Mastering Explained
Mastering Explained
  • 48
  • 465 269
Why does my mix fall apart when I make it louder? Answering a super common mastering question
Too much peak limiting can make any mix sound bad. But sometimes that happens even with small amounts of limiting and there are three common reasons for this.
The last video touched upon optimizing for loudness normalization. This video is about how to optimize for absolute loudness.
💚 Sofia & Thomas
----------
🎵 Music licensed from Lickd. The biggest mainstream and stock music platform for content creators
Little Light 2 by Tim Reilly, Jeff Dale, James Scholes, t.lickd.co/791lWe0ZXkL License ID: EyNbEOlL8bV
Leave Your Troubles 2 by Michael Farkas, Teddy Weber, Seth Travins, t.lickd.co/52vL3b6RyQD License ID: l1Ql7Dr3EyZ
Try Lickd FREE for 14 days for unlimited stock music and get 50% off your first mainstream track: app.lickd.co/r/a9b2ebcea9384fce9cdd65693bf66708
Переглядів: 1 408

Відео

Why is Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" louder than Luke Comb's on Spotify?
Переглядів 1,7 тис.3 місяці тому
Let's listen to a great song and discuss dynamics, loudness normalization and other things. 💚 Sofia & Thomas 🎵 Music licensed from Lickd. The biggest mainstream and stock music platform for content creators Fast Car by Tracy Chapman, License ID: l4jbWxryAnw Try Lickd FREE for 14 days for unlimited stock music and get 50% off your first mainstream track: app.lickd.co/r/a9b2ebcea9384fce9cdd65693b...
The mastering "trick" that will get you every time (don't fall for it) | Loudness bias example
Переглядів 1,6 тис.5 місяців тому
Listen to this clear example of loudness bias in action. More about loudness bias: ua-cam.com/video/312RO_E9KCI/v-deo.html About gain staging: ua-cam.com/video/JtxholnaqXk/v-deo.html More about gain staging: ua-cam.com/video/mpDJg1JpNm8/v-deo.html 💚 Sofia & Thomas Get It's All Over by Dan Skinner, Adam Skinner, Dave James and over 1M mainstream tracks here go.lickd.co/Music License ID: v7A9G1XK...
Want more clarity? Try upwards compression in TDR Nova GE!
Переглядів 2,9 тис.5 місяців тому
Learn how you can improve the clarity of a mix without drastically altering the overall sound using upwards compression in TDR Nova GE. Get the free guide "5 strategies for mastering using free plugins": www.masteringexplained.com/5strategies 💚 Sofia & Thomas 00:00 - Start 05:33 - About dynamic processing 07:07 - The four types of dynamic processing 11:23 - The settings in TDR Nova GE
Gain staging for transparency, mojo and peak control - this is what you need to know!
Переглядів 2,6 тис.9 місяців тому
Understanding gain staging can be crucial for getting the best sound from your analog hardware or analog modeled plugins. In this video we look at three aspects of gain staging when mixing and mastering. 💚 Sofia & Thomas
Does your master sound better or just different? Watch this!
Переглядів 1,5 тис.9 місяців тому
Two questions that often arise when mastering are: - Is this better or just different? - Am I done? In this video we will look at three important aspects of the sound that you can use to evaluate a master. Get the free guide "5 strategies for mastering using free plugins": www.masteringexplained.com/5strategies 💚 Sofia & Thomas 00:00 - Intro 01:16 - Lead instruments 02:37 - Transient clarity 04...
A peek into our pedantic but successful mastering workflow
Переглядів 1,3 тис.10 місяців тому
Mastering at a professional level requires more than just knowing how to use EQs, compressors and limiters. We also need a solid workflow in order to consistently produce high quality masters that our clients are happy with. In this video we'll look at the workflow that works for us! Get the free guide "5 strategies for mastering using free plugins": www.masteringexplained.com/5strategies 💚 Sof...
What is a master?
Переглядів 73610 місяців тому
The most common master formats in 2023. Get the free guide "5 strategies for mastering using free plugins": www.masteringexplained.com/5strategies 💚 Sofia & Thomas
Vintage vibe in-the-box? Exploring the Waves Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain plugin
Переглядів 7 тис.Рік тому
A closer look at the Waves Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain plugin. Get the free guide "5 strategies for mastering using free plugins": www.masteringexplained.com/5strategies 💚 Sofia & Thomas
EQ before or after compression?
