Music Tech Focus - Mastering Volume 4

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INCLUDING OVER 2 HOURS OF VIDEO TUTORIALS
MASTERING VOLUME 4 ALL NEW TECHNIQUES FOR YOUR PROJECT STUDIO
ALL NEW TECHNIQUES FOR YOUR PROJECT STUDIO
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YOUR ULTIMATE
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132
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MusicTech Focus: Mastering Vol 4
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From mixdown to airplay the complete guide

15 essential tutorials on every major DAW
Insider tricks from professionals at the top of their trade
The best hardware and software rounded up
25 pro tips for compression and audio editing
Mastering in... Logic | Cubase | Reason | Pro Tools | Live | And more
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Welcome MTF
Welcome
Mastering: that part of the music production process that takes your
track on a journey, from being a good mix to a great-sounding
commercial release. At one time it was a dark art, a hidden process
talked about only by those in the know. But increased computer power
and decreased software prices have brought the huge benefits of
mastering to within easy reach of project studio owners. The message is
clear: with a few readily available tools and a little guidance, you too can
make your music productions stand side by side with the best.
And for that guidance you need look no further than this very magazine. In this special issue of Music
Tech Focus weve got mastering tutorials
for every major music production DAW,
so whatever your core software, there is
something here for you. Then there are
videos from the pros demoing their
techniques, in-depth workshops on the
major production processes, plus
super-quick guides to some of the more
creative techniques available its not all about loudness and EQ, some of the side effects that you get
from the mastering process are truly inspiring.
And if you are lacking the tools to give mastering a go, dont worry. Weve included round-ups of the best
commercially available hardware and software and, if you are short on funds, weve even provided a guide
to getting and using the best freeware dedicated to mastering.
So there really is no excuse for poor sounding releases any more and using this special Music Tech
Focus could enhance your productions for ever. If you think your
music sounds good now, just imagine how great it will sound after
absorbing whats on offer over the following pages
You too can make your

music productions stand side
by side with the best
Paul Pettengale Editorial Director

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FOCUS Mastering Volume 4
|3
MTF Contents
Issue 27
Mastering Volume 4
YOUR ULTIMATE
GUIDE TO SOUND
LIKE THE PROS
From mixdown to airplay the complete guide 15 essential tutorials

on every major DAW Insider tricks from pros at the top of their trade
The best hardware and software rounded up 25 pro tips for
compression and audio editing And much, much more
Workshops
Walkthroughs
p126
p06
p24
p60
p120
p84
p50
p109
4 | Mastering Volume 4
FOCUS
Contents MTF
MTF Technique
MTF Pro Tips
MTF Issue 27 Full listings

006 | Workshop
Dynamics processing
010 | Workshop
M/S processing
Minute
Master
Mastering equalisation
Restoring the balance p88
25 tips for
Mastering
Compression p28
Audio editing p72
014 | Studio Technique

Contemporary mastering
024 | Step-by-Step
Mastering with Ableton Live
028 | 25 Pro Tips for
Compression
032 | Interview Miles Showell
037 | Step-by-Step
Mastering with Cubase
Round-ups
Software
Plug-ins and effects p92
042 | Ten Minute Master

Key gating
045 | Step-by-Step
Mastering with Ozone 5
050 | Workshop
Mastering with TrackS 3
054 | Step-by-Step
Audio analysis
060 | Workshop
Mastering with Logic Pro
Hardware
For sheer sonic quality p76
064 | Interview Stuart Hawkes

068 | Workshop
Ozone 5s Meter Bridge
072 | 25 Pro Tips for
Audio editing
076 | Round-up Hardware
Tuition
The best courses p124
080 | Step-by-Step
Mastering with WaveLab
084 | Workshop
Mastering with Pro Tools 10
Mastering EQ
092 | Round-up Software
MTF Interview
Stuart
Hawkes
MTF Technique
Masterclass
Todays engineers
have to take a holistic
approach p14
Its a lot more

about getting it
right for the digital
formats nowp64
096 | Step-by-Step
Mastering for free
102 | Interview Dan Austin
Inter-sample peaks
109 | Step-by-Step
Mastering with SONAR X2
114 | Studio Technique
From mixdown to airplay
120 | Step-by-Step
The soundstage
124 | Round-up Tuition
126 | Workshop
Mastering with Reason 6.5
129 | Next Issue Mixing
130 | Whats on your MTF DVD
|5
MTF Workshop Dynamics Processing
Dynamics Processing Workshop
Dynamics
processing
On the disc
The art of dynamics processing lies at the very heart

of mastering, but what exactly does that mean?
Hollin Jones reveals all
astering isnt quite as complex a process

as you might imagine, but even though it
involves a relatively small number of
tools, its as much an art as it is a
science. The fundamental elements of
the mastering process are dynamics and equalization,
sometimes with some tape saturation or stereo
widening thrown in as well. Other tools, like exciters or
maximizers, fall broadly under the scope of dynamics
and EQ; they just have different names. A lot of people
will be working with software plug-ins to process their
tracks and others with hardware, though whichever
tools you use, the fundamental principles are the same.
The two dynamics processors you will use when you
are mastering are compression and limiting; both
change the peak to average ratio of music as well as
reducing dynamic range in the audio that passes
through them. Since compression comes first in the
signal chain and limiting always last, lets look at
compression first.
PRO TIP
Some developers produce
suites of dynamics tools that
are designed to work as one.
The Dynamics component of
iZotopes Ozone 5 system for
example contains a limiter,
gate and multiband
compressor amongst other
tools and can be loaded as a
single plug-in on a track to
take care of all your mastering
dynamics needs. Of course you
can activate or deactivate any
processing section and just
use the ones you want.
Compression
Plug-in compressors can be broadly divided into those
that have contemporary designs and those that are
modelled on vintage compressors. Where you need the
compression to feature prominently as an effect (rather
than just for dynamic control) you will find that
vintage-style compression plug-ins tend to produce the
quickest and most effective results. 1
One difference between vintage compression
plug-ins can be found in their relative response times,
making their effectiveness often tied to specific sounds.
A slow-response, optical compressor plug-in such as
Universal Audios LA-2A will often deliver excellent
results on bass or vocals, for example, but might
struggle on more transient-heavy material like drums.
Using a more contemporary compressor, like SSLs
X-Comp, opens up a greater range of compression
effects, as well as the ability to control dynamic range
in a more subtle and transparent way, which is often
preferable when mastering. 2 These types of
compressors deliver some particularly good results on
low ratio settings (in the region of 1.5:1 to 2:1) coupled
with a low threshold, providing a quality of delicate and
transparent gain control that can be difficult to
establish on a vintage plug-in.
Another interesting feature of the X-Comp in
particular is the unique Bleed Through parameters,
which allows a part of the HF and LF signal to pass
Vintage modelled and newer compressors offer a

different kind of sound and also have different sets
of features, depending on what it is youre after.
FOCUS
Dynamics Processing Workshop MTF
5
4
Some master buss

compression during the
mixdown stage can reduce the
need to compress to add
coherence at the mastering
stage.
The two dynamics processors

you will use when mastering are
compression and limiting
uncompressed, allowing elements like kick drums and
cymbals to breathe through a heavy dose of
compression, for example.
Master buss
Although producers generally recommend that you
consider mastering to be a completely separate process
to mixing, it can still be desirable to apply some master
buss compression during mixdown, which should mean
that less compression is required at the mastering
stage. Its also handy for listening back prior to
mastering, to ensure that the track isnt too quiet.
To add a little punch to your mixdown, try strapping a
buss compressor like Duendes Buss Compressor, or
Waves SSL G-Master Buss Compressor, or even the
Master Buss Compressor in the mixer of Reason 6
across your main stereo outputs. 3 Keep the settings
relatively light to avoid pushing the output too much,
but leave enough to just give the mix a little extra punch,
even a slight pumping effect. On the SSL buss
compressor, for example, try using the lowest ratio and
raise the threshold just high enough to shave off about
2-4dB of the top of the mix.
The idea with this kind of pre-mastering dynamic
treatment is to create an extra sense of loudness
without affecting the general feel and character of your
mix too much. Avoid any heavy equalisation or
multiband compression, which can skew the sonic
balance dramatically, and opt for simple, tried and
tested sweetening techniques. Equalization could be as
simple as a bass rolloff at 30-40Hz (just to keep the
bottom end under control) and 1-2dB of EQ at 70Hz and
12kHz. Other buss sweetening processors, like Sonnoxs
Inflator, can also help give the mix slightly more impact
and body 4 although its really the Brick Wall Limiter
set to around 4-6dB of additional gain, depending on
your existing dynamic range, that adds the most
noticeable level boost when you actually come to the
full mastering stage.
PRO TIP
Saturation effects can also be
applied at the mastering
stage, though these must be
used carefully so as not to
colour the sound more than
you intended. Yamaha and
Steinbergs Vintage Open Deck
is a good example of a tape
emulation plug-in that can
add warmth and very slight
fluctuation to the signal, if
thats something that youre
after. Theres even a virtual
tape speed and the
option to
choose
old or new
tape.
Be sympathetic
When you get to the mastering stage and are trying to
set up your compressor, the settings you use will of
course depend on the nature of the track you are
working with. On the whole though you should probably
be aiming for a relatively gentle compression effect,
unless your music is really heavy electronica or rock.
Load up a compressor here we are using FabFilters
Pro-C and then find the right general threshold where
compression starts to kick in, with a relatively high ratio
and fast release time. 5
Make sure the gain reduction meter bounces as the
peaks in the signal occur, if your model has old style VU
meters. Then drop the ratio down to a very low setting
and put the release time to about 250ms to start. Its
then a matter of fine tuning the attack, release and ratio
controls, and potentially tweaking the Threshold as
well, until you get the right kind of balance. 6 Ideally
you want to set the threshold somewhere in between
the lower and higher dynamics. Too low a threshold will
simply have the effect of capturing everything and
|7
MTF Workshop Dynamics Processing
7
Multiband
compressors can
help home in on
problems within
mixed down files,
while many
compressors come
with presets for
different genres.
compressing it, as will too high a ratio. The aim is to

keep some dynamic range in the signal and thus retain
a more natural effect.
Multi band compression

If a single band compressor isnt cutting it, consider
using a multiband model. You can sometimes use little
or no compression on the higher frequencies, as they
have a tendency to naturally cut through a mix anyway.
Its the mid and lower frequencies that usually need to
One great tip is to load up a

couple of audio files and compare
their waveform displays
have punch and power added and, by identifying which
elements of a track live in which frequency ranges, you
can accurately compress the bottom and middle parts
of a sound, for example, while leaving the top end
relatively untouched. 7
You will probably also figure out that multiband
compression is a clever way to cheat and alter the mix
of a file that has already been mixed down. By
identifying where instruments and sounds exist in the
frequency range you can compress them more or less
heavily and use makeup gain controls in many cases to
change their relative levels, even in a stereo file.
Combined with EQ, the effect of this can be even more

pronounced. Be careful however not to over-compress
or indeed to get the compression settings wrong. You
might end up with a track that sounds punchy but has
lost all its transient impact as the quieter and louder
parts of the signal have been made more equal in
volume and the dynamic range has been lost.
The kind of compression you use will depend on the
music youre working with. Scrolling through the presets
on your software compressor or your mastering suite
should reveal a pretty clear picture of what settings
work best for different genres. Presets for hip hop, rock
and dance for example will all compress relatively
heavily, and anything targeted at chart pop probably
even more than that. 8 For classical, folk or jazz you
will want to use a far gentler treatment. One great tip is
to load up a couple of audio files, one something
modern and heavy and one something older and more
mellow, and compare their waveform displays. The older
track will almost certainly be far quieter and the newer
one much louder and more heavily compressed, a result
of the loudness wars and a modern tendency to
over-compress and limit these are things to be aware
of when mastering. 9
Theres another factor that influences how you use
dynamics during mastering. You can find that music
that has been produced mostly or even entirely in the
box using plug-in instruments already sounds pretty
heavily compressed. This can be because it has never
actually seen the light of day. It was generated, recorded
10
9
11
Compare old and new tracks to get an idea of

how mastering has changed over the years.
This increase in loudness has been caused by
more limiter use and nowadays limiters also
come with plenty of transparent presets.
FOCUS
Dynamics Processing Workshop MTF
12
14
13
Add a little drive to add some volume, while

Soft Knee limiting only takes effect at a
certain threshold.
and mixed inside a computer. Many

software synths and drum machines also
have compressors as part of their
onboard effects chains so they may
already have compression applied, even
if you werent aware of it. Real
instruments on the other hand are
entirely free of compression, unless it is
added manually. So a guitar and vocal
track for example would be completely
dry until you added processing manually.
Limiting
The other type of dynamic processing
used during mastering is limiting.
Limiters are designed to change the
sound as little as possible and simply to
make it louder. As such they come at the
end of the mastering chain and are actually
relatively simple to use, though some have only a few
controls and some offer more options. Here for example
is FabFilters Pro-L. 10
To reiterate, compression is used to add punch and
strength to the character of a sound; limiting is used to
increase its overall volume and make it suitable to be
sent out into the world. One of the most commonly
asked questions in music production is why someones
track doesnt sound as loud as commercially produced
material. Aside from the money that has been spent on
commercial tracks, the answer is almost always that
your track hasnt been through a limiter. Maybe it hasnt
been through mastering compression or EQ either, but
here were talking about limiting.
With a fast attack time and a relatively fast release
setting, limiting can sound pretty transparent to the
ears. Indeed, some software limiters make a point of
having transparent presets. 11 Many limiters are
single band but some, particularly those from Waves,
work on multiple bands. Although these are much more
powerful and flexible they also bring the potential to
overcomplicate or mess up the mastering process, in a
similar way to how multiband compressors can make
your life more difficult rather than simpler if you dont
know what youre doing.
Limiters basically consist of a few controls. The
output level or ceiling is the setting that determines
where the signal is limited and, since the goal of
mastering is to get as close to 0dB as possible without
PRO TIP
Most leading DAWs support
some form of track preset, or
channel strip preset that can
containing a chain of plug-ins
complete with settings. These
can be a great way to use the
plug-ins that come with your
DAW to create mastering
setups rather than having to
necessarily invest in
third-party processing suites.
Of course if you do buy extra
plug-ins these can be used as
part of the chains as well.
going over it, this is typically set to around

-0.1dB or slightly lower. 12 The input drive
or gain control (there are different names
used in different models) is where you
choose how much to drive the input signal.
Driven a little, you can add some volume
and power to a signal; driven a lot, you will
squash or crush it so that the level meters
are almost constantly squeezed up around
the -0.1dB mark. The idea behind limiting is
that the signal does not exceed this level.
By pushing the signal you will achieve
greater volume but progressively lose
dynamic range as the input is driven harder
and harder. Like a compressor, a limiter
reduces the differences between quieter
and louder parts of the signal, though it
does it in a more transparent way. So what
you should be aiming for is some drive and
a good, solid level, but without crushing or
distorting the signal. The limiter will
prevent clipping but its still possible to drive it too hard
and squeeze the life out of it. Many limiters have a
lookahead option which can scan ahead into the signal
by a few milliseconds and analyse the file for upcoming
peaks, adjusting itself to deal with them accordingly
and resulting in more accurate overall limiting. 13 Some
also have a Soft or Hard Knee option. Soft Knee limiting
means that limiting only kicks in when the signal
reaches the threshold, and the transition to full limiting
is nonlinear, producing a softer, less abrupt effect and
reducing distortion artefacts that can be produced by
hard limiting. 14
The most important thing to remember when using
dynamic processing during limiting is to be sympathetic
to your material. Its easy to process the life out of a
track with todays software plug-ins but that doesnt
mean you should. The loudness wars have been made
possible by the prevalence of compressors and limiters
available to more or less anyone making music, but
there is now something of a renaissance for the idea of
letting music breathe, or at least there is in some
circles. Compress to add punch and weight but not to
pump, unless you are working on heavy dance music.
Limit to add volume and signal strength, but not to
completely flatten the sound and drain it of all
character. Follow these basic rules and your masters
should come out sounding just great. MTF
|9
MTF Workshop M/S Processing
M/S Processing Workshop
Understanding
M/S Processing
On the disc
Utilizing M/S processing could revolutionize your

mastering workflow, as well as adding punch and
definition to your music. Mark Cousins explains
In essence, Mid/Side is a different way of carrying

and representing a stereo signal, formed from the
phantom centre sum of the left and right channels (the
L and R channels summed to mono, in other words), and
the difference between the left and right channels,
conveniently referred to as the Side channel. Audibly,
the differentiation between the centre and the sides of
a mix makes sense, as most lead instruments will
reside in the Mid channel, while the Side channel will
contain the width and detail of the mix. In short, M/S is
a musical division, rather than the dividing line
approach of L/R stereo.
ore than any other part of the

production process, mastering has
embraced the techniques and
possibilities brought about through the
application of M/S processing. Put
simply, M/S processing offers an illuminating new way
of perceiving and modifying the stereo imagery of a
signal, allowing you to dissect a track in ways you might
have previously thought impossible. Used correctly, M/S
can add punch and definition to your masters whether
you are tightening up a flabby low end, for example, or
adding a greater sense of spaciousness and expanse to
your music. 1
M/S basics
Given that most mastering engineers are presented
with a simple two-track audio file, you can see why they
would want to develop a number of devious ways to
dissect a track. Principally speaking, a mastering
engineer has three techniques at their disposal. First, of
course, they can choose to separate a mix into Left and
Right components, which is sometimes useful for the
purposes of applying EQ, but is generally of little benefit
otherwise. Secondly, and more productively, a track can
be sliced laterally, forming a series of distinct and
separate frequency bands using a multiband
compressor. The third, and final, dissection tool at the
mastering engineers disposal is that of Mid/Side
stereo, a term generally abbreviated to M/S.
Enter the matrix
PRO TIP
Even if you have a proper
two-channel compressor to
hand, youll still need to check
its configuration before you
start processing in M/S.
Usually this involves unlinking
the two channels so that the
controls run independently,
and activating the twochannel mono mode.
Having understood the fundamentals of M/S, lets now

look at some techniques we can apply it to in a typical
DAW. The key to M/S processing is a simple Encoding/
Decoding matrix plug-in, which you can either download
as freeware (take a look at Voxengos MSED), or buy in a
dedicated form, like Brainworxs bx_control V2.
As a start, therefore, try instantiating a simple M/S
Encoder/Decoder across the audio file included on the
DVD, or one of your own choosing. Try soloing the
different components Mid and Side and listen to
what youre hearing in each channel. In particular,
notice how centre-panned mono instruments (like the
acoustic bass) disappear in the Side channels, as well
as the other pronounced differences between the
instrumentation across the two channels. 1
Whats interesting now is if we want to start
processing in the M/S domain, which is easy enough,
assuming that any subsequent plug-ins feature
discrete two-channel operation (in other words,
1
2
Importantly, M/S processing doesnt necessitate a

completely different set of plug-ins, just a few additional tools
to facilitate moving in and out of the M/S dimension.
FOCUS
M/S Processing Workshop MTF
Once separated into Mid and Side components, the individual channels of your two-channel compressor
become independent controls for their respective part of the stereo soundstage.
separate controls for each channel of processing). In

this first example were going to place a compressor
after the M/S matrix, ensuring that its output is set to
M/S mode. Rather than receiving a L/R signal, therefore,
the compressor is now working with the Mid and Side
channels respectively. 2
To correctly hear the results of our M/S compression,
we need to return the output of the compressor back
into L/R stereo. To do this, place a second instance of
the M/S Encoder/Decoder plug-in on the output of the
compressor, this time setting its input format to M/S
and its output format to L/R. In theory, of course, we
could insert any number of plug-ins into our M/S matrix,
as long as the last plug-in in the chain returns the M/S
signal back into its L/R form. 3
Midlife crisis
The key to the application of signal processing in the
M/S domain is to differentiate between the types of
sound present in each channel. For example, try adding
some compression to the Mid channel to see how it
affects the presentation of the mix. Adding compression
to the Mid channel directs the gain reduction towards
principle lead instruments as well as the bass end of
the mix. Even small amounts of compression can really
help the drive and focus of the master, giving some
extra sonic energy to an important part of the stereo
soundstage. Harder compression, of course, benefits
from less high-end pumping artefacts, as these signals
tend to reside more extensively in the Side channel. 4
Side channel compression, of course, changes the
width and detail within the master, often enhancing
small details that often get drowned by the relative
prominence of a Mid Channel. Instruments panned past
3 oclock and 9 oclock get a pleasing lift, and youll also
notice the reverberant qualities of the recording being
marginally enhanced. If the Side channel is devoid of
bass, youll also find that Side channel compression
sounds proportionately smother, as all too often the low
end dictates the amount of compression applied when
in standard L/R mode. 5
PRO TIP
The Fairchild 670 was
originally designed for both
stereo and M/S compression.
In the case of the Fairchild
670, the M/S mode is
labelled Lat/Vert, mainly
as a throwback to the
days of cutting music to
vinyl. The Lat section
represents the Mid,
while the Vert covers the
Side.
at what you can achieve with a dedicated M/S equalizer

in this case, the Brainworx bx_digital V2. Setting up
the equalizer is suitably straightforward in that the M/S
matrix is built in, so we dont need to do anything more
than instantiate the plug-in. 6
Of all M/S processing activities, Id argue that M/S
equalization is one of the most beneficial areas to
explore, mainly because of the clear distinction
between instruments residing in the Mid and Side
channel respectively. Soloing the Mid channel, for
example, we can instantly direct EQ towards the main
instruments featured in the mix instruments like
bass, vocals and the snare without fear that well
affect other constituent parts. This directed approach
means you can add a pleasing presence lift to the vocal,
for example, without making the hi-hats too edgy, or
boost the bass end without cluttering the bottom end of
the mix. 7
EQing the Side channel of the mix is a good
opportunity to look at the tightness of the low end in
your mix. To create a powerful and focused low end,
accepted wisdom dictates that the bass be firmly
planted in the centre of your soundstage, with little or
no stereo information. Using a sharp bass roll off,
therefore, or some steep low shelving on the Side
channel wont make your master bass-light, but instead
ensure that the bass is carried predominantly through
the Mid channel. In effect, therefore, your adjustments
Side line
As weve seen, you can use a standard two-channel
equalizer in the current matrix for the application of
M/S equalization, but in this example were going to look
| 11
MTF Workshop M/S Processing
7
8
9
The application of EQ really shines under M/S,

allowing you to tighten up the bass end of the mix,
or add a touch of air to the Sides.
are balancing both frequency characteristics and issues

of stereo width, making M/S equalization a particularly
powerful tool. 8
Dedicated M/S
Looking at a dedicated M/S equalizer, its interesting to
note some of the specialized features brought about
through the fact that the plug-in is processing in M/S.
One of the best and most immediate features of the
bx_digital V2 is the Mono Maker control, which monos
the mix beneath a given frequency value. In theory, the
Mono Maker a similar tool to what you could
conceivably create using some strategic Side channel
equalization, although in theory it leaves the Side
channel EQ free for other equalization activities. 9
Another useful feature is the De-Esser, which has
individual controls for both the Mid and Side channels
respectively. De-essing can be difficult to apply to a
two-track master, largely because of the other signals
that can occur in the frequency range of sibilance
(around 6kHz, in other words). Although the De-essing
tames the vocal sibilance, it also attacks instruments in
that frequency area, so that hi-hats and cymbals start
to be noticeably modulated. Given that the vocal
principally resides in the Mid channel, though, we can
push the De-Esser relatively hard without fear that our
modifications will affect the entirety of the mix. 10
Ozone layer
As an interesting example of just how far you can go
with M/S processing, its worth taking a more detailed
look at iZotopes Ozone 5. Since version 4 of Ozone, you

can either work in Stereo mode, where multiband signal
processing is applied to the L/R channels concurrently;
and M/S mode, where signal processing is applied both
on a band-by-band basis, but also between Mid and
Side channels. As one example, therefore, you could
apply compression to the low frequency band, but only
direct this to the all important Mid channel, leaving the
Side channel untouched. 11
Moving over to some of Ozones other signal
processing sections, you can see the potential that an
additional M/S mode offers. The Reverb module, for
example, can have a distinct bias towards adding reverb
to the Side channel, adding spaciousness without
cluttering the principle instruments in the mix. Likewise,
the Exciter, which does a good job enhancing the low
end with some added saturation, can have its sound
applied in a more directed manner in this case, only
adding the desired reinforcement to the Mid channel. 12
The M/S universe

Having lived in a world of left/right stereo for so long, its
easy to dismiss M/S as a gimmick. In truth, however,
M/S offers both a radical new way of processing audio
and an illuminating new view on the world of stereo,
allowing you to better comprehend the stereo
soundstage your music resides in. Understand the
power of M/S, and youll unlock and new level of
dimensionality and flexibility in your mastering,
demonstrating why M/S is one of the best kept secrets
of the mastering profession. MTF
10
Ozones M/S processing offers

an unprecedented amount of
control over your master,
arguably delivering eight
separate compressors
covering four frequency bands
each with individual Mid and
Side components.
11
FOCUS
12
PROFESSIONAL MASTERING SOFTWARE
www.sonorissoftware.com
MTF Feature Contemporary mastering
MTF Masterclass Studio Technique
Contemporary
MASTERING
Mastering is often thought of as little more than a final gloss of EQ, compression and
limiting, but there are plenty of tasks beyond these that are required of the modern
mastering engineer. Mike Hillier explores the world of todays mastering
rogress in the mastering world moves at a glacial

pace. While mix engineers will often look for new
tools and techniques to experiment with in the
hope that they can create and define a new sound,
mastering engineers are more concerned with
consistent quality. The goal of mastering is not to stamp a
track with any sonic signature through the use of any new
technique, but simply to use the tools at your disposal to
ensure that a mix sounds as good as possible, and to ensure
that each track on an album has a uniform level and quality,
Mastering engineers have to

take a holistic approach to
everything they are working on
so listeners arent having to reach for the volume control at
the start of each new track. This uniformity applies not only
to the overall volume level of each track, but also to the
stereo width and the frequency spectrum across the tracks,
ensuring that no one track is significantly brighter or
darker than another, and that the amount of bass energy
remains consistent from one track to the next. Of course,
there are always artistic reasons why level or frequency
might need to change perhaps you dont want as much
bass on the acoustic solo track in the middle of a rock record
as the big anthem track but you will still want a
FOCUS
Contemporary mastering Feature MTF
| 15
A4_print.indd 2
3/12/12 2:15 PM
MTF Step-by-Step Referencing tracks in Pro Tools
Bring up your mix for mastering in the

first channel and add two or more
subsequent tracks containing your
reference material. Add a Master channel for
your main outputs.
01
Add any processing to the channel inserts

of the track you are mastering, keeping
the reference channels clean. You could
choose to put an analysis plug-in of some
description over the master channel, as long as
it isnt effecting the audio.
02
In the Options dropdown menu go to

Solo Mode and select X-OR. Now every
time you hit the solo button on a new channel
any previously soloed channels will come out
of solo mode, enabling you to quickly flick
through the channels without having to mute
and solo each one.
03
consistency that will enable the listener to enjoy

the record as a whole without needing to get up and
change any settings.
To achieve consistency, mastering engineers have
to take a holistic approach to everything they are
working on, paying attention not only to how a track
sounds itself, but also to how it sounds against other
tracks on the album and even how it compares with
tracks from the same genre. It is this that has led to
the problem of the Loudness War, with engineers
being asked to push tracks louder and louder to
out-do the competition. It is something to be avoided,
include completed tracks as references when

working on each new one. You neednt include every
completed track things might get out of hand
towards the end of larger album projects but by
including at least the first and most recent tracks
you will know that you arent allowing small changes
to creep in throughout an album, and that your
current track compares well to the previous one
(which is what the listener will notice most
immediately). In the case of the acoustic track or
other slightly different tracks you will probably
want to include one or two other reference tracks.
The Chili Peppers Im With You

was the first album to be marketed
as mastered for iTunes
From vinyl to mp3
though, as pushing the level higher requires reducing

the dynamic range, which in turn can introduce
distortion and reduce the dramatic punch of
transient material like drums.
This idea of mastering in context is one of the
most important concepts. Most mastering engineers
will start a project by loading two or three similar
tracks by other artists (and perhaps even one or two
older tracks by the same artist) into their own
channel in the DAW to compare to the track currently
being mastered. Its important to run these channels
out of the DAW clean, so any processing youre
adding is being added only to the channel containing
the track being mastered and not to the master buss,
where it will also process the comparison tracks. You
will end up chasing your tail, adding more and more
of the effect to catch up with the additional
processing on the comparison tracks.
By comparing your master with similar
commercial masters you can ensure that your track
is going to sit well when played alongside these and
other similar tracks. However, most important of all
is ensuring that your tracks sit well alongside each
other; as you progress on a project, be sure to
While mastering houses might not change their

equipment or working methods very often, changes
in distribution technology can force some
reappraisal. Music mastered for vinyl, for example,
has to be re-mastered for CD due to the very
MTF Pro Technique The Loudness War

Much has been said about the Loudness War and the damaging effect it has had
on music, but one aspect that is often overlooked is how by avoiding the
Loudness War altogether you can make your music stand out from the crowd.
Radio stations turn squashed material down and dynamic material up
automatically to ensure a level output. The Sound Check function in iTunes and
iPods does the same. At the same perceived output level the more dynamic
track is going to have considerably more punch
and depth, and will
therefore have
more impact on
the listener than
the squashed
dynamics of
the Loudness
War victim.
Victims of the Loudness
War often display
square-wave
distortion, whereby
transients have been
chopped off at the top
to raise the overall level.
| 17
E V E
A U D I O
B E R L I N G E R M A N Y
T H E
www.nova-distribution.co.uk
sales@nova-distribution.co.uk
+44 (0)20 3589 2530
WWW.EVE-AUDIO.COM
"[...] They have plenty of detail and the

fact that the response is even from low
levels right up to their surprisingly
punchy version of loud means you
could mix on them very happily. Factor in
the price and you've got two speakers
punching well above their weight.
Roland Stenz certainly knows a thing or
two about loudspeaker design."
Stuart Bruce, Future Music Magazine
N E X T
"[...] Two things stand out from the o:

nicely controlled, clear bass, and a
remarkably open and deep sound stage.
With natural acoustic recordings you get
a real sense of the recording space."
Huw Price, MusicTech Magazine
S T E P
"[...] I've had a pair of SC205s set up

beside my usual Near elds and I've
found them to be easy to listen to with a
neutral tone that doesn't wear your ears
out during long sessions...
Due to their size the SC205s will probably
be best suited to home/project studios
but they could also be used by
professional studios in small rooms, as
part of surround or mobile setups, or for
music playback installations."
Mark Woods, AudioTechnology Magazine
different qualities of the two mediums. This is

why many early CDs are now being
remastered, as the CD master was often
rushed or done using equipment designed for
vinyl mastering. When mastering for vinyl,
the fades and gaps need to be predetermined
and cut into the lacquer; in the case of CD
masters, the gaps and fades are edited in
the mastering DAW along with PQ points,
which determine where the track
markers will fall. With PQ editing it is
even possible to place audio before a
track, as was popular for a while
for hiding tracks before the start
of track one on a CD.
The switch from CD to mp3/
AAC distribution isnt causing
the same degree of difficulty
for the industry, but that
doesnt mean companies arent
trying to get ahead of the game
with tracks specifically mastered for
this format. The Red Hot Chili Peppers Im
With You was the first album to be marketed as
mastered for iTunes. This meant that as well as
producing the vinyl and CD masters, mastering
engineer Vlado Meller produced a separate AAC
master from the original high-resolution mixes
instead of simply converting the CD master into AAC
files, which is the usual procedure. The intention is
provide an experience thats closer to listening to
the 16-bit CD when youre actually listening to the
lossy AAC format.
To improve your AAC masters youre going to
need to know what the encoding and decoding is
doing to your audio. The Sonnox Fraunhofer Pro
Codec enables you to audition your mixes through a
variety of audio codecs in real time, including mp3,
AAC-LC (as used by the iTunes Store) and HE-AAC
(v1 and v2). By placing the Sonnox Fraunhofer Pro
Codec at the end of your signal chain you can make
changes to your EQ, dynamics or stereo processing
and instantly hear what effect it is having on the
audio throughout the encoding and decoding
TC Electronics System 6000

MKII hardware provides a
variety of dedicated
mastering tools, including a
selection of dynamics and
EQ processors, many of
which are available as 5.1
versions.
processes. By comparing this to your CD master you

should be able to get your lossy versions to a sound
thats closer to the 16-bit CD master.
Sounds around
Multi-channel surround sound is another area in
which mastering engineers have had to make
changes to their workflow, initially by adapting and
expanding existing hardware to do the job, then by
adding dedicated surround processors such as the
Neve 8051 surround compressor.
Nowadays, of course, its obviously a lot easier to
add surround capabilities to your DAW plug-ins
than it is to get it from hardware. The majority of
Tech Terms
LFE
The LFE (Low Frequency
Effects) channel is the point
one channel in a 5.1 system.
This channel is usually sent
to a subwoofer as part of a 5.1
system, and is intended to
deliver bass-only information.
CODEC
The process of encoding and
decoding a signal, such as
audio. Different codecs are
available, each using different
methods to encode and decode
the signal, such as mp3.
To improve your AAC masters

youre going to need to know what
encoding is doing to your audio
MTF Step-by-Step mp3 encoder
Place the Pro Codec plug-in last in the

signal chain on the track you want to
process. This way you will be able to monitor
the effects of each plug-in you place before
the codec. Place a clean version of the track
on another channel to use as a reference.
01
Add the codecs you want to use to the

Codec List and choose the settings for
each one. Select the codec to edit its settings.
You can create multiple entries in the Codec
List with different settings to see how, for
instance, different bit rates affect the quality.
02
Once youve finished mastering arm the

plug-in to record the finished file using
its built-in codecs, so you can be sure that
your finished mp3 or AAC is as you hear it.
This is important as different encoders may
have different artifacts and characteristics.
03
| 19
Artist
Q&A
DAWs now have built-in surround support, and

most plug-ins scale up into surround easily enough.
Surround still hasnt really caught on in the music
world, but with more and more households now
putting surround-sound home-cinema systems in
their homes, the technology is expected to catch on
(both DVD-A and Blu-ray audio provide support for
multi-channel surround).
Mastering for surround multiplies the potential
problems considerably: not only do you have to work
with six channels of audio, but you also have to be
Engineers perform tasks

that would previously have been
performed during the mix
aware that many of the end-user listening
environments are going to be far from perfectly set
up. Whats more, many surround projects are
actually brought to mastering as stereo files, which
need to be up-mixed to produce a surround master.
There are various tools for doing this, which usually
create an ambience in the rear channels and use
mid-side techniques to separate the phantom mono
image from the stereo files and place it in the centre
channel. When using up-mixing tools start with the
stereo mix, not the master, then perform the EQ and
dynamics processing on the finished up-mix.
If you are lucky, instead of a stereo mix the
Neil Wilkes
astering engineer Neil Wilkes has recently

finished working on 5.1 versions of King
Crimson albums In The Court Of The
Crimson King, Lizard and Red from mixes
completed by Porcupine Tree founder Steven Wilson
and King Crimsons Robert Fripp. He also recently
authored the new 5.1 release of The Whos
Quadrophenia. We caught up with him in his Opus
Productions studio to talk about surround mastering.
How do you deal with the LFE channel when mastering?
Should the mixer have already placed the kick and bass
in this channel?
What the mixer has put into it is really down to him or
her and is a personal choice, but they often leave
material as full-range I have seen LFE channels with
content way past 1kHz.
One of the biggest problems with the LFE channel is
that it is so often confused with a subwoofer, and the
two are, of course, very different animals. For surround
mixing the main guideline is that all five main channels
should be treated as equal and full-range and to avoid
piping anything exclusively into the LFE and believe
me when I say you could do a whole article just on this
issue, as it gets very difficult.
Of course, it is going to happen that the disc will
inevitably end up being played on one of those
home-theatre-type speaker setups with a subwoofer
and five bookshelf speakers and if we are lucky this will
have been correctly set up and the title will translate.
There is no way I know of to compensate for a badly or
just plain incorrectly set up playback system though.
One of the biggest

problems with the
LFE channel is that it is
so often confused
with a subwoofer
SADiE 6 is a popular DAW in dedicated mastering

houses thanks to the inclusion of features
such as DDP export and PQ editing.
FOCUS
When dealing with catalogue material it isnt always

possible to go back to the multitracks and get a new
surround mix. What plug-ins and techniques do you
use for up-mixing stereo material into surround?
Depends on the source material there are a few
choices available to us these days and what way we go
depends very much on not only the source, but
whether or not it needs to also be prepared for
fold-down to two channels, or if we have the luxury of
a separate stereo stream. The latter scenario gives us

so much more flexibility. Another consideration is how
do the clients want the 5.1 experience to be? What I
mean is are they after a complete immersion in the
sound, or one that simply places the listener about ten
rows back from the front of a stage?
Its almost impossible to state I generally use
plug-in X and technique Y followed by tool Z as it really
does depend on the source as well as the intended
surround experience. I might find that I work on an
up-mix for a few hours, getting maybe 95% of the way
there and it all has to start over as I cannot, no matter
what I try, get rid of that last 5% of problems which
will usually be artifacts of some sort or a soundfield
deficiency of some form caused by a process.
If a piece is causing me particular trouble I will
often make a call or two and get in a specialist
up-mixer for an additional pair of ears and advice.
Neil Wilkes getting

hands-on with
hardware.
You do all your surround processing in-the-box. Are

there any hardware units youd like to add to your
studio or do you think in the world of surround
mastering that software offers more flexibility?
Definitely. Id love a full TC System 6000, as well as the
new Penteo system. Currently there is nothing in
software that does what the Penteo does and the
There is something almost

magical about the sound of
good analogue gear
software implementation of the TC Unwrap leaves out
all the little things that make the hardware version
work so well. Add in a nice Neve 8051 Surround
Compressor, please, and also the SPL EQ that still
sounds beautiful to me. While software does often
offer more flexibility, there is something almost
magical about good analogue gear as it seems to
affect the sound in a way that is very difficult to
describe it just seems to sound better, for some
reason. Steven Slate Digital has done
research on this and it seems that the
act of passing audio through discrete
components adds non-linearities to
the audio that affect it in a very
pleasing way.
What are your favourite plug-ins for
processing surround material?
Very difficult question, as I do not have
a preferred chain. Its impossible to
know what you will need to do to a mix
until you have sat down and played it
through a few times to get a handle on
what needs to be done if anything. I
do have certain tools that I tend to try
ahead of others, although sadly they
are not multi-channel-capable, so a
certain amount of creative bussing
needs to be done to use them. There just
are not very many properly configured
surround-capable plug-ins out there.
Although the ATR-102 is only a

stereo plug-in, Neil likes to set
up three busses with the
ATR-102 on each one to emulate
a surround setup.
Currently, one of my favourites is to gang three of

the UAD Ampex ATR-102 Master Tape emulations so
they all operate as one unit and tweak until it does
what I want its an awesome plug-in and worth the
price of the DSP card for this alone.
Another very important tool is the correct LPF to
use on the LFE channel. The recommended setting is
usually 80Hz with a minimum of 48dB/octave slope,
but this tends to lead to the possibility of artifacts so
it can be a good idea to use two in series with 24dB/
octave per filter you get the smoothness of the
gentler slopes with the cumulative effect of a steep
48dB one.
You use the WK Audio ID console. Does having tactile
control over your plug-ins enable you to escape from
the screen?
Absolutely it does. There is simply no substitute for
being able to adjust attack and release
simultaneously, or frequency and Q. Its also
wonderful being able to work in software
but without a screen of any description
it removes the visual element and gets
you back to listening instead.
Its fair to say that surround systems
remain largely the domain of audiophile
listeners. Does this mean you are
insulated from the Loudness War?
Sadly, no. There are all too many out
there who still seemingly regard louder
as being better.
Neil Wilkes initially worked as a live mix
engineer and went into the studio in 2000
after forming Opus Productions Ltd. Since
then, Opus has established an
international client portfolio and has just
gone into partnership with Simon
Heyworths Super Audio Mastering to
actively promote high-resolution audio
and surround sound.
www.opusproductions.com
www.so-audio.com
| 21
MTF Pro Technique Multi-band compression

Mastering compressors will respond to any and all transients, reducing the level of
all sounds at that point. When used carefully they can gel instruments together in
a mix, but when pushed too hard can introduce unwanted pumping in response to
high-energy instruments such as the kick drum. Some compressors have a
sidechain with a high-pass filter to remove much of the low-end energy.
Another way to deal with this problem is to use a multi-band compressor; this
enables you to compress some frequency bands more than
others. When used carefully its a powerful trick
that can give weight to the bass while not
causing any pumping of the high frequencies.
Setting up a multi-band compressor is more
complex than a standard compressor, though,
so be careful when setting the crossover points
and remember to set the ratio, attack and
release settings for each band.
The T-RackS MultiBand Limiter is a powerful tool
with three bands of compression, each with their
own Threshold and Level controls.
Tech Terms
ANALOGUE SUMMING
Many engineers prefer the
sound of analogue summing to
the summing in their DAW and
choose to output each stem to
its own channel on an outboard
summing mixer rather than
sending them to a master
channel inside-the-box.
original multitracks will have been mixed explicitly

for surround. In this case the rear channels are still
likely to contain little more than reverb, with most
surround mixers preferring to position the music
coming from the band in front of the listener. There
will always be exceptions, with some bands
experimenting with sounds coming from the rear
and even moving around the soundstage, but this
remains the exception that proves the rule.
Just as with a stereo mix you will usually EQ and
compress both channels as a stereo pair, in surround
you will often process all of the channels together.
However, you might also want to apply a mono EQ
and compressor to the centre channel, which is likely
to house the lead vocal, kick, snare and bass. Apply
MTF Buyers Guide Summing mixers
D-BOX
Manufacturer Dangerous Music Price 1,200

