This is my go-to video for getting a solid understanding of using this great plugin;as is always the case w/Mike's videos,invariably the best explanation of everything involved in whatever is being examined....just wanted to clarify one thing-@ around 14:25 the Tone section is the focus,I happened to be studying the manual and noticed that although Mike says correctly the actual range on the knobs is -3>+3 dB,actually this is different for the far right Presence knob which unlike the others is set @ -6>+6 dB,see pg.9 of the manual for more....
Great review. I defer to your reviews often to get a quick explanation of the functions on something like this. The positive effect of this was very immediate, not as immediate as strapping on a Lindell TE-100 and simply turning it on, but it was very noticeable in a good way.
I discovered that this plugin sounds much better when its used after the mixdown. Mix your track down to a stereo track. Then open a new session, load your stereo track in, put the Mastering Desk plugin on the mixbus then adjust it. You'll get more volume and, strangely, a pleasant midforward sound, compared to using it on the original sessions mixbus.
Can you then use it in a full mastering chain maybe before the limiter or must you use it in a mixdown as you said and then bounce the track again then only can you master it?
If you cannot hear the rather massive difference this processor is making please make ear training your priority. For this mix, the improvements to articulation and translation with bx_masterdesk enabled are very desirable. I can hear exactly what's happening and I'm listening on stock Apple iPhone headphones. Perhaps the presenters choices lean too far towards the "harsh" or "pushed" end of the spectrum, but based on his very solid demonstration, I want to download and try it out. Overall It sounds MUCH more natural than Oxygen 8 (which I own).
Thanks Parnell, I was beginning to think I missed something here. I loaded this up and though this was an amazing mastering plugin for a simple layout without the layers of settings. That said, I've been mastering music for almost 20 years now and i wonder if the general market for this type of plugin is perhaps not familiar enough with the way a mastering engineer listens to, and processes music.
Hi! I am a singer/songwriter (in training?) and I heard such a slight difference but I have been trying to use videos such as this with what's available to me to help train my ear. At least for the sounds/tones that I like.
Very nice and helpful plugn. I was actually surprised by what great results it can give and how much time it can save, as there's no need to load EQ, compressor, saturator and limiter separately.
Thank you Mike!!! As usual crystal clear. Just got the demo from UAD. Bit pricey I think. Better than Weiss DS1-MK3 though. Softube are pushing a little I think. :)
Thanks I'm trying to see how this plugin would work with the BX Digital EQ and the XL2 limiter. It would be nice if it had two insert points. Sorta like a real mastering desk.
It does incorporate elements from those plugins but there is nothing preventing you from putting the bx_digital EQ > bx_masterdesk > XL2 Limiter as a processing cain and bypass those elements within the bx_masterdest plugin.
Great video, but I have a question. I tested the DEMO via UAD and when I put on the Master Bus automatically he transforms everything in Stereo (also my mono Kickdrums). I play around with all the settings and he made a great job on the resonance filters and with the foundation knob, but there is a lot of stereo information that I don't desire (mainly the kick and the sub basses) going on. I Mix and mastered electronic music so for me is fundamental to have some elements right on the center to play it better on clubs and stuffs... Any suggestions about this? Maybe just work with the plug in on Stereo Bus separated/before the Master Bus? Thank you for your time. Best Bernardo
I tested the demo and found it really effective and easy to use. Though I don't do mastering it really made doing masters easy, recallable and excellent sounding. Similar to Brainworks but more featured.
Blimey, how good do your ears have to be to follow that - I can hear and really like the difference the settings make, the plugin sounds great, but in terms of actually tweaking the individual elements, really struggled there, how do you get your ear in THAT deep?
Were you using this plugin on your mix buss or was "the tune" already mixed we were hearing a 2 track mix? The video looks as though you're using the plugin on the mix buss. Thanks!!
I ran the demo but I am not convinced. I find it odd that the compressor goes from 0 to 80 / 90 percent. The de-esser is a nice feature but I am not impressed by the compressors. I am quite a big fan of P.A. but this thing doesn't make me warm.
martijnvandongen I'm interested to hear why you feel negatively toward this plugin. My ears do not agree with yours, I suppose. For me, those compressors are a well designed "light touch," as they should be considering their intended application. Which compressors do you prefer in this function?
I really feel like the green area of the dynamic range meter should have been from 10 to 8 and then orange for 8 to 6. As it is right now it just promotes the loudness wars
I thought he placed the green area perfectly. This section does not reflect loudness directly but 6 seems to sit right on the edge of where most commercial music starts to get overly limited. Unfortunately the Loudness system that manages levels for streaming services is imperfect at best. Don't think the loudness wars are going away anytime soon until there is a legitimate detriment to doing so.
could someone please explain me why in my song when there's only one insturment playing it goes into the red zone? is it okay? should i fix it somehow?
