Step 1 – Prepare It
Goal: To get everything set up and ready
for mastering.
Bounce down (export) your mix
session to a stereo, uncompressed,
file.
Use .wav or .aiff
Use minimum of 24 bit 44.1kHz.
24 bit 96kHz is ideal.
Create a new session for
mastering and import your final
mix.
Make sure the mastering session
you create matches the sample
rate and bit depth of your exported
mix. e.g. 96kHz, 24 bit
Import 2 – 3 commercial reference
tracks into your mastering session
so that you can compare your
track directly to them.
Step 2 – Fix It
Goal: To fix any problems with the
overall sound.
Compare your track to the
commercial references and listen
for any problems – anything that
sounds strange or bad.
Use a spectrum analyzer to look
for problems with the frequency
spectrum – this could be too
much, or too little, energy in a
certain range.
Common problems include;
harshness, thin & brittle sound,
vocal esses too loud, boomy bass,
muddy low end, stereo image too
narrow or wide, inconsistent
frequencies, etc.
Step 3 – Enhance It
Goal: To improve the overall sound of
the final mix in some way.
Experiment with things like EQ,
stereo wideners, harmonic exciters,
and analog emulation plugins, to
hear whether they improve the
overall sound.
Could the track use some
thickening up? – Try some tape or
valve emulation plugin, or a bass
enhancer./li>
Would it sound better with a stereo
widener?
How about a little bit of EQ on the
top end?
Step 4 – Compress It
Goal: To reduce the dynamic range of
the overall track in order to add energy
and make it louder.
Try a compressor to hear whether
it improves the overall sound, if
not, remove it and move on.
Use a low ratio to avoid
compressing too much – Start
with a ratio around 1.5:1 – 2:1
Aim for around 2dB’s of gain
reduction, no more than 4dB!
Multi-band compressors allow you
to compress the different
frequency ranges separately and
thus give you more control – they
can be very powerful but best
avoided if you’re unsure what
you’re doing yet!
Step 5 – Clip It
Goal: To soft-clip the audio peaks of a
track in order to achieve maximum
loudness with minimal negative side
effects.
If you’re going for loud, soft
clipping is your friend.
Generally this is for more
aggressive tracks, if it’s a mellow
song or something more natural,
stay away!
If you’re not rich (yet), consider
trying a plugin such as the T-
Racks Soft Clipper to get a similar
effect to what the pro’s use.
Step 6 – Limit It
Goal: To increase the overall level of the
track as much as possible without
clipping or losing quality.
If you do nothing else, a “brick-wall
limiter” is a great way to bring
your track up to a good level
without digital clipping.
A limiter is always the LAST step
in the chain, don’t put anything
after the limiter.
Limit to -0.1 (Some people say
-0.3 is better, personally I don’t
think it makes any difference but
that’s up to you to decide).
Step 7 – Reference It
Goal: To listen and compare your master
on a variety of different playback
systems to get a better idea of what’s
working or not, and then make
adjustments if necessary.
Listen on as many different
systems as possible – in the car,
on a boombox, bluetooth speaker,
large HIFI, headphones, PA
system, etc.
Compare to your reference tracks
and listen out for consistent
differences.
Make adjustments and repeat the
process as many times as
necessary.
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From @suddensmoke1