The Dangerous Music D-Box is an eight-channel summing amp with
onboard digital-to-analogue conversion and built-in talkback section
with two headphone outputs. The D-Box enables you to send eight
channels of AES or S/PDIF digital directly out of your DAW ready for
analogue summing inside the unit.
Web www.dangerousmusic.com
stereo processors across the left and right front

channels, but bear in mind that these have to sit
comfortably with the
centre channel, and that
some mixers may have
kept a phantom centre in
these channels as well as
using the centre channel
itself. Again, stereo
processors can be applied
to the rears, which if they
contain only ambiance
should be the easiest to
process. Finally,
depending on how its
being used, the LFE
channel can also be
processed in mono, but as
it is likely not to contain
anything above 80Hz, it should be easy enough to
EQ. Remember to always check your surround mix
for fold-down compatibility. Just as you would check
a stereo mix in mono, you need to check your
surround mixes in both stereo and mono.
Stems and summing

As well as balancing levels, EQ and spatial
properties in audio tracks and dealing with gaps
and fades, mastering engineers are now routinely
being asked to perform tasks that previously would
have been performed during the mix. Mastering
from stems is one such example: the mastering
FOLCROM RMS216 Manufacturer Roll Music Price $775

The Folcrom is a 16-channel passive summing mixer without gain or
level controls. Each channel has only a pair of pushbutton switches
to assign the channel to the left, right or both outputs. The
simplicity of the signal path enables Roll Music to make no
compromises with the passive components, giving a transparent
signal path. The output can be fed to any of your mic preamps to
provide the tonal characteristics you prefer.
Web www.rollmusic.com
8816 Manufacturer Neve Price 2,100

The 16-input Neve 8816 is hand-built and wired with the same circuit
topology as the 80 Series consoles, and features two custom Carnhill
transformers on the stereo output to deliver the classic, punchy
Neve console sound. Each channel has up to +15dB gain, level, pan,
cut/solo and cue controls.
Web www.ams-neve.com
FAT BUSTARD
Manufacturer Thermionic Culture Price 3,699

The valve-based, 12-channel analogue summing mixer has four
stereo ins and four mono ins, plus low- and high-shelving filters
set at 50Hz and 10kHz respectively. There are also Stereo Width
and Depth controls and an Attitude distortion section.
Web www.thermionicculture.com
FOCUS
MTF Step-by-Step Whats possible in iZotope RX
Simply drag your audio file into iZotope

to begin editing it. You should see a
waveform view appear in blue, with an orange
spectral view underneath it. You can fade
between these views using the slider under
the sample window.
01
Using the tools on the right it is possible

to De-Clip, De-Click and De-Crackle,
Remove Hum, De-Noise and perform a
Spectral Repair. Simply select the section you
want to repair with the various selection tools
and click on the restoration tool of your choice.
02
engineer is given two, or usually more, stems to

work with in order to balance the levels of the
various parts of the mix. Ideally the engineer should
be able to bring in all of the stems at unity gain and
hear the mix as intended by the mix engineer. This
gives the mastering engineer the option of raising or
lowering any stem directly without trying to bring
out the vocal by raising a specific frequency band.
As in mastering, EQ usually involves only very small
changes, so you would need to make only very small
changes to the mix, but being able to bring out the
stems rather than a frequency band (or even a
frequency band within a stem, so raising 2kHz for
instance in the vocal) ensures that the other
instruments remain properly balanced.
As stem mixing has become more common in
mastering, some mastering facilities have added a
hardware summing mixer to their equipment list,
giving yet another reason for some mix engineers to
provide stems rather than simply a stereo mix.
However, stems arent right for every mix, especially
if you have outboard summing of your own that you
feel makes up part of the mix, or any mix-buss
processors that you want to add to the mix. Mixbuss compression, for instance, will respond
differently to each of the stems separately than it
would the whole mix, which effectively means that
you have to take it off the mix buss. The mastering
engineer can and almost certainly will add their own
flavour of compression, of course, but if you were
using the compressor to achieve a specific sound in
your mix you cant really use stems.
Noise reduction
Another job commonly performed by mastering
engineers is audio restoration. Hiss, hum, buzz and
clicks can all make their way into a recording at any
stage, and while it can be advantageous to remove
them as early as possible in the mix (so as not to
amplify the problem later) some will always slip
through the net. Clicks in particular often end up in
the final mix as levels are pushed higher and higher
(one of the reasons why we always suggest leaving
headroom in your mixes), but they also crop up in the
As well as restoration tools, iZotope

RX 2 has a useful real-time spectrum
analyser that can be great for helping to
isolate specific frequency bands that are
causing problems in your audio.
03
edit stage, when a region is cut without a fade,

for example. However, with good audiorestoration tools clicks are among the easiest
things to remove, and removing them even as
late as mastering shouldnt have a noticeable
effect on the audio quality.
Of course, if you can go back to the mix and
correct it by introducing a fade or pulling all
the faders down by a few dB, that is by far the
best course of action. Its not always possible,
however, and if youre working to a deadline
and its not your track youre mastering its
best to have a restoration tool to hand. There
isnt an overwhelming number of options, but
iZotopes RX2 is cross-platform and does an
exceptional job of removing clicks and other
noise artefacts. Were also fans of the CEDAR
suite running on the SADiE platform.
Another job commonly

performed by mastering
engineers is audio restoration
Mastering started off as nothing more than
the process of turning the final mix into a
lacquer ready for printing vinyls. Any
processing was done simply to ensure that the
lathe would be able to cut the grooves and that
the needle wouldnt skip on playback. However,
as engineers got more creative with EQ and
dynamics processing during the mastering
process, the process of pre-mastering for vinyl
morphed into the creative process we know
today. In todays mastering facilities, the
engineers job has become focused on that
creative process. With the tasks of cutting
lacquers and even printing CDs now almost
obsolete, the mastering engineer is doing more
and more to ensure that the final CD sounds as
great and is as close to the artists vision as it
is possible to be. MTF
focus Mastering Volume 4
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MTF Walkthrough Ableton Live
Ableton Live Step-by-Step
Mastering with
On the disc
Ableton Live
Theres much more to Ableton Live than looping and

DJing, it can also be put to great use as a mastering
tool, as Hollin Jones explains
bleton Live has gained a reputation for

being a great tool for DJs and performers,
with a wide selection of built-in effects and
instruments and a novel approach to
recording and composition that involves
looping, stretching and warping audio. As the software
has matured, however, it has also taken on many more
features of a conventional DAW, and is quite capable of
mastering using its own plug-ins, plus of course any
third-party models in VST or AU format (for the Mac) that
you might have installed.
The process simply involves loading a mixed down
stereo audio file onto a track in a new project and
Lives system of effect Racks

makes it easy to combine a number
of processors into a chain
applying plug-ins. Its possible to apply mastering

processing at the mixdown stage but I would discourage
this because the mix and mastering processes are
fundamentally different. Mixing down involves perfectly
balancing all the elements of a track together and
outputting a file where the overall level is good but not
necessarily really loud. Mastering on the other hand
involves bringing the tracks level up and glueing the mix
together as a whole to make it sound more cohesive and
also to ensure that it is ready for playback on any number
of devices.
One of the most commonly asked questions in music
production is why a track doesnt sound as loud as the
ones you get on CD or hear on the radio. Commercially
produced tracks are professionally mastered to sound
loud, clear and punchy and although they have
thousands of pounds spent on them, you can achieve
great results yourself with a far more modest setup. In
fact the plug-ins that come with Live can be employed to
master your tracks and, with a little knowhow, you can
get great results.
Rack em up
Lives system of effect Racks means that its easy to
combine a number of processors into a chain for
mastering and other purposes. In fact, if you take a look
MTF Navigation Mastering with Ableton Live

EQUALISATION
EQ is vital at the mastering
stage and the 8-band EQ unit is good
for shaping the overall character of
your master prior to final export.
b
COMPRESSORS
There are various compressors
bundled, including single and multi
band models. Apply compression to
gel a mix together this preset is
even called Mix Gel.
MASTERING PATCHES
Live comes with some
great preset mastering patches
that use its own processors. You
can of course create your own
including third-party plug-ins
and use these as well.
PLUG-IN
CHAINS
Although you may
think of Live as a
looping tool its just
as adept at loading
regular stereo
mixdowns and then
processing them
through mastering
plug-in chains.
FOCUS
Ableton Live Walkthrough MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Using mastering presets in Live
Load up a stereo audio file into Live and

make sure there are no other tracks or
plug-ins going when you start. Use a
completely fresh project. Now go into Lives
Devices menu and locate the Audio Effect
Rack section. Then look in the Mastering
subfolder. Try applying one of the presets, for
example the Mastering Suite patch. You will
see the plug-ins appear at the base of the
window.
This preset is good because it contains all

the essential elements you need to
master a track. You will see that the main
control panel consolidates the most important
mastering parameters into a single section and
you can tweak these to affect the sound. The
first three are EQ controls and the fourth is the
amount of compression that is applied. Tone
changes the character of the processing and
Stereo Width affects the stereo field.
The Limit Gain knob controls the

amount of drive applied using the
limiter. Click on the Show / Hide Devices
button to reveal the plug-ins that make up
the chain, then click on the Multiband
Dynamics model to open its editor window.
Raise the Comp Amount quick control to
bring the compressor into the signal, then
drag the three bands to affect the amount of
compression applied to each one.
Move on to the EQ Eight module that

comes next in the chain. Activate as
many bands as you feel you need to sweeten
and fine tune the overall EQ of the sound. If
your mixdown was decent you shouldnt have
to be doing too much at this stage, its
probably just a case of adding a few small
boosts to draw out certain elements. Use the
Q control for each band to affect the amount
of frequency around the EQ point affected.
The Limiter sits at the end of the audio

processing chain and adds gain. The
Ceiling is set to -0.10 dB by default, which is a
pretty safe setting to use. Its not going to
result in clipping but its loud enough that you
should end up with a decent amount of gain,
especially if you drive the input a little.
Parameters mapped to quick controls, as in the
case of the input gain knob here, may need to
be altered from the Quick Control section.
Finally in this particular chain you will

see a Spectrum plug-in. This isnt
actually processing any sound, its just
analysing the sound that is passing through
it, so its safe to have it after the limiter in the
signal path. Its a good way to get an idea of
how the frequency bands are behaving in
your track, since it looks at the sound before
it has passed to the speakers. In this example
we can see a lot of energy in the bass and
upper mid ranges.
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inside Lives Audio Effects folder you will see a subfolder

called Mastering. The presets contained within this
folder can help you to understand how the mastering
process works in Live. If you load up the preset called
Simple Mastering Chain, for example, you will see a
number of controls grouped into a simple interface. Click
to expand the devices and you will see that it is made up
of an EQ and a Compressor, though not in this particular
case a limiter.
You can of course manually change any of the settings
in each effect but the major controls have been
pre-mapped through to the main control area for you. So
you can change the EQ scale, low boost, stereo width and
overall gain. The lower row of dials controls the
compressors behaviour. For more complete control,
delve into the effects themselves. You can re-order the
plug-ins by dragging their title bars left or right, and this
has some bearing on the effect you get.
Its not a set rule, but a lot of producers like to use
compression first and EQ second. The reason for this is
that its easier to EQ a compressed signal than it is to
PRO TIP
Activate MIDI Mapping mode in
Live by right clicking on any
assignable parameter and
choosing Edit MIDI Map or
selecting Options > Edit MIDI
Map. Assignable controls will
be outlined in purple and can
be assigned to any connected
hardware MIDI controller or
software-based controller
connected wirelessly and
running, for example, on an
iPad. They just need to be set
up in the MIDI preferences.
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compress an EQd signal. If you put the EQ first, any

changes that you make are likely to be negated or at least
dulled by the compressor as the signal passes to it. If the
signal is being compressed first, EQ changes made after
compression are more accurately represented in what
you hear.
Mastering chains
There are other, more complex mastering chains
available in Lives library. The Vintage Mastering 1 preset,
for example, starts with a multiband compressor.
Multiband compression is more flexible than single band
compression, though it can also introduce some extra
factors to think about. By compressing different bands
using different amounts of processing you can get better
control of a complex mix, or one where single band
compression isnt cutting it. It could be that the bass end
needs reining in but single band compression has the
effect of also cutting the mid range and so sucking the
life out of the mix. In a situation like that, multiband
compression would be more useful.
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MTF Walkthrough Ableton Live
This preset also takes advantage of some of Lives

other processors. Theres the Saturator, which is able to
drive the signal and add analogue warmth and has a Soft
Clip stage to tame any peaks. The utility plug-in contains
a handy stereo width tool that can be used to add some
widening to the signal. Theres also the Limiter, which
always comes at the end of a mastering signal chain and
is used to add punch and gain to the signal. It is this that
gives a track as much volume as possible without going
over 0dB and clipping. Its the vital component in making
a track sound loud, though the coherence and balance of
the mix are handled by the compressor and EQ units
respectively. You can set the ceiling to fractionally below
zero and then use the Gain knob to drive the input signal.
Theres a lookahead section too, which can help you
achieve more accurate limiting by constantly seeking
slightly ahead in the signal to look for changes.
Build your own

Aside from the mastering presets its quite possible of
PRO TIP
Live can see your VST plug-in
collection and, on a Mac, your
Audio Unit plug-ins. You can
control which ones it loads by
going into Preferences > File
and Folder. Here you can turn
AU plugs on or off on the Mac
and use VST plug-in system
and custom folders, which are
useful if you have installed
certain plugs outside of your
default plug-in location.
course to build your own mastering chains in Live. Inside

the Dynamic Processing plug-in subfolder you will find a
number of compressors suitable to use as the starting
point. The Vintage Finalizer, for example, contains a single
band compressor and a Saturator, and is great for adding
some richness to the signal. Away from the ready-made
racks, you can use individual plug-ins to build a chain
and of course add in any third-party ones you like as well.
You have a choice of EQ units and while some people
prefer the simplicity of the EQ Three, others opt for the
greater power and flexibility of the EQ Eight since it has
more bands. These can always be turned on and off, so
you could for example use six or five bands you dont
have to use all eight. Inside the Limiter folder you will find
some good presets for various different strengths of
limiting, from gentle through to very hard brickwall for an
ultra-loud sound.
Once you have built a processing chain it can of
course be saved, and it so comes time to export your
processed file. You can choose to render out from the
MTF Step-by-Step Build a plug-in chain in Live
Part of Lives flexibility and power lies in

the way it enables you to quickly and
easily build plug-in processing chains. In the
case of mastering we want to build an audio
effect rack. There are several ways to do this.
You could for example drag an empty rack in
and then begin adding to it. Or, start building
your chain and group the component parts
together as you go along. Try adding a
Compressor to the track.
If the compressor is sucking some of the

gain out of the signal you can use the
Makeup button to restore some gain, though
as mentioned previously, gain is mostly
handled at the limiting stage. When mastering
you are looking to add some fairly gentle
compression to the signal, and your aim should
be to glue the sound together rather than
necessarily making it really loud. For complex
mixes, try a multiband compressor instead.
With a Multiband Compressor, you can

set the threshold of each band by
dragging the handles of the three bars, and
dragging the mouse up or down to change the
volume. Theres a master Amount dial too so
you dont have to apply all or nothing, its
possible to apply a variable amount of
multiband compression to the signal. Often
this is preferable to applying 100% all the
time.
Now proceed to add the remainder of

the elements of the chain. We have
added an EQ and a Limiter. To group them into
a Rack, hold down the Shift key while left
clicking on the title bar of each effect so that
they are all selected, and all shown lit up in
yellow. Then right click anywhere in any of the
title bars and from the resulting menu,
choose Group. This groups them together and
Live knows that since they are audio effects it
will be an audio effect rack.
With the Rack created you can add to it

either by dropping further processors into
the main view or by clicking to reveal the Chain
List. Drag and drop further effects into this
area and they are layered up on top of the
original chain. So here for example we have
added a Saturator to the Rack and it exists as a
second chain within the Rack. Chains can be
re-ordered by dragging them up or down and it
makes it easy to blend chains for different
treatments.
When your chains are complete and you

are happy with the sound, choose to
export the audio file. Switch off
Normalization and choose which of the
tracks you wish to output, either the Master
channel or the track your audio lives on.
Remember that you need to include all the
processing so it makes sense to keep all the
plug-ins on a single track to make things
easier to manage.
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FOCUS
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Ableton Live Walkthrough MTF
master track or from the specific track containing your

audio and plug-ins.
You should deselect the Normalize option prior to
export. This is because normalisation is really better
suited to raising the volume of audio that is too quiet, but
if you have done your job properly with the compressor
and limiter, the signal should already be loud enough.
Normalization is fine for exporting loops, and even stems,
but properly mastered files shouldnt need it.
There are dithering options available on export too, so
if your project is set to a higher quality, like 24- or 32-bit
or a sample rate higher than 44.1kHz, you can use
dithering to convert the file, say to CD quality, without
introducing any unwanted distortion.
Going Live
Naturally, if you have any specialised third-party plug-ins
that are suitable for use in Live you will be able to add
them into the processing chain as well. If you have
something specifically dedicated to mastering, like
PRO TIP
Lives single-window interface
makes it easy to see how your
projects are progressing. Each
part is resizable and your
plug-in chains live in the area
along the base of the window.
Using the View menu you can
put Live into fullscreen mode
great for taking advantage of
screen space, or when DJing,
as it removes the distraction of
other screen elements.
iZotopes Ozone, you might want to use Live simply as a

container for the audio and apply Ozone as the only
mastering plug-in that you use. It can also be a good idea
to meter and analyse your audio properly during
mastering and for this you might want to use Lives own
Spectrum or some good third-party analysis plug-ins,
such as those from Blue Cat Audio or Waves. There are
even some good free ones floating around the internet.
Since analysis plug-ins look at your audio signal while it
is still inside the computer and before it has been passed
to your speakers and fired out into the room, they are
much more accurate in telling you about phasing and
frequency response than simply relying on your ears,
where factors like room shape and monitor quality come
into play.
You may spend much of your time in Live looping and
recording, but you can see that its also a capable
mastering tool, if you know which of its plug-ins to
employ and how best to use them. With a little knowhow
your tracks can sound radio-ready. MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Assigning Macros
Lives plug-in system is great but the

layout can make it a little fiddly when it
comes to making continual small changes to
parameters, as you are likely to do during
mastering. Many preset Racks have Macros
already assigned, and these are a great way
to make changes without having to keep
going back into the plug-ins and finding the
relevant controls. Take a Rack and click on
the Show / Hide macro Controls button.
You can use a hardware MIDI controller

or enter Map Mode to quickly make
assignments. Click on the Map Mode button
and the assignable parameters of your
plug-ins will gain green outlines. Move to the
Compressor and right click on one of the
parameters, say for example the Threshold
control. From the resulting menu you will see
the option to add it to a Macro.
Choose Map to Macro 1 and the

Threshold control will be assigned to
Macro slot 1 in the Macro area. You can do
the same to add other parameters to other
macros. So here for example we have
mapped the Attack control of the
Compressor to the second Macro slot. Come
out of Map Mode and you will see that the
Macro controls when moved now affect
those parameters on the Compressor.
Another parameter that can be useful to

have instant access to when mastering
is the limiters Input Gain control, since this
controls the overall level of the finished
master. Returning to Map Mode, scroll across
to the limiter and right click on this dial to
assign it to one of the Macro slots. Remember
that with any mapped control you can unmap
it by simply right clicking and choosing
unmap instead of map.
In the top left corner of Lives window you

should have seen a Macro Mappings
section appear as soon as you entered Map
Mode. Here you can view all currently assigned
Macros for the selected chain and make edits.
For example you might want the limiters input
gain to only be switchable up to a certain level
and not beyond. You could set this by going to
the Max box for that parameter and entering a
value.
You may even want to map hardware

controls or the controls from a wireless
device like an iPad running controller
software to the mastering Macro controls. So
you could for example tweak the settings
while walking around the studio. To do this
you would go into the MIDI Preferences and
set up your remote device. Then right click on
a Macro control or any other control and
choose Edit MIDI Map and assign a hardware
controller.
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MTF 25 Pro Tips Compression
Pro tips for
Compression
Compression is a vital part of everyday music-making and production and recently the
subject of much intense debate as the Loudness Wars continue to rage. So how and
when is it best to deploy it? Hollin Jones gives you the lowdown
USE WITH CAUTION
Compression should not be seen as a way of
squeezing elements of a track too hard, but rather as a
means of keeping things controlled and smooth within a
mix. Settings are very much project and genre-dependent,
but on a typical guitar track you might want to look at using
a ratio of around 4:1 for moderate compression or perhaps
8:1 for heavier stuff like lead guitars. Compress drums
individually if possible rather than as a whole, as different
parts of the kit require different treatments. Bass often
requires a little more compression than other tracks
because of the large difference in volume and energy
between low and high bass notes.
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SPLIT THE BANDS

Consider using a multi-band compressor in situations
where you are dealing with audio material that is more
complex, such as an entire mix. You can have three or four
bands, and each has its own set of gain controls, enabling
you to shape each band separately. The bottom end of the
track, for example, could have slow attack and release times
and a smooth amount of gain reduction. The top end, on the
other hand, could require faster attack and release settings
so that it is more reactive to peaks. A benefit of multi-band
compressors is that no single frequency controls the
amount of gain reduction applied to the whole track, so you
can push each one harder (or, indeed, leave it more
natural-sounding) but treat other parts of the frequency
spectrum differently.
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FOCUS
ROUND THE SIDE

An interesting use for compression can be found if your
compressor supports sidechaining. This enables you to use
one signal to control how much compression is applied to
another signal. For example, you could feed a compressors
external sidechain input with a copy of a kick drum track and
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Compression 25 Pro Tips MTF
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rather, you could use some kind of rhythmic source (such as a

MIDI-triggered instrument or a sample) to apply a rhythmic
feel to the way that another part is compressed.
BLEND IT IN
You can achieve some interesting effects by blending
compressed and uncompressed versions of the same signal.
For example, you could try taking the lowest things in a track,
typically the bass and the kick drum, and bussing them to a
stereo compressor. Apply a relatively large amount of
compression to these so that they are squeezed the exact
amount will be up to you then route them back to a new
channel and blend that with the uncompressed signal. This
can help the bottom end sound controlled while still leaving
space for other sound sources, such as guitars or vocals.
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then feed a bass track to the compressors processing input.

If you use a very low attack alongside a low or medium
release value on the compressor, the result should be that
the volume of the bass part is pulled down more or less
instantly every time the kick drum sounds and then released
just as quickly. This can avoid the overwhelming volume that
can result from two very bass-heavy sounds occurring at the
same time, but leave the bass louder when it isnt coinciding
with the kick drum part.
SIGNAL PATH
When compressing bass guitar, consider placing the
compressor before any EQ in your signal chain. If you do this
the other way round, the frequencies you boost with EQ will
be compressed more and you might lose, for example, highs
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Sidechaining a compressor
is a great way to achieve
advanced dynamics control
and mids. If you compress the signal prior to EQing it and
then use EQ to add bottom end, you will end up with a more
even, weighty and accurate sound. You can use compression
pedals but its sometimes better to add the effect as a
plug-in so that it can be freely modified after recording.
MAKE-UP GAIN
Remember to pay attention to the make-up gain
control, which your compressor will almost certainly have.
This is especially important in the case of multi-band
compressors, since compression effectively turns down the
signal, so you could end up with certain frequencies being
controlled but too quiet in relation to the rest of the track.
Bands that have been more heavily compressed may
therefore need more make-up gain applied to bring them
back up. Be careful, however, since what you are doing is
almost re-mixing or re-EQing the track by doing this. You
should be using only a few dB of difference when making up
gain. Many compressors have an auto control for this, which
can be helpful.
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MASTER BUSS COMPRESSION

Stereo buss compression can be useful, but remember
that it affects the whole mix. Producers sometimes add a dB
or two of compression when mixing down to add some punch
or clarity to the mix. This is fine, but how much you add
depends on how the track is going to be mastered. Usually,
mastering engineers will add compression and limiting to a
track during the mastering process, so it may not be
necessary to add it at the mixdown stage (at least, not across
the whole mix). Radio and TV broadcasters also add their own
form of volume boosting during transmission, so you can see
that its easy to get a little carried away with compression.
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TAKE CONTROL
Sidechaining your compressor if this feature is
supported is a great way to achieve advanced dynamics
control without the tedious business of automating
compressor settings repeatedly over the duration of a
track. You dont even have to use an actual element
from your track as the sidechain input source
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MTF 25 Pro Tips Compression
MASTERING COMPRESSION
If you are compressing at the mastering stage, its
helpful to know if compression has already been applied
across the stereo buss (and if so, how much). Compression
settings in mastering range from around 1.5:1 and 3:1 and
thresholds can be around -20 to -10. If youre unsure about
how these kinds of settings will affect your masters, try
loading up a preset in your mastering plug-in; look at its
settings and how these are changing the sound. Try different
presets and youll quickly start to understand how different
settings will affect that particular track.
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BE SELECTIVE
The amount of compression you apply depends greatly
on what you are working on. 6dB or less of compression is
considered moderate and is useful for controlling peaks and
dynamics rather than imparting any specific colour to the
sound. Higher levels, such as 1520dB of compression, can
be used on elements such as drums and electric guitars. In
the case of snare drums, for example, you can set the
threshold of your compressor to either compress every hit or
to compress only those hits above a certain level, which will
maintain a more natural feel.
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PARALLEL LINES
To compress during mastering, consider using parallel
compression. Take one version of the track and apply
moderate mastering processing (compression, limiting and
EQ). Duplicate the audio file to a new audio track perfectly
in sync with the first and dial in some more extreme
settings. Use the mixer faders to slowly blend in a small
amount of the heavily processed track with the original and
see how this affects the overall sound.
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HARDWARE COMPRESSION
If youre recording live sources such as guitars, drums or
vocals, its possible to apply a little compression between the
source and your DAW to control any unexpected peaks in the
signal. This works best, however, when the effect is inserted
between the two end points and as such is rather easier to
achieve with hardware effects. Its also common to record a
bass, for example, through a compressor pedal to give a more
consistent sound. Remember that any processing applied
during recording cant be removed later.
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LET IT BREATHE
The best way to get compression to add punch to a
track is to allow the attack of the sound through and
experiment with release times to tweak the effect. Faster
attack times will reduce the amount of punch that the signal
has; slower release times can cause an unwanted pumping
effect as the compressor takes too long to let go. The ideal
setup, which you can find by experimentation, is to make the
compressor seem to breathe at the same pace as the track.
For hardcore dance music you might actually want to
encourage the pumping effect.
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COMPARE AND CONTRAST

If you compare, for example, an old jazz record with a
modern pop song you will hear a tremendous difference in
the dynamic range. The old record will almost certainly sound
much quieter and more natural, while the new one will be
consistently very loud. This is thanks to compression and
also limiting being applied to squeeze the pop song very
hard and make the quiet parts as loud as the loud parts. In
general theres a balance to be struck between these
extremes for many genres of music. Compress to give it lots
of body, but not to crush or destroy the dynamics.
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MIX CONTROL
Some compressors have a Mix control, which enables
you to feed a certain amount of the dry signal back into the
wet signal path, giving you more control over the way in
which the compression is working. This is not dissimilar to
the way that parallel compression works, only its rather
easier to set up. Also remember to periodically mute effects
such as compressors to remind yourself how they are
affecting the sound its easy to forget after prolonged
periods of listening.
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SPLIT THE FREQUENCIES

Percussive sounds contain more energy than sounds
that occur continuously over time. If you are using a
multi-band compressor, consider applying more gentle
compression to the higher frequencies higher threshold
and lower ratio settings which should have the effect of
letting the transients of the percussive sounds through while
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Compression 25 Pro Tips MTF
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COMPRESSION VS LIMITING
Although compressors and limiters both affect volume,
they must be used in different ways. Compression changes a
sound more than limiting does compression is best thought
of as a tool for changing the dynamics of the music in a way
that is more subtle and musical. Limiters are best when they
are more transparent, not colouring the sound too much but
adding loudness without significantly altering the character
of the sound. A side effect of limiting can be to add punch and
clarity, which is often desirable.
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SIMPLE COMPRESSION
One of the most gentle forms of compression is to use it
simply for controlling the peaks in recorded material, leaving
the majority of the recording untouched and unaffected. To
achieve this you would usually set a threshold level that is
slightly above the average level of the track. By using this
technique only the peaks will be compressed; you could
compress them more heavily by raising the ratio setting, up
as far as 8:1. Consider an upper limit of around 10dB of gain
reduction as a rule of thumb.
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retaining a punchy effect on the sustain of the continuous

sounds. Experiment with the crossover points of your
multi-band compressor to suit the makeup of the track you
are working on.
CHOOSE YOUR WEAPONS
Compression can be used to bring out elements of a
mix, but should not necessarily be applied to every track (at
least, not heavily). Some elements need to be in the
background for the track to work, while others are best kept
in the foreground. Its easy to over-compress and suddenly
find that everythings fighting with everything else. A good
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Compression is best thought

of as a tool for changing the
dynamics of the music
rule of thumb is to decide what needs to live where in the
mix and in the soundstage, then use light compression more
generally and heavy compression more sparingly.
SUB SONICS
Very low frequencies can cause problems for
compressors (and especially limiters) as they force such
effects to work harder to process them, potentially resulting
in too much gain reduction being applied across the whole
mix and leaving your master quieter than it could otherwise
have been (and with less dynamic range). Try using a
high-pass filter to filter out any sounds below 30 or 35Hz and
see if this frees up more headroom for the track as a whole.
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DE-ESSING
A de-esser is basically a compressor with a very specific
frequency target. You can use the Threshold setting to
determine how much of the sibilance is removed through
compression; sometimes theres also a Frequency control,
which enables you to target a precise area. De-essing is
almost always best used with caution, since over-application
very quickly starts to sound unnatural and squashed. Its
better to take precautions during recording by using a good
popshield than try to fix problems afterwards.
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BACKGROUND NOISE
Compression can amplify the noise in the sound being
treated because when a signal is below the threshold, the
compressor raises the gain. Its possible, therefore, to
accidentally raise the volume of hiss and other background
noise during compression. Its important, however, not to
obsess about removing all of this, as in doing so you will
almost certainly lose part of the music that you wanted to
keep. A little hiss is a natural part of recording, so be gentle in
your efforts to eliminate it.
20
TOTAL EFFECTS
Another way in which to use a compressor is to process
an entire track. In this case you might want to set a low ratio
of between 1.1:1 and 1.5:1 and a threshold of around 3035dB
below the peak level of the track. You will need to play with
the levels a little until your specific track sounds right to you,
but this is a good way to help sounds blend into a mix better,
gently evening out the differences between quiet and loud
passages without dramatically reducing dynamic range.
23
LESS IS MORE
If you are applying master buss compression when
mixing down whole tracks or stems, err on the side of
caution. The idea during mixdown isnt to squeeze loads of
volume out of the track that can be done with a limiter at
the mastering stage. Instead, aim to make the track gel
together properly; to sound like its musically finished, if not
really loud as yet. Also bear in mind that any tracks in the mix
that have heavy compression applied to their channel might
sound over-compressed when further compression is
applied down the line, so take care.
24
CROSSING OVER
When using a multi-band compressor, be aware of the
crossover points many models let you set these manually
(within certain limits). Listen to the track and identify where
the different frequencies intersect. Admittedly, this is easier
in dub than in rock, for example, but you can use multi-band
compression to gain better control over the overall dynamics
of a track (providing that the crossover points are correctly
set). Remember that your mix should be correct prior to
mixdown dont rely on multi-band compression or
mastering to fix it. MTF
25
21
| 31
Miles Showell Interview MTF
Theres something about

the vinyl medium when
you go direct to a disc. It
captures the sound
of the room
The MTF Interview Miles Showell
MTF meets Metropolis Masterings Miles Showell and discovers how old techniques are
bringing a new, pure sound into a world dominated by digital. Photography by Zen Inoya
astering veteran Miles Showell started his career at Utopia in 1984.

Before this, his musical background came from working at his
fathers record shop, which exposed him to a large range of musical
styles and artists. Since those days he has kept this musical
open-mindedness, as a glimpse at his discography will show. He
gained his first job, with Utopia, by means of a fluke when he saw an ad for a
trainee disc-cutter/tape-copier in a music trade mag . He only happened to be
reading through this due to his fathers absence from work that day.
Miles recalls how luck was on his side: I was the first to call, on the day the mag
came out, so I wanted to make sure I was also the first to be interviewed so theyd
remember me. I was one of four who got an interview from 48 applications then it
came down to two of us and I got the job by the flip of a coin!
Although digital gear was already starting to appear within Miles first year at
Utopia, he luckily managed to get fully trained in the handling and setting up of
analogue tape, which would prove handy for the rest of his career. After five years
at Utopia he went on to work at Copymasters (now Masterpiece); nine years later
he moved to Metropolis, where he works to this day.
The first cut

At Utopia, the first thing Miles cut on a lathe was the Live Aid single in 1985. As
junior boy, he didnt master the track itself: his job was to cut 43 seven-inch
acetates from the mastered tape. These were crucial in getting the track to the
various radio stations a week before the single was released to the public, as this
was such a time-sensitive fundraising event.
Miles tells us all about it. Cutting acetates was the only way to get a track to
radio stations without waiting a week for the pressing plant to produce the
duplicated vinyl. For Live Aid, they wanted Radio 1 to have a copy, as well as the
local commercial stations, for a weeks rotation before the release. I was shown
how the lathe works, then told to just get on with it. This was the first time Miles
was left alone with the lathe, and the first of many cutting sessions to come.
The first number one single he cut and mastered was the now infamous Never
Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley. He recalls the specific moment: I remember
playing it at the start of the session and after the third play I thought, This could
| 33
MTF Interview Miles Showell
be huge it was really well done pop. It also went to number

one on my 21st birthday, which was a great present for a
young sound engineer!
We ask Miles about some of the kit used at the time for
the job. At Utopia we had Klein & Hummel parametric EQs.
They were good in their day, which was really in the mid-70s,
but they were used in many places until the late 80s until
there was much better stuff on the market. Utopia had them
everywhere, as they had the best of everything when they
started. Neumann consoles were also used, which again
were good at one point, but dont sound great compared to
what you can get hold of these days.
When asked why he moved to Copymasters he replies:
Utopia was a great place and I was really thankful to the
owners for getting me started. But you could just see that
things were starting to get a bit tatty. Mastering made money
but the recording studio lost it, so there wasnt much around
for the investment in new gear. I thought to myself, this isnt
really sustainable and I then got approached by
Copymasters, who wanted to expand from duplication into
proper mastering.
The vinyl paradigm

Miles is one of just two engineers in the world offering the
half-time vinyl cutting technique dubbed the paradigm
process. Hes keen to tell us all about it.
In the 60s, before Decca moved to stereo, they had a
mono cutting head they developed themselves. It was a
product that came from research in the Second World War
it could cut radar signals! To do this, it had to cut at a
fantastically high quality this was all part of the FFRR [Full
Frequency Range Recordings] period. But the worlds record
Rick Astley went to

number one on my 21st
birthday, which was a
great present for a young
sound engineer!
people at the time got together and decided to go with the
stereo vinyl system we use now, not Deccas own stereo
system. So Deccas engineers were forced to use the
Neumann heads and cutting gear. They werent very happy
with the quality of the high frequencies so they developed
the technique to cut at half speed.
This would involve running a master tape at 15 IPS if it
normally ran at 30, and the lathe would be set at half speed
too. This means all of that difficult-to-cut high end
information becomes midrange while its being cut, then it
will play back at normal speed afterwards. So they did this in
the 60s, until the general cutting technology had improved to
the extent that they abandoned the process.
Miles
best-of...
Four classic
Showell cuts
1994 | Portishead Dummy

Really ground-breaking and different in its day. Beths vocal
performances on that album are some of the most emotional
I have ever worked on.
FOCUS
MTF StudioEye Miles mastering suite at Metropolis

NEUMANN SAL 74B
This runs 500W per
channel into the cutting head like
a speaker in reverse, etching the
groove into an acetate disc.
Thankfully, Neumann built these
to military specifications so they
were over-engineered: thats why
theyve lasted over 35 years.
PMC BB5 and XBD

The most important pieces
of equipment in the room! I love
the sound of them, which is
effortless, natural and unforced,
even at low levels. They can be a bit
cruel at times: if there is anything
wrong with a mix, they will show it
up in all its ugly glory!
Then in the late 70s, Stan Ricker from Mobile Fidelity

Sound Laboratories would do it for licensed classic albums,
creating small runs of very high-quality pressings which
were also pressed on very high quality vinyl in Japan. Ive got
a few of them at home and they sound incredible.
Miles always wanted to try cutting this way himself, but it
wasnt until he worked at Metropolis that his interests were
encouraged. He recalls their first attempts. We first did a
very crude mock-up, which involved bypassing some of the
circuitry in the lathe, and it sounded good enough for us to
pursue the technique further.
The next stage was to build custom equalisers for the
process, as all records impose their own EQ curve which has
to be accounted for with EQ beforehand, to get the frequency
balance you expect upon playback. To test if people would be
interested in using the service, they sent out double-sided
acetates to potential clients with one side cut at normal and
the other at half speed. Miles recalls some of the feedback:
They all said that they loved it, but they thought the half
speed had been treated with extra high-end EQ. It was
actually that the record just sounded more like the master
tape or file it was cut from, not how it normally sounds when
changed for the standard cutting techniques.
Miles points out that theyve managed to add to this
technique, using technology from the last 30 years to iron out
weaknesses in the original system. When Decca did it, they
used tape machines that didnt have a great bass response.
2003 | Dido Life For Rent

I doubt Ill master another album that sells 13 million copies! It
was a long, drawn-out mastering process, but Dido and her brother
Rollo are a joy to work with, so despite the hours, it was a breeze.
Miles Showell Interview MTF
NEUMANN VMS-80
This lathe was made
around 1981, and its had various
custom tweaks made to it. The
cutting head is incredibly
expensive, at around 8,000 to
repair, so I have to be really
careful with it.
AMPEX ATR-100
This beautiful-sounding
machine is fitted with extended
bass-response tape heads and
modified with both transformerless transistor electronics and
valve electronics. These are
switchable, so I can have either
transistor or valve amplifiers in
the signal path. Utopia and
Copymasters had Studer units
and although they are built
better, they dont sound as good.
We used this unit to cut Layla
directly from the tape masters.
c
d
CUSTOM CONSOLE
The central section is
all custom equipment thats
either been made in-house or
externally built to our own
specifications elsewhere. For
instance, there are EQs that
were built in-house, and a
custom stereo manipulation
processor that was made for
us by Maselec.
SONTEK MES-432
The most musical EQ
Ive ever heard. If you want
to add 12dB at 16kHz or
higher, it wont ring or sound
processed. Even a rotten
recording will be better for
going through this EQ, and if
youve got a great recording,
just a minor tweak will make
it sound even better.
MANLEY
VARIABLE MU
I had this modified by
Simon Saywood at
Analogue Tube. He had JJ
Electronics develop a new
generation of the 6368
triode valve, which offers
me far more limiting and
sounds way better than the
off-the-shelf unit.
Playing them at half speed then halved the frequencies,

making matters worse and resulting in very clear but
bass-light cuts. We dont have that problem.
Underworlds Barking was cut this way and pressed in a
high-quality plant in Holland. Miles says this is an important
point to note: We tell people not to skimp on their pressing
costs. If they do, they might save some money per disc, but
theyll throw away all of the extra money theyve spent with
me cutting this way, because you just wont hear it.
Direct to disc
Another older technique that Miles has given new life to is the
art of cutting a live performance straight to acetate. This is
how things were done before multitrack tape arrived, and
Direct to disc brings a

nervous energy to the
process and this generally
works in your favour, like
the buzz of a live gig
2010 | Underworld Barking
Their best album in years. It sounds great, too, as we avoided excessive
digital limiting. The vinyl version was cut at half speed and sounds superb.
brings back the direct connection between the performance

and what the consumer will hear. It was while Miles listened
to a Thelma Houston album called Pressure Cooker that he
got the idea to try out this almost forgotten process. I heard
that album about five years ago and it just changed my
attitude to recorded music, he says. It sounded incredible.
After suggesting the idea in passing to Duke Special, they
went on to successfully record The Anniversary EP. Miles
also recorded various artists this way for the Channel 4/Seat
project On Track, including Ellie Goulding, Tinchy Stryder, The
Bees, Robyn, The Coral and many others.
The process requires Miles to be ready at the lathe in his
mastering suite while communicating with the mix engineer
and performers. Start times have to be very precise as the
disc will go into duplication exactly as cut, so it cant have
any unnecessary silence at the start, background noises,
false starts, etc. Miles explains the set-up: Its an allanalogue process, using high-quality tie lines between here
and the studio. Theres just something about the vinyl
medium when you go direct to a disc: it captures the sound
of the room like no other recording medium since, more so
than tape and a lot more than digital. We dont know quite
what it is, but it could be because the sound hasnt been
chopped up, like digital, or passed through various amps and
then to magnetic pulses, like tape. Direct to disc brings a
nervous energy to the process and this generally works in
your favour, like the energy and buzz of a live gig. MTF
2011 | Derek & The Dominos Layla

