Mastering EQ and Compression

[CrystalWizard]

3 AI is limited in its abilities, it's not real mastering, it is what people do to save time, literally they must be broke if they can only afford AI mastering. I have never had a client say to me, AI made a better master than yours. It has just never happened. There are many other reasons people choose human mastering.

Not so. as time goes by, AI is getting closer and closer. in some cases, it's already there.

That's an opinion that i don't agree with, yet. Closer and closer, (in some aspects yeah) but already there- not yet. As always it depends on what we mean by mastering. According to my understanding of the term it is more than just shoving a file into a compressor/EQ/limiter and calling it a day.

4) Tools are only as good as those who use them. Wrong settings make music worse.

A lot of what mastering has become on the internet is a parroting of truths, part truths and misunderstandings.

Definitely!

Mixing and mastering became an interchangeable term, for too many people. people refer to mastering when they are actually just 2bus processing.

Agreed, hence my statement that "AI" isn't capable of replacing a human at all the other tasks that i think are part of mastering.

IMO, as long as you have a good (ie. sufficient) personal aural taste, a good (ie. sufficient) monitoring environment and a decent set of tools (be they plugs or HW) - you're good to go.

Sure, depending on what your definition of "good (ie. sufficient)" is...

[Synthman2000]

"Pay attention to my wordings : PEOPLE, NOT MUSIC MAKING/AMATEUR OR PRO TECHNICIANS."

In your 1-4 post no such wordings exist Michey.. so I think you had better pay more attention and not present fabrications.

After the fabrication I will be honest, I never read beyond, life is short.

Transformers by design do not pass DC they are AC devices so if correctly designed should be removing DC offset.

https://www.jensen-transformers.com/faq ... ing-audio/

AI has its purposes, for those who know no better. I see AI mastering is getting more expensive as well.

[bmanic]

Hmm.. depends on the transformer I guess. I had some issues with some home brew gear that caused slight DC issues so I assumed it was a transformer causing it but you are right, if properly done it should be the opposite. Unfortunately I don't have enough technical knowledge when it comes to actual building gear to know the cause. I just follow the instructions and hope for the best.

[plexuss]

Ineed a regular magnetically coupled transformer does not pass DC and are used for this purpose to filter out DC. There is no known transformer that passes DC.

https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/tr ... ormer.html

[legendCNCD]

They still had them mastered. There are good reasons for this

Yes, but did the mastering do anything to it, is another question or just passed it forward to the release as there was nothing to be done?

I know few where mastering engineer did not even touch some tracks at all.

[Synthman2000]

They still had them mastered. There are good reasons for this

Yes, but did the mastering do anything to it, is another question or just passed it forward to the release as there was nothing to be done?

I know few where mastering engineer did not even touch some tracks at all.

It is very important in life to not mistake exceptions for rule.

I cannot recall a single track passing through here that was completely untouched. In fact even top level mix engineer mixes are often littered with clicks. That alone is a quite serious issue that needs resolving.

On the contrary I have turned seriously flawed music into good sounding albums where the artists have literally said themselves that I had saved the album. That is more common than doing nothing.

The realities of mastering as a profession for all genres of music are quite different to people ideas of what it is, that seem to have been taken from "internet experts".

[enroe]

They still had them mastered. There are good reasons for this

Yes, but did the mastering do anything to it, is another question or just passed it forward to the release as there was nothing to be done?

I know few where mastering engineer did not even touch some tracks at all.

It is very important in life to not mistake exceptions for rule.

I cannot recall a single track passing through here that was completely untouched. In fact even top level mix engineer mixes are often littered with clicks. That alone is a quite serious issue that needs resolving.

On the contrary I have turned seriously flawed music into good sounding albums where the artists have literally said themselves that I had saved the album. That is more common than doing nothing.

The realities of mastering as a profession for all genres of music are quite different to people ideas of what it is, that seem to have been taken from "internet experts".

Haha,

Well, it's completely absurd to throw this or that plugin into the ring or to praise it again and again
on the subject of "mastering". That distorts any discussion on the subject.

