Mastering EQ and Compression

[N 4 LIFE]

Anyone using the SSL Master Buss compressor from Waves for mastering? I've tried it a bunch of times but it never seems to add anything but some mud. Also been through and tweaked all of their factory presets. Anyone?

[enroe]

Anyone using the SSL Master Buss compressor from Waves for mastering? I've tried it a bunch of times but it never seems to add anything but some mud. Also been through and tweaked all of their factory presets. Anyone?

Hmm, yeah ...

It's a bit like watching a bridge construction engineer and seeing that
he's looking through thick formula books and then doing calculations.

The newcomer then buys exactly the same formula collection books,
although he can also find the same formulas on the Internet or buy
them in cheap papers. He frowns and looks pompously at the formularies
- just like his role models - but he has no idea what he's actually supposed
to do with it.

And that's how it is in music: The newcomer buys the same plugins - and
puts them on the track - and then thinks he's mastering with them just like
his role models. Even if he doesn't even know what it's about and what the
plugin actually does. But it does sound louder.

[simon.a.billington]

Anyone using the SSL Master Buss compressor from Waves for mastering? I've tried it a bunch of times but it never seems to add anything but some mud. Also been through and tweaked all of their factory presets. Anyone?

The SSL can be a good compressor in the master bus, but there are many others too. Personally, and this is no reflection on you, but I think too many people default to it without even checking to see if it complements the musical style.

What I would do is use a plugin chainer like that Waves StudioRack, load it up with a bunch or compressors and then, flick through them one by one and chose the one best suited for the project. Same with the eq. Then I'd get rid of StudioRack and insert the plugins of choice directly.

This approach can be done for many things, reverbs included. This way you can make a choice based on what aesthetically compliments a project and not out of (bad) habit.

[jamcat]

Master buss compressor ≠ Mastering compressor

The master buss is simply the stereo 2-buss on a mixing console. The master buss compressor is there to tame unexpected peaks during mixing and mixdown. Mastering on the other hand isn’t even done on a mixing console, typically.

Mastering is a totally separate process. It is to prepare the audio for a specific playback media format. Each format will have its own master.

The Abbey Road mastering room 7 has a Sontec MES-432C, Manley Massive Passive EQ, Shadow Hills Industries Mastering Compressor, TG 12410 Mastering Console, and a Black Box Analog Design HG-2, just to get an idea of what gear might be used during mastering.

[andymcbain]

Anyone using the SSL Master Buss compressor from Waves for mastering? I've tried it a bunch of times but it never seems to add anything but some mud. Also been through and tweaked all of their factory presets. Anyone?

Only at the mix stage, with the classic 4:1, slowest attack, fastest release setting - barely tickling the meters. Works nicely sometimes, other times not so much.

[JS_SEA]

PA Amek
Mastering Compressor
released
Don't like PA Amek
plugins
just want to share
the information
of release
It's only 149
grab it before
it's 30!


https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/prod ... essor.html

[DanKoz]

PA Amek
Mastering Compressor
released
Don't like PA Amek
plugins
just want to share
the information
of release
It's only 149
grab it before
it's 30!


https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/prod ... essor.html

How can I have it for $30?

[JS_SEA]

PA Amek
Mastering Compressor
released
Don't like PA Amek
plugins
just want to share
the information
of release
It's only 149
grab it before
it's 30!


https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/prod ... essor.html

How can I have it for $30?

simply by
being patient
it's pa!

[DCrown]

PA Amek
Mastering Compressor
released
Don't like PA Amek
plugins
just want to share
the information
of release
It's only 149
grab it before
it's 30!


https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/prod ... essor.html

How can I have it for $30?

simply by
being patient
it's pa!

Indeed prices of pa's last releases went down pretty fast. Also not a fan of plugin alliance / Amek, though.
I am pretty much pa-free haha, except for 3 or 4 plugins I don't use often

[whassup]

It's only 149
grab it before
it's 30!

[N 4 LIFE]

Thanks for all the replies. I've been using Elephant as the brick wall limiter at the end of the mastering process for years, seems to work fine for all the radio music I produce. Back when there was money for the big studios, the SSL Console did have the "glue" and finishing touches no question. One of my buddies turned me onto the SSL2 audio interface about a year back and that thing is a thing of beauty. I plugged my old Fostex DAT player into that and transferred several hundred hours of old dats i'd been carrying around since the 90's. Happily now I'm DAT free....

[VELLTONE MUSIC]

I like PA plugins,what i bought from them is impressive enough and discounted enough to worth the money:)
Their plugins are in top 3 as reputation...
Last moth there was insane discounts.
Also offer dope emulations of hardware manufacturers .
For Eq and compressor i think EQ 232D and Elysia Alpha are top notch fx,which aren't easily beatable by competitors ...

[N 4 LIFE]

I like PA plugins,what i bought from them is impressive enough and discounted enough to worth the money:)
Their plugins are in top 3 as reputation...
Last moth there was insane discounts.
Also offer dope emulations of hardware manufacturers .
For Eq and compressor i think EQ 232D and Elysia Alpha are top notch fx,which aren't easily beatable by competitors ...

Thanks Veltone will check them out.

[kPere]

Master buss compressor ≠ Mastering compressor

The master buss is simply the stereo 2-buss on a mixing console. The master buss compressor is there to tame unexpected peaks during mixing and mixdown. Mastering on the other hand isn’t even done on a mixing console, typically.

Mastering is a totally separate process. It is to prepare the audio for a specific playback media format. Each format will have its own master.

The Abbey Road mastering room 7 has a Sontec MES-432C, Manley Massive Passive EQ, Shadow Hills Industries Mastering Compressor, TG 12410 Mastering Console, and a Black Box Analog Design HG-2, just to get an idea of what gear might be used during mastering.

One thing worth noticing is that the chain does not contain that many plugins. If it needs more, no matter if its just on master-bus or during mastering stage - it should go back to the mixing process.

Or else I'm interested if anybody has longer chain of plugins on their master-bus - and what they're doing. Really would like to hear it.

[escalona]

It's only 149
grab it before
it's 30!

Only one hundred
forty nine grab before it's
twenty nine dollars


Now it's a proper Haiku.