The vinyl lacquers were cut all analogue, no digital, from
the original masters, so it sounds really musical. There
was no false digital enhancement applied whatsoever.
| 35
Cubase Walkthrough MTF
Cubase Step-by-Step
Master your tracks
in Cubase
Cubase has some excellent mastering tools included

with the software in fact it has everything you need
to get great masters, as Hollin Jones reveals
ith its VST format, Steinberg helped to

kick start a revolution in music
technology by bringing studio grade
processing tools to the personal
computer, where previously they had
only been available in hardware form. This was also the
start of the home mastering revolution, making it
possible for tracks to be mastered somewhere other
than a professional mastering facility. Thats still a great
place to go if you can afford it, but its good to have the
option of doing it yourself if budgets are an issue, as they
are for most people.
In the last decade or so, software audio processing
tools have increased dramatically, both in number and in
fidelity, and computers have become much more
powerful and so able to run more, higher quality plug-ins.
And while mastering doesnt generally require high
plug-in counts, the ability to run processor-intensive
effects, potentially at very high sample rates, is
important. Cubase comes with some excellent tools of
its own as well as being able to load any third-party VSTs,

so you wont be short of options.
Getting started
One of Cubases more helpful features is the Project
Assistant which appears when you first boot the
software. This contains project presets and amongst
these you will find one called Stereo Mastering, which is
set up for you to import a stereo audio file and get to
work straight away. You can create your own template
The ability to run processorintensive effects, potentially at very

high sample rates, is important
files and place them in the file directory path displayed
in this window, which is where templates live. Do this and
they should appear in your Project Assistant list. You can
also save any project as a template quickly by choosing
File > Save As template, at which point you are presented
with the option to add metadata for easier searching.
The mastering preset places a couple of plug-ins into
MTF Navigation Mastering in Cubase
COMPRESSION
Compression is a vital part of the mastering process
and Cubases own Compressor has handy points that you
can drag around to set the Ratio and
Threshold, making compression quite
intuitive.
INSERT SLOTS
The Insert slots are where
you layer up your plug-ins to
process your master. This can be
done per track or, if you are only
mastering one track, they can be
placed onto the master channel.
On the disc
LIMITING
Limiting
helps to squeeze a
powerful overall
level out of your
tracks and the
bundled Limiter
module is
straightforward
and easy to use.
c
STUDIO EQ
Cubase has a dedicated parametric
EQ called StudioEQ and this is great for
fine tuning and sweetening your master
prior to export.
| 37
MTF Walkthrough Cubase
MTF Step-by-Step Building a typical mastering setup
In this example we have a short section

of a mixed down track that hasnt been
mastered yet. Import it onto a new stereo
audio track, making sure that your project
settings match those of your imported audio.
You can check this in the Project Setup menu.
Set up a loop around your track with the left
and right markers and activate looping since
you will be listening back for a while during
this process.
Start by adding a compressor. Here we

have chosen Cubases own Compressor
plug-in from the Dynamics submenu, applied
as an insert on the audio track. We have dialled
in a mastering preset but these will always
need changing to suit your track, so modify the
Threshold and Ratio knobs or their
corresponding points on the grid to achieve a
nice, even compression. Your aim here is to
sweeten the sound, controlling any peaks.
The makeup gain may be set to Auto by

default but you can change this if you
like. Deactivate the Auto button and you can
dial in some volume boost manually to make
up for any overall volume reduction that may
be resulting from the compression. Worry
about absolute overall level later when you
limit, but add some here if the track seems
particularly quiet. Theres also the option to
use soft knee compression.
You can use a multiband compressor if

your mix is more complex and a single
band compressor isnt cutting it. Cubase has
one and you can use up to four bands,
dragging the boundaries between each one
to alter the crossover points and dragging
each ones top surface up or down to apply
more or less compression to any band.
Multiband compression is more complex but
helpful if a single band model is missing or
accentuating frequencies that it shouldnt be.
Next you can add EQ and here we have

chosen Cubases own StudioEQ. Activate
its four bands and dial in frequency and gain
settings for each one. This is more intuitive to
do if you use the mouse to drag the EQ points
in the main part of the display. The Q control for
each band can be used to determine the width
of the area around each point and thus the
amount of signal that is affected. Aim to
sweeten and balance your sound with the EQ.
Finally you can apply some limiting and

you will find the Limiter inside the
Dyanmics subfolder on any standard Cubase
installation. Presets can be helpful here, so
try loading up one that sounds similar to the
kind of stuff youre working with. The idea is
to set the output gain at or very slightly below
zero and then drive the input gain to squeeze
maximum volume out, being careful not to
over-crush the sound or introduce distortion.
01
04
02
05
insert slots on the master output channel, though you

could also place them in insert slots on the audio track
that contains your file. When mastering multiple tracks
in one project, avoid inserting plug-ins on the master
buss. If you are starting from scratch, import your mixed
down file into a fresh project, making sure the project
settings as determined in the Project Setup menu match
the characteristics of your audio file. You dont want
Cubase to be resampling or otherwise altering your
original file so be sure to match up the settings. Also,
theres no real advantage to be gained by mastering
using higher settings than you used when mixing down,
as this will only add file size and not audio fidelity.
This is why its so important to start a project using
high quality settings, mix down at the same settings and
if possible also master at those quality settings. Only
when you export your mastered track or think about
converting for CD or the web do you need to begin
downsampling new versions. It never hurts to maintain a
gold master at the highest quality resolution, and use
that as the basis for any subsequent copies.
FOCUS
PRO TIP
In Cubases export window
theres a box at the bottom that
allows you to specify an action
to take place after processing
is finished. The options include
opening a file in Wavelab 7 if
this is installed on your system
and also uploading it directly
to your SoundCloud account.
Both of these are possible
manually, but using the Post
Process tool saves a little time,
especially if youre working
with lots of files.
03
06
Signal chain
Mastering in Cubase is much the same as using a wave
editor, only it employs the interface and tools that you are
already familiar with. The first things you may want to
apply are EQ and compression, and the order is largely a
matter of preference. Some people however do prefer to
compress first and EQ second, since otherwise the
changes you make to EQ can be cancelled out or harder
to distinguish because they are being fought by the
compressor. If you compress first then EQ, you are
tweaking the compressed signal, not compressing an
already EQd signal.
There are some good bundled dynamics plug-ins that
you can use as a starting point for your master.
VSTDynamics is probably the best all-round model and
contains gate, compressor and limiter sections, though
at this stage you will probably only want to activate the
compressor section. If you prefer, there is a smaller effect
called simply Compressor, which omits these other two
processing stages. As well as a number of instrumentspecific presets this one has patches for mastering
Cubase Walkthrough MTF
which can provide a good starting point for working with

your sound.
In addition to regular dials for making compressor
settings, the Compressor plug-in has a handy grid
display with a couple of handles that let you set the
Threshold and Ratio in a more natural way, and help you
to see how much attenuation is being applied to any
signal that passes the threshold. Theres a makeup gain
section that can be used to add a little gain if your
compression is subtracting some energy from the overall
level, though be careful to use this only sparingly here:
absolute volume can be dealt with later at the limiting
stage. The main thing to ensure is that things arent
made too quiet by the compressor, which they shouldnt
be if you are setting it up properly. Theres an Auto button
on the makeup gain control if you want Cubase to handle
this for you.
Cubase has a good built-in equalizer on every track in
a tracks VST Audio Channel Settings window, but you will
probably want to use a slightly more advanced model,
PRO TIP
Third-party plug-ins can lend
a particular sound to your
masters. Yamahas Vintage
Open Deck is a tape simulator
with interchangeable models
of recording and reproduction
modules you can swap out and
tweak to get a vintage sound.
Some tape simulation is
possible with Cubases
soundset, but a specialised
tool makes it easier.
perhaps the StudioEQ that comes bundled. There are

also 10 and 30 band graphic equalisers, though these
tend to be less useful and not as precise for mastering
due to their lack of Q controls or band type options. The
StudioEQ only has four bands but this should be
sufficient for most mastering EQ tasks. Indeed,
sometimes having more bands just encourages you to
play around more when theres actually nothing wrong
with the sound.
Boosting frequencies
Dialling in EQ for a master is a very subjective thing of
course, and every track will be different. Having said that,
when mastering you often find yourself boosting
frequencies rather than cutting them, adding sweetness
in certain frequency ranges rather than trying to back
things off. The only exception might be applying a low cut
to the very bottom end of the sound, to remove any
unwanted sub bass frequencies. Youre not restricted to
using one EQ module, but do try to keep setups simple.
MTF Step-by-Step Building a plug-in chain
If you are working on a number of tracks

or clips, you might typically spend a
while getting the processing chain sounding
right, then save it in order to be able to use
again in future or call it up quickly for the next
task. Cubase makes this easy. First lets say
you have already done the work and have a
plug-in chain that fixes the audio you are
working on. It might be easiest to view it in
the project window or the VST Audio window.
There are several ways to create a Track

Preset. From the Track Inspector in the
Project window, go to the Track Preset area at
the top and click on the tiny box icon to the left
of the text. Then choose Save Track Preset and
the Save window appears. Here you can create
a new folder, if you like, and enter a preset
name. Clicking on the Expand button at the
bottom lets you add other metatags for easier
searching.
You can access the same Save option

by right clicking on a tracks control area
in a Project and from the resulting contextual
menu, choose Save Track Preset. Its worth
giving things detailed names if you intend to
use a lot of presets, since using vague
naming schemes means they will be harder
to identify down the line. Using meta tagging
can help greatly with this.
You can manage track presets on a

global level by opening the MediaBay
browser from the Media menu and then
navigating to the VST Sound > User Content >
Track Presets section. Here you can view and
edit all your saved presets as well as right
clicking on any one to perform tasks like
write protection, revealing the file on your
hard drive and copying and pasting settings.
You can also create a track using a preset
from here.
Its also possible to search for track

presets from this menu using specific
criteria. Right click on one and then choose
Search For and from the resulting menu, select
a criteria. You could use this to find another
preset you had created on a specific day for
example, but whose name you may have
forgotten in the meantime.
If you want to create a new track based

on a track preset simply right click in an
empty area of a project and select Add Track
Using Track Preset. From the Choose window
you can filter by multiple criteria or use a
simple text search field to jump straight to the
preset you want. Then hit Add Track and your
track is loaded complete with plug-in chain.
01
04
02
05
03
06
| 39
MTF Walkthrough Cubase
Cubase also has a limiter and this is very

straightforward, letting you drive the input signal without
clipping by keeping the output set just below 0dB.
Applying some light to medium strength limiting should
give your sound a boost and more overall power. Its not
supposed to colour it particularly, just make it louder.
Theres also a Maximizer, which includes a Soft Clipping
option. You wouldnt use both of these on a track since
they produce very similar kinds of effects, so its better to
stick to one, probably the limiter.
Track Presets
You can save your mastering plug-in chain in Cubase as
a Track preset by right clicking on it in the project window
and choosing Save Track Preset, at which point you can
enter all sorts of metadata that will be picked up by
MediaBay. There are a few other interesting modules that
you might explore while mastering in Cubase too. In the
Spatial submenu of the Inserts list for example you will
find a model called StereoEnhancer and this has presets
PRO TIP
Cubase comes with a Soft
Clipper plug-in. Soft clipping is
where peaks are brought down
in level so they do not cause
distortion at the ceiling: they
are not allowed to square off.
This can add softness to a mix
in the digital domain because
you can avoid the harshness
that ordinary limiters cause
when they are squaring off the
peaks at the clipping level.
for mastering, adding stereo width to the soundstage.

Use this sparingly however, if you use it at all, because
adding a lot of width to a signal can quickly start to play
havoc with the mix, as instruments are pushed out to the
sides of the soundstage. If you are ready to export your
master, in the Mastering subfolder of the inserts you will
find the UV22HR dithering plug-in, which is able to
convert bit rates during export accurately without adding
any unwanted noise.
We have mentioned Cubases own plug-ins but it is of
course able to load any third-party models you care to
add to your setup, so you shouldnt run short of tools.
When youre done, use the File > Export Audio Mixdown
command and choose the Stereo Outs as the channels
to include, making sure that your sample rate and bit
depth are either the same as the project you have been
working in, or at least set to the highest quality youre
going to need for distribution, such as 44.1kHz, 16-bit for
CD. Use Cubases built-in mastering tools and you will be
making radio ready tracks in no time. MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Mastering multiple tracks
In many cases you will want to master

more than one track and there are
various tips and workflow tricks that you
can employ to make this faster than loading
them one by one. We have looked at saving
Track Presets of chains of plug-ins but there
are also other ways to quickly move plug-ins
between tracks. If you go to the Mixer and
reveal the Inserts view for example, you can
hold Alt and drag a plug-in from one mixer
insert slot onto any other in a project.
To quickly solo or mute tracks in a

project, select a track then use the arrow
keys on your keyboard to move up and down,
and press the M key to mute a track or the S
key to solo it. This is a great way to compare
the relative volumes and treatments of a
number of tracks in a project, say for example
if they all need to end up on the same album
and thus have a similar overall gain level and
sound.
Its actually possible to perform

actions on tracks that are not even
shown in the Project window, as long as they
have been imported into your project at
some point. Open the Pool window from the
Project menu and locate any track in the
Pool. Right click on it and from the resulting
menu go to the Process submenu. Here you
can normalize, fade and perform other
processing tasks on one or more files
quickly and easily.
Its a very good idea when mastering to

A/B your tracks with other,
commercially produced tracks in the same
style as those you are working on. This can
give you a good indication of whether youre
processing enough or not enough or indeed
too much. You can drag and drop many kinds
of digital audio file straight into a project and
also use the Import from Audio CD command
to rip directly from a disc for this purpose.
You can set Cubases mixer to show you a

range of different views and for mastering,
one of the most useful is the big meter view. By
setting the track and the master output
channels to show this view, you get an idea of
how close you are coming to zero, as well as if
any clipping is occurring. The meter can be set
to remember peaks and you can click on them
to clear them if you have subsequently made
adjustments.
When you output your final master you

can choose a single channel export if
you have just worked on one file, or a channel
batch export if you have worked on more than
one. This should export each file separately
complete with its own mastering treatment
and provide you with a folder full of freshly
mastered and great sounding tracks.
01
04
FOCUS
02
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03
06
Our MeldaProduction Adjustable Slope Filter (MASF) technology gives you natural sounding, versatile filters that
are free of the resonance associated with other equalizers. Inspired by the analog world, but taking advantage
of the digital!
Each highly adjustable and dynamic band let's you fix problems easily, whether you are putting together a mix,
or, tackling compression, expansion or de-essing tasks. MeldaProduction Filter Adaption (MFA) technology can
actually perform your equalization for you based on an analysis of your recording, another recording or even
your own 'drawn-in' spectral content!
We've included a whole host of other useful features too. Our integrated analyzer and sonogram lets you quickly
see the structure of your audio material, while our high-pass and low-pass filters offer slopes from 6dB/oct up
to 120dB/oct. There's also soft-saturation that adds a character normally only associated with analog consoles.
And of course there is mono/stereo processing, upsampling, A/H presets and much more! MAutoDynamicEq
even comes with 4 advanced modulators, just in case you feel like being creative...
MTF 10MM Key gating
Minute
Master
Key gating
techniques
Key gating illustrates that theres more an audio gate

can do than simply reduce unwanted background
noise. Mark Cousins unlocks its secrets...
ust like a compressor, a noise gate is a far more

versatile tool than you might imagine. While most of
us are aware of the devices corrective properties
particularly in regard to noise reduction a noise
gate can also be used to perform several unique takes on
dynamic control. One of the most popular of these is the
effect of key gating, which became a staple component of
record production in the 70s and 80s and is still
extensively used is genres such as dance. But what is key
gating and how can the effect be configured in the
modern-day DAW?
Heavens gate
Before we explore the intricacies of key gating, lets first
consider the principles behind a traditional noise gate.
Like a compressor, a noise gate is a form of dynamics
processor that adjusts gain in response to the inputs
signal level. In the case of a compressor, gain reduction is
applied above a given threshold, with the net result being
that loud signals are attenuated and the overall dynamic
range is restricted. A noise gate works in reverse, applying
gain reduction when an input falls below a given
threshold (turning down quieter signals, in other words).
As the name implies, noise gates were developed as a
means of controlling background noise in the days when
INPUT
Tech Terms
GAin-reDuCTion
CirCuiTry
The gain-reduction circuitry
is the muscle behind the
noise gate, usually taking the
form of a Voltage Controlled
Amplifier (or VCA) that is used
to attenuate the input.
rATe-leVel
enVelope GenerATor
Complicated envelopes that
fall outside a conventional
ADSr shape can be created
with a rate-level envelope
generator. The envelope has
multiple steps, with each
having its own rate and
level parameters.
BreAKpoinT
A rate-level envelope
can be seen as a series of
breakpoints, with each
step defined by the relative
position of a given breakpoint.
Assuming that your DAW supports sidechain routing in its plug-in

signal path, you should be able to explore the wonders of key
gating even if you dont have the necessary hardware.
mic preamps and tape recorders had less than perfect

recording specs. However, to achieve satisfactory noise
reduction, noise gates require more than just a threshold
control. Firstly, the amount of gain reduction (or the noise
gates range, in other words) applied as the signal falls
below the threshold is crucial for transparent control.
Complete attenuation is too brutal, whereas a range of
about 10dB or so makes the overall output
proportionately cleaner without the ear being too aware
of its application.
Another point to consider is the movement in and out
of gain reduction. On the one hand, the gain-reduction
circuitry needs to be quick to respond as an input triggers
the threshold to open the noise gate, so that transient
information isnt lost. The same isnt so true when the
noise gate needs to shut, especially as a slow decay on
the input will often make the noise gate chatter (rapidly
open and shut, in other words) around the threshold.
The solution to the problem is, of course, fully variable
attack and release controls. The attack time sets the
movement of the noise gate as it moves in and out of gain
reduction ideally, set fast enough to preserve transient
detail but not so fast that the gate opening becomes
audible. The release is suitably graduated, accounting for
the decay characteristics of the input as well as allowing
the movement into gain reduction to be smooth enough
so that its relatively transparent to the ear.
Keys to the kingdom

Threshold
0dB Gain Reduction

Release
Range
Attack
-96dB
Adjusting the various parameters on the noise gate contours the

key gating effect, moving between an almost percussive-like
effect and a subtle pulsing.
focus
Although they were obviously primarily designed for the

purposes of noise reduction, engineers subsequently
started to investigate how a noise gate could be turned to
more creative ends not simply removing noise, but
actively shaping the volume of the input to create a new
dynamic envelope to the sound. The key to this process is
the facility granted to sidechain the noise gate.
Sidechaining enables an engineer to make a distinction
between the audio input being used to drive or key
the gain-reduction circuitry, and an external source
(unrelated to the input) being used to control the noise
gates movements.
A classic example of a sidechained noise gate is
something like a bass guitar track being keyed by the
kick drum. With a suitable amount of range established
(6dB, for example), the bass guitar is attenuated when
Key gating 10MM MTF
the kick isnt playing. When the kick is playing, though,

the gate opens, effectively accenting the bass guitar. As a
result of this keyed noise gate, the bass guitar gains a
new degree of tightness, locked in with the movement of
the kick drum.
Key gating makes a distinction between a sustained

signal fed into the noise gates audio input and a
percussive trigger fed into the sidechain input.
SUSTAINED PAD
OUTPUT
Gate keeper
Key gating, however, takes the concept of a sidechained
noise gate to its logical and more extreme conclusion.
The defining ingredients of the key gating effect are the
two signals used to feed the noise gate one acting as
the audio input to the gate, the other running into the
noise gates sidechain input (external key). In the case of
the audio input, we need a sound with plenty of sustain,
which could be anything from a heavily distorted electric
guitar to a rich sawtooth pad coming from a synth. The
external key, though, should be a short, clipped sound
following some form of rhythm the hi-hat, for example.
Returning to the parameters mentioned earlier, its
interesting to see how these become key components of
the gating effect. The basic effect, of course, is defined
by the interaction between the two forms of input: the
external key (hi-hat) opening and closing the gate in a
rhythmic fashion over the sustained input, effectively
creating a new, staccato-like sound. Given the different
durations of the two hi-hat sounds open and closed
AUDIO INPUT
NOISE GATE
HI HAT
SIDE-CHAIN
INPUT
Key gating became a staple

component of record production
during the 70s and 80s
it might also be that the effect is given extra rhythmic
interest, producing a duh-duh-dah-type sound.
In the case of the range parameter, we have control
over the intensity of the effect and, therefore, the amount
of staccato. At the maximum range, the key gating effect
will be extreme, with silence between each of the hi-hat
hits being fed into the external key. Decreasing the range
will let more of the pad sound through, softening the
effect and making it closer to a subtle pulsing effect.
Attack and release in the context of key gating have an
immediate and intuitive effect on the output, enabling you
to shape the dynamic envelope each time the gate opens
and shuts. Fast attack and release will lend a spiky

percussive-quality to the effect, which is favoured for its
ability to create sequencer-like lines from any sustained
synthesizer. In much the same way as decreasing the
range, slowing down the attack and release softens the
edges of the effect, giving it more of a pulsing quality.
Chain gang
The ability to execute a key gating effect in your DAW falls
down to its ability to utilise sidechaining (the extent to
which varies from DAW to DAW). Failing that, theres
always the possibility of using a software synths
amplifier section, feeding the pad elements into the
audio input then opening and shutting the amplifier
using a MIDI input. In Reason, for example, you can use
the Matrix pattern sequencer and feed its gate output to
a suitable Amp Env Gate input on Subtractor.
To achieve internal key gating effects, many software
synths now feature complicated rate-level envelope
generators, which allow you to embed key gating effects
directly into a patch. A good example of this is
Omnispheres Envelope Zoom page, which has an almost
limitless number of breakpoints that can be used to
create complicated rhythmic envelope sequences. By
routing the desired envelope through to the amplifier you
can create the classic key gating effect.
Dynamic delights
Although theres a variety of ways of achieving the effect
nowadays, the sound of key gating remains an everpresent part of music production. Whether youre
creating the effect using a sidechained noise gate or by
using one of the various options in software, the
distinctive tempo-synced movement that key gating can
add to a piece of music is always a welcome addition.
Dynamic processing, therefore, offers far more than just
compression, with a variety of techniques and
possibilities at the engineers disposal. MTF
Many software synths feature rate-level envelopes, arguably

negating the need to use a noise gate for key gating effects.
FURTHER INFO
For more on gates and expanders: www.musictech
mag.co.uk/mtm/features/gates-and-expanders
For more on envelopes: www.musictechmag.co.uk/
mtm/features/10mm113-modulation-with-envelopes
| 43
Ozone 5 Walkthrough MTF
Ozone 5 Step-by-Step
Make better masters
On the disc
using Ozone 5
Thanks to accomplished software from the likes of

iZotope, mastering is now a perfectly feasible task
in the project studio. Rob Boffard gets you started
revious versions had a decidedly old-school

feel, with chunky buttons and a science-lab
look, but the latest version of iZotopes
mastering plug-in looks gorgeous, with sleek
graphics and a clean feel. And in the
battlefield of home mastering, Ozone has become
something of a howitzer. Its a great all-in-one system,
and ideal if youre looking to put an extra sheen on your
tracks but dont have enough cash to send them to a
dedicated mastering studio or you just want to take a
crack at it yourself.
That said, Ozone can be a little overwhelming, and
thats what this guide is for. Were going to show you how
to get the best out of Ozone 5, running through some of
the key processes youll be using to make your tracks
sound crisp and loud both ones established in the
plug-in and brand-new ones. This is everything you need
to know to not only get up and running, but also to
achieve some great mastering. We cant cover absolutely
everything for all its compact charm, Ozone really is an
MTF Navigation Ozone 5 key features
incredibly deep plug-in but all of its major parts will get
a full workout. Lets start with the first link in the Ozone
signal chain: the equaliser.
All things equal

Ozone 5 actually has two EQs. Theyre both
fundamentally similar, but have different roles in the
signal chain. The first simply labelled Equaliser lets
you make broad-brush adjustments to your track right at
the start of the mastering process, while the other Post
In the battlefield of home

mastering, Ozone has become
something of a howitzer
Equaliser is positioned at the end of the process,
enabling you to fine-tune any frequencies affected by the
other processing modules.
There are two main modes for Ozones EQs: Analog
and Digital. The former is for when you want a little colour,
while the latter is for when you need things to be a little
more transparent. In general terms, you shouldnt need to
MAIN WINDOW
Most modules have the same format: controls at the bottom, visual window
at the top. You can usually choose how you want your sound to be displayed, too.
CONTROLS
a GLOBAL
Ozones modules all have
the same controls next to them: a
big square button to select your
module, an on/off button, and a
little arrow for the preset menu.
SLIDERS
b AMOUNT
Not just wet/dry controls
theyre a very subtle way of
controlling how much each
module affects the mix. You get a
global slider, plus individual ones
for each module.
d
METER CONTROLS
Nice little combo here:
zoom buttons, a mid/side
monitoring switch (the blue/
orange number) and buttons
to lock the left and right
channels. Handy.
| 45
MTF Walkthrough Ozone 5
MTF Step-by-Step Mid/side processing
One of Ozones most potent weapons is

its mid/side processing, which enables
you to separate the main parts of the stereo
field and treat them separately. This will
allow you to make your tracks seem wider
and have more depth. To access it, click on
the button labelled Stereo on the bottom-left
of Ozones main screen. Cycle through the
options until you get to Mid/Side. To the right,
youll see little section coloured blue and
orange. This is your main Mid/Side control.
You have M/S processing in all Ozone

modules except the Stereo Imager and
the Maximiser. Its reasonably straightforward
to work out: you can access the mids (orange)
or the sides (blue), and you can solo or bypass
either side. The two joined circles in the middle
is a link button, enabling you to control both at
once. Load in a track and play around with
soloing the mids and sides to get a feel for
whats happening.
Were going to do some mid/side EQing

on our track. For starters, make sure
that the Digital and Linear options are
selected (this will help prevent any phase
problems). Select the side option youll
notice that the EQ curve turns blue to match.
The sides of a stereo mix often benefit from a
little boost in the upper frequencies, so raise
it a few dB at around 5kHz. This will give your
track a little extra air solo the sides to see
what we mean.
Select the mids and youll have an

orange EQ curve that remains separate
from your blue one. Try boosting the mids a
little at around 1kHz this will give the track
a little more body. As with all mastering, the
key is to be very gentle, and keep A/Bing
(using the History tab) to make sure that your
changes are doing good things to the mix.
Youll see that there are two EQ spectra: one
each for the mids and sides.
By now, youll have noticed that certain

instruments are dominant in the sides
(vocals, hi-hats, lead synths) and others tend
to be concentrated in the mids (bass lines,
kick drums). You can use M/S processing to
make sure that they dont stray out of their
zones just apply a couple of shelving cuts at
the extreme top and bottom ends to, for
example, remove bass frequencies in the sides.
Be aware that M/S processing can often

have unexpected results when you start
playing around with the other modules, such
as reverb or compression. As a general rule, if
you use it once, activate it for every
subsequent module in your signal chain to
hear whats happening in the different parts
of your mix. If necessary, use the Post
Equaliser to correct any unwanted changes
youre hearing in your song.
01
04
02
05
use EQ to make huge changes to your track: think soft,

shallow slopes as opposed to deep spikes. If you need to
be precise, pick the Digital option, select your preferred
style of EQ (linear is a good choice for complete
transparency) and cut/boost to your hearts content.
There are a few other useful tools. Click the little +
icon on the bottom left and some tabs will pop up.
Alongside the standard EQ Bands tab youll notice two
others: Snapshot and Matching.
Snapshot is a seriously handy little widget. Select how
long you want it to capture for, press play and hit Start
Capture. Ozone will provide a freeze-framed version of
your tracks frequency spectrum, making it easy to see
where the dominant areas are. And by the way, see the
little Guides tab, just under the Capture section? The 6dB
and the Pink option might seem a little strange at first,
but what they let you do is put a guiding line over your
track, so you can try to match your EQ to it. And since
these guide lines represent a common EQ profile for
mastered songs, you might want to use them (Pink, by the
way, doesnt refer to the pop singer its a 3dB guide line).
FOCUS
PRO TIP
Ozone 5 comes in Standard
and Advanced, which costs
more. Advanced gives you
things like a meter bridge,
spectrum analyser, component
plug-ins for use on individual
tracks in a mix, stereo reverb
split and more. If youre looking
for fine-grained control, the
Advanced edition could be
worth the investment.
03
06
Then theres Matching. Lets say youve heard a song

that has fantastic mastering on it, and youre thinking, I
want to make my track sound like that! Matching is a
good first step. Drag the target song into your DAW,
placing it on the same track as the one youre mastering.
While its playing, use Ozone to take a snapshot of it, and
it will store itself next to the capture window. Click
Matching and youll see your target snapshot displayed
on the right. Select it and use the Amount slider to
determine how closely you want Ozones EQ to try to
match the sound. Used sparingly, it can be a useful tool.
Reverb nation
Working out how much reverb to apply is one of the
trickiest bits of the mastering process. After all, if youve
spent ages getting a crisp, clean mix, why muddy it up
with reverb? But when used correctly, it can give some
wonderful colour, and can be a real asset to your track.
First, click the Solo Wet button under the mix controls
to the left. Ozone separates the verb into early
reflections and late tails: the Mode and Pre-delay
Ozone 5 Walkthrough MTF
selectors (and Early Reflections, if youve got the

advanced version) control the former, while the various
Decay controls sort out the latter. The key to getting a
great reverb sound as with the EQ comes in being
very gentle and listening very closely to exactly what the
reverb is doing.
Pick a reasonably gentle mode Room, say and
start raising the faders one by one. In the View window
above the faders, click the Impulse Response button
(which looks like a sloped hill). This will give you a visual
representation of your reverb tail handy when youre
looking to make fine adjustments. The button above it
gives you access to a rudimentary EQ with low and high
cut-off filters handy if you dont want your reverb to
muddy up your carefully crafted bass.
Maximum boost
This is the fun bit. Remember how, in your mix, you
restrained yourself from trying to make it loud, taking
pains to watch your headroom and making sure that the
PRO TIP
Ozones default signal chain is
reasonably sensible, but it
does give you the option to
switch it around. You can do
this by clicking on the Graph
button then clicking and
dragging devices around to
change their order. Try, for
example, swapping around the
dynamics and the exciter
modules to change the quality
of the sound.
little red clipping icon never illuminated? Well, the boring

bits over. Time to make this sucker loud, and thats the
job of Ozones Maximizer.
First, youll need to select a Mode for it. The IRC
(Intelligent Release Control) modes are designed to be
used when you want completely clear, transparent
limiting. Pick plain IRC for your normal limiting needs,
and select IRC II or III when you really decide to blow
some speakers. Be careful, though the IRC II and III can
leave you with some latency issues, and can put some
strain on your computer. Hard and soft limiting are
reasonably self-explanatory, but youll notice that the
controls change slightly when you select them. For now,
well stick with the IRC options.
Your main tools here are the Threshold/Margin
controls think of it as working like a compressor. The
Threshold tells the Maximizer when to kick in, while the
Margin tells it what to push the gain up to. Bring the
Threshold down until the central red meter kicks in, and
then bring the Margin down accordingly. While wed
MTF Step-by-Step Multi-band compression
Multi-band processing is something

youll see pop up a lot in Ozone. The
compressor, however, is where its at its most
powerful. Select the compressor and look in
the View window at the top. Youll see a
default four bands across the frequency
spectrum. You can bypass and solo individual
bands, change their width by dragging the
lines, and even remove bands by rightclicking on the window. Helpfully, clicking on
a band changes the Ozone colour scheme.
You can control the different parts of the

compressor visually (using the nodes) or
by adjusting the sliders on the left. Each band
can have its own separate compression,
limiting and gate options, enabling you to craft
a compression curve for each part of your
track. Note the threshold sliders on the far left:
start playing with your ratios and youll see the
red compression indicator start dropping
down between them.
We tend to start with the limiter, and

when youre using it, its best to make a
global change to the bands first. To do this,
click on the Show All button below the View
window, which will give you a detailed
readout of your compression values. Click the
little stereo link button to the left of it, then
adjust your limiter values accordingly. This
will give you a good base to work from; you
can always dip into the individual bands if
you want to make fine adjustments later on.
As a rule, youll want to put slightly

heavier compression on the middle and
lower bands than the upper ones. This will
give your mix some real body and still let it
retain some dynamic range. In mastering, the
attack and release values can make a real
difference; we find a medium attack and a
reasonably quick release often has the
desired effect, but spend a little time finding
out what works best.
The gate is among Ozones most subtle

effects, and it can often be hard to tell if
its making a difference. At a ratio of more than
1, it starts reducing the volume of all sounds
below the threshold, but push it the other way
and it acts as an expander, boosting everything
below the threshold. Wed suggest
experimenting to find out what it does to your
sound, as it can have different effects
depending on what is passed through it.
There are a couple of other bits worth

looking at. Firstly, when youre A/Bing,
make sure that youve selected the Auto Gain
option under the Mix and Gain faders, so when
you bypass the compression, Ozone raises the
volume, giving a clearer mix picture. Secondly,
you can switch between RMS and Peak
monitoring via the button under the Threshold
control. If youre using heavy compression,
choose RMS. If youre just taming the peaks,
well, Peak is the one to go for.
01
04
02
05
03
06
| 47
MTF Walkthrough Ozone 5
always suggest using your ears to judge, Ozone provides

a handy visual aid. In the View window up top, select the
uppermost button (Gain Reduction Trace) and hit play.
Youll see your waveform scrolling across and, above
it, a bold line indicating the limiting. Bring the Margin
down until the bold line just touches the waveform. Its
not a concrete rule by any means, but it will help give you
natural limiting. When Hard or Soft modes are selected,
youll get access to a Release slider for the limiter. You
can fine-tune your loudness by adjusting the Character
fader (in other words, how fast it kicks in, and how
smoothly) and choose to work on the left and right
channels separately by selecting Stereo Link.
There are a couple of final tricks, too: the Intersample
Detection button (essentially a nifty tool for when you
make the levels really hot and want to avoid distortion)
and the Transient Recovery fader, which you get in the
advanced version and which helps to sharpen the
transients in your track useful if youve got a song with
a lot of percussion elements in it.
In a dither
When Ozone was first released, it came with two guides:
one for how to use the program, and an equally long one
that focused just on dithering. Were not going to spend
too much time on dither mostly because if we did, youd
be bored to tears.
What the dithering process actually does is add a
very low, virtually inaudible layer of noise to your track,
which helps to maintain the sound quality when the
track is subsequently converted to a lower sample rate
for example, if you want to export it in a number of
different formats.
Youll find the controls for it located on the far side of
the Maximizer. If youre not au fait with the complexities
of dither it can initially seem like gibberish. Dont let it
scare you too much, though if you know that youre
going to be dealing with lower sample rates, then MBIT+
is generally considered to be the most suitable option,
and more often than not you can usually leave the other
options untouched. MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Stereo imaging
Widening your mix is one of the main

reasons for doing mastering in the first
place, and a few tweaks can really help
separate it from the crowd. Look at Ozones
Stereo Imager with your track playing. The
first thing youll notice is the funky-looking
vectorscope, available in a bunch of flavours
via the button on the top right. The different
displays give different information about
your track, but in practice theyre showing
the same thing: its stereo spread.
Youll also notice meters alongside and

below the vectorscope. The horizontal
one the balance meter tracks which side
of the mix is the most dominant, while the
vertical one the correlation meter tracks
how similar the sides are (the closer it is to +1,
the closer the sides are). You can use this to
make informed decisions about how to
spread your sound: if an instrument has
unwanted dominance in one side of the mix,
the meters will let you know.
The stereo imager is multi-band, so you

can control the spread at different
points in your mix. The clever bit here is that
you can make things narrower as well as
spreading them out: a common trick is to
draw in the bass sounds in your mix by
pulling down the first two Width faders, while
pushing the second two up make the highs
spread out to the sides. That way, you get a
wide stereo field without sacrificing the
punch of your mix.
Because of the way Ozone is laid-out,

its easy to think that the Width faders
and the Offset controls (click the Offset tab
under the vectorscope) are the same thing.
Theyre not. The former just widen the fields
of a given band, while the latter introduces
delay. Using the Offsets to introduce a couple
of milliseconds delay into each band can
really help to give the impression of depth,
and they sound particularly good when
applied to the highs in a mix.
Phase cancellation can become a

problem when expanding a stereo field,
especially if your track has live elements in it,
and Ozone has a couple of tools to help you
watch for this. Select the bottom button on the
top left, by the View window, and play a track.
Anything in red indicates that something is
dipping out-of-phase. The phase and channel
options below the vectorscope also give you
some insight, including the ability to hear your
track in mono (always worth checking!).
If youve got the Advanced version of

Ozone youll also have access to
something called the Stereoizer, which is a
godsend if you have a narrow-sounding or
even a mono recording. What it does is add
width to these recordings by introducing
delay. The effect is quite a subtle one, but if
youre looking to add some shine to a track
without too many stereo elements, its well
worth using.
01
04
focus
02
05
03
06
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INSIGHT.indd 1
19/11/2012 11:07
MTF Workshop T-RackS 3
T-RackS 3 Workshop
Mastering with
IK T-RackS 3
IKs suite was the first solution for mastering using
software, and today its better than ever, as
Hollin Jones explains
hen you look at the way music

technology has evolved there have been
a number of milestones in the last
couple of decades. The first was
probably the sampling of digital audio in
the mid 1980s. This was followed by digital
multitracking, plug-ins and virtual instruments in the
1990s. Theres a strong case to be made that at around
the same time, the release of IK Multimedias T-RackS
mastering suite had almost as big an impact on the way
that the production process was being democratised.
Even though mastering as a technique remained little
understood at the time, among many working in home
studios, the advent of affordable, software-based tools
that let you do it for yourself was incredibly important.
Now at version 3, T-RackS has of course since been
joined by many other software mastering solutions and
computing power has increased immeasurably in the
intervening years. Nonetheless it remains one of the
easiest to use and most flexible sets of tools out there.
This is due in part to the fact that it runs both as a
On the disc
standalone application and each of its component

modules can be loaded individually inside your DAW, so
they can be used not just for mastering but at any point
in the production process. There are great features, like
the ability to load multiple files, which is handy for
mastering whole albums, and metering systems that
can be tailored to show, amongst other things, the
optimum levels for specific genres of music. The
Standard version has four processing modules and the
Deluxe version comes with nine, but otherwise they
work in much the same way.
Making tracks
PRO TIP
Using the Show Chain button
helps you to understand how
your signal is being processed
by T-RackS. It passes from left
to right and theres the option
to process in parallel as well
as in serial configurations by
using the B slots available in
the first four module slots.
Parallel and serial processing
can often yield significantly
different results.
The Standard version has four

processing modules and the
Deluxe version comes with nine
Running in standalone mode, T-RackS presents you

with a number of sections and the first thing youll need
to do is load an audio file. You can do this either by
dragging and dropping one or more files into the main
part of the window, or by using the Load button at the
bottom left hand corner to navigate to some compatible
files. Your mixdowns will almost certainly be in WAV or
AIFF format and should have been exported at the
highest quality to match the quality you were working at
in your DAW. 1
You can load MP3s and other compressed file
formats, but by mastering them and exporting from
T-RackS as higher quality formats you arent actually
adding any quality, just empty file size. Your master is
only as good as the quality and fidelity of the file you
import, which is why its so important to maintain full
quality settings throughout mixing and mastering.
T-RackS should automatically detect the settings of
the file you import but if for any reason you wish to
change settings you can go to the File menu and choose
Project Properties. Here you can set the file format,
1
2
4
3
Load multiple files into T-RackS for processing,
ensuring that they are of the highest quality,
matching that at which they existed in your
DAW. Then you can start to load processors
FOCUS
T-RackS 3 Workshop MTF
7
Load global or per-module presets and
add compression to start to smooth out
your mix and add punch.
T-RackS has two ways of

loading processors, to be found
at the top left of the window
resolution up to 64-bit float, sample rate up to 192kHz
and choose to add dithering. Theres an option to link
T-RackS processors to the imported file, which is
sensible to leave switched on. 2 Again you can
upsample here, entering higher settings than your
original file possesses, but although it wont do any
harm it wont add any fidelity either.
Loading processors
You should see your file load into the waveform viewer
at the base of the window and if your mixdown was
performed using broadly the right settings your file will
probably look fairly solid but will retain some dynamic
range, meaning that youll be able to spot plenty of
transients. 3 The waveform shouldnt look really small
nor should it be squashed up against the top and
bottom of the display, which would mean it was too
quiet or too loud respectively.
T-RackS has two ways of loading processors and
these are found at the top left of the window. If you click
on the Global button, the presets menu will display
presets containing multiple processors along with their
settings. If you select Module, you will see presets
grouped by individual module. To get started lets load a
compressor, which involves selecting the Module option
and then going to the preset menu. Im going to choose
a Model 670 compressor with a warm preset. 4 Since
you will be doing a lot of listening during mastering you
may also want to set up a loop over a specific section,
which you can do by activating looping in the Transport
panel and then dragging the Loop markers. 5
Depending on the source material you may find the
compression preset you have chosen is a little too hot
and is pushing your material a bit hard. You will be able
to tell this from looking at the Peak meters and seeing if
they hit the red. If they are, back the compression off a
little by lowering the input channel gain knobs for the
left and right channels. 6 Do this until the levels stop
peaking. You can deal with absolute levels later when
PRO TIP
The waveform view at the base
of the window has some useful
tricks of its own. As well as
letting you set loop points it
also has Fade In and Out
handles that are draggable or
can be set by clicking and
dragging in the time display
boxes. You can even set curve
types for the fades
using the curve
chooser boxes for
each fade. This
saves you topping
and tailing files in a
wave editor app
afterwards.
you are limiting, but for now your focus should be on

smoothing out the sound and adding punch but not
sheer volume, even though some gain will be added. The
right and left Threshold controls set the amount of
compression. Fully clockwise means maximum
compression and fully to the left means no
compression. The left and right Time Constant dials set
the compressor release time; positions 1 to 4 are quick
to slow, with 5 and 6 being dual time constants which
work better on mixed stereo material. 7
With the AGC dial set to Left or Right, the
compressor will work on unlinked stereo channels. Set
to Link, which you will probably want to leave on, it
works in linked stereo mode with both channels having
the same settings to help with image stability. Set to Lat
/ Vert, the compressor works on the middle and side
portions of the stereo field, with Lat being the centre
and Vert being the sides.
Modular system
You can change presets or indeed swap the module out
for any other, including the other model of compressor,
| 51
MTF Workshop T-RackS 3
10
You can chain compressors together to allow

parallel processing and then bring in other
modules like EQ.
by using the menu system at the top. The first

four slots feature A/B options for parallel
processing so you could, if you wanted, load a
different compressor or preset into slot B and
then toggle between slots A and B and change
settings to process the signal through two
compressors at once, perhaps one using the left
side of the signal and the other the right. 8 If you
wanted to see how the chain is set up, youd
simply click on the Show Chain button at the top
right hand corner. 9
As you might expect its possible to mix and match
as many modules as you like but a typical mastering
setup might next include an EQ unit, say for example
the Linear Phase EQ. Again this can use stereo, dual
mono or M/S modes and is essential during mastering
for sweetening and balancing the mix to account for any
changes introduced by compression or other
processing that is taking place. 10 Presets are available
for this as for other modules, though EQ tends to be
highly specific to any given track. So a preset might
sound okay but its almost certain to need changing to
get optimum results.
Activate up to six bands and choose a band type
using the button next to the bands power switch. Then,
set the frequency using the Frequency dial and the Q
value using the neighbouring Q dial. Q is the width of the
band, so a lower Q value will produce a smooth curve,
taking in more frequencies around your EQ point. A
narrow / higher Q value isolates a much more specific
frequency and so is better for cutting or boosting

individual sounds or groups of sounds with very
similar frequencies. If you found for example that
a guitar, vocal or horn sound was sticking out of
the soundstage during mastering, you could try
to isolate the offending frequency by sweeping
around and then using the EQ point with a narrow
Q to cut it. Or do the reverse to boost it. 11
To the limit
PRO TIP
Any of T-RackS modules can
be loaded as plug-ins inside
your DAW, which means
theyre great for tracking and
mixing as well as mastering. In
addition to the processing
modules you can also load its
metering section by itself,
which is particularly good for
getting a handle on how your
soundstage is behaving. If you
already own the software its a
bit of a bonus to discover this.
13
11
12
Up to six bands of EQ let you isolate

offending frequencies, while two
models of limiter help to squeeze
maximum power out of your signal.
The last stage of most masters is limiting, and

here you have a choice of two models. The
Brickwall Limiter can be used to squeeze more
overall gain out of your tracks, and you will want to set
the Output Ceiling dial somewhere just below 0dB then
drive the input to squeeze the signal without it clipping.
It can be sensible to use an output value of -0.1 to -1 dB,
depending on how hard you want to push it. 12 By
raising the input gain you can drive the signal harder,
monitoring levels to see how much gain reduction is
being applied to the signal, and how consistently close
to 0dB the output level is being pushed. 13
The key is to get a good, powerful level without
over-squashing the sound, so your Output meter
shouldnt be showing solid signal, but strong signal.
Your ears should also tell you when the audio is being
driven too hard as it will sound forced and perhaps also
distort a little. The limiter also includes Attack and
Release controls, and multiple Styles, each of which
affects the character of the sound.
FOCUS
T-RackS 3 Workshop MTF
14
15
Your ears are your first measuring instrument
but your eyes are important too.
Multi meters
Your ears are a great guide to how T-RackS is
processing your master but your eyes need to be used
as well. The Peak meter will show you overall levels, but
the Perceived Loudness meter is important too. In the
Settings menu you can go to the Loudness Suggestion
section and choose what kind of material you are
working with. 14 This is more than just a novelty, since
what it does is switches the Loudness meter to show
different safe zones. The signal should be spending
You can of course save setups

as presets and apply these quickly
to other tracks in your track list
most of its time in the green area, straying only
occasionally into the red zone. 15 With folk music, for
example, the perceived loudness should be lower, and
for metal, higher. The display changes to reflect your
settings and if its consistently too low you should
probably be driving it a bit harder. Too high, and you
should probably back it off a little. These arent absolute
rules, but theyre very handy guidelines.
You also get Phase, Phase Correlation and Spectrum
analysers, each with parameters that can be set using
their sections in the Settings menu. 16 Underneath
these are four slots, A to D and these can be used to
store up to four temporary treatments of any track.