As you rightly state, the most important thing a mastering engineer does in the first place is to
listen properly. Only then does he decide whether something needs to be done - and what needs
to be done. In his subsequent changes to the song, the choice of equalizer or compressor is
extremely secondary.

[VELLTONE MUSIC]

They still had them mastered. There are good reasons for this

Yes, but did the mastering do anything to it, is another question or just passed it forward to the release as there was nothing to be done?

I know few where mastering engineer did not even touch some tracks at all.

It is very important in life to not mistake exceptions for rule.

I cannot recall a single track passing through here that was completely untouched. In fact even top level mix engineer mixes are often littered with clicks. That alone is a quite serious issue that needs resolving.

On the contrary I have turned seriously flawed music into good sounding albums where the artists have literally said themselves that I had saved the album. That is more common than doing nothing.

The realities of mastering as a profession for all genres of music are quite different to people ideas of what it is, that seem to have been taken from "internet experts".

When start dealing with sound design i was just another enthusiast,who wanna know how the hack theses guys do such an amazing sounds,but walking that road i learned a lot more,not just to turn knobs around till something pleasant pop up:)
Frequensy spectrum influence human perception very interesting way and trigger some kind of emotional respond,same with saturation and hardware 'color',people even don't realize what exactly like when listen their favorite songs,sometimes isn't even the song but some sound inside ...
My goal about mastering is to learn how after i finish my mix to touch theses exact sweet spots i previously explore with sound design,so to make them not just pleasant ,but almost addictive to the listener.
I am music lover as well so have double check as creator and listener.
If a dance track you make doesn't make you dance,despite the composition may be something original and interesting,you better CONVERT it to pop,rock whatever or YOU MUST CHANGE the sound.
People may like your melody,harmony and rhythm,but the sound is what make them FAITHFUL FANS.
I was huge fan of Nirvana 30 years ago.
Their playing skills and compositions are high school level,but the sound...
Then start to listen Metallika and other heavy band,again the sound....
Entire industry was build on amazing sound some consoles used back then had and make recording/mixing so magical.
Today bought two plugin emulations of expensive consoles and plan to learn then well and achieve better 'color' inside my mix.
Not Sure is it good idea to use such console emulation on master bus,some people do it,but first wanna hear them on individual instruments or busses,then will see,had never touch console before ...:):)

[El°HYM]

NewfangleAudio's Equivocate might also be interesting to take a look at.
https://www.newfangledaudio.com/equivocate

[HAL76]

Mastering ... big word, long story.

When I think of contemporary music ... I mean those guys often seem to be pretty focussed on mastering. And well - I think that many many oeple completely forget about the process of "sound shaping", of really making a "sound" that is worth paying attention to.

I´d suggest to learn to really knead sound first. Mastering will be a different thing afterwards. Saturation is sometimes way more useful that every EQ and compressors don´t matter that much when the environment is exciting.

[Synthman2000]

They still had them mastered. There are good reasons for this

Yes, but did the mastering do anything to it, is another question or just passed it forward to the release as there was nothing to be done?

I know few where mastering engineer did not even touch some tracks at all.

It is very important in life to not mistake exceptions for rule.

I cannot recall a single track passing through here that was completely untouched. In fact even top level mix engineer mixes are often littered with clicks. That alone is a quite serious issue that needs resolving.

On the contrary I have turned seriously flawed music into good sounding albums where the artists have literally said themselves that I had saved the album. That is more common than doing nothing.

The realities of mastering as a profession for all genres of music are quite different to people ideas of what it is, that seem to have been taken from "internet experts".

