mastering templete

[chathan]

hi guys,

I am new to logic pro. Tryng my level best to get a perfect mix but it doesnt sound like a commercial cd quality. Is any body out there has a standard mastering templete or what all effects to put and in what order. Please help.Appreciate a lot.

Thanks guys

[Spunkadellic]

there are many options for the output bus ...assuming your mix sounds pretty good to begin with

 

here is one way to get you started.....

 

if the output 1-2 is not peaking, add an adlimit first to bring up the entire mix

 

next a multipressor - if you dont know how to use one, use a preset...the "final pop/rock/hip mop mix"

 

then a channel or linear phase eq to fix some muddy areas

 

end it off with a limiter - you should see 1-3 bars of limiting going on

 

if you see none, add gain on the adlimit

[i]

From the Logic Studio Instruments and Effects manual (p. 61):

 

"The Adaptive Limiter is typically used in the final mix, where it may be placed after a compressor (such as the Multipressor) and before a final gain control in order to produce a mix of maximum loudness. Using the Adaptive Limiter can produce a louder-sounding mix than can be achieved by simply normalizing the signal."

 

My mastering chain is usually:

 

Linear Phase EQ

Multipressor

Exciter (if needed)

Space Designer (if needed)

Stereo Spread

Ad Limiter

MultiMeter

 

i

[ChicoSatis]

Hi

 

You also might want to try stemming down your mixes before mastering. By that I mean, for example, lets say you have a song that has guitars, bass, vocals and drums. After you are done mixing and want to start mastering bounce down your drums separately and then your guitars and then your bass and then your vocals. Now, open up a new session and put your mastering tools on the master buss. Next, import the four tracks into your session. Now, even with all of the mastering plugins on the master buss you still have complete control over the overall volume of the bass as compared to the drums. If the vocals start to get lost then you can just raise their volume a little bit. Since mastering effects how the entire song sounds sometimes things can get a bit masked or over exaggerated. This is a great way to still have control over the song without having to go back and fix things in the mix. I should note that the only plugins that I tend to put on the actual drum, bass, guitars and vocal tracks are EQs. I never automate, compress or add reverb to individual components at this point because to me that's better suited for mixing. Of course you can do it if you like, there are no rules. The reason I tend to EQ is because sometimes, especially when I use the multipressor, everything sounds great except for maybe the vocals sound a bit to harsh. So, I strap on an eq and filter some of the harsh frequency out. If the bass sounds to muddy now you can adjust it with eq. This technique is really great for mastering, definitely try it.

[Tarekith]

Here's my thoughts on mastering for beginners:

 

http://tarekith.com/assets/mastering.html