Skills pay the bills. As Mykal said above.. learning about mixing/mastering is most crucial. Although afterwards it will still boil down to whether you have gifted ears and a gifted intuition for sound relativity. Also.. If you have a world class audio interface, monitors, and a serious workhorse computer build you can use plugins currently available and mix/master circles around other so-called engineers who have equal or more book knowledge than you and nothing but hardware in the path. There's always someone who looks better in a t-shirt than another looks in a suit. So I wouldn't be deterred from the thought of using plugins amid a world class interface while there's some engineers sitting in their giant studios with duct tape locking the knobs on every piece of gear they have because it was a decade ago they trusted their ears enough to turn one.. just waiting to run the next clients musical arrangement through their toaster. Once in the DAW you're in the digital domain whether you use plugins or not. A lot of hardware fanatics like to skip that thought.

 

Last edited: Sep 7, 2015

It really depend on the material. I use (a.o) Abletons, Fabfilter, Melda (Dynamic EQ) channel strips such as Eventide & Alloy, Native Instruments, Waves, T-Racks (Black & White), Klanghelm.

 

I disagree. if one has a world class audio interface, monitors, and a serious work horse computer then they can afford world class hardware And the fact that you even brought the term "DAW" is a big joke to me. Nothing in the real world gets mastered in a DAW. A DAW is only for recording and mixing. All projects that get sent off to Mastering should be the complete mixdown in a wav format. A Mastering engineer is NOT a Mixing Engineer and does not give a fuck about the DAW or the stupid stems. AS I read through this thread I am more and more thinking that most have never Mastered a damn thing besides their own stuff, which by the way is not a true reflection of how it should sound. Good luck with trying to be the guy that sets up the racks on stage and running FOH for a live recording, you will not see any plug in involved at all, it's all hardware... Cranesong, DBX, Avalon, Weiss and TC along with some PSP hardware and a good 1/4 or 1/2 tape , then back in to the Digital world for Post and duplicating is whats up

 

always on my master channel chain :

1.) mathaudio auto eq (the 2012 R2R version) ive seriously gotten great mixes since correcting the frequency response on my headphones (hd-800 btw yeah even they have problems!)
2.) redline monitor (all settings set to maximum and last in the plugin chain)

for mastering this is what i do:

and yeah i cheat a bit.. unless you have a million dollar studio use automastering (AAMS) its way better if you can find a suitable match, ive generated hundreds of awesome presets from commercial trueHD audio mastered movies etc.. there is no limits with that program and you can analyze ANY audio you want.

 

Anyone who read what I wrote and then read your response can easily read between the lines whether they make use of the like/dislike options or not. I took some time out to share something with the individual who posted this topic. Your feelings were hurt about it simple and plain. The post/topic is in regard to mixing/mastering. Hardware is far more crucial at the recording/live/production stages than it is for mixing/mastering which takes place within DAW environments all the time. Your rant added support to what I said initially. I do own three pieces of hardware by the brands you mentioned and I use them at the recording/production stage when they are most necessary, which is before instruments/vocals enter the realm of the DAW. And on a side note: You won't catch me yelling and cussing with an "I'm on the attack" tone during conversation unless me and the person are face to face. I don't care who you are or what your title is here.. You don't pay me to share my insight or experience with others here. So there are no repercussions. Catalyst is a stand up guy as far as my experiences here and the other site go. You come off as rude and sensitive at the same time.

 

Last edited: Sep 8, 2015

Wow you could not be more wrong with the exception of you saying that Catalyst is a stand up guy and that I can be rude, but isn't that all up to you and how you take what I had to say?? bottom line is that you said that anyone with a world class audio interface, monitors, and a serious workhorse computer could use plugins and run circles around TRUE Mastering Engineers that use hardware and you even had the nerve to call them "So-called Engineers " Are you out of your fucking mind?? I only pointed out facts!! I only shared what I have learned over the last 2 decade and also how it was when I was an intern. It's not a very complicated thing to understand. You were talking about DAWs and plugins and that is not how it works at all and I disagreed with you you and you did not like it. Whah!! So who is the sensitive one now?? I really find your retort to be a waste of everyone's here time and has nothing to do with the topic of plugins and techniques of mastering

 

i guess rather than the analog vs itb stuff lets steer away from that would be useful and beneficial to the thread if we just discuss what is used either its itb or otb and the techniques and ways thanks!<3
i think its just love for the music yall feeling too much passion<3 idk tho lol no fighting :D
rather than argue why not understand what is being shared and the opinions of others i guess look at it at their point of view y'know? coz lets face it not everyone can have hardwares studios and stuff :/
but i understand what each other of you are saying and i just wanna learn =)))
anyone read that Sound on Sound article about Ali? engineer of Kendrick Lamar?

