My Freeware Mastering Chain (repost)
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 95 posts since 30 Apr, 2014
*sorry, posted this in the freeware thread first*
I was reading a thread on GS last night where quite a few mastering engineers were namechecking Kotelnikov, which got me thinking...
Out of curiosity, I wondered if I could put together a mastering chain with just freeware.
[DISCLAIMER: I am not a full-time mastering engineer, but I do "master" my mixes for clients, and sometimes will do mastering jobs for web-based releases. This idea came to me when I was putting together a quote for an album mix where the client didn't have budget for mastering, and I wondered what would you do if you had NO budget, but sill wanted to master your mixes...]
So here is my freeware mastering chain, as of Sept 2015:
Slim Slow Slider C3 Multiband Compressor
http://www.geocities.jp/webmaster_of_ss ... ex.html#c3
Kotelnikov
http://www.tokyodawn.net/tdr-kotelnikov/
Alex Hilton A1 Stereo Control
http://www.alexhilton.net/A1AUDIO/index ... reocontrol
Acustica Ochre EQ
http://www.acustica-audio.com/index.php ... Itemid=189
Vladgsound Nova76P Dynamic EQ
https://vladgsound.wordpress.com/plugins/nova67p/
Limiter No6
https://vladgsound.wordpress.com/plugins/limiter6/
Voxengo SPAN
http://www.voxengo.com/product/span/
You could add in SlickEQ and MOLOT if you wanted, which are also both great.
C3 Multiband is pretty harsh if you go crazy with it, but as a very subtle layer of control over the mix it works well for me.
I think Kotelnikov gives the Waves API2500 a run for its money on the master buss as a clean, transparent compressor. I think the Waves comps have a hipass going on up to around 135Hz, which gives that warm round sound, and Kotelnikov can do that nicely also.
A1 Stereo Control is great for just a little extra width, and I really like the "safe bass" control.
Ochre just sounds great, again in small amounts. Dial in super low end with a broad Q, tame the harshness around 2.5K and add a little fizz at 20K with another broad Q. Sounds good to me.
Nova76P is quite complicated, but for a little dynamic taming around the low mids it's superb.
Limiter No6 is really really amazing. A lot of the time I am not using every module, but the M/S and multiband options give a lot of depth and width to a mix without having to do very much else. The clipping can get out of hand, so you have to be careful with that, but I think it actually sounds richer and deeper than Elephant...
SPAN just lives at the end of the master chain on everything I do.
Hope this is useful to someone, and look forward to hearing your thoughts on the concept.
I was reading a thread on GS last night where quite a few mastering engineers were namechecking Kotelnikov, which got me thinking...
Out of curiosity, I wondered if I could put together a mastering chain with just freeware.
[DISCLAIMER: I am not a full-time mastering engineer, but I do "master" my mixes for clients, and sometimes will do mastering jobs for web-based releases. This idea came to me when I was putting together a quote for an album mix where the client didn't have budget for mastering, and I wondered what would you do if you had NO budget, but sill wanted to master your mixes...]
So here is my freeware mastering chain, as of Sept 2015:
Slim Slow Slider C3 Multiband Compressor
http://www.geocities.jp/webmaster_of_ss ... ex.html#c3
Kotelnikov
http://www.tokyodawn.net/tdr-kotelnikov/
Alex Hilton A1 Stereo Control
http://www.alexhilton.net/A1AUDIO/index ... reocontrol
Acustica Ochre EQ
http://www.acustica-audio.com/index.php ... Itemid=189
Vladgsound Nova76P Dynamic EQ
https://vladgsound.wordpress.com/plugins/nova67p/
Limiter No6
https://vladgsound.wordpress.com/plugins/limiter6/
Voxengo SPAN
http://www.voxengo.com/product/span/
You could add in SlickEQ and MOLOT if you wanted, which are also both great.
C3 Multiband is pretty harsh if you go crazy with it, but as a very subtle layer of control over the mix it works well for me.
