Welcome to sage audio. Today we’re talking about How to Analog Your Master
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How to Route an Analog Emulated Master
If you’re trying to make your digital master sound more indicative of an analog master,
you need to start by considering how analog routing works. Imagine how the signal gets
routed in an actual analog system, and consider each step that the signal goes through from
start to finish.
Typically an analog master would have begun with the track being stored on a 2 track mix
bus tape machine - so we can start with a tape machine plugin.
From there it would be sent to some form of amplifier or transmitter of the signal like
a console - so we can use a tube or transformer emulator.
Then we’ll route the signal to an analog eq, and finish with an analog emulated limiter.
Finally, the master would end up back on tape, and then to vinyl.
How to Add Analog Distortion to Your Master
Analog distortion is any form of distortion that’s indicative of classic hardware components
and their distortion behavior - this distortion will vary from component to component. When
mastering, analog emulated distortion can make the signal sound both classic and warm
and as well as full and impressive.
Tube distortion is commonly emulated - typically it creates a strong second order harmonic,
resulting in a warm, full sound.
Tape is a bit brighter since it can cause higher order harmonic distortion.
When mastering, carefully pick which distortion types you introduce, since they heavily correlate
with the final timbre of your master. Also, always use oversampling when it’s available
- since this will reduce aliasing, a distinctly digital form of distortion.
How to Add Analog Compression to Your Master
What makes analog compression different from digital compression is the introduction of
nonlinearities in the ratio of the compression - these non-linearities include soft-knee
settings as well as a ratio that doesn’t remain consistent with amplitude. When mastering,
these characteristics can be emulated to create an analog sound.
A lot of digital compressors offer a soft-knee setting which will cause more gradual compression
that’s less noticeable - but the compressor will begin to compress at lower amplitudes,
resulting in more overall compression when compared to hard-knee settings.
It’s a little harder to find a digital compressor that offers non-linear ratios, but Presswerk
by u-he is a good example. If you’ve heard of others definitely let me know.
How to Add Analog EQ to Your Master
Analog equalization is unique in that it imparts distinct slopes, Q values, and phase relationships
that don’t occur in digital systems unless purposely programed in.
If you want to create a more analog sound with your equalization, use something like
the curve bender plugin, or similar equalizer plugin. Sometimes a DAW will also offer an
emulation of a Pultec or API equalizer, which is a good alternative.
If you have the FabFilter Pro Q 3, you can use the natural phase setting, and look up
some charts of your favorite analog equalizers to emulate the slopes and curves.
How to Add Analog Saturation to Your Master
If you already added soft-knee compression and distortion to your master, then you’ve
saturated your master - but if you’d like to combine these effects into one, you can
use a dedicated saturation plugin. By combining compression and harmonic distortion, you end
up with a full and controlled sound.
In analog processing, saturation occurs when the signal being sent through an electrical
component is of too high an amplitude to be handled by the component. For example, tape
saturation occurs when the particles of the tape have all been re-oriented, yet there’s
still signal to be added.
A gradual non-linear input to output ratio will occur - also known as compression - while
harmonics form.
How to Add Analog Stereo Imaging to Your Master
Analog stereo imaging isn’t common, but there are some ways to introduce stereo expansion
using analog emulations - this results in expansion that's distinctly analog. Tape crosstalk
and tape asperity are 2 technical issues that are used if you intend to expand your stereo
image but want to your master to still sound analog.
Asperity refers to imperfections on the surface of tape, which causes noise to exist in the
stereo image - resulting in a perceived wider image.
Crosstalk occurs when the left and right channels bleed into one another. This will cause phase
cancellation and stereo expansion.
How to Add Analog Noise or Analog Dither
There are many reasons why you might want to add mild analog noise of distortion to
your master - it causes more realistic emulation, can have a pleasing effect and can serve as
dithering when converting to lower bit-depths. Analog noise varies greatly from processor
to processor.
For example, tape noise will be slightly different than tube noise - furthermore, tape degradation
will alter the noise floor and behavior of the noise.
What’s interesting is that if you needed dithering, this analog noise will often be
louder than the quantization distortion caused in a digital recording, meaning you’ve dithering
your master.
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