Saturation on the master

[martiu]

yeah, true iron on the master or SketchCassette II

[discogsaddict]

For me no not on the master whilst mixing. On individual tracks or groups, sure!

I like to render a clean mix and then do mastering processing at least a day later when my ears are refreshed. At that point i may use something like Inflator, True Iron or a coloured eq or compressor.

If people are doing this then i would say it'll be on the master from the start and mixed into. Much like bus compressors are used

[VELLTONE MUSIC]

From what i listen in ytb and wish to have extra money for, my fav saturation plugins are pspaudio saturator ,softube Overstayer and tape ...there is some free as well,which could do some job,but since i start to pay and use better mixing tools my mix getting better,for sure quality saturation is irreplaceable tool for pro mixing.
But man have to be careful with amount of it.
For example eq232d is absolutely amazing EQ,which add some saturation sweetness,don't know what makes i so good technologically ,but if use right dose of it on mixing or master bus channel,reveal and add super nice harmonics,but in the moment you push little bit more,it destroy all the good job done before.

[VELLTONE MUSIC]

When something is labeled as 'Mastering' something (eq,comp,sat,whatever) i think it should have some specific functionality or options like M/S,Sidechain so on so to be able to do mandatory for today standards job.
Last few days i compared few normal eqs and comps with mastering ones on master buss,the sound of mastering tools is just bigger,wider and give some extra space,which other guys miss,so 'Mastering' label isn't just trading trick imho.
If somebody use it to mislead users,will have opposite effect.

[MogwaiBoy]

If somebody use it to mislead users,will have opposite effect.

That's the problem - so it does have the opposite effect. For example I am very sceptical when a developer says their limiter or clipper plugin is "mastering grade" when it doesn't even have oversampling. It's usually just a marketing buzzword to make their product appear premium so you'll pay more for perceived (but not actual) higher quality.

'True' mastering grade for me is...

- Input and output gain (amazing how many plugins don't even have this....)
- 64-bit double-precision internal processing
- Oversampling to reduce aliasing (minimum 4x for compressors, 16x for limiters, 64x for clippers), preferably realtime and offline settings
- Sample accurate automation/interpolation
- Super accurate metering if required

Some of the best companies like Tokyo Dawn do all this.

[El°HYM]

Interestingly enough, how many on KVR are still seeing these Digital Audio specs as some esoteric audiophile mojo nonsense and furthermore claiming that Aliasing is just part of a good digital signal.

[martiu]

aliasing is good, it is crunchy

[sQeetz]

I add mp3 compression artifacts to all my tracks!

[Aloysius]

Digital mixing doesn't seem to be equal to analog mixing. For example, right now I'm sending a virtual bass into a virtual bass amp and into another virtual bass amp and it's starting to sound good. If I did that with real amps it would sound crap.

If saturation sounds good, then use it.

I wanted to get a bit of meaty width into a track today, so I mixed in some saturation on the sides. It's starting to sound more like an analog mix now. The kind of music I listen to.

It doesn't matter if something says it's mastering grade or not imho. If something sounds good, it is good.

There are too many rules that seem to get in the way of our creativity.

If you read articles by people who are into music theory, they complain a lot about things not fitting into the little boxes they learnt at school. Or they perform some Olympic level mental gymnastics to make a square peg fit into a round hole.

People that say music is just controlled music, and art is just landscapes and things... aren’t right, because it’s other things as well. They’ve got all these rules; rules of how to live, how to paint, how to make music—and it’s just not true anymore. They don’t work; all those rules. You can’t apply them, because it means then that you’re assuming that you know it all. You know, [uses his hands to divide the past, present, and future] primitive man, us, and something else. And WE don’t know it all yet . . .. They’re talking about things that are a bit new you know. And they’re talking about things which people don’t really know too much about yet. (McCartney 1967)

My 2c for today.

[sQeetz]

Digital mixing doesn't seem to be equal to analog mixing. For example, right now I'm sending a virtual bass into a virtual bass amp and into another virtual bass amp and it's starting to sound good. If I did that with real amps it would sound crap.

If saturation sounds good, then use it.

I wanted to get a bit of meaty width into a track today, so I mixed in some saturation on the sides. It's starting to sound more like an analog mix now. The kind of music I listen to.

It doesn't matter if something says it's mastering grade or not imho. If something sounds good, it is good.

There are too many rules that seem to get in the way of our creativity.

If you read articles by people who are into music theory, they complain a lot about things not fitting into the little boxes they learnt at school. Or they perform some Olympic level mental gymnastics to make a square peg fit into a round hole.

People that say music is just controlled music, and art is just landscapes and things... aren’t right, because it’s other things as well. They’ve got all these rules; rules of how to live, how to paint, how to make music—and it’s just not true anymore. They don’t work; all those rules. You can’t apply them, because it means then that you’re assuming that you know it all. You know, [uses his hands to divide the past, present, and future] primitive man, us, and something else. And WE don’t know it all yet . . .. They’re talking about things that are a bit new you know. And they’re talking about things which people don’t really know too much about yet. (McCartney 1967)

My 2c for today.

I like that.
I also tend to overdo in the FX section a lot of times. Add Satin to a track, EQ afterwards, compress, more distortion....
It what makes the track vibe and feel alive IMHO instead of doing it the "proper" way

[osiris]

I've heard of people adding white noise. I know they do this in movies. Supposed to even sound mixing and fill dead spaces. But like someone asked on another forum, why take away the extra headroom, even if it's mostly inaudible?.

[sQeetz]

I've heard of people adding white noise. I know they do this in movies. Supposed to even sound mixing and fill dead spaces. But like someone asked on another forum, why take away the extra headroom, even if it's mostly inaudible?.

Gate it. With fast attack & decay to just have it sound "in-between". Thanks I'll try it

[osiris]

I can't afford the extra headroom, but the science is solid. I tried Saturation on the Master, but it was putting unwanted artifacts in the Vocal for some reason.

[zerocrossing]

For me no not on the master whilst mixing. On individual tracks or groups, sure!

I like to render a clean mix and then do mastering processing at least a day later when my ears are refreshed. At that point i may use something like Inflator, True Iron or a coloured eq or compressor.

If people are doing this then i would say it'll be on the master from the start and mixed into. Much like bus compressors are used

I’ve never found that a saturator on the mastering chain gave me results that I liked. If my mix needs something like that, I’ve done a poor mix.

[_leras]

I think saturation, to a point, should be a mix decision.

That said, some saturation tools can be focused on frequency, and adding a small amount can do nice things sonically to a signal - post mix.

Definitely one of those things that you want to barely hear, and only really notice when you switch it off if in the mastering stage.