 

Last edited: Sep 8, 2015

I've heard a few things about Kendrick's engineer Ali. I haven't read the Sound On Sound article but I know he was nominated for some grammies or what not. I came across an episode of Pensado's Place on Youtube. Pensado was trying to pick his brain about how he was able to get things to sit so well in some of Kendrick's songs. He responded with what Waves and/or UAD plugins he used every time. And on the recording portions(vocal takes, etc.) is when you hear what outboard gear was used. Drake's engineer 1073's to Avalon to RME Babyface as a vocal chain I read not long ago. Once that's at a playback state in the DAW there's no must to call back on hardware. This goes back to what I was sharing with you in my first reply and so on. Your topic refers to "mixing and mastering" which I was able to read very clearly before I replied to your topic. If you are not the one handling the live recordings/takes.. you don't have to be dependent upon outboard gear the same. Most if not every engineer uses a DAW at some point to pull up stems/mixdowns, and many of them use plugins too. It's hard to google for a mixing or mastering video tutorial and not find an entry level or world renowned engineer staring a DAW in the face. The interface determines the playback/processed audio quality. And there's a world full of non-detrimental things you can use plugins to manipulate and tailor or master a mix. And I will still say I believe 70% of it at least has to do with how gifted an individual is at his chosen craft. And I'm willing to bet that most people who claim no one can achieve a superb sounding mix using plugins in their signal path are those who use plugins themselves and don't have meticulous enough ears and the mixing skillset to craft one. So rather than believe there are other people who are capable of yielding great results with the same tools they blame it on the idea that hardware they don't own is what will make them a great mixing/mastering engineer. And the harsh truth is if their wishlist of hardware were donated to them freely it would grant them but the opportunity to A-B reference that their mixes don't sound right in the digital or analog realm, and the bottom line is they're not good at mixing/mastering. Skills pay the bills. Have a good one man. It was nice stopping by and a pleasure meeting you. And no hard feelings to anyone else who didn't see eye to eye with me. That's what makes us who we are. We all have our own vision and should always feel free to share it with others and hopefully be appreciated in doing so.

 

Last edited: Sep 8, 2015

To Pimp A Butterfly dude seriously if u have time take a listen to it idk your standards but that album is one of my favorite rly seriously good mixing
if u can find it Cherry Bomb - Tyler, The Creator(Physical Copy) flac or cd i cant remember is mixed good too!

 

I sure would like to have a real Pultec.

 

Mix in mono, instead of compression try use saturation, never use high pass on an eq, use the less reverb amount possible, use a master buss compressor from the beggining.
Best compressors: Klanghelm DC8C, Fab Filter Pro C, Waves SSL comp, Tubetech CL1B ,..Multiband: Fab Filter Pro MB, Flux Alchemist
Best eq: Pro q2,UAD Maag eQ4, Oxford Eq. Limiters: Pro L, Invisible limiter
Saturation: Sausage fattener, Virtual Tape Machines SD, UAD Studer® A800, Fab Saturn, Decapitator Soundtoys, PSP Vintage Warmer 2
Reverb: Lexicon 224,UAD EMT 140.
Channel strip: UAD API Vision Channel Strip, Softube Summit Audio Grand Channel

Usefull plugins: Voxengo span, Izotope Insight, Waves Dorrough, Fabfilter Volcano Xfer Lfo tool, TB Isone,

 

what do u mean by never high pass on an eq? thanks!

 

I do have the To Pimp A Butterfly album. By the time I got to track 5(These Walls) I said "I know Robert Glasper and them have to be behind the sound of this album". And sure enough I found that several musicians and vocalists incorporated with Robert Glasper are credited throughout Kendrick's entire album. If you haven't heard the album "Robert Glasper Experiment: Black Radio".. I checked and it's on Youtube but doesn't sound close to the dynamic movement, separation, and nuances you will catch if you download the album. Either way you can flip through the tracks and hear some of the same musicians and vocalists featured on Kendrick's album and the modern jazz influence on his album in full effect.

 

Last edited: Sep 8, 2015

where can i dl? i wanna hear it!

 

I did listen to some of the YouTube version. Something wrong with the audio quality of that upload. Sounds weird/slightly unpleasant in my phones.

 

my mixing chain what i have save as my preset
bx control
fab pro dess
sir eq (reductive)
u73 b compressor (polish)
dmg equalirium (reductive)

my mastering chain preset i save
mcdsp filter bank 206
vintage warmer 2
kramer tape
t racks cs eq81
fabfilter pro mb
waves stereo image
elysia master eq
t rack stealth limiter

 

Well, you could use catching up with some of the latest news about that:

https://plugin-alliance.com/en/news/article/items/the-incredible-shrinking-studio.html

Myself and a close friend, a respectable engineer around our parts, we're doing this for some years now with very good results (it's all mainstream music, not experiments). My friend has added though some hardware in the last years, while I, OTOH, sold my mastering grade analog equipment because I was getting as good or better results completely ITB. If that wasn't true I would have lost my job.

And a short list of plugins that can make a pretty setup for ITB mastering for the thread starter:

Eq: DMG Equilibrium (invest time in knowing it, it could be the most valuable processor in your arsenal), Plugin Alliance Millenia NSEQ-2, Acustica Audio Scarlet;

Compressor: U-he Presswerk, TDR Kotelnikov GE, SSL ValveComp;

Loudness processors: SIR Standard Clip, Ozone 7 Maximizer;

Saturation: Vertigo VSM-3 (a hidden treasure, it can make your sound as analog as you like and even go beyond usual analog equipment).

You can do world class work with only these. Believe me, I know. But it sure helps big time to have experience in working with hi end analog hardware, and then, after you came to know that sound, you will know exactly how to do it with plugins. Unfortunately there's no shortcut to the years of experience you have to gain in order to do it properly, but there should always be a start and you can certainly benefit from knowing it can be done. So, in short, it can be done, no doubt about it. My advice would be, consider getting a job in working with mainstream music. It will force you progress immensely in the shortest time possible.