The Art of Bussing

This monday I will submit three songs and Im excited about! (:

Its the second time Im gonna master a song. This time I will master all the three together.

There is something I've been eagerly waiting for to try out, and that is using various multiband compressors, where each one will focus on highlighting a different frequency range. I already set the 4 aux channels with the corresponding Multi. Comp. in it, but I dont know how to bus them, haa!

 

What the Logic%# do I do?

Why are you using four different multi-band compressors to highlight different frequency ranges? And what do you mean by "highlight"? /what you're describing is not a commonly used technique, so I'm not sure what you're trying to achieve exactly.

haha, okay. I just catched the idea on the side a while ago when I followed a tutorial on how to master. I was actually feeling weird about it after posting the question. The thing is, this person was using more than one multipresor in different aux channels. So I kind of hoped that someone would develop the idea from there on and make it clearer to me

 

Do you offer any online material on mastering in the market, David? (:

Oh, I see it now. I went through the content of your training series. That looks really good! And deals with mastering as well

I would recommend you keep it simple and use only one multi-pressor plug-in, or even just an EQ and a compressor can generally go a long way. The thing is if you don't really know what you're doing then trying to tackle a complex set up like this will most likely result in sounding even worse. And it's easy enough to trick your brain into thinking that only because you've got a complex setup with multiple advanced plug-ins, your song now sounds better, when it couldn't be further from the truth.

 

In my opinion you should listen to the song and determine what it is that it lacks or that needs to be fixed, if anything. Then, and only then, can you start grabbing your tools (plug-ins) and dial them up with that goal in mind. What I mean is that if as a mastering engineer, I take your song and start bussing to 4 multi-pressor and use each to highlight a certain frequency and mix them together... that doesn't make sense. What I should be doing is listen to the song, and listen carefully. Then maybe I'll realize there's an imbalance of frequency, so I'll grab an EQ and try to correct the frequency balance. Or there's an inconsistency in loudness between song parts (intro vs chorus for example) so I'll draw some volume automation. Or I'll cut up the regions onto different tracks so that I can adjust their levels independently, maybe even EQ them independently. Or I'll grab a compressor and use that to make the level more consistent throughout the duration of the song.

 

But basically I'll wait to hear something that needs to be fixed before starting to insert plug-ins and dial them. Otherwise I'm just shooting in the dark and that's good enough for experimenting and learning what a certain plug-in does to a sound, but for mastering or mixing, by the time I'll have realized how the plug-in work I've lost all kind of objectivity and can no longer tell which setting sounds better.

 

So if I were you I would forget about that idea and start simple. Listen, determine what needs to be done musically first. Like make the volume more even. Or the frequency range less aggressive sounding. Or punchier. Or more defined. Or less defined. Once you have a musical goal you can start figure out a method for reaching the goal. Once you have a method in mind, grab your tools and get to work.

 

Having made all of that clear, if you want to experiment with comparing the sound of four multi-band compressors dialed in different way, you could mix onto a bus (all channel strips currently routed to Stereo Out are instead routed to a Bus) then create four Auxes with their inputs set to that bus, insert the plug-ins on the four Auxes, and set the output of the four Auxes to Stereo Out. Then you can mute three of the Auxes, and start comparing them that way.

 

But like I said, I don't believe that set up makes a lot of sense, certainly not unless you know exactly what you're trying to achieve and how you're going to set up to achieve it.

 

But have fun and let us know what you find out!

I love how clear your words are and I can make a lot of sense out of them.

I was trying out the multipressors directly routed to Stereo Out and noticed right away how little sense that makes.

You are right, what I should do is listen to the song, and listen carefully. To see what is lacking or what is overwhelming. I'm starting to better understand that mastering is only a way to finish a song if the mixing didnt do all the work already.

There is one song where I was indeed thinking about cutting up a part of a region to another track to make minor changes to the EQ. But only because I could hear that it's needed.

Following the ear and listening carefully, taking a pause and some distance to clear the ears and have a fresh take on the songs again... all that seems to be the best manual to follow.

 

Thanks David! You're awesome, I cant say it enough!

You're welcome, glad you found it helpful!