Click on a slot to select it, and use the Copy To button to
copy settings between slots. This is great when for
example you want to try two or more setups with
slightly different settings, but dont want to have to
keep modifying the one preset.
Its perfectly possible of course to save setups as
presets and apply these quickly to other tracks in your
track list. Its also useful to periodically use the
Compare button at the top right to mute all processing
and hear what your original sounds like. You will
probably be surprised by how much of a difference the
processing is making. Tracks can be processed using
the Process button at the bottom right hand corner,
which reveals an Export window. Here you can choose
to process either the current file or all open files, which
is good for batch processing. 17 The export settings will
reflect the settings you made earlier in the Project
Properties menu.
As well as having some excellent modules, T-RackS
simplifies the mastering process by giving you all the
tools you need in one easy-to-use suite with advanced
metering, four slots for comparing treatments and
flexible routing options. Keep things simple with basic
mastering chains or get into great detail by splitting left
and right channels, middle and side and applying
multiple compressors and EQs if thats what your
project calls for. Use it in your DAW or on its own and you
will find your tracks sounding sweeter and punchier
than ever before. MTF
17
16
Four slots are available to store treatments, while setups

can also easily be saved. Finally, process and export!
| 53
MTF Walkthrough Audio analysis
Audio Analysis Step-by-Step
Analysing audio
On the disc
during mastering
Analysing your audio during the mastering stage is

vital if you are going to achieve the best possible
results. Hollin Jones takes a reading
hen you are mixing and mastering music

you need to trust not only your ears but
also your eyes. As good as you may be at
listening, variations and inconsistencies
in monitors, speaker placement, and
room size and reflections can all lead to a situation
where what your ears perceive is not quite the full story.
The most commonly encountered problem is with bottom
end, which can appear artificially loud or quiet,
depending on where your speakers are and what the
shape of the room is. This is where audio metering and
analysis come in. Sitting between your audio and your
ears, analysers look at the signal before it has passed to
the speakers and so before it has been affected by any of
the physical characteristics of the room or your monitors.
read an analyser is critical to tracking, mixing and

mastering, as well as general studio troubleshooting.
Most DAWs will have some sort of analysis plug-in or
feature in addition to the level meters we take for
granted, and there are some excellent third-party models
on the market that take audio analysis way beyond what
the stock plug-ins can offer. It can be worth investing in a
dedicated analysis tool because they tend to offer more
controls and greater flexibility than the models that
come bundled with all but the higher end DAWs.
Understanding how to use

and read an analyser is critical to
tracking, mixing and mastering
Before getting into the details, its well worth asking
why audio analysis is so important, and how it can help
you. We are all used to working with level meters during
mastering, and their function is fairly obvious: to show
you the volume of a track and whether it is too loud or
quiet. They are, however, only one way of analysing audio.
In a perfect world, your ears would be the only guide you
The idea behind analysis

Some people imagine that since audio analysis tools
dont process or generate sound, they dont really do
anything, and yet understanding how to properly use and
MTF Navigation Audio Analysis
DYNAMIC RANGE
Dynamic range and correlation meters are useful
for understanding how much headroom is left in your
mix as well as how hard you are pushing the signal.
PLUG-IN CHAINS
Analysis plug-ins dont actually
change the sound, they merely
analyse it and give you visual
feedback. So they can be safely added
to plug-in chains and mixed with plugs
that do process audio.
b
a
FOCUS
INCORPORATED
Analysis plug-ins
that come as standard
with DAWs can be a little
more basic but theyre
still useful for getting a
handle on things.
LOUDNESS METERS
Some manufacturers offer free
loudness meters as additional
downloads for users, as is the case with
Steinbergs SLM 128.
Audio analysis Walkthrough MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Audio analysis with T-RackS
You dont need to load any modules to

analyse tracks in T-RackS, even though
you will probably have at least a couple
running for the purposes of mastering. For a
start you will get to see the waveform of the
track, which will give you an idea of its
current volume. The middle section contains
the metering tools, and you can alter any of
their settings using the Settings button
located under the spectrum analyser display.
Start with the Peak meter. You can set

this to various scales based on how you
prefer to meter. Move on to the Perceived
Loudness meter. This combines averaging and
frequency weighting to give you a good idea of
how the song will be perceived by the listener.
Absolute volume values are not always a
guarantee of how a track will actually sound;
this can vary depending on the kind of material
you are working with.
Under the Settings section you can

choose a musical genre that most
closely corresponds to yours. On this meter
you want the level to be around the lower end
of the green zone most of the time, straying
into the red zone only for the very loudest
parts. The Phase Correlation meter should be
moving between 0 and 1, with the Phase
Scope meter displaying values that dont
stray too close to being flat on either axis.
The spectrum analyser can again be

tweaked using the Settings section, and
switched between Peak, RMS and Average
display types. If set to respond quickly in
Peak or RMS mode, it is good for identifying
parts of the spectrum that need to be altered
with EQ. When set to react more slowly in
Average mode, it is better for keeping the
overall balance of the track youre working
with under control.
The idea is that your master should be

pushing 0dB on the Peak meter but never
clipping. If you have set limiting up correctly,
this is what you should be seeing. If you are
driving the input too hard you may hear some
distortion, in which case you need to drop it
down a little. Remember that you can set the
Peak meter to display wider settings than -60
to 0, if you are mastering for vinyl, for example.
The metering section of T-RackS is also

available as an individual plug-in, which
can be strapped across a track or across the
master buss of your DAW or wave editor to be
used independently of the rest of the suite.
Here it can be seen across a track being
mastered in Cubase, and offers more insight
into the characteristics of the signal than
Cubases own metering plug-ins.
01
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02
05
needed to tell you what was going on inside your mixes.

And while your own judgement is critical, in reality, most
music setups are far from perfect in terms of the
listening environment and the equipment in use.
The most common problem is inaccurate bass
response, something that can lead you to deliberately
mix the bass too low or high to compensate for the room,
or to get it wrong entirely if youre not aware of the
idiosyncrasies of the space youre working in. By placing
an audio analyser across a mix, you can see exactly what
the bass is doing while the signal is still inside the
computer, before it gets out into the room and fools you
due to poor acoustics, or, indeed, poor monitors.
In addition, modern setups contain a labyrinth of level
controls. Theres the master fader in your DAW, the
monitor level on your audio interface or amp and possibly
also volume controls on your powered monitors. If any of
these is set too low or high, your ears will not give you a
true impression of the volume of a track. Only an audio
analyser running inside the computer or, if you are more
hardware-based, the meters on a large mixing desk, can
PRO TIP
Wave editors like Wavelab and
Sound Forge tend to have more
advanced built in metering and
analysis tools since they are
designed with this kind of
thing in mind and arent trying
to be all in one music creation
packages. The metering in
WaveLab for example can be
extensively tweaked and there
are multiple meter types to
help you better understand
your master.
03
06
give you an accurate picture. One other thing worth

remembering is that you can get a better idea of how the
professionals work by analysing the various waveforms,
levels and stereo characteristics of tracks that you rip
from CD and, in the process, better understand how to
improve the sound of your own masters.
Types of analysis
There are multiple types of audio analyser, each with a
different function. Level meters are perhaps the most
common way to analyse audio and modern digital
metering is extremely accurate. Although its often
possible for software to display levels with great speed,
this can be difficult for the user to follow or understand
and so in many cases an averaging system is used to
take small sections of the audio and display an average
volume as it plays back. This makes the display smoother
and easier to look at and in some ways gives a similar
experience to traditional, needle-based VU meters, which
take time to rise and fall with the volume of the signal.
Unlike analogue kit, digital systems are scaled so that
| 55
MTF Walkthrough Audio analysis
the maximum value is shown as 0dBFS and anything

over this brings the possibility of clipping or distortion.
Most of the time your levels should be below zero on a
digital meter. This is why when mastering, people often
set limiters to -0.1dB, to ensure that zero is not reached.
Spectrum analysers display the relative strengths of
different frequencies and are also a commonly used form
of audio analysis. Typically working on a graph system
with lower frequencies on the left and higher ones on the
right, they can be used in simple or advanced ways to
measure the overall frequency characteristics of audio.
Many are able to display peak values and the more
advanced models can take snapshots, zoom in on
specific frequencies, show stereo channels separately
and so on.
Phase meters are perhaps a little more opaque; they
meter the coherence of the phase between the left and
right channels of a mix. This is particularly important for
ensuring mono compatibility and can also help you to
understand why sounds might disappear when panned
PRO TIP
WaveLab can analyse audio
clips globally too. Here, it has
analysed a file for loudness
and found that since it has not
yet been mastered, the left and
right channels only have a
maximum loudness of around
-7dB, which is normal for a
mixdown. Post-mastering you
can expect this to be between
-1 and 0dB.
to certain points. Phase problems can arise when a

source has been recorded using two or more mics,
perhaps onto multiple audio tracks, such as guitars,
pianos or drums. A phase meter can help you to identify
and correct these problems. A phase meter ranges from
-1 to +1, with the +1 setting meaning a signal that is
perfectly in phase. Zero means perfect stereo and -1
means two channels that are completely phase-inverted.
A signal should usually live somewhere between zero and
+1 to avoid phase problems.
The whole spectrum

A spectrogram is a more modern kind of audio analyser,
and these are a little like spectral analysers in that they
show the intensity of different frequencies. Where they
differ is that they use colour values rather than graphs,
and a scrolling interface so that the recent frequency
history is always visible. The advantage they have over
spectral analysers is that you can get a picture of how a
track is behaving over time, which is very hard to discern
MTF Step-by-Step Working with Blue Cat Audios analysis tools
Blue Cat Audio makes some excellent,

advanced audio analysis plug-ins. Here
we have loaded up a stereo audio file and
inserted an instance of FreqAnalyst. Using
the controls we are able to show or hide the
left and right channels, maximum values and
an average. This is quite a full and rich
sounding track, which you can see from the
display. Theres plenty of signal filling up the
main part of the window.
Swapping the plug-in for FreqAnalyst Pro,

you have many more options. Here we
have switched from Spectrum to Spectrogram
view and chosen a 3D view. As the track plays
back, it is displayed using colours to represent
frequencies and amplitude. You can use the
threshold slider to display only values above a
certain level. Its a particularly interesting way
to get an overview of your sound.
In 3D mode, you are able to pick the

display up using the mouse and spin it
around in three dimensions. Here for example
we are looking at it from the front rather than
the top and have isolated only the loudest
sounds. During mastering or mixing, you
could at this point adjust EQ, compression or
limiting to deal with any overly loud or quiet
parts of the track. The feedback from the
changes will be reflected in the display.
Next we have loaded up the

Stereoscope Pro plug-in, which lets us
analyse the stereo characteristics of our
track. Signal that displays in the red areas is
beyond 100% left or right and so out of phase.
Again, you can use the Curve selector section
on the right to choose which values to display.
Its a more advanced way to look at stereo
than you tend to get as standard with a DAW.
At the top right, click the Stereogram

button to switch view types. Here the 3D
view is even more useful because if you pick up
the display you are able to rotate it so that you
can see which parts of the sound are most
centred and which frequencies have the most
stereo width. You could then use panning or
stereo widening controls to alter these if you
wish, monitoring using this plug-in as you go
along.
Finally,theDigitalPeakMeterPro shows
you both peak and RMS values at the
same time. Along the bottom are Envelope
graphs which display the evolution of
selected envelopes over time, which is handy
when using this plug-in as a sidechain
source. The Digital Peak Meter provides
extremely accurate level monitoring either on
individual tracks or more likely across a
stereo buss during mixdown or at the
mastering stage.
01
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FOCUS
02
05
03
06
Audio analysis Walkthrough MTF
from a constantly changing graph. If you are compressing

a mix, for example, a spectrogram would make it easier to
understand how changing compression settings would
affect different frequencies as a track played back.
Advanced audio analysers like iZotopes RX use
spectrogram modes, amongst others, to give you an
extremely detailed view of the frequency spectrum of a
piece of audio.
Stereo analysers help you to see where your signal is
being distributed spatially within the stereo field. Some
advanced models, such as NuGens Visualizer and Blue
Cat Audios StereoScope, feature advanced tools like 3D
visualization, analysis of multiple tracks in real time and
stereo spectrograms. Such plug-ins can be used to give
an overview of the left/right balance of a track or project,
ensuring that it stays largely around the centre, unless
you have some specific need to make it otherwise.
Advanced stereo analysers that also show frequency can
be helpful in giving you a visual idea of where certain
frequencies sit in the stereo field, and thus where they
PRO TIP
In most wave editors and
DAWs its also possible to
tweak the behaviour of level
meters. Here in Peak, for
example, you can set the meter
resolution, peak hold time and
clip indicator hold time. These
determine how quickly the
meters respond and how soon
after clipping or peaking they
release the indicator. If your
material is clipping a lot you
may need to set your meters to
be more responsive.
may be colliding and where space can be made to help

bring out specific elements.
Analyse this
Audio analysis is a complex subject and you can read in
great depth about the make up of digital audio and the
theory behind its analysis. In practice though, its maybe
more important to understand how you can use this
technology in real world applications, to help you get a
better grasp of whats going on inside your tracks and
ultimately achieve better mixes and masters. It may not
seem like the most exciting subject in the world but it is
an important one, both in terms of overcoming the
problems inherent in home studios and recording setups
and also in improving your mixing and mastering
techniques for better end results. With so many free and
inexpensive models around, as well as most DAWs
coming with their own analysis tools, you can get straight
to work analysing your masters to gain a better
understanding of the production process. MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Audio analysis with Logic Pro
Logic Pro has some analysis tools of its

own that can help you understand your
signal better. The most basic way in which
you look at the amplitude of a signal is to
view it as a clip in the main project area. If
this display is very large or very small, your
track may be too loud or too quiet already.
Before deciding to make any changes, click
on the button with the waveform icon by the
horizontal project zoom slider. This resets
the waveforms zoom level.
Go to the tracks Insert section and

locate Logics own Metering plug-in
submenu. Load up a Multimeter plug-in and
you should see both a stereo Peak / RMS level
meter and an analyser view of the signal.
Using the View controls to the left you can set
the range of the analyser and also its top
value. By default its set to a top value of
+5dB, which is pretty good for checking for
any overs.
If you click on the Goniometer option

button you can switch the analyser
view to a phase correlation view thats
related to the simpler phase bar running
along the bottom. This will show you how
your track is behaving with regard to its
middle, left and right characteristics in the
stereo field. Ideally you want the track to be
sitting mostly in the middle and not
spending too much time firing off to the
outer reaches of this display.
You can also look in the Metering folder

and find a BPM counter plug-in. This
isnt necessarily an analysis plug-in that you
would use during mastering, but it can be
really useful when trying to discover the
tempo of existing material, perhaps for
remixing purposes. It analyses transients in
the sound and is able to pick out beats and
other hits, and usually gives you a good idea
of the tempo.
Double click on your audio file in the

Project area to open it in the Sample
Editor view. Here you will find a number of View
options, including the ability to switch between
Amplitude Percentage and Amplitude Sample
Value. Percentage is the more useful since it
shows you how the smaller transients relate to
the maximum ones, and thus how much
dynamic range is currently present in the track,
at least at a glance. A heavily limited track will
probably show near-100 per cent values.
In Logics Mastering template,

accessible from the File > New menu
option, there are some screen sets, one of
which is set up specifically for analysis. With
your project open, go to the Screenset menu
and choose 2 > Analyze Mix, or press the 2
key on your keyboard. This switches to a
streamlined view with your MultiMeter
already in the foreground and the mixer
arranged to show you track levels, with the
track itself displayed along the top edge.
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MTF Workshop Logic Pro
Logic Pro 9 Workshop
Mastering with
Logic Pro
Logic is Apples flagship DAW with a host of great
instruments and effects. Its also an excellent
mastering tool, as Hollin Jones explains
ogic is arguably the leading DAW on the Mac

platform and the choice of many professionals
as well as home users. Since Apple bought the
software from eMagic it has continually
improved it, most notably when it took the
remarkable step of bundling every instrument and
effect plug-in that used to cost extra in for free and
then dropping the price significantly. As a result its one
of the most affordable ways to get yourself a top-flight
DAW on the Mac, and get access to all its many
excellent audio processing tools.
The chances are that if you have Logic then you will
have recorded, edited and produced your track in it to
begin with, but you should perform your final mixdown
and then ideally wait a day or two before you begin on
the mastering. This is because your ears are very likely
to be worn out from decision making and endless
listening and you really ought to approach mastering
with a fresh perspective.
Start a new project and import your stereo mixdown
to a new track. From Logics Template list you may even
PRO TIP
Logic supports the saving and
loading of Channel Strip
Presets, which you access by
clicking on the Setting field at
the top of a tracks Inspector
panel. It makes sense once
you have spent time setting up
a great mastering plug-in
chain to save it for future use.
Although as we have noted no
two tracks are the same, it
may be that subsequent
tracks require only moderate
tweaking if they are in the
same style.
Logic is one of the most

affordable ways to get yourself a
top-flight DAW on the Mac
1
want to load up the Stereo Mastering preset, which

already contains most of the elements you will need.
FOCUS
Plug-in chain
If you do load up the mastering preset you will find that
all the effects that exist as inserts on the track are
currently bypassed. This is because every mastering job
is different so there would be no point in having settings
already dialled in since they would almost certainly not
suit the particular track you were working with. You can
enable plug-ins by opening their GUI and disabling the
Bypass button or by simply holding the option key while
clicking on their name in the Insert list. Try activating
the Multipressor first. Again you might want to start
with a preset to fill in some of the basic settings, and
then tweak them from there. Here for example we have
chosen a preset called Final Hip Hop Compressor, which
dials in some settings broadly suitable for this track. 2
This is a multiband compressor and so it allows you
to control the compression levels on different frequency
bands independently. This can be good or bad
depending on how you use it and whether you know
what youre doing. If a mix is quite complex or perhaps
not the best mix in the world, it may be that a single
band compressor wont cut it. You can get problems like
an overly bright midrange being pulled up too much by a
single band compressor, or a bass end being pulled
down too much. In cases like these you might reach for
a multiband model since it offers more control. Theres
also more scope to mess it up however, so be careful.
A band apart
You can move the band markers here by simply dragging
them left or right so that each one affects a larger or
2
Set up a new project or
choose the Mastering
template and start adding
plug-ins to process your
stereo mixdown. Logic has
very flexible multiband
compressors within its
presets.
On the disc
Logic Pro Workshop MTF
5
7
Choose single or multiband compressors depending on

how complex your mix is or how well or badly it has been
mixed.
Its all too easy to remove the

sparkle from the signal with an
errant EQ point
smaller frequency range. You will find that changing the
crossover points makes a big difference to the overall
shape of the sound, so proceed carefully. Crossover
frequencies are displayed beneath the band display. 3
The actual Threshold and Ratio for each band are set
in the lower part of the window, with the Threshold set
using its number field or its slider, and the Ratio set
using its number field. 4 Other settings are made by
dragging with the mouse in number boxes, and you can
bypass any band to reduce the number that are active.
So you could in fact use this as a three, two or even one
band compressor, though the latter is a bit pointless.
More interestingly, its possible to solo each band up
to hear exactly what signal is passing through it by
using the relevant Solo button. If you are not clear about
how each band is being split, solo one up and then move
the crossover boundaries, which will give you a much
better idea of where the signal is being split. 5
This should help you to get a more accurate setup for
your master. You can add make-up gain to each band to
compensate for any reduction in gain caused by
compression, and this can be done by raising the level
bars on the band displays. Theres also an Autogain
button which automatically adds as much gain as it
detects is necessary to compensate for the
compression, and programmable lookahead for more
accurate results. 6
PRO TIP
WaveBurner is a CD authoring
application that comes with
Logic Pro but it is also able to
load plug-ins and plug-in
chains. As such it is quite
capable of mastering your
audio files natively. Its true
that you may be more familiar
with the interface of Logic if
you spend a lot of time
producing in it, but its well
worth knowing that
WaveBurner can do the
job too.
gentle compression, your aim being to add some audio

glue to the sound, creating some punch and clarity but
without squashing the signal too much and making it
sound flat or squeezed. 8
The Equalizer
After compression you will want to add an EQ to your
signal chain to deal with any frequencies that need
adjusting. You will almost always need to use EQ while
mastering, since compression can have the effect of
subtly changing the balance of elements within the mix,
perhaps accentuating or dulling things that werent a
problem previously. This is nothing to worry about and
easy to fix. Load up an EQ such as the Channel EQ
module and you will see eight bands. 9 The first and
last bands are disabled by default as they are shelf
filters, cutting the very lowest and the very highest
frequencies respectively.
Its very unlikely that you will want to use any of this
shelf filtering at the top end when you are in the
mastering stage as its all too easy to remove the
sparkle from the signal with an errant EQ point. At the
bass end, however, you may want to apply a low cut to
the very bottom if you are worried that any subsonic
frequencies may have crept into your mix. 10 This isnt
always necessary and doesnt take the place of properly
The Compressor
It may be that you dont want to use multiband
compression and that a simpler, single band
compressor will suffice. In that case you can find one in
Logics Dynamics effects folder, such as the aptly
named Compressor. This has switchable circuit types
and can be made to behave in different ways, such as
modelling VCA, FET or Opto compressors. 7
If your mix is decent you should find that a single
band compressor works well, and you can deal with any
frequency oddities using EQ in a moment. Dial in some
| 61
MTF Workshop Logic Pro
Single band
compressors work
well on a decent
mix after which you
will want to add EQ.
EQing the bass sounds you want to keep, but its worth
knowing about.
The other bands can be modified by picking each
one up in the curve display and dragging it with the
mouse, or clicking on the individual parameters number
field and dragging up or down to change values. So for
example you can easily set the frequency and gain of
each band in either of these ways. The third option on
each band is Q and this determines the width of the
area around the EQ frequency point that is affected by
your changes. A point with a narrow Q value (a high
number) will affect only a very specific frequency.
Conversely a wide Q value (a low number) produces a
much more gentle curve and hence affects more of the
frequencies around the point. 11
This EQ module has some presets suited to
mastering, in a folder appropriately called Mastering,
though no two tracks are the same so what youll get is
a good approximation of the kind of treatment that your
style of music might need, but that will need a fair
amount of tweaking to suit your project. 12
distributing a selectable number of frequency bands

from the middle frequency range to the left and right
channels. This is done alternately, so middle
frequencies to the left channel, middle frequencies to
the right channel and so on. This greatly increases the
perception of stereo width without making the sound
totally unnatural, especially when used on mono
recordings. Its advisable to leave the low frequencies
more or less where they are because the bottom end
carries almost all of a tracks energy and this can be lost
as soon as you start to split it off to the sides.
To the limit
Last but not least in the signal chain is limiting, and
Logic has two native models, the simple Limiter and the
Adaptive Limiter. Here we have called up an instance of
the Adaptive Limiter which is a great tool for controlling
the perceived loudness of sounds. It works by rounding
and smoothing peaks in the signal, producing an effect
similar to an analogue amplifier being driven hard. Like
an amplifier, it can slightly colour the sound of the
signal. You can use the Adaptive Limiter to achieve
maximum gain without introducing generally unwanted
distortion and clipping, which can occur when the
signal exceeds 0 dB. 14
Use the Input Scale dial to drive extra power into the
signal while ensuring the Out Ceiling is not set above
-0.1dB and that no distortion is occurring. Use the Gain
knob to set the amount of gain after input scaling has
taken place.
Go wide
You may want to add some stereo widening to your file
during mastering, if it is sounding like it lacks scope.
This should always be done carefully because it can
quickly start to mess up the soundstage, but using a
little widening can sometimes be a good thing. Inside
Logics Imaging plug-ins folder is one called Stereo
Spread. 13 This works by extending the stereo base by
10
11
EQ is a vital part of any mastering
process and is used to draw out or
rein in any frequencies that may
be slightly off due to the effects of
compression and other
processing. EQ setups are
generally fairly gentle for
mastering.
FOCUS
Logic Pro Workshop MTF
13
14
12
After EQ-ing, choose from Logics limiters and perhaps also

apply some stereo widening if you feel your track needs it.
Aim to get as close to 0dB as possible without clipping.
Your ears are a good guide to

how your masters are going but
theyre not infallible
The Limiter plug-in is more transparent and
can be used to much the same ends. 15 It has a
configurable lookahead control and setting this to
seek further ahead should make for more accurate
limiting since it will not be surprised by any peaks
it encounters. In addition to the regular Gain,
Release and Output Level controls theres also a
Soft Knee option, which when pressed means the
signal is limited only when it reaches the
threshold. The transition to full limiting is
nonlinear, producing a softer, less abrupt effect,
and reducing distortion artefacts that can be produced
by hard limiting.
The final analysis

As well as all this audio processing its a good idea to
analyse your audio during the mastering process. Its
safe to insert audio analysers into your plug-in chain
because they dont actually alter sound, they just
analyse it, so theres no danger of colouration. Your ears
are a good guide to how your masters are going but
theyre not infallible. Factors like room shape, speaker
placement, acoustics and other variables can all
PRO TIP
There are several ways to
achieve the same thing in
Logic. For example, in
Preferences > General >
Editing you can set the
behaviour of the right mouse
button to open the Tool
menu, the Shortcut menu or
both. Depending on how you
prefer to work you might want
to specify one or the other. Its
also possible to manually set
the number of undo steps,
which is handy.
strongly influence the way you perceive a sound. Since

analysers are able to look at your signal while it is still
inside the computer and before it has been passed to
the speakers and hence the real physical world, they
are highly accurate.
Try adding an instance of the MultiMeter
plug-in from Logics toolbox to your plug-in chain.
16 This will provide you with a number of useful
views of whats going on. The Analyzer can show
you where the energy lives in your master and
whether any frequency ranges are particularly
strong or weak, enabling you to go back and make
tweaks if necessary. The Stereo Peak / RMS level
meter should indicate how close to 0dB you are
getting and how consistently, so you can adjust
your limiter accordingly. The Phase Correlation
meter running along the base of the window and
the Goniometer that can be on show both offer an
idea of your tracks phase characteristics. The
meter in particular can display how much signal
exists towards the centre of your stereo image and how
much exists off to the sides. 17
When you are happy with the sound of your master
and everything is in order, and you have checked
through the analyser plug-ins, you can safely export the
processed file, making sure to apply any dithering if you
are converting down to a lower bit rate. You can also
open the resulting files in WaveBurner, the CD authoring
application that comes with Logic Pro, to compile
albums and add all the relevant metadata. MTF
16
15
17
After limiting, analysing audio is important in
understanding how it is actually behaving.
Your ears can give a false impression due to
room acoustics and other factors.
| 63
MTF Interview Stuart Hawkes
Id be doing my normal
mastering work during
the day and then cut
dubplates in the
evenings
The MTF Interview Stuart Hawkes
After nearly 30 years in the business, this legendary cutting engineer has worked with
some of the biggest names around. MTF learns more... Photography by Zen Inoya
inyl is a format still loved and bought by many hardcore fans and
enthusiasts, and Stuart Hawkes is a man whos had a huge influence
on the use of vinyl as a DJ format for electronic music. Hes cut
dubplates for the majority of drum and bass artists and DJs since the
early 90s. A dubplate is an acetate record that the mastering engineer
cuts a track onto to enable a DJ play tracks in a club that night. However, they can
be played only 20 or 30 times before the audio quality degrades too much, but until
relatively recently, this was how you got exclusive tracks into your DJ sets for club
or radio play before the actual vinyl was produced and released.
We ask Stuart what it was like to cut and master so many tracks for the main
DJs of the drumnbass scene. He recalls: Jungle and drumnbass started in the
early 90s and I was at Masterpiece then. It all really started kicking off with DJs
getting dubplates cut. Thats what really got me into it. I remember a very young
LTJ Bukem and Peshay turning up wanting us to cut some dubplates. Theyd tried a
few other cutting houses and wanted to try us, so I cut them three or four dubs
each and then it completely snowballed and I was cutting loads of peoples
dubplates. I was cutting so many that I had to go to hospital due to exhaustion. Id
be doing my normal mastering work during the day and then cut dubplates in the
evenings. Id start at 10 oclock at night and as word spread Id be working until
about seven in the morning. So Id be doing nearly 24-hour days, cutting and
mastering, which was all a bit too much. But once Id recovered and got a sensible
balance of work, the experience had gained me almost all the DJs on the scene.
Logical progression
Stuart has mastered tens of thousands of tracks during his career. We ask him for
a brief overview of his progress over the years: I started at Tape One in 1984 and
worked there for about four or five years. Id started to work as a cutting engineer
at that point. Then I went to Copymasters, which later became Masterpiece
Studios. Miles Showell who I share this room with worked there too. Then I
started at Metropolis in 1996.
Stuart has been training in studios since the tender age of 16. He initially
gained a tea boy/runner position after sending out CVs to multiple studios and
one did indeed come back with an interview and subsequent job offer. Stuart
focus
Stuart Hawkes Interview MTF
| 65
MTF Interview Stuart Hawkes
already played drums and was quite a hi-fi enthusiast at the

time. This all contributed to his choice to work with music,
but he recalls his thoughts on his first day: I got to work in
the morning and they showed me a room that looked like the
one Im in now. I looked around thinking it looked like a
recording studio, but wondered where the band would
record as there was no live room. It was then that they told
me its a mastering room. I then asked, what's that?. That
was the start of it all really.
MTF StudioEye Metropolis Studios Mastering Suite

ANTELOPE ISOCHRONE
TRINITY
Both of the clocks I use have a
different sound to them. This one
sounds poppy, with a sparkly
type of sound. I mainly use this
for pop tracks.
PRISM DA-2
This is a digital-to-analogue
convertor but the clock on it has a
phatter sound than the Antelopes
and nicer bass end. So Ill go for this
if Im doing something when the
bass end is quite important.
Training days
Most people when asked will have a definitive list of
influences, and Stuart does recall the time he read an article
about a producer called Jerry Boys who worked out of
Livingston Studios. He thought that working in a recording
studio sounded really interesting, which drove him to apply to
the various studios. We then ask him how his mastering
skills came about. Stuart replies: I first started as a runner,
then a librarian, then doing cassette duplication, then
tape-to-tape duplication. I was then told that I was going to
shadow a mastering engineer. I started with Jack Adams for
a bit, then went on to shadow other engineers.
I think its a bit like a car, really. The instructor tells you
how to pass the test, but its only when you pass and start to
drive on your own that you really start to learn. Then you
learn how to work with clients. So the shadowing showed me
how to press the buttons but its only when you start working
with actual clients that you start to really learn what they
want and how to achieve it.
We ask if his mastering approach has been influenced by
anyone in particular: No one, really. I guess because its so
client- and market-driven. Youre in your room all of the time,
working with your clients. From time to time Ill listen to other
peoples mastering projects, but generally Im only listening to
my work in this room.
the years as they do with many genres so we ask Stuart

how much this might have contributed to tracks getting
louder as well as his techniques. He shares his experiences:
Its a bit of both. I suppose its mainly due to the production of
the tracks. Im delivering whats there as well as I can, so the
production is a large factor. Nowadays its getting so
dense-sounding as if everything is turned up to 11 in the
mix. The earlier tracks were mainly bass, a clear snare and
other sounds peppered around the track. Now, all of the
sounds are kind of the lead focus. Because theyre so dense,
theyd be too much energy in the tracks to cut them to the
same loudness as the earlier, more sparse-sounding stuff. In
fact, five or six years ago I made the decision to start cutting
stuff a little quieter because heads were starting to blow
again and there were other technical issues. But its a lot
more about getting it right for the digital formats now, with
DJs playing stuff using software or CDJs.
Charting the changes
On record
From mastering early classic hardcore tracks such as The

Exorcist, Stuarts discography reads onwards like a Whos
Who and Whats What of the drumnbass scene Urban
Shakedowns Some Justice 95, LTJ Bukems Logical
Progressions, DJ Krusts Warhead, Bad Companys Planet
Dust, Pendulums Slam, Chase and Status No More Idols
album and many more timeless tracks from the scene. The
production aesthetics of drumnbass have changed a lot over
Its just after our conversation about the changes in music

that he makes us aware of a lost and seemingly unnoticed
element of vinyl DJing that hasnt been re-created yet. He
informs us: The thing with vinyl is that its brighter at the
beginning of the record and slowly gets duller through to the
end. So it comes in and everyone is like wow! in reaction to
the introduction of a new record. But then, slowly, without
anyone noticing, the top end slowly tapers off. When the next
Its a lot more about

getting it right for the
digital formats now, with
DJs playing stuff using
software or CDJs
Notable
works..
A few of Stuarts
career highlights
1995 | Goldie Timeless

It was great to be part of this. A very well puttogether and intelligent album. I still think this takes
some beating today.
FOCUS
2006 | Amy Winehouse Back To Black

I remember hearing the first demos of Rehab. I instantly
thought it was going to be quite special and got more and
more excited as the new tracks rolled in.
Stuart Hawkes Interview MTF
MASELEC MMC-2
The Stereo Width control
on this custom build lets me
open out the stereo width. I can
boost the sides and get things
sounding a little louder. It also
lets you split off the mid and side
to process them separately.
NEUMANN SX 74 HEAD
When I was cutting a lot of
dubplates for drumnbass DJs
Id be pushing these heads up to
+8 or 9dBu. This wasnt the way I
was told to do it. I was told that
the lathes cost around 200,000
and the heads were 15,000, so it
was quite scary when exploring
how much I could push things. I
remember blowing two heads at
Masterpiece so the worry of that
happening was a constant scare.
e
UNITY AUDIO
THE ROCK
I use these as a smaller
reference speaker so I know
what the music sounds like
when youre not getting quite
as much bottom or top end. I
mainly use the PMC BB5 XBDs
as they are full-range and I
can go loud or quite without
any ear-fatigue.
MASELEC MEA-2
This sounds very
warm so I use it a lot of the
time when doing the bass
end of things. Ill often use
this and the Sonteq in series
one before the other to get
the best of both.
SONTEK MES-432C
This is a very old
piece of classic kit these
days very hard to come
by. Its got a lovely top end
to it that you can never get
from digital. It just sounds
wider and taller. A real 3D
feel to it. Digital, to me, just
sounds very linear and
one-dimensional.
record is mixed in, it lifts the set up again and so on. So its a
subliminal dynamic tool that is lost with digital formats. If I
was to design a piece of DJing software, Id have that
available as an option to keep the interest there for each new
tune being mixed in.
Stuart also tells us a little more about how digital and
vinyl differ: You can get a lot more intensity from the digital
format, but to me thats a weakness as it can soon get a bit
harsh-sounding. Vinyl is lovely because it behaves in a similar
response to your ear as they both work in the analogue
domain. You can turn up vinyl loud and it doesnt start to hurt
like a digital signal does.
Modern mastering
Although Stuarts reputation is very big for his drumnbass
work, he does actually work on a variety of genres; more
recently hes been mastering some dubstep, notably the
famous supergroup Magnetic Man. We ask him if theres
much difference to his approach with this slower-tempobased child of drumnbass.
Stuart says: To me theres an obvious synergy between
dubstep and drumnbass. I dont understand why some
people say there isnt. It all feels kind of similar to me: its got a
big bass end with a big snare and likewise its what a bulk of
the tracks are built around. When I started to master dubstep
the clients were all about not having it mastered to be loud
never going hard with limiting or anything else thats going
2010 | Magnetic Man Magnetic Man