Переглядів 3,2 тис.Рік тому
In which order should you place the EQ and compressor? Get the free guide "5 strategies for mastering using free plugins": www.masteringexplained.com/5strategies 💚 Sofia & Thomas
Audio Level Meters for Mastering
Переглядів 10 тис.Рік тому
What kind of level meters are commonly used in mastering? In this video we will have a look at four different meters. Get the free guide "5 strategies for mastering using free plugins": www.masteringexplained.com/5strategies 💚 Sofia & Thomas
The 3 most important things when mastering
Переглядів 6 тис.Рік тому
There are three things that you can do when mastering that will take the mix at least 80% of the way to a finished master, if you get them right. These are the things that in our experience will give you the most reward for your effort! 💚 Sofia & Thomas Frequency training: www.masteringexplained.com/eartraining
Next-level trick for fatter bass! Mastering trick in Kotelnikov GE
Переглядів 8 тис.Рік тому
In this video Sofia will show a way to use compression on a full mix without making the low end sound thinner. This can be done using the frequency dependent ratio feature (FDR) of the Kotelnikov GE compressor from TDR. Get the free guide "5 strategies for mastering using free plugins": www.masteringexplained.com/5strategies 💚 Sofia & Thomas 00:00 - Intro 00:49 - The problem 04:09 - The trick 0...
Ozone 9 Elements first impressions - Review by a professional mastering engineer
Переглядів 3,4 тис.Рік тому
Ozone 9 Elements first impressions - Review by a professional mastering engineer
Gain staging in mastering (the right way)
Переглядів 55 тис.Рік тому
Gain staging in mastering (the right way)
How to use TDR Nova for de-essing
Переглядів 9 тис.Рік тому
How to use TDR Nova for de-essing
How to use low-cut filters for mastering
Переглядів 21 тис.Рік тому
How to use low-cut filters for mastering
4 things that can be hard to fix in the mastering
Переглядів 3,1 тис.Рік тому
4 things that can be hard to fix in the mastering
How to make a loud master
Переглядів 6 тис.2 роки тому
How to make a loud master
What is tonal balance?
Переглядів 15 тис.2 роки тому
What is tonal balance?
Mastering with The Glue - How to use mix bus compression
Переглядів 25 тис.2 роки тому
Mastering with The Glue - How to use mix bus compression
Mastering for vinyl - 3 tips and some theory!
Переглядів 7 тис.2 роки тому
Mastering for vinyl - 3 tips and some theory!
How to use a goniometer / phase scope when mastering
Переглядів 6 тис.2 роки тому
How to use a goniometer / phase scope when mastering
Mid-side mastering trick!
Переглядів 3,6 тис.2 роки тому
Mid-side mastering trick!
How deep is your bass? Try these test tones!
Переглядів 2,5 тис.2 роки тому
How deep is your bass? Try these test tones!
Developing your listening skills (4 stages) | Listening in Music Mastering
Переглядів 9572 роки тому
Developing your listening skills (4 stages) | Listening in Music Mastering
What is the difference between Multiband Compression and Dynamic EQ?
Переглядів 1,9 тис.2 роки тому
What is the difference between Multiband Compression and Dynamic EQ?
Why not use the headphone jack on your laptop for mixing and mastering?
Переглядів 6 тис.2 роки тому
Why not use the headphone jack on your laptop for mixing and mastering?
Linear phase vs minimum phase EQ for mastering? | Mastering Explained
Переглядів 4,7 тис.2 роки тому
Linear phase vs minimum phase EQ for mastering? | Mastering Explained
Spotify mastering levels how-to | Loudness normalization explained
Переглядів 4,4 тис.2 роки тому
Spotify mastering levels how-to | Loudness normalization explained

КОМЕНТАРІ

  • @gambetta_
    @gambetta_ День тому

    5:30 very clever trick

  • @epsteinkrauss41
    @epsteinkrauss41 8 днів тому

    I am considering purchasing. Do you still think it's good.I have a q3.

  • @rickdauer5179
    @rickdauer5179 13 днів тому

    Tomas, what is your DAW of choice? I've moved over to Reaper. Your videos are very enriching, thank you.

  • @Tylerbag
    @Tylerbag 21 день тому

    Awesome tutorial! Is it OK to apply this to the master fader in a mix or only to be used after rendering the whole take?

  • @Byronic19134
    @Byronic19134 21 день тому

    For whatever reason I dont like the multiband version of DMG limiter, but TrackLimit is my go too, I just put it on aggressive or Punchy and whatever that eq profile does is the exact sound Im looking for.

