https://soundcloud.com/darthloud

I'm not pro in mastering ,
but the little I know I'll share

1# Tape machine for smooth freq
2# Reverb Mid/Side > Mid 5% / Side 20%
3# EQ > Low cut 30Hz
4# MSED > Side gain 2db
5# OTT > 20% depth
6# Pro-L > Gain 14db
7# L2 > Threshold -2db

 

Last edited: May 14, 2017

This is a joke right?

It all depends on the material you are mastering. If it needs something or not, depends on how good the mix is in the first place.

 

Last edited: Jan 6, 2017

Wtf is that 30hz cut? Mathematically yo want to cut all frequencies below lowest note in your mix. (from 18 to 40 hz depends on your mix). Satin is trash, imho.

 

low cut 30hz , satin is trash ? . i use imput 4db and output -4 db . and more or less 50% Wet not 100% .

 

Can you save it as a preset and send it to me, need something for a score i did

 

tomorow i send to u . email > [email protected]

 

Why would you say that?

 

Lol xD

 

A bit like all these "How to get rich quick" courses.

BTW nice screenshots but it doesn't explain anything for a newbie.

 

you revealed secrets of mastering.
now all the mastering studios will be closed. all the gear now is useless, because of these secrets you posted.
mastering business is dead.
fuck! thank you, now I know how to master my tracks :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
1st April?

 

One thing i've learned from mastering my own stuff is, if you're going to add extra gain, don't just use one plugin and squash it, try out a blend of different plugins as they each seem to raise the volume differently, my favorite combo is the NLS bus -> Slate FG Red -> Brainworx Vertigo then into the L3 with a touch on the Thres knob (EQ and maybe some SSL compression happening wherever needed).

I try and aim for -8 to -10RMS but i'm starting to feel like it's to loud as smartphones have much louder speakers these days.

 

It is all material dependent.

There has only been three secret for mastering.

1) Don't your own stuff if you can afford not too, or at least not in the same environment or room.
+ you thought sounded fine when you got done mixing it
+ or you just gave up mastering isn't going to fix that
+ It might sound spectacular in your faulty room with the resonance points or nulls you deal with.

2) Have a good of listening environment and reproduction as possible.

3) Your ears are the best piece of gear you own, learn to use them.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now if you want to talk about maximizing on the cheap, taking your own stuff and just making it louder while tweaking more stuff and then making it louder again... there are many ways to skin and cook a cat. What it tastes like is a personal taste thing.

 

I always have been interested how these 2 correlate, I was thinking about digging in my old tracks to see just that

 

My mastering chain is different depending on the mix and how you want to finess/color it. You listen and decide what you want to do and then use the tools to get you there.
Maybe you need to de-ess the harshness some and put a multiband on the highs. Maybe you want to add some tube/valve flavor, etc.
If the mix is already wide you dont widen it more.
If I need to make it really loud I might have 3 invisible limiters pushing only 1 db each into a sonnox limiter. Toggling the lookahead so I can still monitor it. Its different for every mix.
But honestly I just trust my ears

 

Last edited: Jan 7, 2017

First off, thank you for sharing. A better title for your post might have been "Example of my mastering chain". Personally, I found your post interesting. Of course, I realize that the settings shown relate more to the source material you were processing at the time as there is no magic "one size fits all" plugin chain and/or settings. Therefore I assume it is posted merely as a starting point for others to try.

Are you putting this chain on the 2 bus while you mix and mixing into it, or do you mix, export, then master the exported audio.

Just curious, I've tried it both ways and there are pros and cons to each IMO.

 

Since the subject is about mastering secrets, here is a interesting article for you guys to read:

http://onlinemixingmaster.com/secret-mastering-techniques-they-dont-want-you-to-know-1/

This is in the article to - Steven Slate (Slate Digital):
https://www.gearslutz.com/board/6549611-post20.html

The clipping on this plugin is awesome.
Stillwell - Event Horizon:

This plugin very accurately reproduces the sound of clipping a very high-end A/D converter. You can choose between limiting or clipping modes, and it also has a softclip option which can drastically reduce the harshness of the clipping but lower the clip threshold / onset.

 

Last edited: Jan 6, 2017

If you want smooth peaks then clipp not limit. Use high quality oversampled clippers. Sometimes i use in conjunction with limiter, clipper before limiter. Sometimes i use only clipper(1,2db to cut 'spikes' when happend - over entire song).

 

Last edited: Jan 6, 2017

Yes, that is the best way to go.

 

Could you tell me how to apply reverb to Mid/Side separately? TIA

 

Only reverb plugin i know that can do mid/side and ajust individual wet mix for mid and side is the reverb module from Izotope Ozone 5.