This sounds fantastic and has some great
collaborations. I think its a very significant
album and it sounds so good on a big system.
to change the audiophile quality of the track. But then, pretty

quickly, it became volume-driven. Now dubstep is as loud if
not louder than drumnbass. I get some ridiculously loud
dubstep audio files sent to me for mastering, which is a
horrible problem. When someone gives you a track and its
ridiculously loud, if youre going to add anything to it youve got
nowhere to go as youll be instantly hitting a ceiling
somewhere. So youd have to take the volume of the whole
track down in order to get some bass in. In that case, if you
give it back to the client theres a good chance theyre gonna
complain that its quieter than it was. So whereas Ill usually
try three or so limiters to see which is best for the job, if
someones already limited the track theres no undo button I
can use. So Im stuck with the way theyve done it. I quite often
ask clients to give me the file theyve applied limiting to so I
know how far they want to push the track and what theyre
hoping to arrive at in the end. But Ill want the unlimited
version too as I can probably arrive at the same levels as the
version theyve done but with a better-sounding limiter. But
before doing that I can also add that bit of bass that I cant on
the pre-limited version. It just comes out a lot nicer-sounding
when Im not dealing with squared-off waveforms as a
starting point. Its better when Im dealing with more
analogue, round waves.
Check out the DVD for our Pro Technique video with Stuart,
in which he takes us through his approach to mastering a
typical drum n bass track. MTF
2011 | Chase and Status No More Idols
2011 | Katy B On A Mission
Very clever songwriting and production. A real joy to

work on. Its really nice to see how the public react to
certain tracks on the album when Im out.
I think Katy B should be up there with

the likes of Jessie J in terms of public
awareness. Shes a real talent.
| 67
MTF Workshop Ozone 5s Meter Bridge
Ozone 5 Workshop
Exploring Ozone 5s
Meter Bridge
Producing a professional sounding master requires
informative, easy-to-read metering. Mark Cousins
takes an analytical approach to sound
lthough our ears should always be the final

judge of any process we carry out during
mastering, theres little doubt that some
effective metering is an invaluable tool in the
mastering process. Indeed, given the detailed
and almost forensic attention to detail most mastering
engineers take with audio, you can see why Ozone 5
Advanceds Meter Bridge function has propelled the
plug-in out of the home studio market and into various
professional mastering facilities. In short, Ozone 5s
Meter Bridge function is one of the most informative
audio analysis tools available, making it an ideal part of
anybodys mastering workflow.
Just having access to good metering, though, doesnt
necessarily mean youll improve the sound of your
masters. As youd expect, the skill lies in interpreting
the meters correctly; understanding what theyre telling
you, and how they can direct you in an appropriate way.
In this workshop, well explore the thinking behind the
Meter Bridge and how you can practically apply it in
your own mastering tasks. Even if you dont have Ozone
5 Advanced, many of the metering features can also be
found in equivalent areas of the main plug-in, like the
Vectorscope in the Stereo Imaging section, for example,
or the FFT Analyzer as part of the Equalizer page.
PRO TIP
Even if you dont have Ozone 5
Advanced you can always
download a demo version from
the iZotope site to try the
metering features out. Users
of the standard Ozone 5 might
also want to check their
General Preferences, as its
possible to audition the
enhanced version under the
Auth & Updates section.
Although most users will be familiar with Peak + RMS

metering, the K-System and BS.1770 Loudness modes
are less familiar. In essence, both solutions are
designed to devise new standards in light of heavy peak
limiting and a need to properly assess loudness. In the
case of the K-System standard, the change in display is
largely in relation to the ballistics and scaling of the
meters, showing a greater bias towards averaged RMS
values, and a better colour coding to indicate
acceptable amounts of dynamic range. Try moving
between the three different K-System settings (K-20,
Ozone 5s Meter Bridge feature works as a floating

window in addition to the main plug-in interface, giving
focus
you a detailed and informed view on areas like signal

levels, loudness, timbre and stereo width. You can
access the enhanced metering functionality by clicking
on the Meter Bridge button positioned immediately
below Ozone 5s main Input/Output meters. Once open,
the default setup shows all four sections of the Meter
Bridge including Spectrogram, Spectrum Analyzer,
Vectorscope and Level meters all of which can be
freely resized as you see fit. 1
Of all four metering options you have at your
disposal, its arguably the Level Meters that address the
most important information contained in the Meter
Bridge, namely signal amplitude. As with all the
sections, you can move over to an expanded view by
clicking on the small boxes icon in any of the four
metering sections. When you move to an expanded
meter section you will also get access to a series of
meter settings that are to be found under the Options
tab on the bottom of the interface. In the case of the
Level Meters, one of the most important settings is the
Metering Mode, moving between Peak + RMS,
K-System and BS.1770 Loudness. 2
Feeling peaky
Under the bridge
The meter bridge includes four different types of metering:

including a Spectrogram, Spectrum Analyzer, Vectorscope
and Level meters.
On the disc
Ozone 5s Meter Bridge Workshop MTF
6
3
4
Both the K-System and
BS.1770 Loudness modes
provide a more informed
overview of the perceived
amplitude of your master.
K-14 and K-12), noticing how the 0dB calibration point

changes with each mode. 3
In essence, the K-System method is an attempt to
move away from the absolute Peak readings that tend
to dictate sound levels in the digital universe, and
instead focus on an averaged level of sound. Try using
the K-12 or K-14 system with a limiter and note how you
get a far more meaningful reading of the perceived
loudness, arguably setting your final levels around the
0dB calibration point on the RMS reading. 4
The BS.1770 is arguably the next development from
the K-System method, giving an even more in-depth
reading of the perceived loudness. In this case, the key
meter readings are in the centre of the display covering
Momentary (M), Short-term (S) and Integrated (I) levels.
Between these three readings we can form a more
rounded understanding of loudness, seeing the
cumulative effect of signal levels on the tracks
perceived amplitude. The Momentary levels might vary
over a relatively wide range, although not a greatly as a
Peak meter reading. As we move up through the meters
using the S and I readings the movements are more
sluggish, but arguably just as informative. Ultimately,
its about understanding how amplitude works over
time, which with experience becomes far more
important than the Peak readings. 5
PRO TIP
Although it marginally steps
out of the realm of mastering
as such, the Spectrograms
Meter Tap function is well
worth exploring. Place the Tap
plug-ins at various points in
your mixer, then open the
Spectrogram and activate the
Meter Taps function, and
assign each of the channels to
a different Colour option.
timbre and harmonic structure behaves over time,

arguably identifying any particular frequency peaks that
might be dictating our overall signal levels. Hovering
over the peaks with a mouse will allow you to identify
the exact Hz reading (found in the bottom right-hand
corner of the window), allowing you to set a
corresponding parametric notch to tame the aggressive
frequency peak. 7
To get a broader insight into the timbral properties of
your track, try moving over to the Spectrogram. The
Spectrogram is arguably less of a forensic tool, but it is
much better at decoding some of the wider spectral
movements and patterns within a track seeing how
the bass moves with a kick drum, for example, or how a
high-hat pattern cuts across the top of a mix.
The settings largely relate to the display properties
of the Spectrogram use the 2D mode in situation
where you want a precise reading of frequency
(especially if youre using the Spectrogram to assist
your equalisation moves), whereas the 3D mode
probably delivers a better understanding of the shape
of the track. 8
The colour of sound

Understanding the timbre of your master comes down
to two types of meter: the colourful Spectrogram and
the Spectrum Analyzer, which are both based on FFT
analysis. The Spectrum Analyzer should be familiar
from Ozones Equalizer, although in this example we get
a few extra useful tools to play with. One beneficial
feature is the different Display options, which usually
defaults to the Left/Right stereo mode. Rather than just
viewing the Left/Right display option, its also
interesting to take a look at the Stereo Average (Mid)
and Stereo Difference (Side) plots. Arguably, the aim
here is to identify any bass-heavy movements in the
Side channel, as these can affect the tightness of the
bass in the final master. 6
Another useful feature of the Spectrum Analyzer is
the Peak Hold feature. Try enabling the show peak hold
option and setting the peak hold time to Infinite. In
theory, the peak hold setting allows us to see how the
| 69
MTF Workshop Ozone 5s Meter Bridge
7
9
Use the Spectrogram to gauge broad timbral

qualities of your track, while the Spectrum
Analyzer offers a display that better suits precise
frequency readings.
Stereophonic sound
Decoding the stereo information contained in a
recording might not seem that important at first, but
once youve seen the power of the Vectorscope youll
appreciate the clarity of information it delivers, from the
precise panning of instruments, through to the width of
the soundstage and, of course, the all important phase
relationship. The Vectorscope works with three different
display modes: Polar Sample, Polar Level, and Lissajous.
Broadly speaking, all three modes display the same
information, so the preference is largely down to what
you feel most comfortable reading. 9
To understand how the Vectorscope works, its best
to experiment with a series of audio files mono,
panned mono and true stereo, which weve included on
the DVD and seeing how the meter changes in
response to those signals. Starting with the mono
signal, we can see a line planted firmly down the centre
of the display. Whats interesting here is that we can see
the difference between a signal that is completely
mono a straight line, in other words and one that
has a minimal amount of stereo information, something
that can be difficult to discern 100 per cent accurately
by ear. 10
Moving on to the panned mono recording, we can
initial see a display that indicates that the signal is in
mono again, we see a straight line but the line has
been marginally offset to indicate its relative pan
position. Things get slightly more complicated when we
have a number of concurrent mono signals panned
across the stereo image, as the display takes on a

greater amount of stereo divergence, although its still
possible to deduce the basic panning information. 11
Whats particularly interesting is when we start to
consider the addition of some true stereo, in this case,
an output from a reverb unit. In this example, the reverb
level increases throughout the duration of the file, so we
can see how the width of the soundstage almost seems
to flower outwards from the centre. In theory, points
beyond the 45-degree safe line represent out of phase
components, which either indicates a degree of mono
incompatibility or a super-wide stereo soundstage,
depending on your stance on phase. For additional
reference, the meter along the side also aids the
assessment of phase, moving between +1, for in-phase
audio, and -1, for out-of-phase audio. 12
Look, listen and learn

Although weve covered all the essential principles here,
the best way to understand the Meter Bridge is to
spend plenty of time reading the meters in relation to
known audio entities whether its a test file, for
example, or a recording you know as being trusted
source. Whats interesting is that a good mix or, for that
matter, a good master, meters in a logical and defined
way, whether its a reasoned balance of dynamics, a
wide uncoloured frequency response, or the use of the
stereo soundstage, all of which supports the important
scientifically objective view that good metering can
provide you with. MTF
12
11
10
Try feeding a variety of different
stereo and mono signals into the
Vectorscope to better
understand the unique way it
can decode a stereo soundstage.
focus
Pro-Codec Version 2
Real Time Codec Auditioning
Master directly for iTunes

The revolutionary Sonnox Fraunhofer Pro-Codec plug-in enables the
auditioning, encoding and decoding of audio with codecs such as mp3
and AAC, making it possible to produce online-ready mixes in real time!
Now with the inclusion of Apples iTunes Plus codec you can mix
directly for the Mastered for iTunes programme, monitoring the same
clip behaviour as the iTunes encoding chain saving you time and
ensuring high quality output during the mixing process.
Also new in Version 2:
64-bit compatibility
Additional codec Fraunhofer MPEG Surround
Additional codec Apple AAC iTunes Plus (Mac only)
AAC-LC support for 256kbps VBR
AAC-LC and HE-AAC support for 96kHz sample rate
HD-AAC support for 16-bit les
www.sonnox.com
MTF 25 pro tips Audio editing
Pro tips for
audio editing
Audio edits are a vital part of the production process and mastering them will help you turn
imperfect tracks into perfect ones. Hollin Jones reveals the experts tips
Work non-destructively
Most DAWs are non-destructive in the way that they
deal with audio edits, meaning that when you cut a file, for
example, you are not actually cutting the original but
merely referencing the original file differently. In some
cases such as when an edit fundamentally changes an
audio file by reversing it your DAW will automatically
create a new version of the file, leaving the original
untouched, and reference the new file instead. It is
sometimes possible to switch Preferences to keep fewer
copies of files typically its in the undo level section or
similar but its worth keeping lots of undo files as they
give you maximum flexibility.
01
to set up a fade manually. Typically they are extremely short

crossfades and will smooth out the transition, getting rid of
any clips. To get rid of multiple glitches where a loop has
been copied and pasted several times, select all instances of
it and perform the crossfade function.
cut at zero crossing points

If you zoom right into an audio waveform you can find
the exact point at which it hits zero where it goes from
being positive to negative. If you can manage to make your
cut at this point you will avoid clicks and pops in your audio
at the edit point. If, on the other hand, you cut midwaveform, you may get a nasty glitch when the playhead
passes the edit point, as the waveform ends abruptly. Note
that it is not always possible to edit at the zero crossing
point, though many wave editors can snap to it for you.
02
use crossfades
Where two loops or sections of audio come together, if
they have not got perfect zero start and end points or
silence, you can get a clipping sound as they cross. Most
DAWs are able to crossfade between audio clips to get
around this problem, either automatically or by enabling you
03
focus
02
Audio editing 25 pro tips MTF
03
edit before Mixing

While its possible to automate tracks on and off or
automate faders up and down to knock out sections of tracks
where theres supposed to be silence, its often better to edit
out the bits that arent supposed to be there. That way, you
can be sure of silence where you need it. If you export a mix
as separate stems, your DAW will simply insert silence into
the blank areas anyway, so you have nothing to lose and
everything to gain from this approach.
08
CoMp your pArts

In recent years, DAWs have got very good at comping,
which is the process of combining several takes into one
perfect take. Imagine you are playing or singing a part and go
around it in a loop, recording four or five versions. You might
like your playing on the first half of the second take and the
second half of the fourth. By comping the take together and
with careful use of fades often done automatically,
depending on your DAW you can fairly easily create the
perfect take in a few minutes. There is often an option to then
bounce the take to a new file, making it permanent.
09
use voluMe hAndles

This doesnt relate to editing waveforms, but in most
DAWs you can use volume handles on audio clips both to set
live start and end fades and also to set the clips volume
individually. This is a really good trick to use when you have
one or more clips whose volume is out of step with the other
clips on the track, but you dont want to move them to a new
track. Rather than automating the volume fader, use volume
handles to set a clips volume to bring it into line with the rest
of the track (or, indeed, to make it quieter or louder, if
necessary, than the rest of the track).
04
Cut rAther thAn gAting

You can use gating to cut off unwanted sounds when a
track is supposed to be silent, such as between words on a
vocal track or while a guitarist is waiting between playing two
passages. Gating is fine, but unless set correctly can cut off
too much signal or miss some background noise. A better
solution, if you have the patience, is to simply cut out any
parts of an audio clip where there is not supposed to be any
sound being careful, of course, to avoid lopping off anything
you meant to keep.
05
use gentle fAdes

When you edit an audio part you can sometimes end up
with sounds at the start or end such as a breath sound on a
vocal part that are too close to the start or end of a word to
safely cut off without it sounding strange. A good way to deal
with these is to apply a very short fade to the affected area,
which will quickly fade the sound in or out more smoothly
than you could manage with automation or with a cut. Some
DAWs have an auto-fade feature that will do this for you.
06
09
Move regions
Digital audio affords us amazing flexibility, and you can
copy and paste it freely. If a passage has been played really
well at one point but badly at another, then providing it has
been recorded to a click you can usually copy and paste the
good take in place of the bad one. You may have to deactivate
snapping to precisely nudge the new part into time with its
new location, but again, if a click is involved this should be
relatively easy. You can even move smaller sections such as
snare hits to deal with minor annoyances such as a quiet hit
elsewhere in a track.
10
06
up
07 double
A good trick for making parts sound beefier is to simply
double-track them. While there are plug-ins that emulate the
effect, its just as easy to duplicate an audio track so that
vocals or guitars, for example, exist twice in the mix. Left as
they are these can sound a little strange, so its common
practice to pan one or either of them slightly to differentiate
them, or perhaps to add a small amount of effect to one of
them, such as chorus or phasing. With some tweaking you
can achieve a fuller sound.
Audio wArp
Most leading DAWs now feature some sort of flexi-time
technology for audio, meaning that it can be edited almost as
flexibly as MIDI. By analysing an audio part and inserting beat
markers, DAWs enable you pick up part of a waveform and
move it without affecting the overall length of the clip or the
audio around it. Using this technique you can quickly
time-correct or quantize audio parts or change their feel. By
groove-quantizing audio parts you can match their feel to
other parts or to MIDI files. Again, you can usually bounce
down a version to make it permanent.
11
| 73
MTF 25 pro tips Audio editing
MAke your own sAMpled instruMents

By recording individual notes or hits and then editing
them you can build up a collection of samples that can be
used as the basis of an instrument in something like Kontakt
or Reasons NN-XT. The key when editing these is usually to
get the start point of the sample exactly right, and also allow
some tail to account for any sustain (but not so much that the
note holds on for too long). Software samplers usually enable
you to tweak parameters such as start and end times as well.
15
11
use your eyes

Wave editing makes it pretty easy to see whats going on
in an audio file. Smaller sections mean quieter audio and
larger peaks mean louder sound. If you are looking at an audio
file and spot some huge peaking transients, its likely that you
might have an issue with clipping (or at the very least
inconsistent volume at that point). At the other end of the
scale, zooming right in to an audio file at sample level enables
you to identify any digital glitching, which can look like right
angles in an otherwise smooth curve.
16
Audio snApping
When quantizing audio or even just when moving it
around the timeline in your DAW you must be aware of the
snap settings. When you have loops with perfectly edited
start and end points at the project tempo, things are pretty
easy. When you have clips of imperfect lengths you may be
more reliant on lining up waveforms with grid markers to set
start points. In these cases, regular snapping might not help
you much, so you can try deactivating snapping or switching
it to a very precise value (eg, 1/64) until your audio is lined up,
then reactivating more regular snapping (eg, 1/16).
12
use speciAlist Audio repAir

When theres a rogue element in an audio clip, simple
wave editing wont be able to get rid of it because these
things generally occur at the same time as other sounds and
so cant be erased through cutting or EQ. A tool such as
iZotopes RX, on the other hand, is able to give you a
spectrographic view of an audio file, which will make it much
easier to identify and paint out a sound such as an audience
cough on a live recording. Its remarkable how effective this
technology is in everyday situations.
A tool such as iZotopes rX is

able to give you a spectrographic
view of an audio file
13
13
process Audio
Sometimes you want to make changes to an entire
audio clip, such as altering its volume or reversing it. In cases
like these the quickest way to do it is usually to use audio
processing, which all wave editors and DAWs have in some
form. Select the clip or section of a clip and then choose the
function to apply to it. You may, for example, process silence
over part of a clip to get rid of a sound without cutting the clip.
Or reverse part of a clip, creating a special effect while leaving
the rest of the clip intact.
14
Quick AnAlysis
A number of DAWs and wave editors have analysis
tools that can scan audio for peaks, clips and other issues.
This can be a good way to quickly search for problems when
they might be harder to pick out one by one. You also usually
get tools and options to fix these problems with a couple of
clicks, or you can go in and manually paint them out yourself.
17
14
Audio scrubbing
Sometimes, problems in audio files can occur so
quickly (and for such short bursts of time) that they can be
tricky to deal with even when you set up a loop. In these
situations, using a Scrub tool to scrub through the waveform
in slow motion will enable you to hear exactly where a glitch
or problem is occurring. You can then zoom in and deal with
it as appropriate. This is a useful way of finding clipping in
audio parts.
18
focus
Audio editing 25 pro tips MTF
Stuck like glue

When you have made lots of small edits to audio parts,
you sometimes end up with many small sections of sound
dotted across a track, often very close to each other. These
can be fiddly to work with and difficult to move all at the
same time, so you can select them all and then use a Glue or
similar tool or command to collect them all together into a
single part. This enables you to treat them as a single entity
for the purposes of moving, copying and pasting, while the
individual sections remain editable.
24
19
edit audio aS flexibly aS Midi

There are some incredible tools on the market that
enable you to reach inside polyphonic audio parts and play
around with the notes. Among the best is Melodyne Editor,
which works by sampling a section of audio, analysing it and
then giving you access to individual notes even notes inside a
strummed guitar chord so that you can change them. So its
easy to turn a major chord into a minor one, for example, or
change the timing of notes within a chord. Audio can be edited
with as much flexibility as MIDI.
19
While some genres require

absolutely perfect audio edits,
others (like hip hop) do not
Slice your loopS
Using ReCycle you can turn audio loops into REX files,
adjusting their tempo and feel in the process. This will make
them adjust their tempo to the tempo of any project they are
loaded into. The same applies to ACID, and ACIDised files are
able to be read by most applications. An advantage of using
REX files in a program like Reason is that the slices are very
easy to play with and re-sequence easier than audio clips
that have been sliced on a regular DAW audio track.
extreMe Stretching
Timestretching is commonplace these days, and you
can stretch audio parts with ease. Consider extreme
stretching to 500 or even 1,000 per cent of a clips original
length to create something totally new, like a texture or a
pad sound from something that started life as a vocal or a
drum hit, for example. Digital audio is inherently very flexible,
so there are no limits to your creativity. MTF
20
get creative
There are a number of plug-ins available that are able
to take audio input and mangle it based on settings that you
choose or on MIDI input. iZotopes Stutter Edit is one of
these, enabling you to create totally new sounds, effects,
rhythms and loops from a regular audio part without actually
making any edits to it at all. You always have the option of
rendering or bouncing down the effected signal to create a
hard copy of the mangled sound.
21
25
25
21
keep it gritty
While some genres (such as pop) generally require
absolutely perfect audio edits, others (such as hip hop) do
not. If you listen to some classic hip hop albums you can
clearly hear the joins where a sample has been looped, or
hear loud plosives on the vocal track. Whether they are there
by design or by accident is somewhat academic it all goes
to show that sometimes a little imperfection can add
character to a sound.
22
create new fileS

In most software packages you are able to open a clip
to view its waveform, select a part of that waveform, then
create a new file from it. This is placed into your computers
memory until it is saved somewhere. This is a quick way to
take a word, riff or sound from an existing clip and get a new
copy of it to start altering or editing without having to do any
cutting up of the original file.
23
| 75
MTF Round-up Hardware
Round-up
Mastering hardware
Mastering with hardware might use more space than doing it in the box, but it offers rewards in
terms of sheer sonic quality. Many of the units that are suitable for mastering can also be used
for everyday tracking and mixing tasks, so investing in hardware can be a great idea
1 PRISM MASELEC MLA-2
1
2
3
Price 2,600
Contact Prism Sound 01353 648 888
The MLA-2 is a stereo or two-channel compressor with
stepped drive, ratio, attack and release time and output
gain controls. The MLA-2 is a very special compressor that
has been designed to provide effective but subtle
compression and uses the principle of a fixed threshold,
with adjustable drive or input gain. This makes for more
intuitive operation than an adjustable threshold turn the
drive control clockwise and increase the compression
depth. The MLA-2 is used extensively in mastering but it
also works well on an insertion point in recording or mixing,
as demonstrated with a rear-mounted range control switch
that adjusts the threshold range to suit either mastering or
recording/mixing applications.
Web www.maselec.com
Price 1,562 Contact Sonic Distribution 0845 500 2 500

This unit delivers the rich warmth that is so revered in Mr
Rupert Neves classic designs; two channels of musical
sounding dynamics as well as ultra-transparent brickwall
limiting in a half rack 1RU space. It embodies two independent
Compressor-Limiters (Channels A and B) that can be used
independently or connected in sequence to provide two
separate control slopes. Multiple 5043s may be daisychained
via the rear panel jacks, and it offers extremely low distortion
and noise levels.
Web www.rupertneve.com
3 TL AUDIO IVORY 5052

MK2 STEREO VALVE
PROCESSOR
Price discontinued
Contact MSLPro 020 7118 0133
A high quality channel strip product,
only doubled, making this the ideal
system front end, and the perfect
stereo mixdown and mastering device.
The 5052 provides two channels of each
with independent stereo linking of the
compressor, EQ and limiter sections. It
comes in to its own by offering full
stereo linked EQ and dynamics, allowing
unparalleled processing of the stereo
buss while mixing and mastering.
Web www.tlaudio.co.uk
2 RUPERT NEVE DESIGNS PORTICO 5043 H

COMPRESSOR / LIMITER DUO
FOCUS
Hardware Round-up MTF
4 TC ELECTRONIC FINALIZER EXPRESS
Price 828
Contact via website
Costing a little less than its bigger brother, the Finalizer
Express nonetheless has tons of bang for your buck. Run your
mixed track through it and out to some form of recording
medium and dial up presets or settings to add punch, clarity
and sparkle to your music. It has a multiband compressor and
limiter, spectral balance controls, a soft clipper, lookahead
facility, a matrix to create variations on your treatments,
automatic makeup gain, 24-bit resolution and 16- and 20-bit
dithering capability. The Finalizer Express is a fast and
cost-effective way to enter the world of pro mastering.
Web www.tcelectronic.com
5 DBX 1046 QUAD COMPRESSOR LIMITER
Price 551
Contact Sound Technology 01462 480000
The 1046 provides four channels of smooth classic dbx
OverEasy or Hard Knee compression that are perfectly suited
for use on individual tracks of your multitrack recorder, and in
most cases the separate channels can be individually
interfaced and used for entirely independent purposes like
mastering. Additionally, the newly developed PeakStopPlus is
ideal for protecting your system from the oppressive peaks
that can take out valuable drivers in your sound reinforcement
rig or studio monitors. The Stereo Link feature allows you to
link channels 1&2 and 3&4 for two channels of true stereo
compression.
Web www.dbxpro.com
6 API 2500 STEREO BUSS COMPRESSOR
Price 2,400
Contact Source Distribution 020 8962 5080
The API 2500 Stereo Bus Compressor allows adjustment of sonic qualities
to alter the punch and tone of the stereo mix. One of the 2500s more
notable qualities is its use of APIs patented Thrust circuit for a chesthitting, punchy bottom end. In addition to this, the output stage exhibits an
auto-makeup gain button that permits the user to vary the threshold or ratio
while automatically maintaining a constant output level. Furthermore, the
2500 ensures fidelity with its all-discrete, fully balanced design with two
front panel VU meters showing input, output and gain reduction levels.
Web www.apiaudio.com
5
6
| 77
MTF Round-up Hardware
7 MILLENNIA NSEQ-2
Price 3,400
Contact SCV London 020 8418 1470
For the more serious mastering
engineer, good outboard EQ is a must.
Millennias custom-built NSEQ-2 offers
four bands of EQ with a range of 20Hz to
20kHz, each with a Q control ranging
from 0.4 to 4.0 for a precise control over
each band. Theres an extremely high
build quality internally, with only one
active stage in the audio path, gold
relays, connectors, switches and tube
sockets and a choice of all-triode 300V
vacuum tube or all-discrete J-FET solid
state signal path. Its a fully parametric
stereo EQ with amazing sonic purity.
Web www.mil-media.com
8 PRISM MASELEC MEA-2

MASTERING EQUALIZER
Price 4,641
Contact Prism Sound 01353 648888
The MEA-2 Precision Stereo Equalizer is designed for
recording and mastering applications where ultimate sonic
performance is required. With four separate equalizers per
channel, all controls are stepped for accurate recall of
settings and you get completely overlapping frequencies in
parallel bands for total creative freedom. Theres great
channel-to-channel phase compatibility for better stereo
imaging, interactive Gain and Bandwidth controls and 84
discrete frequencies per channel. All sections are switchable
between shelving and five different bell bandwidths and the
unit has a dynamic range of more than 110dB.
Web www.maselec.com
8
9
FOCUS
9 DRAWMER MX30
Price 350 Contact Drawmer 01709 527574

The Drawmer has several great features for mastering on a budget.
Theres a soft knee auto compressor that deals with large and small
transients differently to produce gentle compression. Peak Limiting sets
an absolute limit that the output signal will not be permitted to exceed.
The limiter is zero response time and controls peaks without any audible
distortion. For transparent peak protection the output gain control
should be set to ensure that the Peak Limiter operates only occasionally.
Alternatively, the unit can be driven into heavy limiting for creative effects.
Web www.drawmer.com
MTF Walkthrough WaveLab
WaveLab Step-by-Step
Mastering music
On the disc
with WaveLab
WaveLab is Steinbergs premiere wave editor and its

just as good at mastering as it is with other aspects of
audio production. Hollin Jones rides the wave
aveLab is Steinbergs flagship

mastering, wave editing and audio
analysis application and comes in a
number of versions with different
feature sets. Although it has some
similar features to Cubase, it is much more focused on
working with digital audio files than actually creating
music. Its strengths include batch processing, advanced
audio analysis, audio montage for things like creating
radio broadcasts and podcasts, surround sound and
detailed wave editing. It can also record audio in high
quality, though again in this regard its better suited to
voiceover or overdubbing tasks than it is to multi
tracking, for which youd probably be better off working
with Cubase.
WaveLab has long been Steinbergs go-to application
for mastering, and for many years existed only on the
Windows platform, with a Mac version being produced a
couple of years ago. It relies heavily on tabbed windows,
making it easy to maintain multiple open documents as
well as different views of your material. Its amongst the

most comprehensive audio applications when it comes
to metering, with a wide range of built-in tools to help
you see how your audio is behaving. And if its interface
feels a little confused graphically, this can be changed
using Themes from within the Preferences section.
Getting started
WaveLab is able to work with almost any kind of audio
format, from the conventional AIFF and WAV through
compressed MP3 and AAC to stuff youve probably never
WaveLab is much more focused

on working with digital audio files
than actually creating music
heard of, like OSQ format. Its interface is so configurable
that your copy may very well look different to that of the
next user, but window layouts can be easily saved, loaded
and managed using the Workspace > Layouts menu. The
first thing you will want to do is load one or more audio
files and this is generally done using the File Browser,
which can be set up to auto play compatible files if you
MTF Navigation Mastering with WaveLab

BATCH PROCESSOR
Create and edit plug-in chains
to process your tracks and also take
advantage of an excellent batch
processor.
b
c
a
d
AUDIO DATA
You can view your audio data in
a number of ways including viewing
as a waveform, a Spectrum view and
also a Loudness view.
AUDIO MONTAGE
Load one or more audio files
into separate projects or into an
Audio Montage. Almost any audio
format you can think of is supported.
ADVANCED METERING
Advanced metering is available
including customisable VU Meters.
You also get spectrographic displays,
Phase Scope and Bit meters to help
you understand the mastering
process.
FOCUS
WaveLab Walkthrough MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Creating mastering presets
Open a project in WaveLab and load up

an audio file that you need to master. If
it is not already visible, reveal the Master
Section from the Workspace > Shared Tool
Windows menu and expand the Effects tab
by clicking on its maximize button. This is
where you will load your effects chain. Left
click on the first effect slot and you will see a
list of the plug-ins installed on your system.
WaveLab has a number of plug-ins

bundled and these are aimed largely at
mastering. You can see them named in the
lower part of the effects menu. The others are
VST plug-ins and theres also an ASIO option
where you can choose to use an external audio
channel to process hardware effects as part of
the signal. This is great if you have a specific
piece of outboard that youd like to incorporate.
For now, choose a third-party plug-in.

If you dont have many of these you can
download a number of free ones, or install
some inexpensive alternatives. If you have a
good selection already, so much the better.
Start with a compressor. Here we have opted
for the Steinberg Portico 5043, which is an
excellent compression unit. We carefully dial
in some settings to help glue the sound of the
master together.
Next try adding an EQ module. Here we

have the Maag EQ, which lets us dial
some sweetness into the middle and top of
our sound. You could also use a parametric
EQ but will probably want to avoid graphic
equalizers since they are less precise for this
particular set of tasks. Mute or solo plug-ins
using their power buttons periodically to see
how your processing is affecting the sound.
Finally we add a limiter. If you look inside

the Steinberg folder in the plug-in list you
should see all of the bundled Steinberg
plug-ins, including any that come with Cubase
if you happen to have that installed. Here we
have loaded up a limiter and pushed the input
drive so that our track gains some power and
boost. Keep an eye on the VU meters at the top
right of the screen.
With your plug-in chain created you may

want to save it and then load it again
later, making tweaks for the track you happen
to be working on at that point. Go to the
bottom of the Master section and click on the
preset name field, then choose Save or Save
As. In the resulting window, assign it a name
and select options for which plug-ins to
include. Then recall this preset at any time.
01
04
02
05
like, helping to save time. Once a file has been loaded it

appears in the waveform view and can be scrolled,
zoomed and viewed in various different ways. Its worth
mentioning that WaveLab has many functions beyond
mastering and there isnt room to touch on them here,
but they should be fairly clear to you as you work your
way around the application. You can for example start a
new, blank audio recording, audio montage or podcast
directly from the main window.
Your waveform display should give you a good idea of
how your mixdown is looking and by judging the size of
the peaks you will get a sense of how loud it is already
and what might need doing to it during mastering. Ideally,
the mixdown should have a healthy level but should not
be coming close to the 0dB mark displayed in the
waveform view margins. Theres the option to switch the
view to a spectral or loudness display, both in the smaller
overview and the larger one that sits underneath.
Spectral can be more useful in diagnosing problems like
clicks and clips, though loudness is good for mastering.
Incidentally, it is possible to customise the appearance
PRO TIP
In WaveLabs Preferences
section you can tweak the way
it looks, responds and
operates. You may prefer an
alternative theme, wish to turn
tooltips on or off or activate
auto folding of menus and
window sections. Parts of the
interface can be docked and
undocked and window layouts
saved and recalled. This helps
you set up the application for
mastering, audio editing,
creating podcasts and various
other tasks.
03
06
and behaviours of any of these views by clicking on the

tiny wrench icon underneath the display.
Read the meter

You can invoke other meters by using the Meters
dropdown menu in WaveLab and these include several
that are handy for mastering. The Phase Scope can be
used to check for phasing problems with your signal, and
the Bit Meter displays the resolution of the audio file as it
plays back in real time. This can be helpful for
understanding whether dithering is necessary or not. For
example, if you are mixing down to 16-bit for CD but the
Bit Meter shows that more than 16 bits are being used,
you should apply some dithering.
Perhaps the most useful display type in WaveLab for
mastering is the VU Meter. This is used to display the
peak and average loudness/decibel level of your audio
file and also displays the pan, or the balance between
the left and right channels in a stereo file. During
mastering you pay close attention to the levels of your
track and the aim is to end up with a loud track that is
| 81
MTF Walkthrough WaveLab
consistently up near 0dB but without losing too much

dynamic range. The VU Meter is indispensable in
achieving this and, like other meters, has advanced
behaviour settings like zoning, release rate and peak
hold that can help you get a handle on how your
processing is working. It can also be flipped to work
horizontally or vertically, depending on your preferences,
and can store up to five sets of preset display settings.
So you might for example want to master for several
different media and meter accordingly for each one. This
could be done by using VU Meter display presets.
Parts of the process

All manner of audio processing tools are available in
WaveLab but this is not something that is usually done
during mastering, with the possible exception of fades in
and out, sample rate conversion or topping and tailing an
audio file. Under the Process menu are normalizers,
phase inverters and time stretching tools but they need
not concern you during mastering. Normalization may
PRO TIP
The Audio Montage feature in
WaveLab lets you essentially
multitrack with existing audio
files. Lets say you wanted to
run or fade tracks together
during mastering for an album,
instead of having them all as
completely separate entities
on the disc. You could do this
by using Montage and then
either fading clips together on
the same track or fading them
over different tracks.
sound attractive but it actually pulls up not only the

audio signal but also any noise present in the file. So
unless your signal is extremely quiet, in which case you
should try to do another, louder mixdown, you should be
relying on compression and limiting to boost the signal,
not normalization.
Applying realtime processing in WaveLab works in
much the same way as it does in Cubase, in that you use
plug-ins applied as inserts or sends. Typically for
mastering a single file you would use inserts in the
Master section, where there are multiple slots available
to load any of WaveLabs own plug-ins or any third-party
VST models. You will probably want to stick to
conventional kinds of mastering processors, perhaps
beginning with a compressor, either single or multi band,
and then an EQ module. It may be desirable to add some
stereo widening, perhaps sidechain another compressor
if you are having problems with specific frequencies, and
then end with a limiter of some description to squeeze
maximum gain out of your signal.
MTF Step-by-Step Metering your masters
When you master in WaveLab, the main

metering view that you use will probably
be VU Meters, which you can reveal using the
Meters menu, and generally sits at the top
right of the screen. This displays the peak
levels of your track and is invaluable in
understanding how close to zero you are
pushing the signal. A control to its left can be
used to switch between horizontal and
vertical display types.
Click on the VU Meters Functions window

and you can customise the way it
behaves by making changes in the Settings
window. To the left you can set the release rate
and peak hold time of the Peak meter, which
helps you identify if you are pushing a master
too hard, as well as customising the colours of
each zone. You can set the lowest and highest
dB values visible on the scale too.
In the central section you can set up the

Ballistics of the meter as well as
colouring zones and, to the right, set the
visibility and characteristics of the Panning
meter. When you have created a setup that
you like, click on the Preset field at the
bottom of this window and either choose to
Save a preset or Save As to assign it a new
name. You also have the option to assign it
straight to one of the five display preset slots.
Also available from the Meter menu is

the Bit Meter. This displays how many
bits are being used in the audio, in real time.
If it shows the bit rate going over into the red,
this means you will need to add dithering
when exporting, or change the project
settings to match the bit rate of the file.
Theres also a Settings menu here where you
can set up display colours and the mode in
which the meter operates.
The Phase Scope meter can help you to

understand how phase is working in your
signal and whether any part of the audio is
going out of phase, which can cause a loss of
energy and thus of volume. The central area
displays a realtime view and along the base the
numbered line shows whether the audio is in
phase, in which case it should be shown
between 0 and +1, or out of phase, in which
case it is between 0 and -1.
Last but not least for mastering is the

Spectroscope, which can give you a
good overview of the frequency content of
your master. Use the Functions menu to
choose whether to show predominantly low,
medium or high frequencies, and toggle
between these options to get an idea of how
things are behaving. This meter helps you to
understand where the energy lives in your
audio file.
01
04
FOCUS
02
05
03
06
WaveLab Walkthrough MTF
All the while you should be keeping an eye on the VU

Meter section to see how your processing is affecting the
sound. The aim is to glue a master together with some
compression, sweeten and balance the mixdown using
EQ and then eventually use limiting to create a clear, loud
sound. As ever you should be careful not to overcompress or limit and risk squashing the sound, which
can be tiring on the ears of the listener. It also depends
on the kind of music you are working with. Jazz for
example would require a much more gentle treatment
than heavy dance music.
Mix to master
When you have created a plug-in chain that works for
your specific track you can save the chain as a preset so
that it can be recalled. Theres also the option to create
an Audio Montage a multi track project where different
audio files on different tracks can have different plug-in
treatments. Or if you are mastering a number of tracks
but dont want to use the Montage feature you can load
PRO TIP
WaveLab is adept at audio
error detection and correction
useful if a clip or click has
crept into a mixdown but its
not possible to re-do the
export before the mastering
process takes place. WaveLab
can analyse sections of audio
and identify problems, then
use customisable waveform
correction tools to remove the
errors and leave you with a
clean and great sounding file
ready for mastering.
them all up in separate tabs and then use multiple

master effect presets to process each one differently.
When you are satisfied with the sound you can render
a track out through the effects chain, and this should be
your finished master. The Render section actually has a
number of options, including the ability to render regions
or whole files and to bypass the master section, if you
have set your project up to use plug-ins in Montage
mode. Theres also an excellent batch processor that can
be configured to process multiple files through any
number of effects chains and output the resulting files to
a destination of your choice complete with custom
naming. Although mastering each track will require a
slightly different treatment, batch processing can be
great for performing parts of the process like sample
rate conversion, renaming, limiting or low cut filtering on
lots of files before you come to the business of making
more detailed changes. WaveLab is an incredibly
powerful tool for audio editing and mastering and will
help you get the most out of your productions. MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Batch processing in WaveLab
Go to the Utilities menu in WaveLab

and choose Batch Conversion of Audio
Files. This opens a special window into
which you can quickly drop a folder or a list
of audio files. Click on the File Format menu
and you will see a range of options, including
the ability to change file type, channel
number, sample rate and bit resolution. This
is useful if you want to sample or bit rate
convert a bunch of files.
For a more comprehensive set of

processing options, go to the Global
menu and choose New Workspace > Batch
processor. This essentially opens a new
project that is set up for batch processing
complete with effects chain and other
options. Using the File Browser section at the
top left, navigate to your files and use the
Select Audio Files button to choose to see
audio files in the Browser.
Click on the blank file icon to create a

new empty document inside the batch
processor. Drag the relevant files from the
Browser to the Files To Process area on the
left. With the Plug-ins section revealed on
the left, drag and drop a saved processing
chain from the Master Section Presets
section into the Audio Plug-In Chain area to
apply it to the tracks.
Alternatively, go to the Master Section

Plug-Ins list or one of the other plug-in
collection sections and drag and drop
plug-ins into the chain area one by one.
Double click on any plug-ins name to open its
UI and make settings. It helps to have preset
patches available or to have set up a
dedicated plug-in chain in WaveLabs main
view first. Keep adding plug-ins until your
chain is complete.
From the Output section at the base of

the window you can click on Rename and
choose a naming convention from the resulting
window. For example you might want to choose
to add the text mastered to all the files to
save you having to do this manually. You can
also choose to insert text at specific points in a
file name, and also to remove or convert text at
the same time. You can batch process text
changes on export.
Choose an export location, assign as

many cores as you want to the batch
probably all of them and press the Start
button. WaveLab will apply all the requested
processing and changes to all the files and
output them to the required location. You can
save the batch as a project and recall it later,
adding different files but retaining the same
processing chain.
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02
05
03
06
| 83
MTF Workshop Pro Tools 10
Pro Tools 10 Workshop
Mastering with
Pro Tools10
On the disc
Pro Tools is considered by many to be the industry

standard for music production, but its also great for
mastering, as Hollin Jones explains
ro Tools has always had a reputation as one

of the best DAWs around, with particular
strengths in the arena of tracking and mixing
audio. The tools and features that make it so
popular for those tasks are the very same
ones that make it great for mastering too, with its
advanced audio plug-ins and metering tools. In fact
during the mastering process youre unlikely to use
many of the tools that Pro Tools offers, since what you
are essentially doing is processing a stereo file through
a relatively small number of audio plug-ins. Things like
timestretching, comping and automation are not carried
out at the mastering stage.
Tools of the trade