  • @DjSentenced
    @DjSentenced 23 дні тому

    i got a noob question, ive been looking on your channel but i cant find how i can see the Kotelnikov interface as you show on your video, i mean the grafic barr fo the gain reduction Db i cant see how much it fluctuates. and i suppose you need another program to display it? can you help me? what program i need to test and see how everything is changing. im new on this trying to Compress louds sounds on my headphones.

  • @joaquinruiz3039
    @joaquinruiz3039 24 дні тому

    To put an L2 in L and another in R, can I open two Blue cats and put one in L and another in R? thank you

  • @gibson2623
    @gibson2623 26 днів тому

    The stereo field on headphones, as we perceive it, is never real. Our left hear cannot hear the right side. There are more issues also....On the other hand, having a properly treated room at home is virtually impossible. In the end, maybe headphones are the better solution, but one must know well the headphones. Thanks, nice video mate.

  • @r0bzmusic777
    @r0bzmusic777 29 днів тому

    sofia your voice is so calming

  • @4lbertjung
    @4lbertjung Місяць тому

    are you french ?

  • @Owl-qh2rh
    @Owl-qh2rh Місяць тому

    Brilliant! Thank you 🙏🕊️

  • @artysanmobile
    @artysanmobile Місяць тому

    Glue. What a stupid term.

  • @ClearColorCloud
    @ClearColorCloud Місяць тому

    So - if you were trying to set two guitar signals to the same perceived volume - which LUFS measurement would you use?

    • @ClearColorCloud
      @ClearColorCloud Місяць тому

      And would that change if you were setting the perceived volume of two snare drums?

  • @sarinsahil
    @sarinsahil Місяць тому

    How do VU meters compare to RMS meters? Do they use a different scale? Thank you :)

  • @vidworxsfx
    @vidworxsfx Місяць тому

    I prefer dynamics and mastering that preserves the dynamics then all this over compressed just loud for the sake of being loud any day. The newer version of Tracy Chapman's track sounds bad in comparison to the orig album version in my opin. I cant stand loudness war mastering. I am glad you mention you try and preserve the dynamics, most do not. I notice that many times when it says re-mastered that really just means they destroyed the track by just making the whole thing loud by slamming it into a limiter and did not actually improve the track sound quality, so on that I usually prefer the original I know when I re-master a song because I feel it could be made slightly better then my goal is to make it sound better not worse. But it seems that too many still think just loud is better forgetting about having a nice open dynamic sound. Great video as always.

  • @user-kx9vz2my6f
    @user-kx9vz2my6f Місяць тому

    At 4:45, what does it mean to "give the loudness advantage to the bypassed version"? How does this work in practice?

  • @Javier_Salas
    @Javier_Salas Місяць тому

    Thanks a lot

  • @Javier_Salas
    @Javier_Salas Місяць тому

    tHIS CHANNEL IS PURE GOLD!!!

  • @timrideout
    @timrideout 2 місяці тому

    This is a truly great excellent guide to this plugin. Thank you!

  • @billytheweasel
    @billytheweasel 2 місяці тому

    Great! Subbed today, thanks. Hope this makes my voice sound better in Zoom meeting.

  • @billytheweasel
    @billytheweasel 2 місяці тому

    Subbed! Just need a mixer for my USB mic on my iMac on Zoom meetings

  • @digitalhomestudio1989
    @digitalhomestudio1989 2 місяці тому

    Thank you

  • @franzvohn
    @franzvohn 2 місяці тому

    Do I need a plugin in my DAW to switch between Sum and Dif? And it's not the same, then switching between Mono and Stereo, is it?

  • @TheCoreys
    @TheCoreys 2 місяці тому

    I can’t get it to sound good on the masterbus, it either compresses too much or won’t glue the mix, maybe the crest or knee settings have to be tweaked somehow to match a classic VCA masterbus compressor?

  • @yurikalashnikov2460
    @yurikalashnikov2460 2 місяці тому

    The paid version of that TDR comp is $10 on pluginboutique right now. Great video, thanks!

  • @sadata
    @sadata 2 місяці тому

    "there are other meters" Me: no thx, im good 😅

  • @Novasoul
    @Novasoul 2 місяці тому

    Thank you for all your videos! With this technique of matching, are you matching True Peak or Integrated LUFS as you continue to add plugins to each stage? Would there be an audible difference?

