SAMPLES DEMOS &

You’ll find over 600 MB of FREEWARE
professionally recorded We’ve got a range of
and polished samples demos from iZotope,
from Big Fish Audio,
Prime Loops and Zero-G,
For PC & Mac FabFilter, FXpansion and
more for you to try. You’ll
including laid back jazz also find a massive
riffs, live drum beats, freeware bundle
deep and soulful keys, including Molot and
warm analogue Limiter No6 from
basslines, aggressive Vladgsound, Depthcharge
electro synths, and lively from 7Air Media, Vitamin
percussion grooves. Each C from Distorque, Filther
sample has been finely from Sinevibes, plus
crafted and offers an plug-in bundles from
excellent insight into pro Blue Cat Audio and

MTF DVD 27
production techniques. MeldaProduction, all
compiled courtesy of the

Mastering Volume 4
Plugin Boutique.

PROMOTIONAL
Whether you’re looking to
get a new audio interface,
or expand your plug-in
COPYRIGHT ANTHEM PUBLISHING © 2012 library with bespoke
FAULTY DISC? mastering software,
Check www.musictechmag.co.uk for known issues we’ve rounded up a
Return to: Anthem Publishing (disc returns), collection of videos
Suite 6, Piccadilly House, London Road, showing the latest kit in
Bath BA1 6PL, UK action. You’ll find hi-end
interfaces from Apogee,
UA, Focusrite, Roland,
and M-Audio, plus mixing
and mastering software
from Sony Creative
On the disc Software, Slate Digital,
and iZotope.

YOUR DVD CONTENT FILES Download them to your hard drive and unzip them to endeavour to supply you with a replacement disc
ZIP FILES access the individual files (remembering to eject the DVD immediately. Please note that we’re unable to provide
To maximise the amount of content we can bring you on to prevent your computer from slowing down). technical support for the software on the MTF DVD –
each DVD, the video, Workshop and samples files are please check our website at www.musictechmag.co.uk
supplied compressed (‘zipped’). Mac users should be WHAT IS ROYALTY-FREE? for any known problems.
able to decompress zip files simply by double-clicking on Any MTF DVD content marked ‘royalty-free’ can be used
them; PC users may need to download a utility such as in your own original compositions (even commercial MISSING YOUR DISC?
WinZip (www.winzip.com). ones). You may not, however, resell these samples in any If your disc is missing, contact us at editorial@anthem-
other form. publishing.com with your full postal address and the
WORKSHOP FILES issue number.
The software Workshops that feature in each issue of DEFECTIVE DISCS
MTF are almost always accompanied by files and audio In the unlikely event that your disc is defective, please
so you can work through them on your system. These files return it to: Disc Returns, Anthem Publishing, Suite 6,
are zipped to reduce the space they occupy on the DVD. Piccadilly House, London, Bath BA1 6PL. We will

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