Your first step should be to start a new, blank Session.
From the New Session menu, choose a template
Session, if you happen to have already set one up that is
suitable for mastering, or create a Blank Session with
parameters that match that of the audio you are going
PRO TIP
When you bounce tracks to
disk from Pro Tools, including
tracks you are mastering, you
have several options. You can
choose various file format and
quality options as well as
opting to convert sample and
bit rates during or after the
bounce process. You can also
add a track directly from here
to an iTunes library, or upload
it to SoundCloud.
During the mastering process

youre unlikely to use many of the
tools that Pro Tools offers
to import. Your stereo mixdown may well be at

something like 48kHz and 24-bit resolution, so set the
Session up to reflect this. 1
With the Session started, choose File > Import >
Import Audio and, from the file browser, navigate to your
file. Its worth knowing that if your source file does not
match the settings of the project, it is possible to
convert it during import. Pro Tools will warn you that a
file at the wrong sample rate, for example, will play back
at the wrong speed. Click Add or Convert, depending on
whether you need to perform conversion, and double
check the sample rate conversion settings at the
bottom right hand corner of the window if this is
necessary. 2
With your file imported and playing at the right
speed, you can move on to adding processors to the
track to begin mastering. During the mixing stage you
should have spent time perfectly balancing the various
elements within your track, but not necessarily worrying
too much about its overall volume. Indeed, you should
have left some headroom in the mix so that mastering
would be easier. So ideally you will have a well mixed
file that has a decent level but is certainly not squashed
or over loud when you bring it into this Session.
The conventional wisdom is that you begin with a
compressor, and the aim of compressing during
mastering is to add a coherence to the track, to glue the
signal together and lend some punch and power
especially to the lower and mid frequencies. This isnt
about sheer volume; that comes later with limiting. But
youre looking to add some character and a little boost,
for certain. Go to the tracks Inserts section and click on
the first slot. Pro Tools can see compatible third-party
plug-ins on your system of course, but were going to
Start a new, blank

Session with the
correct audio
settings, plus
sample and bit
rates, and then
move on to
choosing your
mastering
weapons.
FOCUS
Pro Tools 10 Workshop MTF
4
5
6
Use gentle compression to add punch

and warmth to a mix, being careful not
to over-compress or pump the signal
at this stage. Then its time to move on
to EQ
You shouldnt need to apply

too much compression at the
mastering stage
stick for now with the models that come bundled with
Pro Tools 10. Start by trying a Compressor / Limiter unit
from the Dynamics folder. 3
Take the pressure

You shouldnt need to apply too much compression at
the mastering stage, and even less if your mix had some
master buss compression applied at the mixdown
stage. If you have some experience of production you
will probably be able to detect from listening to the
mixdown and looking at its waveform whether it has
had any compression already strapped across it. If not,
youre safe to apply a little here. Start with a low ratio of
somewhere between 1.1:1 and 2:1, and a Threshold set
quite high so only the louder peaks get compressed. 4
You should only be looking at applying a couple of dB
of gain reduction when mastering, otherwise your music
can end up sounding crushed as you remove too much
dynamic range from it. Remember that compression
has the effect of reducing the differences between the
loudest and quietest parts of an audio signal. Taken too
far, this can result in a sound that is dull and lifeless.
What you want to do is leave some dynamic range in
there, unless you have a specific reason for really
squashing the sound. Go for a fast attack and release
time if your material is more upbeat and has lots of
transients, or slower settings if its more sedate. If you
find that compressing is sucking some of the level out
of the overall signal you can use the Gain control to add
some volume back in. Dont go too far though, since you
can deal with absolute level at the limiting stage. 5
PRO TIP
Theres a digital store built
right into Pro Tools and if you
click on the AudioSuite menu
you will see an option called
Avid Marketplace. Select this
and, as long as you are online,
you will be taken to the
companys online store where
you can
purchase and
download
additional
virtual
instruments
and effects as
well as Pro Tools
sound libraries
and expand the
functionality of
the DAW itself
with upgrades.
applying a filter to remove the very lowest frequencies

in a track. We dont mean bass frequencies that are
supposed to be there but rather subsonic frequencies
that may have crept in somewhere during the recording
process. To do this, use the HPF control to cut
somewhere between 30 and 20Hz. 6 You can do the
same at the very top end, though its less common as
you risk dulling the sparkle of the high frequencies and
any hiss should have been dealt with during mixing.
The use of EQ during mastering is intended to make
subtle changes to the overall tonal balance of a track.
You shouldnt have to be pulling frequency bands up or
down by too much, as that is indicative of a poor mix.
More likely you will find yourself making gentle
adjustments to the various bands, adding some
presence to specific elements by boosting their EQ
values. 7 By identifying where certain things live
vocals in the mid and upper ranges, also guitars and
horns, and things like kick drums at the bottom end and
cymbals at the top you can start to shape the track
just as you wish. If you get a setting that works
particularly well, consider saving it for recall later. 8
Making things equal

When youre done with the compressor its time to move
on to EQ. Add a seven-band EQ3 from the plug-in list.
You could choose one with fewer bands, though since
youre going to be processing the whole soundscape,
having more bands allows you greater control at this
stage. One of the first things you may want to try is
| 85
MTF Workshop Pro Tools 10
7
8
9
EQ is vital to sweetening and fine tuning the overall sonic character

of a track, and you shouldnt have to be making any huge changes if
the mix was good.
Order, order
There is a good argument for ordering your
processors in the way we have described,
although not everyone chooses to do it that way.
If you place the EQ first in the chain and the
compressor second, the compressor is working
on the EQd signal. Any changes that you make to
EQ may be partially negated by the compressor
that follows it reading that signal and absorbing
a boosted frequency, resulting in little overall
change so you can find yourself having to push
an EQ artificially hard to make any difference. If
you compress first, however, this doesnt happen.
9 By feeding the compressed signal to the EQ,
you get a more accurate representation of how
equalization is affecting the signal. Its true that
changing compressor settings will affect the way the
EQ receives its signal, but the overall effect remains
more accurate than if the plug-ins are connected the
other way round.
You will probably spend quite some time carefully
tweaking the compression and EQ settings to get your
master sounding sweet, punchy and balanced. You
might also want to apply other processors, such as
saturation or tape emulation, which can add a sense of
warmth and gentle overdrive, and perhaps some stereo
widening. These are non-essential to the mastering
process but some people find that they can work in the
context of a particular project. If you do use them, do so
carefully and with restraint. Stereo widening in
particular can wreck the image of a piece of

audio if used incorrectly.
Take it to the limit
PRO TIP
Inside Pro Tools preferences
you can set all kinds of
parameters that determine
how the software will behave,
and customise it to your
preferred way of working. One
handy thing is the ability to
organise plug-in menus by
category, manufacturer or
both, or a simple alphabetical
list. This is great for when you
have lots of plug-ins installed
to help you navigate them
more easily.
The final part of the chain is the limiter, and Pro

Tools has the Maxim limiting plug-in, also found
in the Dynamics folder. 10 The idea with limiting
is to squeeze maximum gain out of your signal
without squashing the sound too much and
without ever going over 0dB. Limiting should be
transparent: it shouldnt colour the sound but
simply add level. The character of the sound is
dealt with by the compressor, EQ and other
associated processors. Here, its just about level. 11
Your Output Ceiling control is where you set the level
to which the signal will be limited and its best to set
this around the -0.2 or -0.1 dB mark for a really strong
sounding master, or slightly lower for a more gentle
treatment. This will prevent the signal from being driven
above zero, which would result in digital clipping and
hence ruin your master. Use the Threshold control to set
the level at which limiting kicks in, and monitor the
attenuation meter to see how much gain reduction is
being applied, shown in orange. 12 You shouldnt be
seeing loads of attenuation, as this means you are
limiting the signal very hard, which will probably result
in a crushed sound, possibly with some distortion. You
can drive the input signal to increase the gain of the
track, though the limiter will always stop it at the level
you have specified.
10
11
Use Pro Tools Maxim limiter to squeeze

more level out of a track, being careful not
to over-squash it. Some kinds of music
need less limiting than others.
FOCUS
12
Pro Tools 10 Workshop MTF
13
15
14
Apply dithering if sample or bit rate conversion is required

during export. Use Pro Tools advanced and configurable
metering plug-ins to keep an eye on your levels.
Its also possible to control the amount of limiting

that is applied using Maxims mix control, located to the
right. This controls the blend of processed and original
signal and can be useful when you dont want a fully
limited sound but rather want to add some volume
more gently. To the right there are also options to apply
Dither and Noise Shaping, both of which control the
space in which you are listening, neither of which are

generally completely perfect. So poor bass response in
your room, for example, might lead you to incorrectly
process the bottom end of a track, maybe adding bass
that doesnt need to be there, or taking it away when in
fact the boominess is a result of reflections in the room.
Metering and analysis are really

important because your ears
may not tell the whole story
Inside the Other folder in Pro Tools insert effects menu

you will find some analysis plug-ins. The Correlation
meter shows you how your tracks phase is behaving. 14
If all is good the needle should be somewhere between
0 and +1 on this scale. If not you need to look at panning
inside your mix. The Meter Bridge plug-in is able to
analyse both sides of the stereo image and show RMS
or Peak values. It can be calibrated to show different
decibel ranges, which is useful when mastering
different kinds of material. 15 Inside the Sound Field
folder you will find a couple of other interesting bits, like
the Stereo Width plug-in which can be used to add
width to three bands of your signal. You would probably
apply slightly more to the upper and mid bands and
little or none to the bass, since this is where most of a
tracks energy resides and thus it needs to stay centred.
16 Also inside that folder, a Phase Scope plug-in will
give you a visual display of how the phase of your track
is looking. You want it to be relatively centred and not
pushing the sides too much unless you have a lot of
panning going on. 17 Stick with the essential processors
and you wont go far wrong. MTF
adding of non-correlated noise to mask noise

introduced by quantization of the signal during bit rate
conversion. 13 Your aim with limiting is to get a really
strong signal without pushing it over the boundary into
distortion. Your output meters should be consistently
up near the top, though not jammed permanently up
against zero.
This should be more or less it for your processing,
but theres another thing that you might want to
consider. Indeed, this could be added at any stage in the
process. Metering and analysis are really important
when mastering because the way your ears perceive a
master may not tell the whole story. The sound of a
master is affected by your monitoring setup and the
Best of the rest
17
16
Use analysis tools to get an idea

of how your audio processing is
working before the sound is
passed to your speakers. This
is more accurate than relying
solely on your ears.
| 87
MTF 10MM Mastering EQ
Minute
Master
Mastering
equalisation
Arguably the most important process in mastering,
EQ is often not given the attention it deserves.
Russ Hepworth-Sawyer restores the balance
he EQ section of a recording desk is perhaps its

most often-used feature after the faders and
pan controls. But its role in mastering is no less
important, as its capable of inflicting deep
wounds on recorded material unless used carefully.
Nothing should replace the less is more maxim of
mastering, particularly when a mix can be repaired back
at the studio before it reaches the mastering suites doors.
The mastering engineers choice of EQ unit or plug-in
is determined by a variety of factors perhaps for its
transparency; its character; its linear-phase attributes;
or simply because it adds some valve warmth considered
missing in the audio. This rich tapestry provides a
welcome palette of resources to choose from.
Take to the slopes

In the early days of the mastering engineer (or the [disc]
cutting engineer as they were commonly referred to
then) one of the primary tools for making tonal
adjustments would be a simple tone control, the curves
for which were invented by Peter Baxandall. Baxandalls
curves were gentle, continually sloping slowly but
steadily, unlike the steeper steps offered by shelf
equalisers. These tone controls later found a home in the
domestic hi-fi system, and Baxandalls curves are still
frequently dialled up by mastering engineers today to
give a little air to the high frequencies or to gently tame
boomy low-frequency recordings.
Tech Terms
bAndS
bands describe the way in
which the available frequency
range is divided. For example,
a parametric equaliser
is typically four-band,
comprising low, low-mid, highmid and high-frequency bands.
pARAMETRic EQ
parametric EQ was invented
by George Massenburg in the
mid-1960s and is considered
to be the most musical and
powerful of EQs.
focus
Another role of the cutting engineer was to ensure

that a stylus would reliably remain in a records grooves
during loud and sudden transients that could cause
jumping. These were dealt with via the tone control,
attenuating any larger than normal low frequency. For
more specific management, filters may have been
adopted. Devised by George Massenburg in the
mid-1960s and presented at the 1972 Audio Engineering
Society Convention, his concept of parametric EQ now
represents a powerful and flexible solution, and is the
backbone of many well-regarded units, such as the
Prism Maselec EQ.
EQ to taste
Mastering engineers tend to covet their EQs and rightly
so, as each has its own unique character and, therefore,
purpose. For example, one engineer might instinctively
The mastering engineers choice

of EQ unit or plug-in is determined
by a variety of factors
The MEA-2 is a stereo (two-channel), four-band precision analogue equaliser with stepped Q/shelf,
frequency and cut/boost controls on each band.
With real-time EQ graphing and vintage-modelled filter curves,

Waves Renaissance Equalizer is a versatile paragraphic EQ.
employ Prisms Maselec EQ for precision repair work

because of its stepped controls, while others might
reach for Millennias NSEQ-2 unit to treat a sterile mix,
as its capable of injecting a touch of pleasing warmth
into recordings thanks to its valve circuitry. In a similar
way to a seasoned recording engineer mentally
Multi-band compression can unintentionally alter the perceived

EQ relationship between bands.
Mastering EQ 10MM MTF
cataloging a microphone to reflect its most suited

applications, so too might a mastering engineer with his
outboard gear.
Keep in line
In analogue EQ circuits, a very small delay is caused as a
bands signal is subjected to, for example, the gain
control. This character is one of the covetable aspects of
many equalisers as the phase distortion gives a little
something to a record. However, the widespread
adoption of digital audio workstations (DAWs) now offers
an alternative through phase-aligned equalisation.
Linear-phase EQ doesnt demonstrate the phase shifts
that analogue EQ does (and many digital emulations) and
as such can be considered more neutral than the original
(see the Ten Minute Master No133, Music Tech Magazine
Issue 65, August 2008, for more information).
Whether or not you should apply linear-phase
equalisation will depend on the effect youre intending to
have on the music youre mastering. For tasks such as
restoration or preservation (as in the case of album
re-issues) it might be prudent to make any remedial
changes to the audio using a linear-phase equaliser.
However, in the throes of mastering a new rock album,
you may choose to engage in some character-altering
analogue EQ.
On the side
Many mastering engineers live by the motto that less is
more and will make their EQ adjustments accordingly
using gentle slopes, aiming ultimately to preserve the
integrity of the music. However, with multi-band
processing it has become possible to make broad
changes to the tonal balance of any audio material,
which can happen unintentionally through neglecting to
rebalance the make-up gains, or intentionally by altering
the bands relationships.
Processors such as an aural exciter can alter the
perceived relationship between bands. Employing an
exciter can give some much-needed body to a track in
certain bands, but it too can alter the tonal balance of the
material. Care needs to be taken to rebalance any
relationship between bands that may have been altered.
The Baxandall curve shown here illustrates how gentle and forgiving the slope actually is by
comparison to a more traditional shelf EQ.
Tech Terms
lInEAr PHASE
linear-phase EQ avoids the
attributes of phase distortion
added to a signal by standard
analogue EQ.
BAxAndAll curVE
Electronics engineer Peter
Baxandall developed the tonecontrol circuits widely adopted
by early audio engineers and
domestic hi-fi manufacturers.
Applying even seemingly simple treatments during

mastering can have a dramatic effect on the material at
hand, so care is paramount. Choosing the right EQ
application is the most important first consideration, and
each engineer will have their own solution. Have a listen
to as many plug-ins as you have access to and hear how
different they sound even with the same parameter
settings. You will appreciate quite quickly the character
that each algorithm provides and its potential best use.
For tracks that appear to be lacking high frequencies
across a wide area of the frequency spectrum, employ a
high shelf with a very wide Q setting emulating a
Baxandall curve (plug-ins such as the Waves
Renaissance EQ have faithful Baxandall re-creations).
Applying even seemingly simple

treatments can have a dramatic
effect on the material
If youre after analogue character, Ozone 5s Harmonic Exciter can add tube or tape saturation,
accentuate harmonics or bring punch and sparkle to a project.
Adding 1dB boost to a curve like this can have a dramatic

impact. The same treatment could be applied to the bass
end, too, but tread with caution as you may boost low
frequencies that your monitors cannot reproduce, though
zap whatever dynamic range is available. A common trick
is to employ a high-pass filter set anywhere from
2550Hz depending on the material. This will result in
unwanted low frequencies being set aside, but take care
not to cut off those frequencies that your monitors cant
re-create but a clubs subwoofer would eat for breakfast.
It is often necessary to enhance a vocal portion of a
track that might appear a little dull or lacking in focus. To
enhance this, choose a relatively wide Q setting and add
a small boost around the 35kHz range. Youll notice the
presence lift in the vocal, but as with all EQ changes in
mastering, youre likely to affect other instruments
occupying the same band. In this frequency range we
might over-enhance some of the cymbals, for example.
While mastering, it is often necessary to be a little
more surgical when removing sharp-sounding
frequencies in a mix. For this kind of task a parametric
EQ is probably the best bet, choosing a fine Q setting,
honing in on the offensive frequency and removing it.
But, as always, be aware of anything else in the mix that
you might simultaneously affect. All too often its
necessary to compromise. MTF
FurTHEr InFO
For more details on Peter Baxandall, see: www.aes.
org/aeshc/docs/jaes.obit/JAES_V44_9_PG796.pdf
For more details on parametric equalisation, visit:
www.massenburg.com/about_george
| 89
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THE ORDER
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OPPOSITE
MTF Round-up Software
1 T-RACKS 3
Price 160 (Deluxe version)

Contact IK Multimedia 0800 0934066
IK Multimedias T-RackS was the first software
mastering suite on the market and, at version 3, is still
going strong. The Standard version comes as a
standalone application and its four processors are also
available as individual plug-ins inside your host DAW. The
application itself has advanced metering tools, including
Peak, Perceived Loudness, Phase, and RMS meters, plus
a Spectrum Analyzer with Peak, RMS and Averaging
indicators. You can A/B between setups and queue up
tracks to compare mastering settings. Its very easy to
use and you can upgrade to the Deluxe version if you like,
which features more modules.
2 WAVES GRAND MASTERS
Web www.ikmultimedia.com
Price $1,560
Contact Sonic Distribution
0845 500 2 500
Waves has an excellent pedigree when
it comes to software audio processing
and Grand Masters is a complete set
of precision mastering software
processors that gives you the mastering muscle
you need for subtle or surgical manipulation of your mixes.
Including the complete Masters bundle (L2, LinEQ, LinMB)
plus 13 new plug-ins, the Grand Masters expands upon the
legacy of the original, delivering the worlds first truly
all-inclusive mastering toolset in one collection. There is a
wide range of tools supplied to help you get the best
sounding master possible.
Web www.waves.com
Round-Up
Software
Mastering with software is space efficient and can

be more cost effective than using hardware. And
doing it yourself is an increasingly popular option for
many producers. With modern computers more
than capable of running pro-quality plug-ins and
effects suites, theres never been a better time to
explore the world of software mastering
3 BLUE CAT AUDIO

ANALYSIS PACK
Price 199 Contact via website

Audio analysis is an essential part of the
mastering process and Blue Cat makes a
range of tools to do it. The Peak Meter Pro
plug-in will tell you everything about your
audio levels; FreqAnalyst Pro and FreqAnalyst
Multi plug-ins provide extremely smooth spectrum
and frequency content analysis; and the StereoScope
plug-ins series lets you visualize the stereo image of
your audio content in details. While the Pro plug-ins
offer unique possibilities to create your own signalcontrolled effects, the Multi versions have unique
multiple instances features to perform the analysis on
several tracks, or anywhere in a signal chain.
Web www.bluecataudio.com
FOCUS
Software Round-up MTF
4 IZOTOPE OZONE 5
Price 145
Contact via website
iZotopes Ozone suite has always been one of the most
capable software mastering solutions around and, now at
version 5, its more powerful than ever. It comes in Normal and
Advanced versions, with the latter adding detailed audio
analysis tools like the Meter Bridge and various spectral
analysis tools, as well as the ability to load each processing
stage in your DAW as a separate plug-in. Both versions have a
range of excellent tools, including a maximizer, EQ, reverb,
dither, exciter, multiband dynamics, stereo imaging and
limiting, and each section is highly configurable.
Web www.izotope.com
5 PSP MASTERCOMP
Price $249
Contact via website
PSPs MasterComp is a stereo dynamics processor that
offers transparent compression even at extreme
compression settings and high sample rates. It features
double sampled processing, low distortion thanks to a
Smooth Level Detector algorithm, optional automatic
attack and release times, advanced side chain filtering,
channel linking and compression tilting controls, as well
as a brickwall limiting mode and advanced PPU / VU
meters. It runs on Mac and PC in all major formats and is
just as good for compressing during tracking and mixing
as during mastering.
Web www.pspaudioware.com
6 MMASTERING BUNDLE
Price 199
Contact info@meldaproduction.com
MeldaProduction makes a huge range of audio
processing plug-ins and many are available as
bundles targeted to specific tasks. The
MMastering bundle contains a suite of 22 effects
which will more than cover all the bases you need
to master quickly and accurately. To pick just a
few, theres the MaudioDynamic EQ, a parametric
equalizer, MautoAlign for dealing with phase
problems, Multiband Dynamics and Spectral
Dynamics for controlling compression, three
separate limiter effects and an eight-band linear
mastering equalizer. There are multiple types of
each category of effect to choose from and they
can, of course, be used in everyday
tracking and mixing as well.
Web www.meldaproduction.com
| 93
MTF Round-up Software
7 SSL DUENDE NATIVE
Price 179-199 each

Contact sales@solidstatelogic.com
SSL has brought the faithfully modelled characteristics of its
legendary hardware to the computer with its Duende Native
series of processors, suitable for mixing and mastering. The
SSL Stereo Buss Compressor is the secret behind many great
sounding recordings, a simple unit with a simple purpose: it
makes complete mixes sound bigger, with more power, punch
and drive. It brings cohesion and strength to your mix without
compromising clarity. The X-EQ is a 10-band parametric EQ
where each band can be set to provide a different EQ type, for
almost limitless possibilities.
Web www.solidstatelogic.com
8 PSP VINTAGEWARMER 2
Price $149
Contact via website
The PSP VIntageWarmer is a high quality digital
simulation of an analogue-style, single- or
multi-band compressor/limiter. It combines rich,
warm analogue processing with a straightforward user
interface and comes with a comprehensive library of presets.
The plug-in processor is highly flexible and can be used for
both softknee compression and brickwall limiting, making it a
useful tool for mixing and mastering engineers. Careful
attention has been paid to its overload characteristics with
the processor being capable of generating saturation effects
typical of analogue tape recorders. PSP Vintage Warmer also
incorporates professional VU and PPM metering together with
accurate overload indicators thereby assuring professional
quality results.
Web www.pspaudioware.com
9 STEINBERG RND PORTICO

PLUG-INS
Price 647
Contact Yamaha UK 0844 811 1116
They might seem pricey for two plug-ins but
these are personally approved by Rupert Neve
himself and based on the legendary hardware
units of the same name. The 5033 is a world class
five-band parametric EQ with high and low shelf
filters as well as three bands with filter width
regulation. The 5043 is a high quality compressor
with input and gain reduction metering, feed
forward and back modes for different
compression characteristics and is based on
Neves own compressor / limiter. Both use
Yamahas VCM technology and can bring a
gorgeous sound to mixes and masters.
Web www.steinberg.net
FOCUS
wit
b
G
4
6 am
R
Now
DR3
160
hz
0M
Rated 9/10
MTF Walkthrough Mastering for free
Mastering for free Step-by-Step
Mastering with free
On the disc
and shareware tools
Getting a great master doesnt have to cost the earth.

There are some free and inexpensive tools out there
that can really help. Hollin Jones looks for bargains
hen times are tough its nice to have

alternatives to commercial software
when it comes to music production.
There are of course lots of excellent
commercial products out there and
theres generally a reason why they cost money: because
they sound great and work really well. If you have a
budget to build a mastering setup, thats fantastic. But
not everybody does, and thankfully there are other
options around in addition to buying the big name
applications and plug-ins. These are all software, of
course, since weve yet to hear of anybody giving
hardware away for free.
The developer community is very active in producing
free audio processing tools, and commercial developers
often release free or lite, cut-down versions of their tools
as appetisers. Theres no reason to think that these are in
any way inferior; they probably just have fewer options or
are feature-limited. You will get some plug-ins suitable
for mastering included with your DAW of course, but were
not going to touch on those here since they are covered in

the DAW-specific workshops elsewhere in the issue. Free
plug-ins might lack the finesse of a top end product but,
ultimately, if youre not flush with cash, its better to
master on a budget than not at all.
Doing it on the cheap

Once your mixdowns exist as stereo files, as they almost
certainly will as you approach the mastering stage, you
need an application to load them into so you can start
The developer community is

very active in producing free audio
processing tools
applying processing. If you dont have a full version of a
DAW you may be interested to know that its perfectly
possible to master in a wave editing package, as long as
it supports plug-ins. There are some full-fat ones out
there but also some great free ones. The best known is
Audacity, which runs on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux
and, after many years in development, is becoming a
MTF Navigation Mastering for free
WAVE EDITORS
Free wave editors can be
used for mastering, though
youll often find much more
elegance and refinement if
you spend a small amount
on a commercial one.
a
b
OS X OPTIONS
Apple provides a
number of Audio Unit
plug-ins that can be
used for mastering with
OS X. These should
show up in any
AU-compatible host.
FREEBIES AND DEMOS

Some developers release
free plug-ins, like the excellent
FreeComp from FXpansion. Others
provide demos or lite versions for
you to try.
APPLE EQ
Apples Parametric EQ
plug-in, though not particularly
advanced, is another free AU
provided with every Mac.
FOCUS
Mastering for free Walkthrough MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Mastering for free with Audacity
Head over to http://audacity.

sourceforge.net and download the
latest version of Audacity for your platform.
It is available for Mac, Windows and Linux.
Installation is pretty simple. The first thing to
do when you fire it up is assign it to use your
audio outputs. You can mix and match
devices for input and output; on most
systems it should easily pick up all available
I/O options.
Drag and drop your mixed down stereo

audio file into Audacity or import it using
the File > Import Audio command. Audacity will
prompt you to choose how to reference the file.
You can make a copy, which will preserve the
original, or edit the original directly, which is
quicker and uses less space but isnt as safe.
Once imported, your files waveform should
appear in the main part of the window.
You can choose how to view the track by

clicking on its name field in the panning
area to the left. Probably the most useful
view for mastering is the Waveform (dB)
option as this shows you the tracks
amplitude relative to 0dB. In the Preferences
> Interface section you can set the meter
range to a different sensitivity if you are
working with specific kinds of material, such
as mastering for vinyl.
Audacity isnt able to run plug-ins in real

time but it can preview and process
them, and if you dont like the results you can
always undo it and have another go. It has
some plug-ins of its own that can be found
under the Effect menu at the top of the list.
One of these is compression, so try applying a
little gentle compression across the track to
even it out.
From the same menu you will also find an

EQ unit and you can draw in EQ points to
the grid to sweeten your master. Again you can
preview or process this effect onto the track.
You may also want to apply some limiting; for
this you will have to seek out a third-party
limiting plug-in. Find and apply one from the
list of third-party tools and then process that
effect onto the track.
When your master is done, choose File >

Export and you will be able to output
your mastered track to the format of your
choice. You should stick with full quality,
uncompressed versions here, and then
compress to other formats like MP3 or AAC
later if you need to create smaller versions of
the audio file. Audacity can export to some of
these formats, or you could use iTunes.
01
04
02
05
surprisingly capable piece of kit. A modest download, it

comes with some of its own plug-ins plus some optional
extra ones and it can see any VST plug-ins you have
installed on your system, which helps greatly when you
are mastering. It also supports plug-in instruments and
although thats not necessary for mastering, it is handy to
know for when you are making music. It has some helpful
modes like spectrographic views to help you get a picture
of whats going on in your audio file, plus an effect
chaining feature so you can set up and save your own
mastering plug-in chains.
If you are after something slightly more refined,
Amadeus Pro for the Mac is a smooth wave editor
available for around 40 (the Lite version is 18) that also
supports VST and Audio Units plug-ins, though without
MIDI functionality its for audio only. Windows users could
look at Wavosaur, an audio recording and editing app for
Windows only that supports VST plug-ins and is available
for free. It has some good features for mastering such as
support for up to 32-bit audio files, effect chain support,
audio analysis and audio statistics.
PRO TIP
MDA free plug-ins have been
around for years and are all
still compatible with the latest
versions of VST hosts on both
Windows and the Mac. They
are simple but useful, and the
free bundle includes
distortions, amp and speaker
simulation, delays, loudness,
multiband compressors and
much more. Among the models
on offer there are some good
free units that can be
employed for mastering.
03
06
Keep it light
For a modest outlay you could get a budget DAW, which
would suitable both for making the music in the first
place, as well as mixing and mastering. Many of the
leading DAWs have an entry level, lite version with most
of the essential features. Steinbergs Cubase Elements,
for example, is surprisingly well featured for just 63.20
and runs both on Windows and Mac OS X. Cakewalks
Windows-only SONAR X2 Essential also goes for around
80. Again, like other DAWs, it supports plug-ins so youre
not restricted to the ones that come with it, good though
they are.
Apples Logic Pro for the Mac is only 140 and comes
with over 70 audio effects as well as some great
instruments. Its the only version of Logic still around,
with the Express version having been discontinued. Avids
Pro Tools M-Powered can cost as little as 80 with a
compatible audio interface. FL Studio Producer Edition is
also capable of mastering and can be yours for around
150, while Cockos Reaper is a remarkably powerful DAW
that costs as little as $60 for an individual license.
| 97
MTF Walkthrough Mastering for free
Plug it in
Once you have chosen the software youre going to use,
you will need to think about the plug-ins that will do your
mastering. Plug-in suites like iZotopes Ozone are
excellent, but they also have a price tag attached. There
are a number of excellent free alternatives, the only
caveat being that they are individual plug-ins rather than
an all in one solution. Despite that, the ability of most
DAWs to save plug-in chains means that once you have
set up a mastering chain you can recall it instantly in any
project anyway.
Compression is the glue that binds your mix together
and creates a coherent and balanced sound. There are
many good free compressors available that are suitable
for mastering. MeldaProductions MCompressor, for
example, has signal maximization for mastering
purposes, hard, linear and smooth knee shapes,
sidechaining, randomization and the ability to process up
to eight channels of surround sound. The mda Multiband
is a multiband compressor that lets you selectively
PRO TIP
MeldaProduction makes an
almost bewildering array of
plug-ins and amongst these
are lots of free ones,
encompassing a range of
modulators and special effects
as well as compressors, EQs
and other suitable effects.
They come in all major formats
and actually have an amazing
depth of features, if you care to
dig under the surface.
compress up to three bands low, mid and high. This is

especially useful for mastering tasks, when you might
need to apply different levels of compression to different
frequency bands instead of using one catch all setting for
the whole signal.
The C3 Multi Band Compressor looks a bit basic but
can be used to selectively compress different bands at
the mix and mastering stages; and Blockfish is another
well liked compressor plug-in. SSL makes the free
LMC-1, a listen mic compressor as well as the X-ISM
intersample peak meter, and you could also check out
the GVST GComp compressor / limiter with soft knee
features. Stardust VST is a multi stage channel processor
that includes a stereo enhancer, multiband and wide
band compressors and detailed VU meters for
monitoring. T-Sledge is a multiband compressor for
mastering, equipped with peak limiter, level maximizer
and four compressors/expanders/limiters. And it is
equipped with two kinds of dividing filter, IIR/FIR so, it
also operates as a dynamic EQ.
MTF Step-by-Step Mastering for free with Wavosaur
Go to Wavosaur.com and download and

install the latest version of this free
audio recording and editing package. Select
File > Open or drag a WAV file into the main
part of the window to have the application
open it. You will see information along the
base of the waveform window about its
sample and bit rate. Its preferable to use
uncompressed WAV files for mastering on
Windows.
There are tools that you can apply and

these are located in the Tools menu.
Select part or all of the waveform of your track,
and choose from various analysis tools. By
choosing the Spectrum Analysis tool for
example, you can get an overview of the
characteristics of your track. The 3D analysis
tool will provide a similar view only in 3D.
Theres also an input or output oscilloscope.
To make Wavosaur see the VST plug-ins

on your system, click on the button with
the spanner icon, which reveals the Editor
Configuration window. Here you can point it
at your VST plug-ins path. Select the folder in
which you store all or most of your plug-ins,
which will probably be your DAWs VST folder.
If you dont have a VST folder you can create
one manually.
With a plug-in folder assigned you can

begin to apply processing. Press the VST
Rack button and then from the Rack window,
choose a plug-in from the list to add. Its
parameters will appear in a list and you can
click each one, setting its level using the
slider to the right of the window. You can load
or save FX bank or patch presets using the
FXB and FXP buttons running along the right
hand side.
Try adding more plug-ins. Here we have

added a free compressor to process the
sound. Once you are happy with the chain, its
possible to save it using the Save Chain button
on the lower right, which lets you recall it at
any time in the future. You can also manually
load any VST using the Load VST button at the
top right of this window, if it lives outside of
your assigned VST folder.
Click on the Processing > Apply button

and the plug-ins will be applied. In the
Preferences you can set Wavosaur to
suspend plug-ins from doing any extra
processing once they have been rendered
down. A notification at the bottom left of the
window tells you that plug-in processing has
been applied. When done you can export your
file in multiple formats, but stick to
uncompressed WAV files for now, and then
compress later.
01
04
FOCUS
02
05
03
06
Mastering for free Walkthrough MTF
The equalizer
After compression you would typically use EQ during the
mastering stage, with the aim of sweetening and tuning
the overall sound of the track, making subtle changes
across the frequency spectrum to enhance or tame
specific parts of the track. Your DAW will have EQ built-in
but there are many free alternatives, some of which are
more flexible.
The Kjaerhus Free EQ has seven bands and an
analogue character to its sound, and Voxengo makes the
EssEQ and Overtone GEQ, graphic equalizers offering
linear phase equalization. The Linear Phase Graphic EQ 2
by Slim Slow Slider is a free linear phase EQ module that
is very light on your CPU, and Blue Cat Audio makes the
excellent Triple EQ, a free three band semi parametric EQ
with detailed visual feedback. Electri-Q is a graphic
parametric EQ plug-in that is simple to use, and Voxengo
produces the free Marvel GEQ, a linear phase 16-band
graphic equalizer AU and VST plug-in that offers a
mastering grade sound quality.
PRO TIP
FXpansion makes some
excellent instruments and
effects and even gives away a
few freebies to people who set
up an account on their website.
The DCAM FreeComp is a great
free compressor that can be
used for mastering. A model of
a console bus compressor, it is
good for enhancing punch and
definition as well as glueing
mixes and masters together.
Skys the limit

Whatever other processing you apply you will eventually
need a limiter. Sweetboys Volcano Limiter / Maximizer
combines a peak limiter and a level maximizer and is
simple to use. Endorphin provides free dual band
compression and an analogue style brickwall limiter,
while TLs Pocket Limiter is a simple but effective limiting
effect with low latency performance supporting sample
rates up to 192 kHz. MeldaProductions makes the
MMultiBand Limiter, an accomplished brickwall
mastering limiter with minimal distortion and three
limiting modes. It costs 149 but is much more advanced
than many of the free models we have looked at.
So theres no shortage of free or at least inexpensive
mastering software available online, and even where
there is a charge there is also often a free demo or trial
period, so you can try before you buy. Mastering is of
course vital to producing great sounding tracks but, as
we have seen, you dont necessarily have to spend lots of
money on the tools you need to do it. MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Mastering with Amadeus Pro for Mac
Amadeus Pro is an inexpensive but

capable wave editor for the Mac. Drag
and drop your mixdown into the app to open
it. If you need to top and tail the file you can
do this easily by selecting the relevant area
then right clicking and choosing Cut to
remove the area containing silence. You can
also add fades in and out by selecting and
using the Effects > Fading menu options.
Under the Analyze menu you will find

some useful analysis tools, many of
which work in real time. Here we have loaded
the Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer and set it to
work in stereo. It gives us a great overview of
the frequencies going on in the track as it
plays back. Other options include
oscilloscope, sonogram and waveform
analysers. They can be set up to respond
extremely quickly to signals.
Under the Effects dropdown menu you

will find some built-in effects, including
equalizers. Perhaps most interestingly
theres a tool called the LP / 78rpm
Equalizer, which lets you choose between a
range of EQ types based on classic vinyl
record types and the way that different
labels used to master their releases. You
can manually set low and high frequencies.
Its a little different from standard EQs,
which are also available.
Amadeus Pro can see the VST and AU

plug-ins on your system and these are
also available from the Effects dropdown
menu. If you have a DAW or other audio
software installed, it should pick up any
plug-ins that belong to them and these will
appear as options. Here, for example, we have
added an instance of the excellent Steinberg
Portico EQ, which we can use to sweeten and
fine tune the balance of our master.
Any effects that you add using the

previous technique must be processed
before they can be heard. However, if you click
on the gear icon at the top right, you can reveal
the realtime plug-ins section. Go to the plus
button icon at the base of this section and click
on it. You will be able to see your installed
plug-ins and add any you like, and they are
processed in real time.
To render the processing effects down

onto the file, select Sound > Bounce
Document, or Bounce Document to New File
to create a new file inside Amadeus with the
effects rendered down. Alternatively, use the
File > Save A Copy As option to export to an
uncompressed or compressed format for use
elsewhere. Amadeus Pro native documents
can also be saved and retain their editability.
01
04
02
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| 67
MTF Interview Dan Austin
They had a huge

collection of vintage
synths and analogue
gear: I was a kid in a
sweet shop
.
The MTF Interview Dan Austin
From Maximo Park to the Doves, Dan Austin has been the mastermind behind many great
guitar tones. MTF finds out more about the tricks of his trade. Photography by Zen Inoya
eing as MTF is a UK magazine, based in the city of Bath, this interview

offered a perfect opportunity for us to visit a local yet famous location
Moles Studio. This is where our tea boy-turned-engineer and producer
Dan Austin frequently books to work from. The studio lives above the
equally famous Moles nightclub. The first floor hosts two live rooms, one
that Dan favours for drums and the other for recording guitar. The floor above
houses a large SSL E Series desk, racks of outboard and a vocal booth. Following
the theme of many engineers who are working more and more in-the-box, Dan
admits that nowadays hes using only 16 channels of the SSL for mixing from Pro
Tools, making it more of a summing mixer. But he tells us why this is still important:
I did a lot of shootouts with Gil Norton [Foo Fighters, Feeder] between eight-way
and sixteen-way summing mixers. The Chandler summing mixer and SSL desk
sounded much better than just coming out through a stereo output from Pro Tools.
Everything was calibrated to make the tests as reliable as possible. The Chandler is
really coloured, but in a similar way to a good desk. You get a heavy bottom end and
a big openness to everything.
He also admits to using a lot of plug-ins having waiting first until they proved
they sounded up to the job. Dan also tells us that working in-the-box and easier
recall are modern necessities due to the demands for recalls, different edits, stem
exports for remixes and parts to use for live shows. He shares his thoughts on this:
It all makes sense to do the various exports and so on, but its also great for
archive purposes as I can recall something from five years ago really easily. When it
was tape it was a whole different story.
On the up
Dans vast range of skills were accumulated over the years during his gradual
progression from tea-maker to recording, mixing, programming and production
duties: With some producers Id just be sitting at the back taking notes, whereas
others would give me the chance to set up things like the guitar or drum sounds in
a session. I remember picking up lots of tips from Paul Corkett, who did many of the
Biffy Clyro sessions. A big thing I learned from him was his guitar and drum sounds.
They are just amazing and he dials stuff up so quickly. He wasnt too fussy about
things, hed just make things sound really great, quickly. Before that I used to get a
focus
Dan Austin Interview MTF
| 103
MTF Interview Dan Austin
little too picky about stuff and maybe spend an hour on a

sound when the performer just wanted to play guitar. I
learned not to think is it right? all the time and instead
gained the confidence to think that its good and move on.
While Dan will take on all roles as a producer for some
projects, on others he will be part of a team, with a more
specific role. He gives us some examples: On my own
sessions Ill do everything, like the records with Doves and
Cherry Ghost. But Massive Attack is a good example of when
Ive had just one specific role, as they werent looking for an
engineer, they just wanted a programmer. I played them some
of my stuff and it went from there.
I was taken on to work on what became Heligoland, but
during that time we also did film soundtrack work and
adverts, plus remixes of older tracks and alternative versions
for their Best Of. It was very different from the work Id been
doing because Id never really just worked as a programmer. It
had always been mixed with engineering or mixing. We all got
on really well and generated an incredible amount of material.
Some was set to a very specific brief, like the advert bits had
to adhere to what the client wanted. Other days wed start with
a blank Pro Tools session and try out ideas, or get something
out of the loft, where they had a huge collection of vintage
synths and analogue gear. I had a programming room and was
like a kid in a sweet shop, going into the loft to explore what
there was. A lot of the work I was doing was creating
atmospheres and noises, especially for the film work.
MTF StudioEye Moles Studios, Bath, UK