When start dealing with sound design i was just another enthusiast,who wanna know how the hack theses guys do such an amazing sounds,but walking that road i learned a lot more,not just to turn knobs around till something pleasant pop up:)
Frequensy spectrum influence human perception very interesting way and trigger some kind of emotional respond,same with saturation and hardware 'color',people even don't realize what exactly like when listen their favorite songs,sometimes isn't even the song but some sound inside ...
My goal about mastering is to learn how after i finish my mix to touch theses exact sweet spots i previously explore with sound design,so to make them not just pleasant ,but almost addictive to the listener.
I am music lover as well so have double check as creator and listener.
If a dance track you make doesn't make you dance,despite the composition may be something original and interesting,you better CONVERT it to pop,rock whatever or YOU MUST CHANGE the sound.
People may like your melody,harmony and rhythm,but the sound is what make them FAITHFUL FANS.
I was huge fan of Nirvana 30 years ago.
Their playing skills and compositions are high school level,but the sound...
Then start to listen Metallika and other heavy band,again the sound....
Entire industry was build on amazing sound some consoles used back then had and make recording/mixing so magical.
Today bought two plugin emulations of expensive consoles and plan to learn then well and achieve better 'color' inside my mix.
Not Sure is it good idea to use such console emulation on master bus,some people do it,but first wanna hear them on individual instruments or busses,then will see,had never touch console before ...:):)

The mix bus version of a console emulation is one very valid exception of what you can have on the stereo output. Though that has nothing to do with mastering.

Also I would argue that as opposed to a console being what amazing sound was built around it would be the sound engineer in control of the studio having a much greater influence on recording and mix.

There may have been broad choices such as SSL G series if you were doing rock in the UK, or API if doing rock in the USA or a NEVE VR for Jazz/classical etc.

The console itself would have been chosen based on the engineers own preference or in conjunction with a producer. So arguably the console choice is down to the engineer and also the end resultant sound and recording/mix comes down to the engineers as in greater part than a desk.

It is why choosing a professional for a job makes a difference. It is so very obvious, it's just everyone thinks they are a top engineer with multiple decades of experience.

That is clearly not true, though many may wish to think it.

[redvet66]

I'm using FabFilter plugins.

[VELLTONE MUSIC]

i play with bx_console SSL 9000 J now - immediately add some distinguish character on instruments.
The other console bx_console AMEK 9099 is kind of more transparent and add some sweetness so may be useful on master channel,just still learn how and where to use it properly ...???
Totally different kind of saturation and 'colorization' when switch between.
Every month PA send me some discounts and i already have most of their stuff,so emulations are new passion now.
Amek is impressive as sound quality,i wasn't aware with hardware and brands,just listen what emulation do with the sound inside the daw.
Some synths have useful fx section and if eq and compressors are top notch i like to use them,but emulations are better in terms of final touch - once you spend money on such,you justify investment using them more seriously.
Agree with Synthman2000 that nothing replace mixing engineer's ears and skills,but also i think self improving is most important part of growing as professional skills.
In my case isn't actually an ambition to do it 'pro' as service,but easy to achieve dope sound ,the way i can use sound design fantasy to improve the composition and entire mix
No alcohol.
Cheers

[bmanic]

Agree with Synthman2000 that nothing replace mixing engineer's ears and skills,but also i think self improving is most important part of growing as professional skills.

In my case isn't actually an ambition to do it 'pro' as service,but easy to achieve dope sound ,the way i can use sound design fantasy to improve the composition and entire mix
No alcohol.
Cheers

Completely agree. And if you do want to do it professionally, you'll be combining your own efforts with professional help in various areas. This is where the key to truly improving your craft comes into play. A person who has thousands of mixes/masters/compositions under their belt will have experience with all kinds of problematic situations and how to solve them.

Having said that, in my humble opinion, the most useful skill to learn is critical listening. This often leads to a "less is more" approach which and it also automatically breaks down all of the myths circulating in the audio community (things like "if you need to EQ more than 3dB you need to re-record/redo the mix" or the mythical "high-pass everything!"). You'll learn that there are no hard rules, other than making the best song/mix/master that you possibly can, no matter how you achieve it. You'll also learn to trust your hearing instead of your instincts. It's common to fall for your own self doubt instead of just listening and accepting what you hear as the truth, the solution.

The most important part is to make sure you enjoy the process. Of course there will be times when it's frustrating, especially if some deadline is knocking on the door, but just minimize the amount of frustration and try to enjoy the exploration.

I highly recommend practice as well. Just like with any other instrument or skill. Open up old projects, delete all mixing plugins and start from scratch. Set a two hour time limit and work fast. Then render and let it sit on the hard drive for a while. Then do another new mix from scratch, render and then compare to the one you did a few days ago.