I think Kotelnikov gives the Waves API2500 a run for its money on the master buss as a clean, transparent compressor. I think the Waves comps have a hipass going on up to around 135Hz, which gives that warm round sound, and Kotelnikov can do that nicely also.
A1 Stereo Control is great for just a little extra width, and I really like the "safe bass" control.
Ochre just sounds great, again in small amounts. Dial in super low end with a broad Q, tame the harshness around 2.5K and add a little fizz at 20K with another broad Q. Sounds good to me.
Nova76P is quite complicated, but for a little dynamic taming around the low mids it's superb.
Limiter No6 is really really amazing. A lot of the time I am not using every module, but the M/S and multiband options give a lot of depth and width to a mix without having to do very much else. The clipping can get out of hand, so you have to be careful with that, but I think it actually sounds richer and deeper than Elephant...
SPAN just lives at the end of the master chain on everything I do.
Hope this is useful to someone, and look forward to hearing your thoughts on the concept.
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- KVRist
- 253 posts since 26 Nov, 2008
Very interesting subject! I'm always curious how people choose their tools and why. In some ways it is also entertaining, almost like watching "chef from hell's kitchen" ; you can't taste the meal but watching it made before your eyes is nearly as good as tasting it.
Thanks for sharing it!
Thanks for sharing it!
www.montrealserai.com
Montreal Serai-featuring diverse arts; poems; essays, cinema & music reviews, coverage of alternative media
Montreal Serai-featuring diverse arts; poems; essays, cinema & music reviews, coverage of alternative media
- KVRAF
- 1844 posts since 16 Jul, 2004 from Deepest Yorkshire
I would include Voxengo MSED to your list as it is very useful for mono compatibility checks and other stereo issues.
Would you include MagWare, given that you can occasionally get issues of Computer Music free from Google Play, Zinio and the iOS App?
Toneboosters Barricade CM is great.
Would you include MagWare, given that you can occasionally get issues of Computer Music free from Google Play, Zinio and the iOS App?
Toneboosters Barricade CM is great.
I miss MindPrint. My TRIO needs a big brother.
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- KVRAF
- 1800 posts since 10 Feb, 2007
Hey, it's always nice to read how others mix and master their music. Thanks for sharing!!
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 95 posts since 30 Apr, 2014
Good point - MSED is a great tool!khanyz wrote:I would include Voxengo MSED to your list as it is very useful for mono compatibility checks and other stereo issues.
Would you include MagWare, given that you can occasionally get issues of Computer Music free from Google Play, Zinio and the iOS App?
Toneboosters Barricade CM is great.
I'm not sure about MagWare (first time I've heard that term, LOL)...
I definitely use a fair amount of MagWare for mixing. Maybe I'll do another post on that topic....
- KVRian
- 626 posts since 15 Jun, 2015
+1 for Barricade CM. It's always on the master channel by the time I get to the end of my mixdown. Great plugin.
- KVRian
- 715 posts since 3 May, 2007 from UK
You can absolutely get great results from those plugins!
Personally I would ditch the multiband, I use a multiband once every few hundred masters and even then grudgingly! AlthoughI haven't used it myself, the Nova-67P dynamic EQ should be more than enough for any frequency dependent corrective dynamic processing.
Also I would say that you will need a good high pass filter of some kind but maybe there is one on the Nova?
The SlickEq GE edition has a pretty decent HPF/LPF but the standard free edition doesn't which is a shame.
Cheers
Scorb
Personally I would ditch the multiband, I use a multiband once every few hundred masters and even then grudgingly! AlthoughI haven't used it myself, the Nova-67P dynamic EQ should be more than enough for any frequency dependent corrective dynamic processing.
Also I would say that you will need a good high pass filter of some kind but maybe there is one on the Nova?
The SlickEq GE edition has a pretty decent HPF/LPF but the standard free edition doesn't which is a shame.
Cheers
Scorb
I once thought I had mono for an entire year. It turned out I was just really bored...
