Welcome to Sage Audio. Today we’re talking about Advanced Mastering Compression. To get
the most from your music, consider watching the entirety of each chapter for a complete
understanding of the topic.
Also, If you have a mix that you need mastered, send it to us to receive a free mastered sample
of it with the link in the description.
Upward then Downward Compression
One of my favorite ways to control dynamics is from both the peaks down and the noise
floor up. In other words, first I’ll use low-level compression to increase the level
of the quieter aspects of the signal.
This lessens the dynamic range, but without affecting the peaks of the signal. Then I’ll
insert a compressor, with which I’ll attenuate the signal downward or from the peaks down.
With these 2 processors I go back and forth until I find just the right balance between
the 2. I find that more upward compression keeps me from using more aggressive downward
compression.
As a result I preserve a lot of my transients while still achieving an impressive, full,
and dynamically controlled sound.
Split Channel Compression
More times than not, when we process a master, we affect the left and right channel collectively,
as a stereo signal. However, if we duplicate our master, pan it left and right respectively
- we can now place our processing on each channel and master the left and right separately.
When it comes to compression, this is going to give us a lot more control - granted it
makes the most sense to use identical settings, but slightly different settings can give the
master a very unique sound.
Even if we do process the left and right with identical compression settings, it’s less
of a burden for each processor, resulting in a slightly cleaner sound.
This same concept can be applied to other forms of processing so try split channel mastering
with other effects. Then if you want to collectively process the master, insert the effect on the
stereo output.
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Analog Emulated Compression
Compression naturally occurs in analog equipment when the input and output aren’t a 1:1 ratio
- so when the components in the hardware can’t replicate the level of the input, resulting
in a lower output than the input.
Good analog emulation plugins take this into account and let you compress the signal by
driving the input. The signal will naturally compress in a gradual, soft-knee fashion.
If the analog emulation plugin you’re using isn’t doing this, but distorts instead,
you can simulate it by still increasing the input and reducing the output.
This is going to sound a little different from plugin to plugin so try multiple to find
one that sounds best for the signal you’re working on.
Automated Release
Usually when we set our release time or other compressor settings, these parameters remain
the same throughout the entirety of the master; however, automation opens up a lot of possibilities.
One great way to use automation is to alter the release time of your compressor to better
match different sections of the song.
The first step is to take 60000 and divide it by your BPM to get a quarter note in milliseconds.
The reason this works is because there are 60000ms in 1 minute.
Let’s use this quarter note, and then automate the release time to a 16th note. To find this
we’ll divide our Quarter note by 4.
Under the automation tab we’ll find the compressor, the release time, and then automate
that time wherever we want the compressor to have a different timbre.
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Create Your Own Saturation
The easiest way to create saturation is to use a saturation plugin - but you can create
your own by combining soft-knee compression and distortion.
First let’s compress the signal using soft-knee compression. What’s great is we can pick
just about any compressor we want - be it classic, FET, Opto, or whatever sounds good.
Then we can add our distortion. If you’re curious which distortion to pick, run a sine
wave through it and measure the harmonics.
I typically like to see a second and third order harmonic - this will add some fullness
with the 2nd order and a little body with the 3rd order.
Another benefit is that with typical saturation it would be difficult to balance the amount
of compression with he amount of distortion, but again since our processors are separate,
we can pick the balance.
If you have a mix that you need mastered, consider sending it to us to receive a free
mastered sample of it with the link in the description. Thank you so much for watching.