It's even quicker to do this practice with mastering. Set a time limit of only 20 minutes or so. Assign one simple EQ (something flexible like Pro-Q/Kirchoff/DMG Audio Equilibrium/Crave etc), one simple yet capable compressor (Pro-C/Kotelnikov/Unisum/Elysia Alpha etc), one "mojo" plugin that you like and a simple brickwall limiter/clipper that you like. Then do the absolute minimal moves you can in those 20min and simply try to make the master sound "better" than the original mix, making sure you do ALL comparisons at equal loudness levels. A good secondary task is to get the overall volume level up to decent competitive levels (so between -11 LUFS to -7 LUFS, depending on genre) but don't make this the priority. Render and let the file sit a few days. Then do it again and compare.

[VELLTONE MUSIC]

Agree with Synthman2000 that nothing replace mixing engineer's ears and skills,but also i think self improving is most important part of growing as professional skills.

In my case isn't actually an ambition to do it 'pro' as service,but easy to achieve dope sound ,the way i can use sound design fantasy to improve the composition and entire mix
No alcohol.
Cheers

Completely agree. And if you do want to do it professionally, you'll be combining your own efforts with professional help in various areas. This is where the key to truly improving your craft comes into play. A person who has thousands of mixes/masters/compositions under their belt will have experience with all kinds of problematic situations and how to solve them.

Having said that, in my humble opinion, the most useful skill to learn is critical listening. This often leads to a "less is more" approach which and it also automatically breaks down all of the myths circulating in the audio community (things like "if you need to EQ more than 3dB you need to re-record/redo the mix" or the mythical "high-pass everything!"). You'll learn that there are no hard rules, other than making the best song/mix/master that you possibly can, no matter how you achieve it. You'll also learn to trust your hearing instead of your instincts. It's common to fall for your own self doubt instead of just listening and accepting what you hear as the truth, the solution.

The most important part is to make sure you enjoy the process. Of course there will be times when it's frustrating, especially if some deadline is knocking on the door, but just minimize the amount of frustration and try to enjoy the exploration.

I highly recommend practice as well. Just like with any other instrument or skill. Open up old projects, delete all mixing plugins and start from scratch. Set a two hour time limit and work fast. Then render and let it sit on the hard drive for a while. Then do another new mix from scratch, render and then compare to the one you did a few days ago.

It's even quicker to do this practice with mastering. Set a time limit of only 20 minutes or so. Assign one simple EQ (something flexible like Pro-Q/Kirchoff/DMG Audio Equilibrium/Crave etc), one simple yet capable compressor (Pro-C/Kotelnikov/Unisum/Elysia Alpha etc), one "mojo" plugin that you like and a simple brickwall limiter/clipper that you like. Then do the absolute minimal moves you can in those 20min and simply try to make the master sound "better" than the original mix, making sure you do ALL comparisons at equal loudness levels. A good secondary task is to get the overall volume level up to decent competitive levels (so between -11 LUFS to -7 LUFS, depending on genre) but don't make this the priority. Render and let the file sit a few days. Then do it again and compare.

That's logic of my processing too
Maybe need to reduce number of things/activity,inside the mix, ,than to try super complex layering - it depends what kind of sound are used and where - for example it's easy and better to make 3-4 layes creating warm pad sound,it's nice if have three lines with variations,but it's very difficult to make same three lines for bass,cause naturally low frequencies get mess,especially stereo bass is pain in the ars:)
Usually i do next:
1.Song progress as harmony,melodic lines,random ideas from preset browser.
2.Saving the project without fx and exporting raw wav demo.
3.Opening the project and trying different fx - saving and exporting wav with fx.
4.Comparing version 1-2-3 with 4-5-6 selectng most interesting sounds and composition.
5.New progress,ideas and new selections...
Maybe it's not 'standard' ,but my biggest inspiration and source of problems is that i don't follow any rules or established way of composing,if there is any - my music philosophy is total freedom,which has strong and weak sides...
My motto when open a project is:
Only limitation is your imagination
So far works,will see where will get this year with mixing /mastering effort
Will spend time to do my best as final mix/master and to upgrade my skills with vst fx,then may buy hardware,some seems very impressive.
Life is better without alcohol.
Cheers