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- KVRist
- 406 posts since 27 Feb, 2014 from France
in the slickeq Ge i think it's a butterworth filter and imo it's not enought transparent in many case even if it s pretty decent. when tightness of the sound need to be preserved, timing,transients, a option for a bessel filter would be nice to make the eq more versatile thats my only grip with this plug .
about free plugs for mastering this one could be handy http://www.toneboosters.com/tb-midsidetransformer/
about free plugs for mastering this one could be handy http://www.toneboosters.com/tb-midsidetransformer/
Analog electronic drum samples (Free demo pack)
http://www.syntheticwav.com
http://www.syntheticwav.com
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do_androids_dream do_androids_dream https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=164034
- KVRAF
- 2908 posts since 26 Oct, 2007 from Kent, UK
Mastering is a skillset - a mindset - a listening activity. I know I must seem like a grump in these mastering threads but it really is important to get out of this 'chain' habit. Some tracks need a lot of work and some need none at all. If you have the 'mastering chain' mindset it gets you into a habit of thinking that everything you produce needs shoving through this huge plugin chain when that's not what mastering is about at all.
- KVRAF
- 1844 posts since 16 Jul, 2004 from Deepest Yorkshire
Mastering is a necessary evil because not all equipment is perfect. A "standard" chain is a learning tool to gain the skills to do it. Those who are asking about deviating from the "standard" are just learning more and moving on to knowing what skills are involved in it.do_androids_dream wrote:Mastering is a skillset - a mindset - a listening activity. I know I must seem like a grump in these mastering threads but it really is important to get out of this 'chain' habit. Some tracks need a lot of work and some need none at all. If you have the 'mastering chain' mindset it gets you into a habit of thinking that everything you produce needs shoving through this huge plugin chain when that's not what mastering is about at all.
I am an old grump but I still remember being young and not knowing. Now, I don't care about not knowing and wouldn't wish that on anybody.
I miss MindPrint. My TRIO needs a big brother.
- KVRian
- 541 posts since 15 Jun, 2011 from Betwixt or between
Not mastering, but mixing (and not in a heavy-handed way) freeware that's stood out for me as happy discoveries: SlickHDR is one nifty little tool when there's a little sweetening that needs to be done, and SGA1566 does some pixie-dust sprinklage duties well. I really like DualPanner for something to throw across a multitude of tracks as a pan/stereo utility (Stereo Tool's big display is too distracting for me).
Music can no longer soothe the worried thoughts of monarchs; it can only tell you when it's time to buy margarine or copulate. -xoxos
Discontinue use if rash or irritation develops.
Discontinue use if rash or irritation develops.
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do_androids_dream do_androids_dream https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=164034
- KVRAF
- 2908 posts since 26 Oct, 2007 from Kent, UK
I think this is the problem. There is no such thing as a standard mastering chain. Mastering is about listening for things that might need addressing in context of A: client/listener expectations and B: the rest of the tracks on the particular release. Above all, it's about making a track/ep/album suitable for distribution which, in turn, translates as giving it the best chance of sounding great on any playback system. This really doesn't have anything to do with a 'standard' chain and the sooner someone who is learning gets away from this flawed concept the better.khanyz wrote:A "standard" chain is a learning tool to gain the skills to do it. Those who are asking about deviating from the "standard" are just learning more and moving on to knowing what skills are involved in it.
This 'chain' business won't teach you anything if you don't know the concepts behind what the purpose of mastering actually is.khanyz wrote:I am an old grump but I still remember being young and not knowing. Now, I don't care about not knowing and wouldn't wish that on anybody.
The most useful thing to know about mastering is that it's all about listening, quality monitoring and (listening in) a 'reference' environment. The caveat is that you have to know your reference environment very, very well and you have to have listened to a lot of varied music within it to make decisions about your/a clients music. If you don't have these conditions - and a great set of ears - it really is best (if you really care about your music) to send it to someone who knows what they're doing.
As regards actual equipment, the most useful device in mastering is an eq - any eq. Most of my daily mastering duties is carried out with just that. I use compression on perhaps 1 out of 10 masters and I use multiband compression on perhaps 1 out of 50 (that's reserved for fixing problems that eq alone isn't able to do).