Best Mastering Plugin for VST
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- KVRist
- 35 posts since 18 Nov, 2005
I am using the CD Mastering preset from the Waves L2 which is not too shabby however are there any better and more powerful plugins to give my mixes a real OOOMPH?!
Is it typical in the Master Bus to just place one mastering plugin followed by a UV 22 hr plugin to give the truest 16 bit mix?
Is it typical in the Master Bus to just place one mastering plugin followed by a UV 22 hr plugin to give the truest 16 bit mix?
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- KVRian
- 1275 posts since 9 Jan, 2006
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- AcousticHippie
- 4769 posts since 12 Mar, 2003
- AcousticHippie
- 4769 posts since 12 Mar, 2003
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Colonel Flashback Colonel Flashback https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=57766
- KVRian
- 898 posts since 12 Feb, 2005 from Green Man Inn
OOOMPH-omator 2.7 springs to mind
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- KVRian
- 591 posts since 5 Feb, 2004 from southwest england
Mixing further away from your speakers will help.
You will conciously mix it all to sound louder due to the proximity effect not getting in the way.

Kind regards
Dave Rich
You will conciously mix it all to sound louder due to the proximity effect not getting in the way.
Kind regards
Dave Rich
- AcousticHippie
- 4769 posts since 12 Mar, 2003
okay but getting down from the high horse or however that is called....
there are loads of good freeware plugins that could help you...
and maybe you might want to read a bit more about the subject... there are some nice tutorials throughout the web... most people say however that you a) might not wanna master your own material and b) leave that to the pros.... but if you still wanna do it yourself (cuz you can't warez a pro mastering engineer) go ahead and try, try and try.... let other people hear what you did. listen in the car and so on.... it's a learning process that never ends (at least not for me)
if you wonder why we all a bit suspicious around here... well who in their right mind would buy Waves plug-ins (which obviously cost a lot of cake) when they don't know how to use them....
and when you say... "hey f**kers - by downloading I mean install" or "it's just the demo version"
and assuming that is true.. here is some advice... learn this stuff by using freeware and once you mastered it (using the tools not the song) you can a) forget about buying stuff cuz you can make cool sounds using freeware or b) just buy the big guys then.....,
okay that's it for now
I guess
there are loads of good freeware plugins that could help you...
and maybe you might want to read a bit more about the subject... there are some nice tutorials throughout the web... most people say however that you a) might not wanna master your own material and b) leave that to the pros.... but if you still wanna do it yourself (cuz you can't warez a pro mastering engineer) go ahead and try, try and try.... let other people hear what you did. listen in the car and so on.... it's a learning process that never ends (at least not for me)
if you wonder why we all a bit suspicious around here... well who in their right mind would buy Waves plug-ins (which obviously cost a lot of cake) when they don't know how to use them....
and when you say... "hey f**kers - by downloading I mean install" or "it's just the demo version"
and assuming that is true.. here is some advice... learn this stuff by using freeware and once you mastered it (using the tools not the song) you can a) forget about buying stuff cuz you can make cool sounds using freeware or b) just buy the big guys then.....,
okay that's it for now
I guess
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SuitcaseOfLizards SuitcaseOfLizards https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=2363
- KVRAF
- 10879 posts since 3 Apr, 2002 from Austin, TX USA
I'll try to answer seriously in the off-chance you're actually not a warez puppy..
There's no such thing as the "best" mastering plugin. Each of the ones I own have a different character and take a lot of getting used to, in order to get the most out of them. And each song will require different settings depending on the material, there's no "one preset fits all" that's going to set fire to your track. And this is presuming you've got a decent mix with decently recorded tracks in the first place...
That said, I've gotten good results from Final Mix in Tracktion2, with Voxengo Elephant+Soniformer, and with Kjaerhus Golden Compressor + Golden Peak-Pressor. Not every one of these is "best" for every job, some of my quieter/new-agey stuff benefits more from a gentle treatment (maybe just Soniformer, or Golden Peak-Pressor) and some of my harder/darker stuff uses pretty radical processing!
I'm with Multree on one thing - start with freeware stuff and learn how it operates, learn what to apply to what songs, read and study how it's done by others, and most importantly get outside opinions as well since sometimes you can be too close to the music to really hear it (the "my baby is NOT ugly" syndrome).
There's no such thing as the "best" mastering plugin. Each of the ones I own have a different character and take a lot of getting used to, in order to get the most out of them. And each song will require different settings depending on the material, there's no "one preset fits all" that's going to set fire to your track. And this is presuming you've got a decent mix with decently recorded tracks in the first place...
That said, I've gotten good results from Final Mix in Tracktion2, with Voxengo Elephant+Soniformer, and with Kjaerhus Golden Compressor + Golden Peak-Pressor. Not every one of these is "best" for every job, some of my quieter/new-agey stuff benefits more from a gentle treatment (maybe just Soniformer, or Golden Peak-Pressor) and some of my harder/darker stuff uses pretty radical processing!
I'm with Multree on one thing - start with freeware stuff and learn how it operates, learn what to apply to what songs, read and study how it's done by others, and most importantly get outside opinions as well since sometimes you can be too close to the music to really hear it (the "my baby is NOT ugly" syndrome).
Bandcamp: https://suitcaseoflizards.bandcamp.com/
Linux Mint, Waveform 13 Pro, U-He synths, Audio Damage effects,.
Linux Mint, Waveform 13 Pro, U-He synths, Audio Damage effects,.
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- KVRAF
- 10171 posts since 2 Jan, 2005 from somewhere in the woods
I recently made a song called 'my head' for the sknote's Voices contest and I only used the free classic series effects from Kjaerhus and I think, the sound is good.
Waves, hmm, lecker, but not definitly necessary, I think.
Waves, hmm, lecker, but not definitly necessary, I think.
"It dreamed itself along"
- Rad Grandad
- 38041 posts since 6 Sep, 2003 from Downeast Maine
oh good because we already have a Kriminal...bc05 wrote:Thanks for that guys.
FYI I bought my setup in totality from a friend who went analog and haven't mastered the ropes yet. I am not a criminal thank you
I will now duck and run
The highest form of knowledge is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another's world. It requires profound, purpose‐larger‐than‐the‐self kind of understanding.
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- KVRian
- 503 posts since 28 Mar, 2005 from Annapolis, MD
For compression, I'd go with PSP MasterComp or Voxengo's Marquis. I have Soniformer, but I don't find multiband too useful. For equalization, I'd go with PSP Neon HR. For limiting Voxengo Elephant or Elemental Audio's Finis.
Note--these are all clean and transparent.
My thought is if you don't have oomph by this point, nothing is really going to give you that in the digital arena. You could always reconvert and use an analog limiter.
Alright, for oomph, well... I suppose PSP Vintage Warmer would come first to mind.
Note--these are all clean and transparent.
My thought is if you don't have oomph by this point, nothing is really going to give you that in the digital arena. You could always reconvert and use an analog limiter.
Alright, for oomph, well... I suppose PSP Vintage Warmer would come first to mind.
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- KVRAF
- 3345 posts since 8 Nov, 2003 from Amsterdam
I like that.daverich wrote:Mixing further away from your speakers will help.
You will conciously mix it all to sound louder due to the proximity effect not getting in the way.