  • @gaboonschoolofmusic9848
    @gaboonschoolofmusic9848 2 місяці тому

    i am interested in more deeper mastering tricks or settings

  • @balls12324
    @balls12324 3 місяці тому

    thanks bro! appreciate it :)

  • @chris_share
    @chris_share 3 місяці тому

    Thanks, could you do a demo of using a limiter to highlight mix balance problems - maybe with an example of a mix that's ok vs one that's got problems. Cheers!

  • @QuaverloveStudio
    @QuaverloveStudio 3 місяці тому

    Thank you, Thomas.

  • @andersjanocha6960
    @andersjanocha6960 3 місяці тому

    Great as always. Thank you.

  • @MR_Cellarpop
    @MR_Cellarpop 3 місяці тому

    Thanks

  • @michaeltablet8577
    @michaeltablet8577 3 місяці тому

    Your videos are always so very helpful! Thank you and God bless you ❤

  • @bigbillrecords
    @bigbillrecords 3 місяці тому

    Thank you!

  • @dannyb6618
    @dannyb6618 3 місяці тому

    Great plugin, but it hits my cpu very hard...

  • @olayinkamobolaji900
    @olayinkamobolaji900 3 місяці тому

    Thank you very much, sir. 🙏🏾

  • @rocketman374
    @rocketman374 3 місяці тому

    Spotify WILL turn up files quieter than -14, but will also respect a true peak level of -1, which may not allow the file to be brought all the way up.

    • @MasteringExplained
      @MasteringExplained 3 місяці тому

      Yes, that is correct. In this case the peaks are above -1, so the level will stay the same after normalization. /Thomas

  • @teddym2808
    @teddym2808 3 місяці тому

    Poor DMG Audio always get left out these days, it's all Pro Q and now the Kirchhoff - but they did it first and there's one thing the DMG still has as an option that the other two don't. CONSOLE mode, where all knobs are visible at once. That massively speeds up workflow for me but maybe that's just me.

  • @emanuelolssonmusic
    @emanuelolssonmusic 3 місяці тому

    I really enjoy your videos! Always to the point and always backing up your ideas with facts and good examples. Keep it up!

  • @BenedictRoffMarsh
    @BenedictRoffMarsh 3 місяці тому

    His version of the song is dull. Tracy seems to be the only person who has ever sung this song properly: to honor the Story. Everyone else seems to think it is enough to strum and intone some words. And yes a proper song dynamic will benefit far better than the horrid "modern" crushed thing. Ha! :-)

    • @MasteringExplained
      @MasteringExplained 3 місяці тому

      Tracy Chapman surely set the bar high! 🎶

    • @vidworxsfx
      @vidworxsfx Місяць тому

      @BenedictRoffMarsh Yup dull and lifeless like most music today it seems and this is because too much has been lost from it being so slammed in to a limiter for the sake of insanely loud that the song has no life left just a mid rangy dull over compressed sound, so basically a single wall of sound. if you go back and listen to older first run CDs you will see they are a lot lower but clear and very dynamic unlike most music today.

  • @michaeltablet8577
    @michaeltablet8577 3 місяці тому

    Thank you so very much!!

  • @QuaverloveStudio
    @QuaverloveStudio 3 місяці тому

    This video has forced me to look more closely at what's happening at one of the first stages... arrangement. Thank you, Sofia and Thomas.

  • @bobrv8
    @bobrv8 3 місяці тому

    AFAIK -14LUFS (INT) is not a target of the streaming services but a distribution level.

    • @MasteringExplained
      @MasteringExplained 3 місяці тому

      Please can you elaborate? I don't understand this statement. /Thomas

    • @bobrv8
      @bobrv8 3 місяці тому

      A target implies we should aim for a particular value. Surely we should aim for a level that is best for the music. The streaming services currently distribute at level XX LUFS but that could change (as it has in the past) so why aim for the current distribution level?

