PRODUCER'S GUIDE TO DIY

MASTERING

PRODUCERTECH.COM
PRESENTED BY ADAM GOODLET
@ RE:CREATION STUDIO
PRODUCER'S GUIDE TO DIY MASTERING

WHAT IS MASTERING?

▸ What is the Goal of this Tutorial?

▸ To Play in a Club / Festival / Live

▸ SoundCloud

▸ Mixes

▸ Preview in ‘Real World’ Situations…..

▸ Prepare for Professional Mastering

PRODUCER'S GUIDE TO DIY MASTERING

SHOULD YOU DO IT YOURSELF?

▸ Is the PreMaster / Mix-Down Ready for Mastering?

▸ Acoustic Considerations / How much has the room

influenced your mix?

▸ Monitors / Sub

▸ Audio Interface

▸ Perspective
PRODUCER'S GUIDE TO DIY MASTERING

FILE PREPARATION

▸ Headroom - 5dB Minimum

▸ Output Format - WAV, AIFF,

24Bit @ Project Sample Rate

▸ Rendering Realtime vs Offline

▸ Naming the File - Sample Rate,

Bit Depth, PreMaster
PRODUCER'S GUIDE TO DIY MASTERING

GOOD PRACTICE FOR DIY MASTERING

▸ Have a break from the tune if you’ve just finished it

▸ Listen, in new places and on headphones

▸ Get opinions from others

▸ Have plenty of breaks during the process

▸ Have something to compare to

PRODUCER'S GUIDE TO DIY MASTERING

THE PROCESS Input - Pre Master Audio File

Analysis

Headroom / Gain
Stereo Balance - Low End Width

Spectral Balance Pt 1 - Subtractive EQ

Dynamics / Compression / Expansion

Stereo Enhancement

Spectral Balance Pt 2 - Additive EQ

Limiter(s)

Output - Master File

PRODUCER'S GUIDE TO DIY MASTERING

ANALYSIS
▸ Mindset - How to Listen to a Pre Master

▸ Listen at multiple volumes (85dB rule)

▸ Turn off the Screen, turn down the Lights

▸ Fist impressions count… but keep and open mind

▸ Make Notes - Levels, EQ, Compression, Stereo Image

▸ Listen for anything that’s Too Loud or Too Quiet

▸ Choose your tools and process

▸ Spectrum Analyser Software

PRODUCER'S GUIDE TO DIY MASTERING

EXAMPLE TRACK

▸ Nimbus - Urban Mysticism - Luminus Music 2016

http://luminusmusic.com
https://luminusmusic.bandcamp.com/music
https://www.facebook.com/NimbusMusic/
PRODUCER'S GUIDE TO DIY MASTERING

HEADROOM / GAIN

▸ Headroom

▸ Level into Plugins

▸ Virtual Analogue Emulation

Considerations - 12dB Clip Level
PRODUCER'S GUIDE TO DIY MASTERING

STEREO BALANCE

▸ Mid/Side EQ

▸ Low End Width

▸ Stereo Level Compensation

PRODUCER'S GUIDE TO DIY MASTERING

SPECTRAL BALANCE

▸ EQ

▸ 20Hz - 80Hz = Sub

▸ 80Hz-200Hz = Bass

▸ 200Hz - 2kHz = Weight

▸ 2kHz - 10Khz = Presence

▸ 5kHz - 15+kHz = Shine Harshness

PRODUCER'S GUIDE TO DIY MASTERING

SPECTRAL BALANCE PT 1

▸ Make Subtractive / Negative EQ before Dynamics

Processing

▸ High Cut Considerations - Is the top end under control?

▸ Sub Frequencies
PRODUCER'S GUIDE TO DIY MASTERING

DYNAMICS
▸ What are Dynamics?

▸ Why Compress?

▸ Choosing the Right Effects:

▸ Compression Options

▸ Compresor Types

▸ Side Chain EQ

▸ Multi-Band Dynamics
PRODUCER'S GUIDE TO DIY MASTERING

STEREO ENHANCEMENT

▸ Mid and High Frequency Spread

▸ Width Adjustments

▸ Mono Compatibility
PRODUCER'S GUIDE TO DIY MASTERING

SPECTRAL BALANCE PT 2 - ADDITIVE EQ

▸ Correct Balance with Post Dynamics EQ

▸ Flatten Spectrum

▸ Enhance Tops

▸ Harshness

▸ Low Cut?
PRODUCER'S GUIDE TO DIY MASTERING

LIMITERS - OUTPUT LEVEL

▸ Gain Stage / Limiter

▸ Achieve ‘Loud and Dynamic’ Output Levels:

▸ Using Multiple Limiters in Series

▸ Peak and RMS Levels

▸ Pro Equipment / CDJ = -0.1dB

▸ Commercial = -1.0dB
PRODUCER'S GUIDE TO DIY MASTERING

3RD PARTY PLUGINS

▸ Eiosis - AirEQ

▸ FabFilter - Pro-Q2, Pro-C2, Pro-L, Pro-MB

▸ Native Instruments - EQ, Compressors

▸ Slate Digital - Virtual Mix Rack, Virtual Bus Compressors, FG-X

▸ Waves - Limiters, EQ, Compressors

▸ Sony - Sonnox EQ and Limiter, Codec ToolBox

▸ MeterPlugs - Dynameter, Perception

▸ Decibel Meter for iPhone / iPad / Android

PRODUCER'S GUIDE TO DIY MASTERING

DITHERING
▸ What is Dithering?

▸ Choosing the right bit depth:

▸ 32 Bit = Native DAW Format, good for processing - not

distribution friendly, No Dithering Required

▸ 24 Bit = High Quality, Can’t write to CD, Good for Live, some
Online distributors

▸ 16 Bit = CD Quality, Distributor Friendly

▸ Dithering Options - Type, Noise Shape

PRODUCER'S GUIDE TO DIY MASTERING

OUTPUT

▸ File Types - WAV, AIFF

▸ Labelling:

▸ Project Title

▸ Sample Rate and Bit Depth

▸ Master