KVR Audio

jamcat · Post by **jamcat** » Tue Jun 20, 2023 7:39 pm

BONES wrote: Tue Jun 20, 2023 1:25 pm
I have to wonder how bad a mix has to be to need 12-15 plugins in the mastering process.

I have to wonder how bad a “mastering engineer” has to be to think they need 12-15 plugins in the mastering process.

plexuss · Post by **plexuss** » Wed Jun 21, 2023 2:44 am

jamcat wrote: Tue Jun 20, 2023 7:39 pm
BONES wrote: Tue Jun 20, 2023 1:25 pm
I have to wonder how bad a mix has to be to need 12-15 plugins in the mastering process.
I have to wonder how bad a “mastering engineer” has to be to think they need 12-15 plugins in the mastering process.

This bad. I use 19 plugins from start to finish in the mastering chain for this track:

https://plexus.bandcamp.com/track/kkryhztalizzed

jamcat · Post by **jamcat** » Wed Jun 21, 2023 2:51 am

I doubt I even use 19 different plugins on an entire song from beginning to end.

plexuss · Post by **plexuss** » Wed Jun 21, 2023 3:08 am

jamcat wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 2:51 am I doubt I even use 19 different plugins on an entire song from beginning to end.

I'm surprised you use any!

trusampler · Post by **trusampler** » Wed Jun 21, 2023 3:24 am

SSL Bus + Compressor and SSL Fusion.

i need Help · Post by **i need Help** » Wed Jun 21, 2023 4:13 am

TRIGGER WARNING:
These are just my personal opinions, not trying to personally attack anyone or to take anything as a personal attack.

To answer the OP: 0 plugins. I don’t master my own tracks. Diff Topic as to why but I’ve bought into the various reasons why one would go this route. I just pull the mast— the 2bus fader to -6dB and I’m good to go.

Also, I’m glad to read some of the comments here and know I’m not alone in having the mindset of striving to get the absolute best mix I can, so that come “mastering” time (or “finalizing” time, since mastering is technically referring to— eh, nm lol) all that’s needed is a bit of spit and a polish to make the track shine.

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Wed Jun 21, 2023 6:27 am

plexuss wrote: Tue Jun 20, 2023 6:59 pmBut then you turn it into a personal judgement... nothing changes I guess.

No, that's what any normal person calls "idle speculation". A throw-away line to generate further discussion, specifically about how much difference mastering makes to your finished track/song.

Judgement would sound more like "if you need 12-15 plugins in your mastering chain, you are clearly a clueless idiot whose responses should be immediately discounted as worthless". And whilst that may or may not be very much closer to what I was thinking, it is not what I said.

jamcat wrote: Tue Jun 20, 2023 7:39 pmI have to wonder how bad a “mastering engineer” has to be to think they need 12-15 plugins in the mastering process.

That's a completely different situation because he can't go back and fix anything in the mix, he has to work with what he's given. If you don't understand that difference, it could explain a lot about some of the posts in this thread. Mind you, I don't normally have than many plugins in a mix, either, but I fully understand why other people might. But for mastering? No.

plexuss wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 2:44 amThis bad. I use 19 plugins from start to finish in the mastering chain for this track:

So that's unmastered? It sounds OK to me. I mean, it's awful music, obviously, but it sounds alright. In fact, listening to the album it's from, the production values are very high. It all sounds extremely good (whilst still being awful, you understand); open, bright and airy.

On a very much related note, we are currently investigating getting =https://gregreely.com/greg/Greg Reely to master our new album. He's an absolute legend in our scene and he's a friend of a friend so we're hoping he can find time to do it for us. Getting a free laptop has given us a bit of cash to splash on it, so why the f**k not?

HOTF · Post by **HOTF** » Wed Jun 21, 2023 3:43 pm

I don't know if this is a hot take in here but :

Step 1 ) get the mix the best you possibly can
Step 2 ) send the track to a mastering engineer you trust. He will have a better monitoring system and a apir of fresh ears because he hasn't heard the track a 100 times.

jamcat · Post by **jamcat** » Wed Jun 21, 2023 5:59 pm

Before you do that, you need to determine which medium(s) you will be distributing on, and which tracks will be included in the package. Then you send all of them to be mastered together. Otherwise, why are you even “mastering”?

rasmusklump · Post by **rasmusklump** » Wed Jun 21, 2023 6:34 pm

motomotomoto wrote: Sat Apr 15, 2023 12:09 am These super complex chains confuse me.

If a mix doesn’t have any issues :

KClip
Smart Limit or Pro L
L

Yeah

Iconsole one with the weiss channel strip, softube buss compressor and the weiss limiter.

jamcat · Post by **jamcat** » Wed Jun 21, 2023 8:47 pm

Still not understanding why you would use an SSL mixing console’s buss compressor for mastering, though. The track(s) most likely already passed through one during mixdown (which is what it’s actually for.)

plexuss · Post by **plexuss** » Wed Jun 21, 2023 9:06 pm

jamcat wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 8:47 pm Still not understanding why you would use an SSL mixing console’s buss compressor for mastering, though. The track(s) most likely already passed through one during mixdown (which is what it’s actually for.)

Because some people think it sounds good for mastering.

martiu · Post by **martiu** » Wed Jun 21, 2023 9:13 pm

Screenshot (1182).png

jamcat · Post by **jamcat** » Wed Jun 21, 2023 9:19 pm

I’d suggest a linear/mixed phase multiband compressor and dynamic EQ for mastering.

The creative decisions were made by the artist/producer during mixing. Mastering is all about conformity. The mastering engineer’s job is to get all the tracks sounding uniform and to compensate for the idiosyncrasies and standards of the final delivery medium(s), and to do it as faithfully and transparently as possible.

vurt · Post by **vurt** » Wed Jun 21, 2023 9:43 pm

pair of big muffs.

Mastering Chains 2023