Welcome to Sage Audio. Today we’re talking about How to Make Clean Masters
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.
Turn off All Noise Generators
In an attempt to sound more authentic, some processors offer the option to introduce noise-
however, this noise can add up very quickly and can become overbearing when the amplitude
of the signal is increased. Turn this function off whenever you come across it if you want
a clean master.
Let’s listen to how this added noise is affected by low-level compression and limiting,
to hear why it should be omitted from your processing.
Very Subtly Gate
If your mix has some background noise during quieter parts of the track, try using a very
subtle gate and utilizing the range function to keep the attenuation from sounding abrupt.
If you put this at the beginning of your chain, it helps attenuate your noise floor before
it’s amplified.
This is a little unorthodox, so let me know your thoughts on using this method on a master
in the comments.
Let’s take a listen.
Cut the Side Lows
One of my favorite ways to clean up a master is to attenuate the side image's low-frequencies
by using a high-pass filter, up to 130Hz at the most. This makes this range mono, in turn
reducing clashing amongst the mid and side instrumentation.
Some low-end in the side can be beneficial though, so use this effect on a track-by-track
basis.
Let’s take a listen.
Cut Below 20Hz
Cutting frequencies below 20Hz doesn’t clean up your master in an immediate way, but instead
gives you more headroom to work with.
This means you can achieve a louder signal without as aggressive of limiting - so this
trick indirectly causes a clean master by avoiding aggressive attenuation.
The effect is typically subtle, but it doesn’t hurt to try when mastering.
Let’s take a listen.
Use Low-Latency Linear Phase Processing
Linear-phase processing is somewhat of a give and take - on one hand it creates a more accurate
phase response resulting in more accurate equalization. On the other, it causes your
DAW to compensate for its latency, which can affect your signal’s transients and subsequent
impact.
I’ve found a good middle ground to be a low-latency setting, which preserves the phase
without introducing noticeable pre-ringing.
Let’s take a listen.
Stick to Tape Emulated Saturation
Clarity is often associated with a clean sound - that’s why you need to be careful with
which saturation type you use on your master. Tube, although pleasant-sounding, often has
a strong second-order harmonic which may be too warm for a clean sound; tape on the other
hand doesn’t.
It typically introduces 3rd and 5th order harmonics, with some mild variations from
plugin to plugin.
Let’s compare the 2.
Use 30IPS Tape Emulation
If you want to introduce cleaner sounding harmonics, while simultaneously rolling off
some low end and adding a little high end, 30 IPS tape emulation is a good option. Due
to the speed, low-frequencies won’t be as easily represented, resulting in their subtle
attenuation.
This, in combination with the other effects of high-speed tape emulation, often results
in a clean-sounding master.
Let’s take a listen.
Avoid Unnecessary Dithering
For some reason, engineers that like dithering really seem to like dithering - to each their
own; however, excessive dithering introduces more noise than needed. For example, if I’m
exporting my master as 24 bit, dithering noise will be louder than the quantization noise
and maybe even the recording’s noise.
Additionally, background noise from your recording or microphone’s electronics can introduce
enough noise to perform dithering, so no need to add more noise to your signal.
Let’s listen to a 24-bit track sounds like with and without dithering.
Utilize Oversampling and 96kHz
Aliasing distortion is something to be concerned about when mastering, especially when using
aggressive limiting or saturating high-frequencies. To avoid this and the distinctly digital sound
this distortion creates, use oversampling, or even better set your session’s sampling
rate as 96kHz and combine that with oversampling.
Let’s listen to a 44.1kHz master with no oversampling, and compare that to a 96kHz
master with additional oversampling used when available.
If you have a mix that you need mastered send it to us at SageAudio.com to receive a free
mastered sample of it.
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