Mastering beats, compressing/limiting question.

Yo
I posted a pretty similar question to this before, and got a diverse bunch of answers (a lot of them contradicting others).. which I understand, as everyone has their own way of doing things..

But now I'm at a different phase in mixing and have a slightly different question, that I'm hoping I can get some concise answers to..


I'm mastering some songs, getting an instrumental album ready, and I'm hoping to have all the songs at a consistent volume, as well as be loud enough (because I turned everything down so that it wasn't peaking, some songs are quieter than others, as I had to turn them down more because there were more tracks).

I looked up a few tutorials, and asked a friend, and I've been told to put a compressor on the master track. When I do that, it takes away the dynamics, and kills a lot of the overall vibe I set when I was originally making the beats. It makes it sound better in a way, but also takes a lot away from the original vibe, kind of like I'm selling the soul of the beat to get the volume to a commercial standard . Idk.

Anyone have any advice for achieving what I want to achieve, whether it's using compression/limiting or not? I've basically mixed the songs, all I really want to do at this point is have them presentable on an album (no peaking, and consistent levels).

I've been using Ozone for years now and can always coax something out of it that doesn't totally destroy the mix. It's quick and dirty but gets the job done.

At one time it was an 'all or nothing' processor, but for the past few versions you've been able to control the different elements with a wet/dry control. I tend to bypass the EQ, Mastering Reverb and Loudness Maximiser and just roll with the Multiband Harmonic Exciter, Multiband Dynamics and Multiband Stereo Imaging.

After that I usually use a linear phase EQ and catch any peaks with the waves L2. Nice and simple. It's also important to have some kind of analyser plugin at the end of the chain so you can see how far you are pushing your levels.

When you are happy with one track, save your plugin chain as a preset and the rest of the project should fall into place with minimal tweaking.

Sounds good, thanks! I downloaded Ozone but for some reason it's not appearing in my plugins on ableton. I just have a folder with all the presets in it, i can't find an actual vst file. But I'll try finding another version online or something.

So what should I be looking for (or listening for) when tweaking the settings, if I'm just trying to bring each song up to a standard volume. Will the spectrum analyzer make it clear how loud everything is?

Try mixing into your mix bus compressor and tweaking it as you mix instead of just slapping it on at the end. This way your mix won't totally change when you just put it on. Also, slow attack/fast release usually won't pump your song but will help to glue everything together. You don't need to take a lot off, on most mix bus compressors (ssl 4k, api 2500, etc) just 2-4 dB is almost always more than enough to glue things together.

For a limiter, I'm with Ozone. I usually just use the loudness maximizer limiter by bringing the overall output down to -.3 dB (to ensure no clipping of systems, some guys do -.5 dB), and then bring the threshold down until you get a healthy level that isn't distorting your bass or really crushing your mix. Same rules would apply for any other limiter. Play with the release settings on Ozone, they sound very different.

After that, I'll put the EQ on mid/side and tweak, because a lot of times the limiter will make your mix brighter (at least on ozone). I'll try to get it to where nothing is hurting your ears, etc. Just small small adjustments here, like 1-2 dB cuts. Only boost if you have to.

ozone and others are good bandaid solutions or starting points, but you really should just take some time and read up on compression and limiting techniques and find your own way, or use these as a guide to see what it "should" or "could" sound like, then do things to add your own touch

"I tend to bypass the EQ, Mastering Reverb and Loudness Maximiser and just roll with the Multiband Harmonic Exciter, Multiband Dynamics and Multiband Stereo Imaging. "

great example of using a "all in one solution" to get a starting point and then further shaping it to suit your needs.......i know a lot of people that use these kind of plugs for a starting point and then further shape it to get what they want.

" It's also important to have some kind of analyser plugin at the end of the chain so you can see how far you are pushing your levels."

PAZ analyzer is great for this - sometimes you need to see what you cant hear.

"When you are happy with one track, save your plugin chain as a preset and the rest of the project should fall into place with minimal tweaking"

this guy just saved you hours. Save them, then you always have a guide, and f you get a good chain you like, it can be recalled with a click.



Another technique is to do it manually, with either automation or careful mixing, ie

make your kick drum the same volume across all tracks, same with bass etc.
adjusting volumes should work well enough, and something people overlook is tracking.

When you track nothing should be going over -6db (DAW monitor) which would of probably help in getting more consistent levels across the project too....

drunkmonkey5556 wrote:Will the spectrum analyzer make it clear how loud everything is?

If you use something like the PAZ Anylyzer you will start to see where the peak levels flatten off. It's best to avoid that.

Use a commercial track as a guide, or a track that you're happy with the overall loudness and EQ response, and roll with that.

If you're in any doubt, feel free to fire over one of the tracks via PM and I'll have a look at it.

peeping tom wrote:ozone and others are good bandaid solutions or starting points, but you really should just take some time and read up on compression and limiting techniques and find your own way, or use these as a guide to see what it "should" or "could" sound like, then do things to add your own touch

The Fabfilter Pro-L has gotten some great reviews. I plan on making the switch from Ozone once I get a little $$$....also plan on buying the Manley Mastering EQ from UAD to replace the Ozone EQ.
http://www.fabfilter.com/products/pro-l ... er-plug-in

I still getting my head around 'master' plugs - I was using waves API2500 and getting results I was happy with, but my next step is trying out Sonnox Limiter and Voxengo Elephant as I reg hear good things about them.

mixing into whatever you use from early on is how I've been doing it.

I don't think you need any of what people mention. Sure I use some mastering compression, but shit you don't need a whole mastering suite to export a beat properly.

A lot of times, I'll use a master compressor with a very deep threshold like below -20db with a very light ratio for glue. Adaptive release would add even more glue. This keep dynamics but can give you that radio fullness. I really like what it does to bass lines too.

Seriously you don't need anymore than a master bus compressor for a good bounce on a beat, after EQing/compressing individual tracks of course.

Not to beef with anyones opinions, it just seemed like dude wanted a simple answer then people start busting out harmonic exciters and shit, multiband compression. If you put multiband stuff on your mixes without knowing what your doing, YOU WILL RUIN YOUR SONGS.