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Mastering software/plugins


JapanAxe
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I enjoy a bit of home recording, normally short demos that I put on my website*, but I have never got to grips with mastering and I'm wondering where to start. Can anyone recommend any free or inexpensive plugins that I can try - multi-band compressors, clever EQs etc?

I am using Reaper.

Cheers


*[size=3]See link below - if you want to hear some of my un-mastered efforts, go to the 'Guitar' and 'Bass' pages.[/size]

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Demo Isotope Ozone for free, it's really good. You'll eventually have to buy it if you like it (about £200). For quick and easy mastering I find you can pick a preset and just adjust input gain to suit and generally not touch too much else.
If you want a cheap and easy way just to get your tracks [i]louder[/i] then Waves L2 limiter/maximiser is about £60, also free to demo, and L1 is cheaper still.

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I use AAMS on my Reaper stuff. There's a free version for evaluation; the full version costs 65€ presently. Might be worth a look.
I doctored a very badly recorded 'live' concert with Ozone a few years ago, and the results were spectacular. I've not used it since, though, and have lost it somewhere. :blush:

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Yep, worth demoing Ozone 8. There are three versions to choose from price wise.

Another 'all in one' mastering plugin is 'Eventide Elevate'. This is getting quite a lot of love at the moment with some pretty good reviews. ($99).Demo available as well.
https://www.eventideaudio.com/products/plugins/mastering/elevate-bundle

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Another Reaper user here.

I'm Mastering my own EP, and I've put together this chain over the last few months, which I thought I would share. All of the plug-ins are stock or Free to download: -

Voxengo Tube Amp (Master Maximizer) > 'Toned' by VLC-audio (gentle loudness) > Baxter EQ by Variety of Sound > JS: Exciter (Reaper) > LoudMax Limiter (by Thomas Lundt).

EDIT: I use compression (ReaXcomp by Cockos) + Ferric TDS (Saturation) when mixing. But not at the Mastering stage... :ph34r:

Good luck and have fun! :)

Edited by SimonEdward
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I would personally recommend to stay away from multiband compressors at the start - they can really screw up the sound and IMO they are difficult to get right.

One of the most useful approaches to get started would be use something like a Match EQ (not sure what the reaper equivalent may be called); import a finished studio track you like the sound of, as reference, and then run Match EQ to analyse key tonal differences between your mix and the final master. Often you'll see a gentle "smile" EQ, with either end boosted and some dip in the mids. You might find that a Linear Phase eq sounds more transparent (though we're getting into ever-smaller impacts)....

I would avoid overly coloured compressors - something like FabFilter Pro C is a really great compression plugin that can even be clean enough for classical mastering (in my view!)

Lastly you probably want some form of limiter to just take care of those loudest peaks, often snare drums.... but don't go much above -0.5db.

To be honest, most of mastering is about subtle touches - so stock plugins are probably adequate for most tasks.

Also consider using distortion / saturation - you may be surprised at the added [i]clarity[/i] that could provide!

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Great suggestions above. I mostly use the old Waves plug-ins and some of the Softube stuff for colour, but will almost certainly be picking up Ozone 8 sometime soon.

Another quick tip is to try using [url="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_compression"]parallel compression[/url] on the master bus for 'loudness'. Works best with tracks that are already quite noisy. I find it helps to increase the perceived loudness, which means I can ease off on the limiter a little. Worth experimenting with.

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[quote name='tedmanzie' timestamp='1509112822' post='3396732']
Another alternative is to use online mastering - I have had excellent results from here:
[url="https://ariamastering.com"]https://ariamastering.com[/url]

but as in standard mastering, the better the mix the better the master.
[/quote]

I ran a track through LANDR with good results but you can only do 2 per month FOC, you have to pay for any more than that.

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Another +1 for Ozone here. I'm using Ozone 8 Advanced but I started with Ozone 7 Elements and got good results from that. Ozone 8 Elements seems to let you have more control than 7 did. It's got a maximiser, EQ and imager in there. The imager really helps open up a piece I find.

https://www.izotope.com/en/products/master-and-deliver/ozone/ozone-elements.html

I find that when I use the gain-match bypass feature on Ozone there's not a massive difference between the bypassed and processed versions in terms of for example, the EQ suddenly changing loads but the subtle difference has a huge effect on opening the track up. It also does matching of a reference track which I quite like as it gives me a good starting point.

But saying that, I'm sure over time I could take what I learn from Ozone and use other standard plugins like the ones mentioned above and get similar results.

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  • 5 months later...

So a chain with some or all of these  will see you right 95% of the time:-

Multiband compressor with up to 5 bands, if you really know how to use it

3 band very broad eq for some gentle eq

 

'Surgical' hiQ eq if there are any nasty frequencies to get rid of

Mid side compressor for widening and control of the stereo field

Multiband saturation

Feedback comp for gentle level control across sections

Decent brickwall limiter is a must

Check in mono too...

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