EMS VCS 3
This a fantastic-sounding
synth but I use it for a lot of
processing. If Im recording
drums Ill always have a mic like
an SM58 on the kit going through
this so I can push the input stage
for distortion; sometimes I use a
bit of filtering, too.
NEUMANN U87
Unlike other condensers,
this can take a ton of level from a
cab while sounding open and not
squeezed. Other condensers can
sound good with lower, cleaner
signals, but I like how this can cope
with high volume. Its brightness
also complements a dynamic mic.
a
b
Making movies
We wanted to know a bit more about how he might start
creating sonic beds for film work. Dan happily shares some of
his tricks: Sometimes Id start with a vocal or maybe a guitar
If we wanted to get
width, instead of doubletracking wed pan apart
the separate amps
from a single take
part, then heavily edit it to make single notes, or layer things
and create harmonies. There was one track when I took a
vocal and sampled it into Reason as separate notes, which I
then turned into tiny little loops. This was linked up to a MIDI
controller so I could control the volume of the different notes
as they played a bit like a Mellotron in the way you could play
with it. Wed then take those sorts of things and stick them
Notable
works
Dan and
some of the
career-defining
moments of
his years...
2003 | The Cooper Temple Clause

Kick Up The Fire And Let The
Flames Break Loose
Id started working freelance while still working
at Moles. Id engineered the first record and done
a load of B-sides for them. They asked me to set
up a studio with them and record their second
record. This persuaded me to go freelance, aged 22. We built the studio
around a Pro Tools rig and some Neves in a barn in Reading. I still get
work off the back of this record. It was great for the label and the band to
have the confidence to let me do it. This was a real game-changer for me.
FOCUS
through kit like guitar pedals, the Arp 2600 or a Sequential

Circuits Pro One. There was a lot of continual processing
involved to get something that was unrecognisable from the
source sounds. We used a lot of hardware but I also used
Reaktor a lot, too. I still do; its an amazing tool.
Tone meister
When listening to the projects Dan has worked on over the
years, noticeable differences in guitar tones and production
aesthetics become apparent. Dan gives us an idea as to why,
and explains how he created these sounds: With You Me At
Six, the sound is a lot more about precision and hugeness,
with massive depth, whereas with Pulled Apart By Horses we
were trying to retain the live energy they are renowned for.
Everything on that record had to be repeatable so we didnt
do loads of layering, which is what we did for that big sound
on You Me At Six. That type of sound usually involves three
amps, with one take panned left, one right and one in the
middle. For double- and triple-tracking its the guitars well
normally change to get different tones. Sometimes the
middle channel will have a crappy combo amp added to get a
2009 | Doves Kingdom Of Rust

I was a big fan of the band already and Id
engineered on some tracks from the Some
Cities album before. It was great to work
for a band that Im a really big fan of and its
a record Im really proud of. It wasnt the
easiest to make, taking around 18 months
on and off. Again, like Temple Clause, we
recorded it in a studio we put together in a
barn. It was received really well, which was
good as wed worked on it so long that wed
got a bit lost in it. The public reaction was really reassuring.
Dan Austin Interview MTF
TONEBONE JX2 PRO

I run at least two cabs for
any guitar sound and use this to
split the signal. You need decent
transformers, earth-lift and
phase-reversal as you can get in
heaps of trouble when running
multiple cabs from one source.
SHURE SM7
If a vocalist is really giving
it some, this mic manages to
smooth out the inconsistencies
created when singing really hard
into a mic. It also manages to
retain loads of detail.
c
f
e
DOMINATOR
c WEM
BASS
This is great for that classic
valve input-gain sound. Its
just a volume control for more
or less gain with some EQ. At
full volume the distortion
becomes obscene. Its a lot
easier to record than a 4x12
cab, which need to be really
loud to get full tilt out of them.
KITCHEN
d AUDIO
LITTLE CHOPPER
The clean sound on this is
really glassy and open, then
it goes into evil distortion,
with everything in between.
But its gain dial is so precise
and the tone control is so
wide. I pretty much use it on
every guitar sound I do.
SRE-555
e ROLAND
This is such an
exciting effect and you can
do so much with the delay.
This particular model has
chorus, sound-on-sound
recording and a spring
reverb. I quite often use the
spring reverb for vocals and
acoustic guitars.
more gnarly sound, and thats how we get that huge width
and depth. With Pulled Apart, if we wanted to get width,
instead of double-tracking wed pan apart the separate amps
from a single take.
add much in the way of compression as the distortion takes

care of that. If its a cleaner picked part Ill squeeze it a bit to
make sure that none of the notes are disappearing.
Microphones
We asked about the Pure Love album by ex-Gallows frontman

Frank Carter. Dan says: We recorded it in a studio with a big
vintage Neve desk that sounded incredible. If I have a choice
for a rock record, I go for either a big Neve or API desk; SSL
mic pres are great, but theres something a bit more magical
about a Neve or API. Its hard to say sometimes, though, as it
can also be down to the wiring; this studio had Aurora
converters, which could play a part. Everything that came
through that desk sounded huge. Our aim was to get those
classic rock tones using 4x12 Marshalls, big open drum
sounds and so on. It was less about distortion, more about
purity. We had a massive drum room so didnt need to fake
ambience like in smaller rooms, using reverbs, distortion or
heavy compression. When youve got a large tuned room with
just the right decay and the mic placement is right youll get a
massive sound with minimal compression. MTF
Microphones are obviously another consideration in shaping

any guitar tone. We ask Dan how he determines which is the
right one for the tone he is seeking: Ordinarily Ill have a
condenser and a dynamic on every cab, occasionally a
dynamic and a ribbon if I want a softer and less direct sound.
Before we start recording any guitars Ill line up all of the
cabinets in a row, which can sometimes be five or six of them.
Then Ill go through each one and phase-align them. Next Ill
trial combinations of the amps with the guitar player actually
playing up in the control room with me and find out what
works best. So the final sound can be anywhere from two to
four cabs together, which are summed into a group on the
desk and then if Ive got one at the time itll go through an
API 550B EQ. Following that either a Urei 1176 or an
Empirical Labs Distressor. If its a big distorted part I wont
2011 | Bayside Killing Time

This was the start of my working relationship
with Gil Norton. Were just about to start
our seventh or eighth record together at the
moment. Ive been doing a lot more mixing with
him and at the moment theres a lot of stuff in
the charts so I can turn on
the radio and hear things
Ive been working on a lot.
Starting to work with Gil on
this record has been another
defining moment for me.
Pure and simple
2012 | Pulled Apart By Horses V.E.N.O.M.

This was done incredibly quickly. We recorded
the whole album in 14 days and the band were
awesome. We went into the studio and got it
down really quick. It was really fun to do and
the band are hilarious to work with. After
recording we went to Gils studio, did a little
tweaking and mixed it really quickly, trying to
get it sounding good but without polishing it
too much. It all came together really quickly
I think we mixed it in about ten days. It was great to do something as
raw and as edgy as this.
2012 | You Me At Six The Swarm

We actually recorded this here at Moles. Its
a one-off track that is used as the music for
the ride at Thorpe Park. Gil and I really like
the band and this was a chance for us to work
with them. They came in with half a track on
a Sunday afternoon, we did
pre-production, got it recorded
and had it mixed by Thursday
night. I like doing the type of
production when we think,
how massive can this be?.
| 105
MTF 10MM Inter-sample peaks
Minute
Master
Inter-sample
peaks
With masters becoming increasingly hot, are intersample peaks an inevitable by-product of the
Loudness Wars? Mark Cousins investigates
he phenomenon of inter-sample peaks is one

that seems to scare and confuse budding
mastering engineers in equal measure. Some
audiophiles insist that they are one of the many
degrading qualities attributed to the so-called Loudness
Wars, constituting a completely avoidable form of
distortion. Others insist that inter-sample peaks are such
a rare and unnoticeable phenomena that they deserve
little or no attention. So, what is the truth behind
inter-sample peaks, and are they something that we
should all be concerned about?
Feeling peaky
To understand what is meant by an inter-sample peak we
need to take a closer look at signal levels in the digital
domain, and, in particular, the process of digital-toanalogue conversion. As we all know, signal levels in the
digital domain are represented by a fixed series of
numbers, with the loudest recordable signal denoted as
0dBFS (0dB Full Scale). When a signal is recorded in the
digital domain at a level that exceeds 0dBFS the result is
a clipped waveform, with a corresponding set of samples
squared off at 0dBFS. Of course, most digital source
recordings are left with plenty of headroom all
engineers steer well clear of the dreaded digital over.
Tech Terms
DIGITAL OVER
As digital audio cant exceed
0dBFS, a digital over seems
a bit misleading. Instead, a
digital over means a number
of consecutive peaks have
been read, indicating that the
signal level has potentially
exceeded 0dBFS.
LOSSY AUDIO CODEC
A lossy audio codec changes
the original waveform so that
it can be stored in a more
data-efficient way. Lossless
encoding, on the other hand,
uses statistical redundancy,
leaving the waveform intact
but reducing its data size.
FOCUS
When it comes to mixing and mastering, though, its

increasingly common for engineers to run their final
signal levels right up to 0dBFS. Indeed, a large part of the
loudness attributed to modern music is created by
aggressive brickwall limiting, which actively targets peak
signals and pushes a master right up to 0dBFS without
the waveform being audibly clipped. In a world in which
level is everything, this approach makes complete sense,
ensuring that your song is as loud if not louder than
the competition. But is our fondness for pushing peak
meters right up to 0dBFS a good strategy in respect to
audio quality?
Over and above

The problem with running masters up to 0dBFS is the
assumption that digital signal levels are an absolute in
other words, nothing ever exceeds 0dBFS. However,
theres a whole area of our signal path to consider after
weve set our final mix or master levels that of the
digital-to-analogue conversion process. As yet its
impossible to stream digital audio directly into our
Much of the loudness attributed

to modern music is created by
aggressive brickwall limiting
The process of mp3 conversion can also introduce unwanted distortion on peak signals, which is why
Sonnoxs Pro-Codec is useful as a means of spotting these problems early on.
Ozones Maximizer avoids inter-sample peaks by considering the

possible peak levels after conversion.
brains, so every piece of digital music needs to be

converted back into the analogue domain before we can
hear it. As part of this conversion, digital-to-analogue
converters employ a form of reconstruction filter
rounding-off (or interpolating) the stepped digital
waveform and creating a smooth final output.
As part of the interpolation process, reconstruction
filters tend to create some small differences in the
eventual output levels. Of course, for a large part of our
dynamic range these small level changes arent an issue,
but on signals hovering near to 0dBFS even the smallest
level change can be problematic. At this point the
problem seems to vary between different grades of
converters and the electronics that follow them. An
audiophile D/A converter will allow for this headroom, but
a cheap CD player wont have the headroom for these
inter-sample peaks. In short, your mix wont sound
distorted in the studio, but your peaks could sound
decidedly clipped on a cheap hi-fi.
Inter-sample peaks 10MM MTF
Although not explicitly part of the inter-sample peak

issue, its also worth considering what happens to mixes
that have been mastered hot and converted to a lossy
audio codec such as mp3. To achieve the desired amount
of data reduction, many codecs employ various forms of
filtering to reduce the amount of audio information, with
lossier codecs usually applying more brutal filtering. As
with the reconstruction filters in the D/A conversion
process, this codec filtering produces some degree of
level discrepancy between the original uncompressed
audio file and the final data-compressed version. As
youd expect, the greater the amount of data
compression used, the easier it is for audio to distort.
Peak practice
Having identified some of the causes and issues behind
inter-sample peaks, what are the practical steps that you
can take to avoid them? The most immediate solution, of
course, is to allow some degree of headroom between the
peak levels of your master and 0dBFS. The only issue
here is differences of opinion between recommended
practices, with some audiophiles insisting that -3dBFS is
the only safe peak level, while others are happy to run the
master up to around -0.3dBFS. The problem is that the
appropriate margin of safety is hard to define given both
the huge variations between CD players and DACs, as
well as the inherent dynamic and timbral qualities
present in the music.
Inter-Sample Peak
OdBFS
-Inf.
inter-sample peaks are created as part of the D/a conversion process, whereby a reconstruction filter
creates signal levels that exceed 0dBFS.
tech terms
inteRPolation
Put simply, interpolation
fills in the gaps between a
series of data points. as a
digital recording is a series
of discrete samples, D/a
conversion needs to fill in the
gaps between these points.
Allow some degree of

headroom between the peak
levels of your master and 0dBFS
Another relatively simple remedy to the problem of
inter-sample peaks is improved metering, as found in
plug-ins such as SSLs X-ISM (www.solidstatelogic.com )
or, in the case of data-compression distortion, Sonnoxs
Pro-Codec (www.sonnoxplugins.com). In the example of
the X-ISM plug-in, a digital Finite Impulse Response
(FIR) filter is used to model the typical interpolation
applied as part of a D/A conversion, which, in turn, is fed
to an analogue inter-sample clip indicator. In theory, the
meter indicates when inter-sample peaks are likely to
occur (although, of course, theres no absolute way of
telling), enabling you to set the final headroom in a more
informed way.
Max headroom
Given its ability to apply codecs in real time, Sonnoxs
Pro-Codec also provides the option to identify any
unwanted peak distortion before the final file is
rendered. Of course, in the example of audio datacompression, you have the potential to negate the
unwanted distortion by increasing the headroom, or by
changing the amount of data compression applied
(higher bit-rates produce less distortion). As with the
aforementioned X-ISM plug-in, though, it enables you to
make a much more informed decision about your
eventual headroom and, to some extent at least, the
amount of limiting applied, without any shocks
occurring later on.
SSls X-iSM plug-in models

the behaviour of a D/a
reconstruction filter and
indicates where inter-sample
peaks might occur.
As well as increased headroom and improved

metering, its also interesting to see a number of
inter-sample-aware products being released. iZotopes
Ozone, for example, includes an Intersample Detection
mode as part of its Maximizer controls. With the
Intersample Detection mode active, Ozones Maximizer
effectively applies its brickwall limiting based on the
post-D/A conversion levels rather than the current level
of the digital sample. In short, its a form of intelligent
limiting based on the eventual signal levels, making it a
simple but effective tool for negating inter-sample peaks
yet still achieving maximum loudness.
Room to breathe
The issue of inter-sample peaks is an inevitable
by-product of the Loudness Wars and the lack of
regulation and standardisation in the music industry. To a
large extent, the problem of inter-sample peaks could be
easily negated by an accepted peak level of -3dBFS,
following the lead of other industries such as film and TV
broadcast, where prescribed final signal levels and
loudness standards are strictly adhered to. The music
industry, though, has a distinctly more cavalier attitude,
with loudness seeming to be all that counts, and that
audio quality is often the least important point on the
agenda. The irony, of course, is that peak levels arent the
principal component of loudness, but instead formed by
the averaged RMS levels.
As more engineers, musicians and listeners of music
understand the phenomena of inter-sample peaks,
though, it becomes increasingly easy to start making
more informed choices about how our music sounds.
Arguably, industry-driven initiatives such as Mastered
for iTunes illustrate that theres a degree of reappraisal
happening concerning issues such as loudness and data
compression. In the future, therefore, there may well be a
move towards less distortion and higher bit-rates,
meaning that inter-sample peaks could become a thing
of the past. MTF
FuRtheR inFo
For more information on digital audio, see:
www.musictechmag.co.uk/mtm/features/10mm-182practical-digital-audio
For more information on loudness, visit:
www.musictechmag.co.uk/mtm/features/10mm128loudness-demystified
For a free downloadable inter-sample peak meter, go
to: www.solidstatelogic.com/music/X-iSM
| 107
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SONAR X2 Walkthrough MTF
SONAR X2 Step-by-Step
Master with SONAR
On the disc
X2 Producer Edition
SONAR comes with a formidable set of plug-ins,
including some specialised tools for mastering.
Hollin Jones dives deep
akewalks flagship DAW SONAR has been

around for almost as long as it has been
possible to make music with computers. A
recent upgrade to the X2 version brought a
number of new features relating to the
refinement of the excellent Skylight interface introduced
in X1, which did away with the old, cluttered interface. All
versions of SONAR support third-party plug-ins but the
Producer Edition comes with its own dedicated
mastering plug-ins, which are fully 64-bit native. This
means you can have a completely end to end 64-bit
recording, mixing and mastering system with this version
of the software if your OS, computer and drivers support
64-bit, as many do nowadays.
Mastering is easier thanks to the new windowing
system which means you can view lots of different parts
of a project at the same time by docking, dragging and
resizing windows. So you can see your audio track, a
channel strip and your plug-ins all at the same time, for
example. If you have two monitors you can even split
them across both screens for even greater flexibility, or

manage window sets if screen space is at a premium.
Getting to work
When using SONAR for mastering you will most probably
be using it in a conventional way, loading a single stereo
audio mixdown file of your track and then applying insert
effects to that track while leaving the master fader at
0dB and monitoring the master VU meter for clipping.
SONAR X2 Producer Edition has a quite amazing array of
The Producer Edition of

SONAR comes with its own
dedicated mastering plug-ins
bundled plug-ins, some of which are dedicated to the
task of mastering and that you can use to sweeten, boost
and polish your mixes before they are released out into
the world.
The first is the LP-64 linear phase mastering EQ
module. This can be made to work in one of two ways:
traditional parametric mode or graphical curve mode.
MTF Navigation Mastering with SONAR
RECALLING CHAINS
Add plug-ins for mastering
processing either on the track or on the
master buss. SONAR supports plug-in
chains so its easy to store and recall
presets.
ANALYST
There are plenty of third-party
metering tools available but SONAR
has a few of its own too, such as
Analyst, which is good for
understanding your
master.
LEVEL METERS
Remember to keep an eye
on your level meters at all times,
since these are what will tell you if
your track is peaking or clipping.
TAPE SIMULATION
As well as conventional
processing you may want to add
things like tape simulation at the
mastering stage, to add character.
| 109
MTF Walkthrough SONAR X2
MTF Step-by-Step Process with the ProChannel in SONAR
Load up a new project with your stereo

mixed down audio track on an audio
channel. Expand the Track Inspector section
to the left of the main part of the project
window and you should see the ProChannel
window appear. By default it will have a blank
preset loaded, though you can move to its
name field and click the File icon to open the
preset browser. Inside this you will find
various channel presets.
Here we have loaded a Master Buss

Medium Compression preset. To view its
contents its necessary to reveal the right
section, which you can do by clicking on the
ProCh tab. The first thing you will see is the
compressor and here you can make settings to
help to glue your master together. Try some
gentle compression with a ratio of around 2:1, a
relatively low Threshold, fast attack and slow
release for a more natural sound.
The compressor also has a dry / wet

control and a makeup gain knob so you
can control how much is applied. You may
also want to swap out the compressor for a
different model, which you can do by right
clicking on it and then from the resulting
menu choosing Insert to add a new module,
Replace to swap it out or Remove to get rid of
it. There are a number of compressors in the
Producer Edition that you can try to see what
works best.
Moving down to the EQ section you get

four band sweepable EQ with Q controls
as well as sweepable low and high pass
filters. Rolling off the very bottom end with a
high pass filter can be desirable when
mastering to eliminate any subsonic
frequencies. The EQ is switchable between
hybrid, pure, E and G types, each of which
behaves differently and so alters the
outcome of your processing.
Scrolling down further still you will find a

Tube section where you can dial in some
drive and add some grit and bite to the signal.
You may also want to add an extra module
say perhaps a Saturation Knob and you can
do this using the right click technique to add
one to the chain. Again, this should be used
carefully to add character but not over-colour
your master.
If you have created a mastering

processing chain that you feel works
really well, why not save it as a preset? This
can be done by clicking in the ProChannels
name field and this time, using the Disk icon
to invoke the Save Preset window. You will
see the file save as its own ProChannel
preset format and this can be called up at
any time or even mailed to people you are
collaborating with.
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The former means that an EQ point represents filter

components that control frequency, gain and Q values.
Graphical mode means that control points sit on the
curves and allow you to manipulate those EQ curves. You
can add up to 20 EQ points in either mode.
The idea behind using EQ during mastering is to
create gentle enhancements or cuts to the overall
frequency balance of the track. You really shouldnt be
making any drastic cuts or boosts with EQ at the
mastering stage, since your mix should have taken care
of any major discrepancies in frequency. If you get to the
mastering stage and find that youre having to make big
cuts to the bass or big boosts to the mid range, youre
probably better off going back and revisiting the mix.
With mastering you should be looking to make subtle
and fairly minor EQ changes. Its usually preferable to use
parametric EQs, since they allow precise and detailed
changes to be made, such as setting the Q value of each
EQ point and the resulting curves.
Choosing from SONARs sonic arsenal, you can use
the single band compressor at the mastering stage, but
FOCUS
PRO TIP
SONAR has a Bit Meter plug-in,
which doesnt actually process
sound but tells you how many
bits your audio is using. This
should correspond to the bit
rate of the project but if you
find it is higher than you
thought you should employ a
dithering plug-in during
export. This will help to deal
with any noise introduced by
the conversion of bit rates.
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in the Producer Edition you also get the LP-64 multi band
linear phase compressor / limiter which can be applied
to the signal. This gives you clean, uncoloured
compression control over five bands, meaning that you
can selectively compress from the low end through the
mids up to the top. Multiband compression is something
of a mixed blessing and must be used with caution.
Its much more flexible than single band compression,
letting you focus on specific frequency bands that might
need more or less compression than others think of it
as a more surgical compression tool. If you dont know
what youre doing, however, it can cause more problems
than it solves. You could end up with an overly
compressed mid range but a top end thats too loud. For
producers with some experience, multiband
compressors can be invaluable, especially where you
have inherited a mix that is less than perfect. They will let
you alter the mixed file to a certain extent by
compressing different frequencies using different
settings and, combined with EQ, this can be a useful tool.
Ideally, you shouldnt need to make dramatic changes at
SONAR X2 Walkthrough MTF
the mastering stage, so if you prefer you can always use

the standard compressor plug-in, or a third-party model
that works on a single band.
Adding warmth and drive

Also to be found in SONARs toolbox is an effect that is
not found in all mastering setups but can be used to add
some drive as well as level to your masters. The TL-64
Tube Leveler is a line driving / leveling unit with analogue
vacuum tube modelling algorithms powered by
StudioDevil emulation. It can be used to add drive and
saturation to the signal, either subtly, as you will
probably want to use it, or in more extreme ways for
special effects during tracking. Its rare that you would
want to use lots of drive during mastering, but you might
want to use a little to add some character.
Boost 11 is a relatively simple mastering limiter that
can be used to give your tracks maximum volume and
punch. Limiters always live at the end of the signal chain
and are used to boost the signal to squeeze lots of gain
PRO TIP
You can add dithering during
the export of a master using a
plug-in or the Dithering option
in the Export window. You can
also set an export format,
sample rate and bit depth and
choose to export the signal at
various different stages. Not
just the entire mix but also
different tracks within a mix.
Choose to use the 64-bit
engine for extra precision
when bouncing down.
out of it without ever going over 0dB. As ever its a

balancing act between limiting enough to get good
overall volume but not making the sound too squashed.
Over-limiting can sound worse than under-limiting, so if
in doubt, back off a little so you are driving the signal less
hard. The Boost 11 plug-in provides lookahead limiting,
which means that it can anticipate upcoming peaks in
the audio and compensate for them, preventing any
unexpected anomalies in the sound, and clipping. It also
uses special algorithms to prevent a pumping effect,
which is never particularly desirable when mastering.
Other options
There are a few other interesting tricks up SONARs
sleeve. The last of its mastering plug-ins is actually more
of a general purpose module, but is suitable for the
mastering process. The VC-64 Vintage Channel combines
a number of different processors and is a channel strip,
dynamics processor and EQ with de-essing, though you
probably wouldnt use that during mastering.
MTF Step-by-Step Working with mastering EQ in SONAR
Import your stereo mixdown file to an

audio track in SONAR and set up a
window arrangement that allows you to see
the project area and the tracks fader
complete with FX section. Right click on the
FX bin for the audio track and from the
resulting menu, choose the Audio FX menu
and then drill down into it to see SONARs
bundled mastering effects.
Start with an LP64 linear EQ module. You

might want to start by loading up a
preset but more probably you will begin to dial
in your own settings. Play back the track and
listen for where any frequencies need boosting
or cutting. Double click to add an EQ point in
the plug-ins window. Clicking subsequent
times will have the effect of adding more EQ
points. The parameters of each point are
displayed as you drag.
In normal mode, you have a lot of

flexibility to pick up EQ points and
affect their Q values, which means the
amount of frequency around the point that is
boosted or cut. Click on the Q button to have
SONAR show you the exact Q values
associated with each point. Q is important
during mastering because it helps you to
make very precise or conversely very broad
EQ changes to a mixdown. Much more so
than a graphic EQ, for example.
Click on any orange Q value and drag it

up or down to alter the width of the Q.
By using a lower Q you can create more
gentle curves and with a higher Q a narrower
and more defined frequency range. During
mastering you will probably be using gentler
shapes, meaning broader EQ curves. It may
sometimes be necessary however to use
narrower curves to isolate a frequency to
boost or cut it, though this is not so common
during mastering.
If you click on the Mode button you can

switch the plug-ins mode to Curve, which
allows you to create more gentle slopes, which
is often better for mastering. Drag the EQ
points along the curves to subtly cut or boost
wider frequency ranges. You can also choose to
turn the grid off, if you prefer to trust your ears
more than your eyes! This is an entirely
personal choice.
If you have found a great sound, click on

the VST menu and choose to save a
preset. This can also be used to A/B between
presets. Set up two or more EQ curves and
then flip between them to judge which offers
the best mastering effect. You could also load
more than one of these EQ modules with
different settings and then mute one then the
other to audition multiple EQ treatments for
your master.
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MTF Walkthrough SONAR X2
Powered by Kjaerhus Audio, it features two VCA / Opto

mode compressors, serial and parallel compression and
EQ stages as well as two four band parametric EQs with
five filter types. By strapping one of these across a
channel you could employ the compression and EQ
stages to handle those parts of the mastering process,
and then add a limiter afterwards for overall gain
boosting. You probably wouldnt want to use all of these
plug-ins in a mastering chain, since some of them
replicate functionality. But you could use them in all
kinds of combinations, and in combination with SONARs
other plug-ins and third-party models that you might
also have installed.
You will also want to take advantage of the
ProChannel module, which is an integrated dynamic and
EQ processing section that is built into every channel in
SONAR. You can add custom modules to it, and there are
some excellent ones available for mastering, including
Softubes Saturation Knob, which will add some warmth
to your sound.
PRO TIP
The new Skylight interface in
the SONAR X series makes it
easier to keep track of whats
going on. As well as a more
streamlined interface and look
you get clever features like the
Smart tool, auto zooming,
translucent windows and a
highly customisable interface
in which most sections can be
resized, docked, shown and
hidden with ease. You can also
manage window sets.
Into the deep

Once your mastered track is sounding just the way you
want it you can of course save presets in each plug-in
appropriate to that track and also save a plug-in chain
for quick recall later, which saves a lot of time. Naturally
each track will need a different treatment, but starting
with a preset gives you the option of not starting from
scratch on every project.
Using the audio export dialogue window you can
choose which effects to include as part of the mixdown
and also export your audio at 16, 24, 32 or even 64-bit
resolution. From there, they are ready to be converted to
CD format (16-bit and 44.1 kHz) or compressed for
distribution to digital stores. Theres even SoundCloud,
Facebook and Twitter integration so its possible to fire
your tracks directly to the web to share with your
listeners. By using SONARs excellent mastering plug-ins
you will find its possible to create great sounding
masters by taking advantage of its excellent and
pro-sounding plug-in set. MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Mastering compression in SONAR X2
Call up SONARs LP64 multiband

compressor onto your audio track.
There are a couple of presets that you might
want to try out, called Mastering Stronger
and Lighter. These might provide a good
starting point. Multiband compression is
more complex than single band
compression but for an experienced
producer offers greater control and
flexibility.
Each band can be independently

compressed using different settings and
if you click on any of the five dots shown in the
main window you will notice that the five dials
along the bottom edge update to reflect the
settings for that band. Whether you use the
points in the window or the dials is a matter of
personal choice since the end result is the
same and one will update the other.
Pick up any point and drag it up or down

to increase or decrease the amount of
compression applied and thus the level of
the frequencies in that band. Drag a point
left or right to make the compression affect
a lower or higher frequency band. You can
see the crossover points in the display and
the currently selected band displays in red,
whether you pick it up manually or alter with
its dial control.
Using the Solo buttons at the top of the

plug-in you can solo up each channel
and hear it in isolation. This is really helpful
for figuring out exactly what is going on in
each band. Its also possible to solo up more
than one band to hear just the lower and
upper mids in isolation, for example, or any
combination of the available bands. Any band
can actually be disabled by clicking its E
button, so you can use fewer than four bands.
To edit all the bands at the same time and

by the same amount, click the All button
to the right of the dials running along the base
of the plug-in. Now when you change a
parameter, that parameter will be set for each
of the bands. This is very useful when you have
achieved a good relative balance between
bands but want to pull the level of compression
overall up or down by exactly the same amount.
Finally, you could drive the input gain of

the compressor a little if youre not
getting quite the amount of level you need
out of the signal. Dont worry too much about
that though as it can also be handled later by
the limiter. Remember that depending on the
kind of music you are working with, your band
setup may not look uniform, with some
occupying less space and some using more.
01
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MTF Feature From mixdown to airplay
MTF Feature Mastering Guide
From mixdown
to airplay
A COMPLETE
GUIDE TO
MASTERING
From finishing your sessions to hearing a track on the radio theres a lot to consider.
Hollin Jones guides you through the mastering maze
here are many reasons why music can end up not sounding as good
as it could have. Every part of the production process is potentially
one where you could mess up, and these mistakes are often not
fixable, or at least not completely fixable, later in the process. You
might get a bad guitar sound at source, or use a mic with some buzz
or hiss on it. Your monitoring setup might not be great and so you end up
mixing the bass way too
loud or too quiet. Your
synths might sound,
well, terrible. These are
all risks of course but
theyre also things that
experienced producers
will skilfully avoid. We
all go through at least a
few disasters and thats how we learn not to repeat mistakes next time. So
once you have figured out a few things for yourself, with the aid of a good ear
you should find yourself at the mix stage with a track thats well balanced,
orchestrated, arranged and edited.
Even your mixdown has been exported, however, youre not done. It might feel
like youve spent an eternity on a project and you want nothing more than to get
it out to the world but there is one last thing to do. This is where mastering
comes in, the final but vitally important stage between mixing down and
You want nothing more than to

get your music out to the world but
there is one last thing to do
FOCUS
From mixdown to airplay Feature MTF
| 115
Tech Terms
PREMASTERING
The process of applying some
master buss compression
during mixdown, with the
aim of adding coherence to
the overall sound of a mix. If
performed, less compression
is usually required at the
mastering stage.
WAVE EDITOR
A software application that
is dedicated to working with
digital audio. They do not
generally support MIDI or
instruments but are very good
at audio editing, processing
and analysis.
distributing your tracks.

You may have an idea
what mastering is without
having ever actually done
it, or you may have some
experience already. Its
essentially the process of
treating a track in a
specific way with effects
in order to add coherence
to the track as a whole,
sweeten and tune the
sound and add power,
punch and clarity.
SoundCloud is a great streaming

service but, with additional apps that
you connect to your account, it can
also be used to sell your music online.
Mixing and mastering

Its important to understand that mixing and
mastering are very different processes, even though
they might appear to be similar. You use many of the
same tools for both, but during mixing you are
working with lots of individual tracks, perhaps also
groups of tracks, and tweaking each one
individually. The aim when mixing is to get the
perfect balance of individual elements together with
a healthy overall level, but not to produce a radio
ready sound, at least not yet. In addition to levels,
mixing can involve processes like automation and
even tempo changes to a track and, although its
technically possible to start strapping mastering
processors across the outputs of your raw project,
its rarely if ever a good idea.
The reason that people separate mixing and
mastering is primarily that a mastered track is
supposed to be the final, definitive version and yet
when mixing your ears tend to get very tired. Its not
When you know your mix is

good, take time out and come back
and master it another day
uncommon to spend hours or

even days mixing a track and
lose so much perspective due
to repetition that you can
convince yourself that the
mix is no good when in fact
its fine. Now imagine
throwing the mastering process in at the
same time and you increase the scope for errors
exponentially. Generally you find that if you have a
break of at least 24 hours and come back and listen
to your mix, its actually not nearly as terrible as
your tired self had thought. So its for this reason
that mastering should be kept separate. When you
have decided that your mix is good, take a little time
out again and then come back and master it another
day. This approach can also save your bacon if your
mix really was bad, since you can go back and fix it,
and then move on to the mastering stage later.
Files and formats

Your mixed down track can end up in a number of
formats but more than likely these days it will be a
full quality stereo WAV or AIFF digital audio file on
a computer. People do still use other formats but
since they often involve format conversion and
computers are so ubiquitous, digital is usually the
way to go. You can still use CD or digital tape, but
such media are used less and less and generally they
only end up being re-digitised at a mastering facility
anyway. Printing mixes to physical media can
introduce other issues too, like sample and bit rate
conversion, that may be detrimental to the overall
quality of your masters. Remember, these are
supposed to be the real deal, the culmination of all
your hard work. Of course, if youre burning them as
files rather than audio its fine to use optical media,
MTF Pro Technique Digital sales services

When digital music stores first emerged as a serious way to sell
music, it was virtually impossible for independent artists to get their
music up there without the help of a record label. That has all
changed and now, not only is it really easy to do, the whole process
tends to be very streamlined. The approach tends to be broadly the
same: send your music to us in uncompressed or lossless formats,
we will encode it. Also send all the appropriate artwork and liner
notes, and pay a fee. Then it gets distributed to a selection of
digital stores that will vary depending on who
you use. The biggest ones are still iTunes and
Amazon but there are actually hundreds of
online stores ranging from known names right
through to obscure streaming services that run
on specific mobile phone networks.
All services offer slightly different deals
and have different terms, though few ask for
any rights to your music and you should
avoid those that do. The majority of deals
FOCUS
involve paying a fee, either one off or recurring, and theres often
extra to pay if you want to change or remove anything later, so be
sure to get it right first time. In no particular order, some of the
leading digital distribution services include Ditto Music,
MondoTunes, The Orchard, CDBaby and TuneCore. Each has different
offers, though all are well established. CDBaby, for example,
provides a lot of backup services like advice, physical distribution
and website hosting. Ditto Music allows you to set
up your own label. TuneCore has detailed
accounting and weekly reports, though the site has
put its prices up substantially in recent years and
as such it offers poorer value for individual
musicians than for labels. They offer a lot of
services but theyre services that individuals dont
really need, and theres no basic package option.
Big online stores like iTunes and Amazon make it easy for
people to buy your music, although there can be setup costs
involved for the artist.
MTF Step-by-Step Sell music online using bandcamp
SeT up aN accOuNT
Go to bandcamp.com and set up an
account. Youll probably stick with the free
option to begin with. Log in and go to the Add
Music > Add Album option. On the front page
you get multiple options so you can name the
album, add a release date and set a pricing
option. There are guides to tell you which
pricing setups usually perform best.
01
STarT uplOadiNg TrackS

Click on Add Track and navigate to your
mastered, uncompressed AIFF or WAV file. The
free account doesnt have batch uploading, so
youll have to wait a little while for this part to
complete. Once you have uploaded all your
tracks you can re-order them, if necessary, by
dragging and dropping them in the Track list.
Youre also able to add credits, lyrics and
enable individual track download as well as
letting fans have a pay what you want option.
02
but youre probably better off burning to a DVD or

using a high capacity USB memory stick or portable
hard drive if the files need to be moved.
You will probably be mixing down to stereo audio
files but this isnt always the case. Some people
favour stem mastering, a process that involves
exporting groups of files rather than a single one.
This has some definite downsides as well as upsides,
so its to be approached with caution and only
considered if youre really sure why youre doing it.
If you arent confident of getting a good mix in the
location where youre mixing, you might not want to
glue the relative levels of the elements of the track
down at mixdown. Ideally, you should export
everything as stems and mix it somewhere better
but, for reasons of budget or practicality, this isnt
always possible. Sometimes, if there is any money, it
is reserved for the mastering stage. It all depends on
how you are working. Some people might spend that
money on mixing and try to master themselves.
If you do export stems from your project for the
mastering engineer, the idea is that they will attempt
to do some mixing prior to the final processing of
the master. Imagine that you gave them a bunch of
stems, for example the drums as one stem, vocals as
another, guitars as a third and so on, because you
didnt feel able to get a great overall mix. The
engineer could load the stems up into a DAW or wave
editor and then balance the relative levels of the
different stems to achieve a more optimal mix,
perhaps even adding some EQ to help mix them more
accurately. In theory they could then print that and
master the resulting stereo file as normal.
So this could work well, but the potential
downsides should also be fairly clear. For a start, it
relies on your ability to submix stems accurately. If
the drums are all out of whack with each other when
you submit them, theres not much an engineer will
be able to do. More importantly, it takes a lot of
control out of your hands, so youll really need to
Tech Terms
OuTbOard
audio processing hardware
that tends to be found in
larger studios, often rack
mounted. uses more space
than software but some feel
is of higher quality. Needs to
be plumbed into mixing desks
and patchbays.
radiO ready
a slight misnomer, since radio
stations tend to add their own
local processing to tracks
anyway when they play them.
really means a good, solid,
loud master.
using master buss compression

prior to mastering can help to
cut down on the amount of
processing that is necessary
later, but its entirely optional.
uplOad arT aNd publiSh

Finish filling in all relevant information,
such as scrolling down and adding cover art.
This will make the page look much more
professional and it will be embedded in the
downloaded files. You can tag your tracks too,
which will make them easier to search for. Hit
Publish and your album will go live. Share it
using widgets and see detailed playback and
sales stats.
03
trust the person youre paying. Some producers dont

even like the idea of a great mix being mastered by
someone else, let alone giving them extra control
over the sound by providing stems. Stem mastering,
then, is an option thats open to you but is probably
only suitable in specific cases. Most of the time you
will want to go down the more conventional route.
Starting the process

When you do get to the mastering stage there are yet
more variables to factor in. If youre at a professional
mastering facility you might find that the setup
looks nothing like what you expected. It could be
various sets of monitors and a bit of outboard,
perhaps with a few controls to affect the way the
sound is processed. If, as is more likely, you are at a
recording studio with mastering facilities, you may
find various combinations of hardware and software
effects pressed into service to perform the
processing. If you are working at a home studio it
might be a software-only chain of effects.
Whichever of these situations you find yourself
in, the mastering process is broadly the same, its
just that you might use different tools. Your first task
should already have been completed, and thats to
have the best mixes you can and also an idea of how
you want the masters to sound. It can be a good idea
to take some commercially produced tracks along
with you on CD or as digital files, preferably not too
heavily compressed as MP3s, for comparison.
A/Bing during mastering is an invaluable way of
checking how your tracks are sounding. As with
mixing, its easy to lose perspective when mastering
as you listen to the same track over and over again.
Periodically flipping to a commercial track for
comparison will help to keep you on target and see
whether youre doing too much or not enough.
You can master in a DAW, a wave editor, or even
from physical media like tape if you like, though the
standard method these days is something computer-
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Tech Terms
MULTICORE
Modern computer CPUs
have more than one core per
processor. Some Intel CPUs
have two processors, each
with two cores; some have one
processor with quad cores.
Logic is able to use these for
better performance.
64-BIT
64-bit compatibility means
that software is able to
address far more physical
RAM as well as processing
more data per clock cycle.
LOUDNESS WARS
The idea that, over recent
decades, music production
has gone for ever-louder
masters, culminating in
some heavily over-squashed
records. In some circles, its on
the decrease.
Outboard hardware is used a lot

for mastering in studios,
especially for compression.
based. We have looked elsewhere

in this issue at the specifics of
using the leading software
packages as well as the details of
the different processing stages,
so here we will simply mention
the aim of each processing stage.
The first is usually compression,
carried out using relatively gentle
settings and intended to lend
some weight to the middle and
bottom end of a track, as well as
providing a sense of coherence or
audio glue to make everything gel together.
Some people like to apply master buss
compression at the mixdown stage and this is indeed
possible, often even desirable. Reason, for example,
has a dedicated master buss compressor, and Waves
and Yamaha make some excellent plug-ins that are
designed to impart the gentle warming effects of
hardware buss compressors to your track. SSL also
makes some excellent Duende processors for this,
and you may even be lucky enough to have access to
a real hardware model. If you apply master buss
compression during mixdown then you should really
not have to apply much, if any, at the mastering
stage, depending on how much was initially added.
Compressing entire mixes isnt so much about
squeezing volume out of a track. A file that has been
master buss compressed should come to mastering
MTF Pro Technique Do it yourself

