Hey Guys,What is your go to favorite (Plugins) Master Stereo Buss Chain Setup **For Mixing**

Im in Studio One and looking for some of your Tips on what you
guys use in your DAW chain Master Buss.

Thx Man..
Rob

 

For mixing:

-TDR VOS SlickEQ (Lifting, American 3db's peak boost on 80hz&16khz)
-TDR Kotelnikov ("Glue-ing", 2:1, everything else set according/with the kick and snare)
-TLs Pocket Limiter (Little loudness checker a.k.a "How will sound squashed")

...and analyzers, which aren't effects per se...

 

Yes For Mixing...Thx

 

It varies but Maag eq4 and Cytomic's "The Glue" ends up on a lot of projects.

 

If you're mixing, don't put some effect on master buss. Except for osciloscope and freq analizer. PERIOD.

 

Sorry,I must have reworded it the wrong way (effects)

 

The only plugins that I put on the masterbuss are a simple clipper from MGA set at -0.1dB for speaker protection and Voxengo SPAN analyser, but I mix creating busses/stems where I process groups of tracks with compression/limiting/EQ etc. So I usually don't even touch the masterbuss at all, especially since I never go louder than the K-14 to K-12 at the loudest on it. I render this mix and master it later.

 

Thank You SW,Sounds Good.. *yes*

 

i put a mixtool set to -6db on the master bus before mixdown. if i want to impress friends, i put a ik ssl comp and a limiter there

 

Thx Guys... & PT10

 

A limiter for protection (there is always one in your DAW) or Ice9

You can "push" the limiter for composition/arrangement (to avoid starting to mix up/down), and remove it afterward for final mixing.
Or you can just use nothing at all, apart protection, because mxing is part of composition and you do it one track after the other (like when i do Trance psy/goa).

To me, the only mandatory plug is a protection. I got some horrible bursts due to plugin crashing ...never again

 

Analyzers and a mono-switch.

 

3 things almost alway go on my master stereo during mixing.

1) An "Analogue emulation" plugin like a tape simulator, tube saturator etc.. This will just add some character to the overall mix and some warmth so you don't have to keep doing it for every track.

2) An EQ with a shelf boost starting at a frequency that suits the track. This means that as I'm putting together the overall melody, drums, and other instruments, I'll add this EQ and then find a sweet spot to give a 3dB shelf. Again, i do this so I don't have to and brighten every single track. This saves so much time, hassle and processing power. You can even boost it more if you want, depnding on how bright you want your overall mix to be and you can even boost different frequencies and experiment with different EQ plugins to get the sound you want.

3) An analyzer (Voxengo Span) to check peaks, RMS and other levels.

 

Thank You Fuad,....Well done and thoughtful. I'll give it a go of your explanation above and report back in a few days... Thank You Again *yes*

 

No problem. Please do update me on your results. You can even throw in a compressor if you want to do mixbuss compression. This would go before everything else.

 

Nothing goes into the stereo bus (it's bus!!! one "s"!!!) except for a correlation meter.
If you have to put an EQ or dynamics in the stereo bus you most likely have done something wrong.

This might be a bit old school but I learned my stuff on analog gear and from that perspective I advise strongly against FUAD's statement.
A boost with a high shelf eq on the stereo bus will raise the noise floor, reducing overall dynamic range, leaving less room for what can be done in mastering.
With a low shelf you can figure out what a boost there will do.
The only general statement I can accept for eqing the stereo bus would be a lowcut at ~30 hz, if you're mixing for vinyl or mp3.

Let's say you have a track with hihats that are a bit too harsh, so you softened them on the higher end. Why would you thwart what you did and put a boost on the highs in the stereo chain?

EQ your tracks and/or buses properly and there will be no need to fondle with your stereo bus at all.

For mastering it's a different story.

 

If you need some magic use Studio one stock Multiband compressor. It's my favorite multiband. You can start with liked settings and then adjust single band to taste and apply parallel compression to the mix.

 

I get what you're saying but "something wrong" isn't a great way of putting it.
You can't really do anything wrong, just improve or worsen the mix/sound.

But if the end result sounds good does it matter that much how you get there?

I don't have anything on my master except a limiter for protection.
I prefer to mix without the distraction of analysis and rely on my ears.
Then mastering just becomes about polishing rather than processing.


But that's just me, If you get to where you're going quicker with a chain on your master, go for it.
Only advice I could give is maybe set up a secondary bus that you can a/b it for easy comparison rather than just leaving it on all the time

 

Well, what I do on master bus is what Mark "Spike" Stent does with his GML and SSL (mixing into them from beginning, shaping "that" sound immediately), what many are doing following that, it's nothing new or modern and it's on countless records you hear on radio, so it does work I guess for *some reason *yes*

*You are basically lifting and glue-ing everything, just like you would do on group bus with particular channels, it's not the same result as compressing and EQ-ing individual channels or groups, it's widely used for ages and perks are on individual basis, this way you are making all decisions based on that and it works better&faster than just adding that in the end, this way you are pretty much going easier on individual channels and groups, having "that" finished sound quicker and all along, as you imagine getting there is just pushing individual channels and groups little, but what get's final shine is there from the start, so you are always reaching it, because yeah, you work towards and with it *yes*

 

Yes, I thought of the stereo bus compressor of the ssl consoles. Still, you add it at the end for the finishing touch.