[MUSIC] Now, we're going to think about signal processing tools,
how we think about using them in preparation for doing the mastering work.
If you take a look at the screen,
you'll see a typical, at least for me,
preset or starting point for my signal processing,
and I just want to highlight what each one of the tools are,
and why they are in the position that they are.
We're going to use ozone for a lot of demonstrating,
but to some extent an EQ is an EQ,
a compressor is a compressor,
and a limiter is a limiter.
So whether you're looking at the signal processing tools
within the context of this particular application,
or it's showing up on your to mix in a mastering session in your DAW,
it's all the same thing.
So the first thing I'm going to draw your attention to is the limiter.
You'll notice it's not the first thing in the signal chain,
but it is often the first thing that I'll pay attention to.
Referring back to this concept of level,
and output, and delivery,
we have to think about, okay,
the level will need to end up five dB hotter,
so you add five dB of gain,
and notice the behavior at the limiter,
that might inform some of the other processing choices that you have to make,
with processors that precede the limiter in the signal chain.
But you won't know what the implications are
of your entire processing chain through the limiter until you make this adjustment.
The very first thing in the signal processing chain is an equalizer.
That in my way of thinking is
your chance to make any corrections in terms of tonal balance.
While many things that we do in mastering will result in
a change of overall tone and timbre in the recording,
the equalizer is obviously the thing that's best suited to directly adjust that,
and if you've got something that's got too much bass,
not enough high-end or vice versa,
correcting that before you do anything else makes a great deal of sense.
If you have a recording that's got a lot of low-end,
and you try to compress it before correcting it,
the compressor will be responding to that disproportionate amount of low-end,
and you won't get the best result out of the compressor that you need.
So first in EQ to correct,
then a compressor if needed.
Compression isn't always used.
In fact, I would assert that it's used maybe 30 percent of the time.
I mean, I'm just pulling a number out of the air,
but it's a way of expressing that a good mix should have most if not
all of the dynamic range control already baked in to the mix.
Mastering isn't the place where we're producing the track.
Mastering is the place where we're putting icing on the cake,
revealing what there is to be revealed,
or fully fleshing out everything
about the color and the sound that we think we can get out of it.
So the more of that goodness that can get baked in to the mix the better.
So having said that, compression sometimes.
Then you'll also notice that there's a secondary EQ that lives after the compressor.
It's there for general enhancement.
If everything sounds great,
but I want a little more top-end,
or I want a little bit more bottom end,
I want to make these adjustments after the compressor,
so that the compressor isn't modulating,
isn't changing after the fact all of these tonal adjustments that I'm making.
This is also an opportunity maybe to undo
or take out a knot that might be introduced by a compressor before it.
So there can be a little correction here, and also enhancement.
Those are the four staples,
the four most common tools,
if you will, with three tools and four positions in
a mastering chain that I used as the default starting point.
By the way, I have them all set up to be flat.
In other words, they're not making a change,
they're in a position where I'm ready to start making a change that is typical,
and then I'll go from there.
Obviously, we have lots of other tools,
and we can talk about them.
You look at the modules that are here expressed in ozone,
we've got excitation, and we've got vintage things,
and we've got imagers and tape.
All of those processors are special use, special case processors.
They don't get used every time,
and in the same way that compression is used only when needed and occasionally,
these tools are used even more
seldom and brought to bear when we need to bring them to bear,
we'll even sometimes use reverb and mastering,
but that's with the exception of maybe work,
not a classical program is quite unusual and quite rare.
[MUSIC]