Submitting to stores like iTunes is easy but
generally involves paying setup fees and
once your stuff is up there its hard to
modify or take down as this can incur extra
fees. Youll get more control with one of the
increasingly sophisticated sites that let
you manage everything yourself. Were not
talking about Facebook or the now rather
less than prominent MySpace, since they
Bandcamp is a really good site you can
rely on add-ons and are not primarily
use to get complete control over the way
focused on music sales. Probably the best site your music is sold online.
around is bandcamp.com, which works across
desktop and mobile devices and lets you upload a fair amount with their basic,
free package and allows users to download it in a range of formats from small
files right through to big, lossless versions. You can even allow Free Lossless
Audio Codec (FLAC). You can allow users to download tracks for free or name
their own price, to set minimum pricing and to require an email address, and
even to get detailed realtime stats on visits, streams and sales. Theres easy
embedding with widgets. Bandcamps premium service adds download code
options, batch uploading and Google Analytics.
The other all-conquering streaming site is soundcloud.com and, though its
mainly focused on playback, you can sell music through it by using add-ons that
integrate with the website. These can be found at http://soundcloud.com/apps/
tag/Sell and there are some great options. With Getty Images Music, for
example, you can get your music licensed for use in TV and film. CD Baby has its
own add-on that ties in nicely, as do VibeDeck and YouLicense. Some of these do
charge a fee so be sure to check out the terms and conditions.
FOCUS
Queueing up material thats destined

for the same album and being able to
A/B is important. Suites like T-RackS
allow you to load multiple tracks at
once.
already sounding relatively

punchy. If you dont know the
history of a file youll have to
use your ears and look at the
waveform to try to guess. The
more compression that has been applied, the
smaller will be the difference between the quieter
and louder parts of the track, which you should be
able to see visually it will have less dynamic range.
Feel the pressure

When compressing you have two options, the first of
which is to use a single band compressor. These are
simpler and process the entire signal, usually with a
fast attack and release time, a high threshold and a
low ratio. Youre looking to gently pull the quietest
and loudest parts of the signal together but not to
squeeze it too much and make it sound artificial,
except perhaps in the case of heavy dance music.
If you find that single band compression is
accentuating or defeating too much of one specific
frequency range, you could opt for a multiband
model, which most DAWs come supplied with.
Multiband compressors can be set to work
differently on different frequency bands and so will
deal more effectively with tracks where, for example,
the bass needs to be tamed but the lower mids do
not. By adjusting frequency crossover points you will
easily be able to control what gets compressed and
by how much. They also make things easier to mess
up by accidentally squashing one band too much,
however, so be careful.
After compression you will want to use some EQ
with the aim of pulling specific elements up or down
slightly in prominence. The more elements that exist
in the same frequency range the harder this will be
to do accurately, though using a multiband
parametric EQ with Q controls can make this easier.
EQing during mastering is a little bit like doing
some rudimentary mixing, as you are able to affect
the volumes of specific instruments to an extent.
Obviously it shouldnt be relied on to fix a poor mix
its intended to increase sparkle, presence and
clarity at this stage. Other processors that can be
added to change the sound include stereo wideners
and tape effect plug-ins, though neither of these is
considered a staple of mastering and so their use is
entirely a matter of personal choice.
Remembering to periodically A/B, both with
commercial material and with a dry version of your
own track, you can move on to limiting. Limiting
allows you to push the input gain of the signal,
stopping it before it gets to 0dB, so typically you
might use an output gain setting of between -0.1 and
-0.5db depending on your needs.
Some limiters have advanced features like middle
and side processing options, lookahead and soft
clippers, all of which can be used to change the way
they operate. Some developers even make multiband

limiters. For many tasks a simple, transparent
limiter is often enough, and takes care of boosting
the level of your track to give it more power. As ever
you should avoid over-limiting as this sounds
artificial and tiring to the ears.
Tricks of the trade

People rarely tend to master tracks in isolation, and
its much more likely that you will be mastering
several for an EP or an album, or maybe even a
soundtrack. As such its really important to make
sure that all the tracks that are going onto the album
have the same broad sonic characteristics in terms
of overall level. Theres no point in mastering one
track really loud and another gently and putting
them next to each other, as it will sound strange. Of
course you can have loud and quiet tracks, but the
key is in mastering them so that they sound like they
belong on the same album. This is very much an art
form, and relies on your repeatedly comparing
treatments as well as possibly saving presets across
tracks or even loading up a queue of tracks and
processing them, as is possible in T-RackS. Some
wave editors like Sound Forge or WaveLab have
advanced features for creating audio montages,
which allow you to blend different tracks together to
create albums where, for example, one track will
fade seamlessly into another. They also have handy
tools like batch processors that can be useful when
mastering. Youll probably want to top and tail your
files by applying fades, to get rid of any unwanted
bits of sound.
Once your tracks have been mastered, you can
export them out to final digital files, after applying
any necessary dithering or sample or bit rate
conversion or again, printing to some kind of media.
Always maintain full quality, full resolution versions
since you can easily compress or downsample later,
but saving a file to a higher quality version will add
nothing in terms of quality, only file size. From here
you have various options. To burn your own CDs
youll need an app capable of doing this, preferably
with the ability to add PQ codes and burn to Red
MTF Pro Technique Hardware vs software

We have focused quite a lot on the software side of mastering but this is primarily
because many people operating on a budget will go down the software route out
of necessity. Software, after all, uses no space and is really very good these days,
and so perfect for the independent producer. But hardware still plays a big part,
especially in commercial studios. Anything that can be done in software was
probably originally done in hardware and very well too in most cases.
Compressors and EQs, limiters, saturation devices and more can still be found in
almost all bigger studios and are often used in conjunction with software. You
might use a hardware compressor but a software EQ, with all the associated extra
wiring that using hardware introduces to the equation. Another very important
part of mastering is monitoring and this is something you cant fake. A good set of
monitors, properly calibrated is essential both to mixing and mastering. For some
people the act of going into a professional environment to master is less about
the outboard or the plug-ins and more to do with the finely tuned and high quality
speakers and acoustic treatment that will almost certainly be present. These are
worth their weight in gold, and most places will have multiple sets of speakers,
which makes it much easier to try different mastering treatments in the same
listening environments, and try to get yours sounding great on every set.
Outboard is just as
good for mastering as
software, sometimes
better. Dedicated units
like TCs Finalizer are
not cheap but offer
great results.
Tech Terms
DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION
Selling music online in any
number of stores like iTunes,
Amazon or streaming it on
Spotify. Can also refer to
simply giving music away
through sites like Bandcamp
or SoundCloud.
GLASS MASTER
A master copy of a CD or
DVD made at a processing
plant and used to press the
hundreds or thousands of
duplicate discs that will find
their way to the shops.
A/BING
The process of comparing
your master-in-progress with
commercially produced music
to which you think it should
sound similar. Useful in guiding
you during the mastering
process.
Dedicated wave editors like

WaveLab are perfect for
mastering, and include
advanced tools like the ability
to write to optical media
complete with detailed
metadata.
Book standard. If youre sending files to a

duplication house they will want a master disc
or a CD of files together with artwork.
Going digital
Increasingly, music is sold and consumed
digitally and so you can end up doing more
distribution online than you do using physical
media. There are a number of services that
enable you to do this, and they are discussed
in the boxes in this feature. Suffice it to say
that youre not stuck for options when it comes
to selling music in online stores or putting it
out there yourself.
Another important point to make in relation
to the explosion in the number of devices on
which people listen to music is this: its
sometimes asked how you master for iPods as
opposed to CDs. The truth is that most
producers simply produce the best master
they can, test it on as many systems as they
can find and go back and tweak until its as
close to perfect as it can be. Mastering is
supposed to produce a sound that is great on
any system its played on and this remains as
true today as it was when there were far fewer
playback devices in existence. The only caveat
is mastering for vinyl which is a little more
complex, though anyone doing that will be
approaching the process differently anyway.
Mastering is no longer a dark art and is
more accessible now than at any time in the
past. A good master makes the difference
between a track that stands out and one that
sounds lacklustre, so between all the options
available to you theres no excuse not to get
the best results you possibly can. MTF
| 119
MTF Walkthrough Soundstage
Soundstage Step-by-Step
The importance of
On the disc
the soundstage
Getting a great master starts with a good mix and at

both stages, its about more than just EQ and volume,
as Hollin Jones explains
a good soundstage for your mixes and masters can make

the difference between a track sounding big or small,
and everyone will probably understand the difference
between the two as it appears to listeners.
The soundstage must be considered both at the
mixing and mastering stages, and while some things like
stereo placement of individual instruments or sounds
must be done at the mixing stage when everything exists
as separate, controllable tracks, you can also control the
soundstage at the mastering stage, most commonly by
using stereo widening to broaden the scope of the sound.
As always it must be done carefully, since too much
widening can easily mess up a carefully constructed mix
or rob a master of all its energy as the bass end is pushed
left and right and loses focus.
here are many aspects of the mastering

process that are relatively easy to quantify.
You should be adding a certain amount of
compression, you may want to boost a track
at certain frequencies, and limit up to a
certain dB value. But other things are more intangible
that rely as much on your ears and your perception as
any numerical values.
One of these is the soundstage of a piece of music.
The soundstage can be thought of as the way a piece of
music is perceived by the listener, where the sounds sit in
the mix and the size of the sound overall. This is not
necessarily about volume but rather about scope. Getting
The mix phase

Before you start experimenting with stereo placement
during mixing, youll need to get a decent working mix
going, with all the levels more or less where you want
them to be. Panning tracks will change their intensity in
the mix and may necessitate volume changes later,
however, so dont try to perfect the mix before you get to
this stage. Its also worth panning everything to the
centre to begin with, to get an idea of the overall balance
of the track, and making a list of all the elements so you
The soundstage must be

considered both at the mixing and
mastering stages
MTF Navigation The importance of soundstage
PANNING
When altering
panning and stereo
widening in a track,
be careful to keep an
eye on the phase
correlation to check
no energy is being lost.
Most DAWs have one
included.
PLUG-IN CHAINS
Plug-in chains in DAWs
or wave editors are the best
way to apply multiple sets of
processing to your tracks.
PHASE
Ideally you want a track to
stay in phase and this will be
denoted by a value between 0
and +1. The phase
scope here also
shows a centred
image.
FOCUS
STEREO WIDTH
You can add some stereo
width artificially by using a
stereo widener across a track,
though these should be used
carefully and sparingly.
Soundstage Walkthrough MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Using stereo reverb and panning to place a source in the soundstage
Insert a reverb plug-in with a delay

control onto the channel you want to
position. Here were using IK Multimedias
CSR Hall. The first thing to do is set the basic
reverb level and type as well as the reverb
diffusion and time so that they are broadly in
line with the kind of sound you want. Here,
this can be done while staying in Easy mode.
Since its a beat, weve chosen a fairly crisp
reverb effect.
In the Advanced menu, youll find a tab

called I/O. At the far right of the panel in
this section are two knobs marked In and Out
Image. By turning these you can alter the way
the signal is summed inside the plug-in and
thus the way the reverb sounds, as well as the
position of the sound. At certain points when
turning the knobs you will reach presets
including stereo, left right inverse, surround
and mono.
Moving on to the Reflections tab, you

can set both the time in milliseconds
and the level in dB for the reverb reflections
for the left and right channels. As described
in 02 this can have the effect of placing a
sound closer to or further away from the
virtual walls the sound is bouncing off, and
thus give the illusion of the sound source
being further over to the left or right of the
soundstage, or closer to the back or the front.
Moving to the tracks Inspector panel

you can see a panner. This can be used
to place the signal anywhere on the left or
right of the stereo field, though it will be
centred by default. Although you probably
wouldnt pan a lead sound like a lead guitar or
vocal, at least not by very much, you can pan
things like rhythm guitars, backing vocals
percussion and sound effects to level up the
soundstage and add a sense of width to
proceedings.
One good trick with panning is to

duplicate a track, which you can do in any
DAW with a couple of clicks, and then pan one
copy to the left and one to the right. These
dont have to be panned by the same amount in
each direction, though doing so does lend
some consistency to the soundstage. You may
also have to compensate with the faders for
the fact that there are now two copies of the
same thing and thus more signal.
You can also get creative by automating

pan settings to move sounds around the
soundstage. Be careful with this however, as
too much swirling about can not only confuse
the listener but detract from the coherence
of your track as a whole. As a good rule of
thumb it can be sensible to move things
around the soundstage during periods of
silence rather than when they are actually
audible, so theres not the sense of
movement.
01
04
02
05
can think about what might need to be moved around in

the soundstage.
Working with fewer tracks is always going to be easier
and give you more control. An acoustic duo for example,
with a couple of vocals and guitars, will let you place each
element in a distinct space. A busier track, with multiple
keyboards, drums, guitars, vocals and bass, will afford
you less specific movement of elements on the
soundstage since there are more instruments fighting for
the same limited space. In these cases, positioning
becomes a matter of making space for each element and
ensuring that tracks in similar frequency ranges dont
interfere with each other. If this is the goal, EQ also plays
a vital role in achieving separation.
Remember also that were talking about panning left
and right, which often involves starting with a stereo
source. If your DAW only offers the ability to pan a stereo
track left or right, you can split it into two mono channels
by bouncing out and re-importing, or you can duplicate
the track and then youll have two panners, though the
first method is more accurate.
03
06
Big bottom
PRO TIP
The more elements you have in
a mix, the more complex it can
be to manage all the
competing frequencies. If you
cant keep the number of
tracks down, consider using
panning and placement in the
stereo field using reverb and
other tools like EQ to separate
parts of the image without
adversely affecting the
musicality of the track.
Its generally accepted wisdom that low frequency

sounds work best when they are centred in the stereo
image. This tends to tighten them up and create a solid
core for the soundstage. The bottom end of a mix
contains much of its energy, and this is reproduced best
on a stereo hi fi system when it is spread evenly across
both speakers. Bass is also far less directional than other
frequencies and our ears arent much use at determining
directional information about low end sound if youve
ever been woken up at 3am wondering where exactly in
the neighbourhood that thumping bass is coming from,
youll know all about this
Therefore, kick drums, basses and anything else
below about 120Hz should be kept centred and
possibly even converted to mono or routed to a mono
track. If a synth or guitar bass part has both very low and
more middling frequencies, you could duplicate the track,
and roll all the top and middle off one and the bottom
end off the other, using EQ. You could then use panning or
stereo effects to move the higher of the two parts around
| 121
MTF Walkthrough Soundstage
in the mix, while leaving the lower frequencies centred in

the duplicate.
Apart from leaving the bass at the centre of the stereo
image, there arent many other absolute rules to creating
a soundstage, except that you should trust your ears.
Many hardware and software instruments have stereo
outputs so it can be tempting to pan sources like
keyboards, strings and synths hard left and right. This
might sound good in isolation but, oddly enough, when
you hard pan a stereo source like this it often ends up
sounding almost centred in the stereo image. Do this
with more than a couple of sources and you end up with a
load of instruments apparently sitting on top of each
other at the centre of the image, which defeats the point.
The answer is to be more creative with the pan pots,
placing them at points in between the centre and the
extremes. Engineers refer to these positions in terms of a
clock face, so panning a stereo piano to 10 and 2 would
mean rotating the left panner to the 10 oclock position
and the right panner to 2 oclock.
Down the pan

PRO TIP
Most DAWs come with some
kind of stereo enhancement
tool and these can be used
sparingly either during mixing
or at the mastering stage,
where of course they will be
applied to the whole signal. To
get a more advanced imaging
effect consider using a
dedicated third-party
multiband imager like those
from iZotope or Waves.
Effects are important too. Digital reverb in particular can

be a powerful way of placing a sound in a virtual acoustic
space. Modern impulse-based reverbs like Altiverb,
Space Designer in Logic or REverence in Cubase are
especially good at this, though less CPU-heavy models
like IK Multimedias Classik Studio Reverb are too. These
kinds of reverb techniques only work well when used
carefully, because too much reverb makes it hard to
pinpoint the location of a sound in the mix. Just like in a
real space, the more something reverberates, the harder
it is to tell where its coming from and so the less effective
stereo positioning will be. Its also unwise to use too many
different kinds of reverb within a mix. Putting room reverb
on the pianos, but concert hall reverb on the vocals for
example might end up sounding odd. Thats not to say
you cant mix and match reverb types, but make sure they
work well together. Use too many types, or indeed too
much reverb ,and the overall soundstage will become
muddled and incoherent.
MTF Step-by-Step Using stereo placement and EQ to manage a complex mix
Start by getting a good rough mix and

identifying which elements of your track
need to stay centred namely the bottom
end like the bass and kick drum. Any tracks
youre going to be panning may need to be
split into left and right channels, depending
on whether your DAW allows separate
panning of stereo channels. It can be worth
ordering tracks in a project to make them
easier to identify quickly.
Lets take this marimba track, which

could be interfering with other sources in
a similar frequency range, like vocals, guitars or
other keys. Here we have soloed up the two
competing channels and made EQ
adjustments to each, cutting frequencies or
boosting them as necessary so that the two
parts work better together. This is a clever way
to mix elements without relying on volume
faders.
Dropping the two tracks back into the

mix, it can become evident that the
changes made that sounded good when
soloed dont necessarily work with the rest of
the track playing. It may be necessary to
make further tweaks to the EQ to account for
this. You can always save effect presets to
save time. Remember you can easily mute
any EQ temporarily too to see what difference
it is making.
Here, we have panned the two tracks

equally, one left and one right. This has
the effect of separating them in the stereo
field and making it easier to hear them when
they play at the same time. Its important not
to go too far though, because that can start to
sound artificial. Using moderate panning
equally one way and the other can yield some
great results and help to separate sounds
with competing frequencies.
Many DAWs also have stereo and

surround imaging plug-ins available, like
the Direction Mixer here in Logic. With a
channel panned to the centre, load up the
plug-in and experiment with the Spread and
Direction controls to send the output of the
channel to different parts of the stereo field,
not just simply the left or right but a little more
creatively. It helps to have properly spaced
speakers to monitor on.
Logic also has an interesting plug-in

called Binaural Post Processing which,
applied across the master outs, can give you
an idea of what the track might sound like
played through various types of headphones.
This is useful in helping you to make mixing
and stereo positioning decisions when trying
to perfect your mix for all playback situations.
Mixing and mastering with headphones in
mind is increasingly important with all the
mobile music players in use today.
01
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FOCUS
02
05
03
06
Soundstage Walkthrough MTF
Many people strive for a wider stereo image for their

mixes and there are many plug-ins that can help you to
achieve this, though all should be used carefully. Stereo
imagers and wideners, and of course stereo reverbs and
delays, can all be used to make mono or narrow sounding
tracks wider and give them more presence. Pads, strings
and keyboard, as well as instruments like acoustic
guitars and also backing vocals, can benefit from some
processing in this regard. Some engineers favour treating
one side of a sound with a simple mono chorus effect,
which has the result of creating a kind of stereo
movement between the speakers as well as adding some
richness. In truth, these effects work best when added to
specific tracks in a mix and used sparingly. Simply
whacking a stereo imager across the master outputs of
your DAW might superficially sound good but could mess
up the mix in any number of ways.
Some mastering plug-ins like iZotopes Ozone have
stereo widening tools built in and, working together with
the other modules it has, can be a good way of increasing
PRO TIP
Metering is important when
widening tracks. Not just for
levels but also for phasing and
stereo correlation. You want to
ensure that your track is not
being pushed outwards too far,
which will sound bad on the
kinds of systems its likely to
be reproduced on when it is
released out into the world.
overall stereo width at the mastering stage. Again though,

be careful not to overdo it. Purists often avoid spatializers
and the like because they are perceived as a form of
cheating and people believe the mix should be good
enough without them. While this is a strong argument, we
dont all have the benefit of top end mixing desks,
monitoring and acoustic environments in which to work,
so judicious use of plug-ins can be quite helpful, as long
as you avoid awful presets that promise things like 3D
stereo but actually just mangle the stereo image beyond
all recognition.
Achieving a better soundstage for your mixes is, like
the other elements of the mixing process, an art as much
as a science and the precise techniques you use will
depend on the kind of music youre working with. But
armed with some knowledge and understanding of how
stereo panning and creative use of effects can help you
to achieve better clarity, coherence and separation, you
will find that your mixes and masters start sounding
better than ever. MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Using widening and exciters in Ozone 5
iZotopes Ozone has some great tools

and amongst them you will find
exciters and widening, both great to use at
the mastering stage. You can use the entire
Ozone 5 suite but here we have loaded a
single module, since all the processing
stages are also available as individual
plug-ins. To begin with, skip through a few
presets and see how they sound.
Setting the band crossover points for

imaging is vital to controlling the
soundstage of a master. Drag the boundary
handles in the main display area to set the
size of each band. Adjust the four band
controls to add a different amount of
widening to each one. You may want to
reserve the higher amounts for the higher
bands and use little or no widening the lower
you go.
Click on Options to go into the Imagers

setup section and you can switch the
number of bands anywhere from one to four.
One is a bit restrictive and two is not all that
flexible. However, using three or four bands
should give you some better control over the
sound. You can also set the crossover type
to determine how rigidly or softly the
frequency bands cross over.
Here we have loaded up Ozones Exciter

module, though again this is also
available as part of the whole suite. The
principle is much the same as with the
Imager except here you are adding sparkle
and shimmer rather than stereo widening.
Nonetheless it can be useful for increasing
the sense that your master sounds big,
especially when used in conjunction with
other mastering tools.
Set the frequency crossover boundaries

and make adjustments to the band
faders to change the amount of excitation that
is applied. Here you get not only amount but
also mix controls, so its possible to get a
greater degree of control over the way the
signal is being processed. Consider adding
more sparkle to the top end and the upper
mids to liven up the signal.
The Mode menu to the left of the faders

lets you set the kind of excitation that is
used. These have quite different effects,
ranging from retro through to tape and warm
settings and can significantly change the
overall sound of your master. Remember to
periodically bypass the effect just so you can
A/B with your original signal and get an idea
of whats being done.
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02
05
03
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| 123
MTF Round-up Tuition
1 SSR
Price 300
Contact 0161 276 2100
With offices in Manchester and London, SSR
runs a mastering crash course over a
weekend to give you an overview of and
introduction to the mastering process. Taking
place in the Neve recording studio, students are
able to bring their own tracks to the second day
and see how mastering using top quality
plug-ins and pro analogue gear sounds on their
own material. The first day covers the theory
and the second is a practical mastering
session. If you want to learn more about mixing,
you can save 100 by booking both the mixing
and mastering courses at the same time.
Web www.s-s-r.com
2 GARNISH MUSIC PRODUCTION SCHOOL
Price Mixing and Mastering School from 449

Contact Garnish 020 3287 7734
London-based Garnish runs this course which they state is for
everything in mixing and mastering you knew a bit about, but
now want to fully understand and make a massive
improvement to your music yourself. It doesnt matter what
DAW you use on your Mac or PC, or what genre of music you are
mixing, the principles are the same. Theres a fair bit on mixing,
and the mastering portion of the course covers using reference
material, EQ, limiting, levels and phase, mastering for vinyl,
metering and more.
Web www.musicproductioncourses.net/mixing-andmastering-course-london
Round-up
Tuition
Learning how to master is as much an art as a

science, so it can really help to get some professional
guidance and tuition when it comes to this vital stage
of music production. And learning in a pro mastering
facility is the icing on the cake. Luckily there are some
excellent courses available
3 ABSTRACT SOURCE
Price 480
Contact info@abstractsource.co.uk
Abstract Source is based on Brick Lane
in London and its introductory mixing
and mastering course allows you to
bring your own multitrack project for
mixing and mastering in their studio
facilities. Specific training on the mastering
process includes principles of premastering, mastering
basics, PQ coding and album sequencing and delivery of a
finished product. Its a 12-hour course split into three-hour
sessions and youre also able to tailor-make your own
course by selecting modules. Choose from balancing, EQ,
dynamics, mastering EQ, compression, limiting and
pressing plant delivery options. These build it yourself
sessions are 35 per hour.
Web http://abstractsource.co.uk
FOCUS
Tuition Round-up MTF
4 THE GRAND MASTERS
Price $77
Contact via website
As well as providing some online text-based guides to the art
and theory behind mastering, The Grand Masters links up with
OD Music Production, which offers 12 hours of music
production tuition videos in HD. These cover the entire
production process from setup and getting started, through
musical concepts and understanding MIDI, to synthesis and
recording. After you have worked through these you come to a
series of extensive mixing and mastering guides and then an
explanation of how to export and share your music. The Grand
Masters itself offers competitively priced mastering services
if you want to have someone else master your music.
Web www.masteringtuition.com
5 DUBSPOT
Price $2,245.50
Contact via website
Dubspots online course offers mixing and mastering tuition to
help you learn how to turn your mixes into commercial
sounding masters. Using 30-40 hours of high quality online
videos and three hours of instructor-led chat sessions per
week, you also get direct video and audio feedback from
instructors. As well as the basics of mastering you have the
chance to learn specialised mixing and mastering techniques
for different genres, including dubstep, house, trance, hip hop
and more. Its based in the USA but with a fast enough internet
connection you can take advantage of this course from
anywhere in the world.
Web www.dubspot.com
6 ALCHEMEA
Price 440
Contact Alchemea 0207 359 3986
Alchemeas training course explores the basic
principles of audio mastering with a focus on
achieving great quality results in a budget
environment. Practical examples involve looking
closely at, and dealing hands on with, problems
and situations that a studio-mastering engineer
would encounter. The principle aim of this course
is to look at getting as close to a pro mastering
reference as possible, in a budget set up. They
aim to help you create your final product ready for
market, get your music ready for radio play and
live performance as well as making your
demos stand out. Prior experience of
production is helpful but not essential, and
a mixing course is offered as well.
Web www.alchemea.com
| 125
MTF Workshop Reason 6.5
Reason 6.5 Workshop
Using Reason with

Rack Extensions
Reason has its own mastering tools and now, with
Rack Extensions, you can add specialised third-party
modules too, as Hollin Jones reveals
eason has had the MClass mastering

modules for quite a while now, but it wasnt
until version 6 that it gained the ability to
work with audio tracks. So although you had
been able to master your Reason projects in
previous versions of the software, it was always much
harder to achieve the recommended workflow practice
of separating the mixdown and mastering stages.
Typically you would have had to apply mastering at the
mixdown stage, or master elsewhere in another DAW or
wave editor.
Version 6 changed all that, however, and allowed you
to import a stereo mixdown directly onto a new audio
track. Version 6.5 adds even more flexibility in the form
of Rack Extensions, which have been developed by
other specialist pro audio companies but still have full
Rack access. The list of Rack Extensions is always
growing but at present there are a number of EQ,
dynamics and dedicated mastering modules available,
all with 30-day fully functional free trials available, so
you can try them out before committing to them.
PRO TIP
As well as using Rack modules
for mastering you can of
course use the mixers
excellent channel strips, which
have their own dynamics
section as well as a very
capable EQ on every channel.
You might even want to use
both, and mixer channel
presets can be stored as easily
as Combis, so you are free to
recall settings at any point.
Version 6 of Reason allowed you

to import a stereo mixdown directly
onto a new audio track
On the disc
Separate the processes

We have already noted that you can apply mastering
processing at the same time as mixing a project out, but
this isnt recommended as it involves making too many
important decisions at the same juncture. Instead, lets
look at mastering a stereo mixed down file.
Start a new project and import the uncompressed
WAV or AIFF into Reason. 1 The process is essentially
the same as mastering in any wave editor, except that
you get to take advantage of Reasons great modules,
which arent available elsewhere unless you get into
ReWiring applications together.
Locate the audio track in the Rack and click on its
Show Insert FX button to reveal the insert area. Click
within this area to select it and then add mastering
effects using one of the following two methods. The first
will be to use the Create menu; and the second is simply
to right click in the area and find the Studio FX
submenu, and then locate the MClass modules. 2
These modules dont have presets of their own or
patch save / load buttons, but you can load or save
modules complete with settings by using Combis.
Indeed, if you look in the Factory Sound Bank library
under MClass Mastering Patches you will see a range of
mastering presets, which can save time if you load one
then tweak it to suit. 3
Squeeze the sound

First up then, try loading an MClass Compressor
module. You could use the regular rack compressor, but
this one has been specifically designed with mastering
in mind. The settings you are going to use will depend on
your source material but in most cases you should
probably be aiming for a fairly gentle amount of
1
3
2
Import a high
quality stereo
mixdown file
into an audio
track in Reason
6 or higher to
master it.
FOCUS
Reason 6.5 Workshop MTF
6
5
7
There are dedicated
MClass mastering
modules that help
you compress,
sweeten and boost
your sound to get a
great master.
Adding an MClass Stereo

Imager can help to add some
width to the soundstage
compression if your mixdown was done well you
shouldnt need lots of compression at the mastering
stage. This track happens to be a fairly dynamic
soundtrack piece, so a good choice might be a low-ish
ratio of around 2:1, the Threshold set so that
compression only kicks in a little, and with fairly fast
attack and slow release settings. 4
You could also drive the input a little if you felt it
added to the power of the signal. Dont worry about
adding lots of gain using the compressor; thats the job
of the Maximizer later on. The idea with the compressor
is simply to even out the dynamics a little, adding some
clarity and boost but mainly just bringing a sort of glue
to your sound. It should be readily evident from
tweaking the compressors settings whether you are
applying too much. Be sensible at this stage and dont
go overboard.
PRO TIP
The Rack Extensions store can
be found on the Props website
and contains an ever-growing
list of add-on modules that
you can try free for 30 days
before you buy. As well as
mastering tools there are all
kinds of weird and wonderful
beat slicers, filters and clever
tools as well as instruments
that go beyond Reasons
Factory set.
the top end sparkles if necessary. 6 Hopefully you

wont need to do extensive tweaking here, since thats
usually indicative of a poor mix in the first place.
Wide sound
Your next step might be to add an MClass Stereo Imager
as this can help to add some width to the soundstage,
though stereo widening is always to be treated carefully
since applying lots of it tends to radically change the
character of a mix as instruments get pushed off to the
sides of the stereo field.
To begin with, set the crossover point of the low and
high frequencies using the control in the centre. 7 You
are going to want to keep the bottom end either in its
original state or a little more mono, to maintain the
energy that the bass adds to the sound, but perhaps
also to widen the higher frequencies to add a certain
sense of space. So try leaving the low frequencies
mostly untouched after having set the
EQ curves
Next try adding an MClass Equalizer to the track. This
has five bands and is parametric. A Low Cut can
sometimes be advisable to apply during mastering,
which applies a cut at 30Hz to remove any subsonic
frequencies that may have crept in. 5
You can also enable a Low Shelf curve, and then
sweep around using the Frequency and Gain knobs to
determine whether the low end is cut or boosted, where
and by how much. Use the Q control for this and other
bands to determine the width of the curve around the
frequency. A low Q means a gentler curve, and a high Q a
narrower one which is going to isolate a frequency much
more specifically.
Repeat with the remaining bands, again using the
Frequency, Gain and Q controls to perform the
necessary EQ adjustments. Some tracks may need a
little treatment and some might require rather more,
but your aim here is to sweeten the overall soundstage,
making sure that the bottom end is full but controlled,
the mids are sufficiently audible and bright, and that
| 127
MTF Workshop Reason 6.5
8
After youve
spread your
soundstage its
time to add a
limiter for extra
volume.
10
crossover point. There are Solo controls to the right to

help you with this. 8 Solo the lo and hi bands and set
the crossover, keeping the bassy stuff more isolated.
Solo the hi frequency and raise the dial a little to add
some widening, if necessary. 9
The final component in a typical mastering chain is
limiting and this comes in the form of the MClass
Maximizer. This is where you deal with squeezing more
volume out of the signal, so activate the Limiter section
and also the lookahead button, which helps to provide
more accurate limiting. 10
Again you will need to adjust the speeds of the
Attack and Release to account for your material. If
youre making loud electronic music for example, go for
a faster setting. If its more mellow material, go a little
slower. 11 Theres also an Output Gain knob and this
should be set just below 0dB, using the Input Gain to
drive the signal. Your aim should be a consistently
strong signal which you can see in the level meter,
without clipping into the red. 12
11
The excellent master buss

compressor in Reasons mixer can
provide a great audio glue
Extensions available for mastering, such as the Softube
Saturation Knob, which can be used to warm up an
entire mix. 14 Others, like the Ozone Maximizer are
dedicated to mastering and this one in particular has
the pedigree of being descended from iZotopes
excellent Ozone family. 15
Once youre done you can export your master using
the usual File > Export Song As Audio File command if
for any reason you want to export multiple versions of
the track with differing processing treatments, use the
Bounce Mixer Channels option. Its worth, for example,
exporting a version that bypasses the main mixer if you
have not actually used any of the mixers controls to
shape your sound. This can avoid problems with gain
that might arise if you have accidentally set the master
fader too low or too high. Remember also that there is
an excellent master buss compressor in Reasons mixer
and when this is activated it can help to provide a great
audio glue to the master, so you may want to look at
using that instead of, or in conjunction with, the MClass
compressor. However you proceed youre sure to find
that mastering your tracks in Reason gives them that
radio ready sound, provided you spend a little time
getting them just right. MTF
Rack em up
You can of course add more than one of any MClass
module and indeed add other Reason modules into the
mastering chain. If you happen to hit on a great sound,
save it as a preset by going to the track in the main
mixer and locating its Patch Save button, represented
by a disk icon. Save the patch to your hard drive and it
can be recalled at any time. 13
We mentioned earlier than you can now add new
Rack modules and there are some great Rack
Add
third-party
Rack
Extensions to
broaden your
range of tools.
12
14
13
15
FOCUS
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Available at WHSmith (UK), Barnes & Noble (USA) and all good
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MTF On Your DVD
Whether youre looking to master your tracks

using your DAW, or with bespoke plug-ins and
hardware, theres plenty of pro mastering tips on
the Mastering Focus DVD. Youll find over two
hours of video tutorials, demos and freeware of
the latest mastering software and tools,
promotional videos from Universal Audio, iZotope,
Focusrite and more, plus over 600 MB of royaltyfree samples and loops from Big Fish Audio,
Prime Loops, and Zero-G. Youll also find highresolution screenshots and files to accompany
the workshops and walkthroughs.
MTF Whats on the disc Over two and a quarter hours of Pro Video Tuition
MUSIC-COURSES.COM
Producertech and Zeitgeist Mastering
join forces for a new Mastering course on
Music-Courses.com. Weve got an overview
plus three videos on tape saturation and
analogue warmth, MaxxBass and LF Punch
plug-ins, and preparing a track for mastering.
MACPROVIDEO
The experts at macProVideo have
provided 11 videos of mastering tips. Learn EQ
and dithering in Logic Pro, adding reverb sends
and Master Tracks in Pro Tools, and the Master
Fader Clip Light, insert FX, dither, and mixing
down high bit rate files in Cubase.
IAN SHEPHERD ON METERING

One of the simplest yet most essential
parts of your mastering setup is metering.
Mastering engineer Ian Shepherd takes a
look at how to balance loudness levels using
a range of metering plug-ins, and also at new
standards in loudness measurement.
SONIC ACADEMY
MASTERING COMPRESSION
Sonic Academy and Conor Dalton from
Glowcast Mastering explore parallel and glue
compression techniques, plus how choosing
different attack and release times can affect
the transients of the compressed signal.
LOOPTV
James Wiltshire from The Freemasons
discusses the subject of K-metering and
setting the right levels in Logic to improve the
definition and dynamics of your mix. Plus, Dom
Kane takes a look the BCA Digital Peak Meter
Pro and Flux Elixir plug-ins.
PLUGIN BOUTIQUE
A round-up of high quality mastering
plug-ins courtesy of the Plugin Boutique,
including software from MeldaProduction,
Vladgsound, Blue Cat Audio, 7Air Media,
Sinevibes, and Distorque. All this and more is
also available at PluginBoutique.com
01
04
focus
02
05
03
06
On Your DVD MTF
MTF Your Disc
For PC & Mac
MTF DVD 27 Mastering Volume 4
MTF DVD 27
Mastering Volume 4
USING OUR
WORKSHOPS
COPYRIGHT ANTHEM PUBLISHING 2012

FAULTY DISC?
Check www.musictechmag.co.uk for known issues
Return to: Anthem Publishing (disc returns),
Suite 6, Piccadilly House, London Road,
Bath BA1 6PL, UK
Weve got workshops

covering a whole range of
software from DAWs to
specific mastering suites.
Youll find hi-res images,
project files and audio on
the disc so you can follow
along at home. Be sure to
copy all the files to your
computer before opening
a project.
AUDIO SAMPLES
Youll find over 600 MB of

professionally recorded
and polished samples
from Big Fish Audio,
Prime Loops and Zero-G,
including laid back jazz
riffs, live drum beats,
deep and soulful keys,
warm analogue
basslines, aggressive
electro synths, and lively
percussion grooves. Each
sample has been finely
crafted and offers an
excellent insight into pro
production techniques.
DEMOS &
FREEWARE
Weve got a range of

demos from iZotope,
FabFilter, FXpansion and
more for you to try. Youll
also find a massive
freeware bundle
including Molot and
Limiter No6 from
Vladgsound, Depthcharge
from 7Air Media, Vitamin
C from Distorque, Filther
from Sinevibes, plus
plug-in bundles from
Blue Cat Audio and
MeldaProduction, all
compiled courtesy of the
Plugin Boutique.
For PC & Mac
MTF DVD 27
Mastering Volume 4
PROMOTIONAL
Whether youre looking to

get a new audio interface,
or expand your plug-in
library with bespoke
mastering software,
weve rounded up a
collection of videos
showing the latest kit in
action. Youll find hi-end
interfaces from Apogee,
UA, Focusrite, Roland,
and M-Audio, plus mixing
and mastering software
from Sony Creative
Software, Slate Digital,
and iZotope.
COPYRIGHT ANTHEM PUBLISHING 2012

FAULTY DISC?
Check www.musictechmag.co.uk for known issues
Return to: Anthem Publishing (disc returns),
Suite 6, Piccadilly House, London Road,
Bath BA1 6PL, UK
On the disc
YOUR DVD CONTENT FILES
ZIP FILES
To maximise the amount of content we can bring you on
each DVD, the video, Workshop and samples files are
supplied compressed (zipped). Mac users should be
able to decompress zip files simply by double-clicking on
them; PC users may need to download a utility such as
WinZip (www.winzip.com).
WORKSHOP FILES
The software Workshops that feature in each issue of
MTF are almost always accompanied by files and audio
so you can work through them on your system. These files
are zipped to reduce the space they occupy on the DVD.
Download them to your hard drive and unzip them to

access the individual files (remembering to eject the DVD
to prevent your computer from slowing down).
WHAT IS ROYALTY-FREE?
Any MTF DVD content marked royalty-free can be used

in your own original compositions (even commercial
ones). You may not, however, resell these samples in any
other form.
DEFECTIVE DISCS
endeavour to supply you with a replacement disc

immediately. Please note that were unable to provide
technical support for the software on the MTF DVD
please check our website at www.musictechmag.co.uk
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MISSING YOUR DISC?
If your disc is missing, contact us at editorial@anthempublishing.com with your full postal address and the
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In the unlikely event that your disc is defective, please

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Music Tech Focus - Mastering Volume 4

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FREE INSIDE

MASTERING VOLUME 4 ALL NEW TECHNIQUES FOR YOUR PROJECT STUDIO

ALL NEW TECHNIQUES FOR YOUR PROJECT STUDIO

MusicTech Focus: Mastering Vol 4

From mixdown to airplay the complete guide

1. To expand your musical universe.

Watch, Learn, Evolve.

You too can make your

Paul Pettengale Editorial Director

Business Dev Manager Di Marsh

Operations Editor Jon Palmer

Publisher Simon Lewis

Editorial Director Paul Pettengale

Art Editor Kai Wood

Printed by Polestar UK Print Ltd

Subscriptions to Music Tech Focus

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4

From mixdown to airplay the complete guide 15 essential tutorials

MTF Pro Tips

MTF Issue 27 Full listings

014 | Studio Technique

Plug-ins and effects p92

042 | Ten Minute Master

For sheer sonic quality p76

064 | Interview Stuart Hawkes

The best courses p124

Its a lot more

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4

MTF Workshop Dynamics Processing

Dynamics Processing Workshop

The art of dynamics processing lies at the very heart

astering isnt quite as complex a process

Vintage modelled and newer compressors offer a

Dynamics Processing Workshop MTF

Some master buss

The two dynamics processors

FOCUS Mastering Volume 4

MTF Workshop Dynamics Processing

compressing it, as will too high a ratio. The aim is to

Multi band compression

One great tip is to load up a

Combined with EQ, the effect of this can be even more

Compare old and new tracks to get an idea of

Dynamics Processing Workshop MTF

Add a little drive to add some volume, while

and mixed inside a computer. Many

going over it, this is typically set to around

MTF Workshop M/S Processing

M/S Processing Workshop

Utilizing M/S processing could revolutionize your

In essence, Mid/Side is a different way of carrying

ore than any other part of the

Enter the matrix

Having understood the fundamentals of M/S, lets now

Importantly, M/S processing doesnt necessitate a

M/S Processing Workshop MTF

separate controls for each channel of processing). In

at what you can achieve with a dedicated M/S equalizer

MTF Workshop M/S Processing

The application of EQ really shines under M/S,

are balancing both frequency characteristics and issues

look at iZotopes Ozone 5. Since version 4 of Ozone, you

The M/S universe

Ozones M/S processing offers