    • @MasteringExplained
      @MasteringExplained 3 місяці тому

      Ah, thanks for clarifying. There are two meanings for the word target. -14 LUFS is the target for Spotify's loudness normalization, but shouldn't necessarily be the loudness target when mastering, I'm with you on that. Totally agree that the optimal loudness depends on the music. /Thomas

  • @paszTube
    @paszTube 3 місяці тому

    I listened to a lot of metal from the mid nineties on so I gradually noticed productions getting tighter and more rigid (through editing and recording to a click, using samples for drums, pitch correcting vocals etc). At first I liked it: a lot of music benefited from the machine like sound. But from 2000 on bands in that genre sounded more and more alike, and also more and more boring... It's a cliche but editing and to a lesser extent recording to a click destroys the "feeling", and the feeling is what makes most music sounds interesting to my ear. I understand that some genres should sound very tight and editing, for instance electronic dance... But then again I loved that Roisin Murphy's track "Overpowered" has that intentionally badly looped drum track... But maybe because it's refreshing. I'm rambling now. Long story short: In the end I like music that's loose, not edited to death and I wonder if in the end deep down all people prefer that. Music tip! Check out "Dawn of Midi's" album "Dysnomia". It's like minimal electro with lots of syncopation but played by a jazz trio, AND NO EDITS!

    • @MasteringExplained
      @MasteringExplained 3 місяці тому

      Agreed, a lot of the personality of a band/artist is in the looseness around the grid and pitch, even in the more extreme genres. Great editing can preserve and enhance this, just as over-editing can make everything sound the same. Thanks for the music tips, will check them out! 👍 /Thomas

  • @nickmessitte1721
    @nickmessitte1721 3 місяці тому

    Just listened to both on Spotify, normalized, back to back. I think Luke Combs’ version sounds louder-and I think most people would agree-and it’s because of the mix, not the master. The Luke combs version is mixed in the dense, modern style, where the kick/snare transients cut through everything, and the frequencies are super-sculpted for audibility at any playback level and on any device-as opposed to the more organic large format console feeling of the original mix.

    • @nickmessitte1721
      @nickmessitte1721 3 місяці тому

      Just played it for my wife on the phone speaker and she agreed with me after call me a nerd and mocking me relentlessly

    • @MasteringExplained
      @MasteringExplained 3 місяці тому

      The trick is to place the two songs in a playlist and play them from there. You need the Greatest Hits version for this, as it is louder than -14 LUFS. Each song on Spotify has two loudness normalization values - the song value and the album value. The song value is the individual loudness of that specific song, and the album value is the loudness of the whole album. If you play a song directly from the album, then Spotify will use the album value for normalization. This is to make sure that the relative loudness between the songs within the album is kept intact. Luke Comb's version sounds louder in this scenario, just as you noted. But if you place the songs in a playlist and play them from there, then the individual song values will be used for normalization instead. And this is when you get the effect described in the video. Now this is the kind of knowledge that will truly skyrocket your nerd status! /Thomas

  • @chris_share
    @chris_share 3 місяці тому

    Thanks for this! Do you have any guidelines for quiet song sections? That is, how much quieter than the loud sections can they be? I imagine that they can't be too quiet as then the quiet sections won't be audible in noisy environments. Cheers!

    • @MasteringExplained
      @MasteringExplained 3 місяці тому

      Yeah, the quiet parts need to still be audible and also need to be loud enough to not trigger the gating in the LUFS measurement. There are two gates, one at -70 LUFS and one at 10 LU below the current integrated loudness value. This quickly gets quite technical if you want to optimize it and I'm not sure if it's a good idea from a musical standpoint to game the system in this way. I think the main takeaway is that using lots of compression with the intention of making the song "loud" might not translate that well after loudness normalization. /Thomas

  • @MR_Cellarpop
    @MR_Cellarpop 3 місяці тому

    Tack :) I'm going to master a song that has a rather high kick and snare, it's not possible to re-mix the song, so I'll try to lower the kick and snare a little without it affecting anything else so much. If I use a limiter now, the kick and snare are affected too much so it's difficult to get the song up in volume. Do you have any tips? Best/Mathias

    • @sparella
      @sparella 3 місяці тому

      Maybe try a transient / tonal EQ such as Ozone 11 EQ or Split EQ. Melda's MFreeFXBundle also can be used to do it, but the channel routing is a bit complicated.

    • @nickmessitte1721
      @nickmessitte1721 3 місяці тому

      Careful with the space monkeys on things like spliteq. Can be quite noticeable. If the kick and snare truly reign supreme over the rest of the mix, a clipper might be a good bet. Shaving a db off on the kick and snare with a clipper-one with Oversampling, and try hard clipping first

    • @MasteringExplained
      @MasteringExplained 3 місяці тому

      Mathias, maybe you have part of the solution in your question. ☺️ /Sofia

  • @mixourband
    @mixourband 3 місяці тому

    I enjoyed your presentation thank you.