What to and not to put on a master bus??

[Pedro Sánchez]

Master clipper-card machines.
fuck off it's a joke, for the older uk heads only.

[Sharmaji]

Hahaha - yeah, I love it. You and I tend to have similar tastes in compressors ... so I think you would find quite a few uses for this bad bwoy.

word. i'm still enjoying the stillwell bombardier on the master... will have to get to a/b'ing sometime soon...

[Killamike49]

I stick maximus on there with dialed back settings. I always turn it off when mixing elements though. I kinda feel like i'm cheating when i use it, but it's the same as if i compressed, limited, and panned it myself, just in one UI.

[Tracks To Wax]

I've heard compression is a big no on the master but that surely can't be true?

You can lose dynamic range, raise noise etc (depending on the compressor and how it is used).

[Primitiv]

Hey everyone,

What sort of effects should i be placing on the master channel, as in EQ or maximising, or stereo widening?

Thx.

[Hircine]

Nothing if we are talking mixing. For mastering, bounce it down to audio with plenty headroom left and apply smooth compression / harmonic exciting maybe and a limiter, nothing too drastic if you (like me) don't know much about mastering.

[Njamimars]

Sometimes Ozone.

[wub]

A couple of recent threads that might be helpful;

What to and not to put on a master bus?? - http://www.dubstepforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=235699
Putting an eq on the master channel - http://www.dubstepforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=247437
Throwing Maximus / Ozone on the Master - very wrong? - http://www.dubstepforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=245402

[boko91]

In Logic I put a gain plug to check my mix in mono, A multimter to check stereo image, peaks and frequency content accross the whole spectrum, a -25 eq cut and probably a tape emulation plug

[Primitiv]

Nothing if we are talking mixing. For mastering, bounce it down to audio with plenty headroom left and apply smooth compression / harmonic exciting maybe and a limiter, nothing too drastic if you (like me) don't know much about mastering.

So just to get this right mixing is done before mastering?
And mixing is just making sure everything sounds good together and are at the correct levels?

[ehbes]

db blue glitch

[hudson]

Nothing if we are talking mixing. For mastering, bounce it down to audio with plenty headroom left and apply smooth compression / harmonic exciting maybe and a limiter, nothing too drastic if you (like me) don't know much about mastering.

So just to get this right mixing is done before mastering?
And mixing is just making sure everything sounds good together and are at the correct levels?

Yeah pretty much. You shouldn't even be thinking about mastering yet If you have to ask that though. It's a very delicate art

[wub]

db blue glitch

I think everyone goes through that phase...usually 5mins or so after installing it

[sketchyderek]

sometimes an eq with a low cut to get rumble and a really high cut to get the nasties.
and I mix into a limiter until I mixdown.


and one time i put dada life's sausage fattener on, but don't tell anyone.

[laurend]

Nothing if we are talking mixing. For mastering, bounce it down to audio with plenty headroom

When mastering, the following chain should fit 99% of what is needed:

- EQ > cuts (optional)
- Compressor > glue + few dB gain (optional)
- EQ > boosts (optional)
- Limiter > few dB gain

[SKIN E]

db blue glitch

Haha, when I started out I always put quite a heavy reverb on my master, thinking it made it sound much more magical? Much use of db glitch at that time too, what a magical plugin that was..


On a serious note, I only put a bit of EQ and compression on my master, usually mix while I make the song, so the end mix is is usually what I am happy with anyway

[IELMusic94]

I find mixing into a little bit of EQ, some subtle saturation or distortion and a little bit of compression is a good way to go. It adds a little more colour to the mixdown without taking away much of the dynamics, win-win!

[laurend]

I find mixing into a little bit of EQ, some subtle saturation or distortion and a little bit of compression is a good way to go. It adds a little more colour to the mixdown without taking away much of the dynamics, win-win!

EQ and saturation have no relationship with the dynamics.

[Sharmaji]

^actually since saturation rounds off peaks, it definitely does affect dynamics. distortion is the world's best limiter.

lately i've been putting the CLA76, in unity-gain-mode, on the 2buss of things that need that extra bit of magic. doesn't "do" anything, the needles don't move, but makes things sound that extra 2% better.

i do mix into the stillwell bombardier more often than not, usually aiming for 2-3db off the top. Sometimes it gets bypassed, and sometimes it gets hit MUCH harder. depends on the song but i like having the option; some mixes need as much glue as you can possibly give them, and some are so vibey that you've gotta work to get definition at every step.

[Medway Studios]

Main thing would be a good quality limiter so you can get an idea of how the mix will sound once mastered. Aim for 4db or so there so it's not over done. That will be a good guide for the mixdown as if the mix isn't loud enough then it's usually down to the sounds/arrangement etc..

I'd stay away from enhancers, do that type of work in the mix itself.

A little but of compression on the mix to glue it can be good too.

Just nothing too drastic so that mix decisions are being dealt with on the master instead of where they should be, in the mix.