Welcome to sage audio. Today we’re talking about How to Make PRO Masters
We'll cover 7 intermediate to advanced concepts that should be helpful.
But first If you have a mix that you need mastered send it to us at sageaudio.com to
receive a free mastered sample of it.
Utilize Mid-Side Routing
Mid-side processing has become increasingly popular in audio production, especially in
plugin form - but mid-side routing can also be utilized. Mid-side routing offers more
flexibility and greater control of your signal’s timbre, stereo width, dynamic range, and more
- making it truly helpful.
To do this takes some unique routing. I’ll use 2 busses, both of which I’ll make pre-fader
so that they’ll send the signal despite the fader’s level - which I’ll completely
lower.
I’ll set both sends to unity, and name my busses mid and side respectively. Using Voxengo’s
Mid-Side encoder on both channels, I’ll mute the side channel on my Mid bus, and the
Mid channel on my Side bus.
I was concerned about phase cancellation when first doing this, but after completing a null
test I found that the summed mid and side signal, and my original stereo signal are
completely identical.
Now I can process my mid and side separately by inserting plugins on the busses. Additionally,
but changing the channel fader level I can affect my stereo image.
If I want a processor to affect the entire signal in a collective way, I’ll insert
it on my master output.
Use Natural Phase or Linear Phase Processing
Phase is truly important - this is especially true during a mastering session in which any
phase change to a signal can affect the entirety of the signal. By using a natural or linear
phase setting, we can create analog-sounding changes, or avoid these phase changes altogether.
Natural phase settings emulate the effect that analog components have on the phase of
a signal. By looking at a frequency and phase analyzer, we notice that the phase behaves
in a unique way when changes to the frequency spectrum on made.
When it comes to linear phase, we can avoid phase changes completely. Since the signal
is delayed, the processor can affect the signal and all changes without altering the phase.
I like to use a low-linear phase setting, since this will reduce the effect of pre-ringing
- or in other words, the mild phase cancellation that occurs from our DAW’s latency compensation
of a linear phase processor.
Use a 96kHz or Above Sampling Rate
Even if the mix you’re working on is of a lower sampling rate, it still makes a lot
of sense to use a sampling rate of 96kHz or higher when mastering. This will reduce aliasing
distortion, as well as lessen the effect of pre-ringing when using linear phase processing.
If we use a higher sampling rate, we give our processors a higher frequency to which
it can process the signal. In the case of 96kHz, our processors will be able to process
up to 48kHz. This will greatly reduce the effect of fold-back or aliasing distortion
since less frequencies will go above the frequency cutoff.
When it comes to linear phase, these processors work by delaying the signal by a set number
of samples. If the sampling rate is higher, more samples will happen per second, in turn
reducing the amount of time for which the signal needs to be compensated by your DAW.
Emulate Popular Monitoring Systems
When mastering, we need to keep in mind how our masters will sound over multiple popular
playback systems - including headphones and earbuds. We can use various sources to find
the frequency response of these playback systems, and then emulate them using an EQ in our DAW.
One great source for this is RTings.com, which has tested the frequency response of multiple
headphones and earbuds. Let’s use the new Apple AirPods as an example, since this is
a popular playback system.
Using the peaks and dips chart, we can see how the signal is shaped by the AirPods.
As the last insert in our mastering chain, we can emulate this response to better understand
how this product will be heard by consumers. It goes without saying, but be sure to take
this EQ off before exporting your master.
Use the Right Processors for Your Genre
A lot of genres have been affected by particular processors in more ways than we realize - that
said, sometimes a processor type is heavily tied to that genre and the expected sound
of a master. It’s entirely possible to use a processor that does not work well for a
genre.
For example, Dance music is heavily associated with sharp transients.
With that in mind, an Optical compressor, which is great at smoothing out a sound really
has no place on a dance track. Although optical compression may sound fantastic for R&B or
smoother genres, it’ll take away a lot of what makes Dance music unique.
Utilize Complex Analog Emulation
When emulating analog equipment, it is a good idea to use a processor that takes into account
the complexities of analog equipment. This is just as true when mastering, since we want
our masters and processing to sound as complex, detailed, and nuanced as possible.
For example, Satin Tape by u-he is a really complex plugin that takes into account how
the multiple functions of a tape machine coexist and affect one another.
This means that altering the input will affect all aspects of the plugin’s performance
since each part is program-dependent. Additionally, these types of plugins give you the opportunity
to create techniques that otherwise wouldn’t be possible with a more basic analog emulator.
Know the Expected Loudness of Your Genre
Although it’s becoming more popular to master music to “target loudnesses” due to loudness
normalization, loudness and how it's achieved is more involved than a simple metric.
Loudness is genre-specific, and should be considered something that can be changed based
on the genre being mastered.
For example, rap music, should rarely be mastered to -14 LUFS - the reason being, it simply
doesn't produce the timbre associated with rap music. Even after normalization, other
rap songs will sound more indicative of the genre, than the -14 LUFS master.
So in short, although there are certainly reasons to try and target a specific loudness,
instead keep normalization in mind, and find a compromise between the genre you’re working
on, and the streaming service from which your master will be played.
If you have a mix that you need mastered, send it to us at SageAudio.com to receive
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Thank you so much for watching!