Once you understand how plugin alliance works with their sales just be patient. It’ll go on sale for like 20-40 bucks at some point. Don’t be fooled by the high msrp price tag their plugins all show 299-399 prices but eventually you will get at 20-40 bucks during their sales that run every couple months.
This is an "all-in-one" mastering plugin like: IK Multimedia Tracks One, iZotope Ozone. Nothing is new under the sun only new skins. So much for that one!
Great video as always but I don't hear enough to make it worth a purchase. I'd like to hear you just put the UAD Pultec on the mix and see if you can get to the same place and more.
it sounds MUCH better after his settings on the plugin. use headphones or somethin. its a mastering plugin....the changes will be subtle not drastic....
With anything like this that adds polish -- mastering tools, tape sims, reverbs -- you can't judge them too well by a RUclips video or a Soundcloud example. The exact benefits these effects provide get stripped away by RUclips's audio encoding mathematics as 'non-essential' signals. The demo is just a couple of clicks away. If you see anyone demoing U-He's Satin on RUclips, you will hear barely any difference but if you talk to anyone who owns Satin, they'll probably rave about it. [Btw, I'm not saying Masterdesk *is* great; I haven't demo'ed it yet either!]
So why not provide a simple “before and after” audio clip at the end of the video (or better, at the beginning of the tutorial) to demonstrate the changes and progress you made in mastering this track?
Hey Dirk, Great job with the design on this one! Love, Love Love the Stereo Enhance feature and hope you bring this to future releases. Look forward to "consuming mass quantities" with you at AES or the next NAMM show!
Snake oil, plugin alliance has hit the status of waves in they've began grasping at straws for a buck. I see nor hear anything special here and I'm not impressed with the EQ or compression either, I give it 👎👎 sounds like the mix is in a box as well
I like most of the Plugin A plugs but I do wonder how the music business ever got by without Mastering (other than lathe engineers) for all these decades that are considered the golden years of music. I do use the CLA Mixdown plug from time to time for quick balancing. Getting your mix sent through iconic boxes like the Manley stuff is certainly understandable with the price of those units.
The Mastering Engineer, as a profession has been around since the 1950s when studio sessions started being recorded to tape instead of directly to the cutting lathe. Some record labels hired "Transfer" engineers to just copy the tape recordings directly to the cutting lathe, but soon realized the benefit of an extra stage of processing. Studios like Abbey Road (EMI Records) designed mastering studios completely outfitted with custom gear specifically for mastering. Not sure what you consider the "golden era" of music, but if is the 50's - 70's, it was most likely run through a mastering process before hitting vinyl.
I'll defer to your knowledge on the subject. I was involved with several big time records back in the day and just didn't see a Mastering Engineer being in the mix of production discussions like it is today. Whereas the Lathe Engineer and getting that right was always crucial. Thanks for all the great videos and helpful discussion.
Yes, Mike utilizes talking as a "communication enhancer" in his efforts to convey valuable information to an interested audience - a novel approach to be sure!
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Your videos, whether teaching mixing concepts or reviewing plugins, are so good. Thanks!
This is my go-to video for getting a solid understanding of using this great plugin;as is always the case w/Mike's videos,invariably the best explanation of everything involved in whatever is being examined....just wanted to clarify one thing-@ around 14:25 the Tone section is the focus,I happened to be studying the manual and noticed that although Mike says correctly the actual range on the knobs is -3>+3 dB,actually this is different for the far right Presence knob which unlike the others is set @ -6>+6 dB,see pg.9 of the manual for more....
Best explanation of this plugin that I've seen - really clear and thorough. Thanks Mike. Subscribed....
Thank you for this
Got here due to the algorithm. Very nice content, plug-in of the week series are very well structured and many times simplified, great work, thanks.
Thank you Mike . Like Always Deep Wide & Clear Explanation .
this is a very helpful vid I got this plugin and now I honestly have a better understanding of each function
Great review. I defer to your reviews often to get a quick explanation of the functions on something like this. The positive effect of this was very immediate, not as immediate as strapping on a Lindell TE-100 and simply turning it on, but it was very noticeable in a good way.
you can also reach the red or go past the red when there is not sound
Run it thru Plugin Dr. and solve all the mysteries.....
I discovered that this plugin sounds much better when its used after the mixdown. Mix your track down to a stereo track. Then open a new session, load your stereo track in, put the Mastering Desk plugin on the mixbus then adjust it. You'll get more volume and, strangely, a pleasant midforward sound, compared to using it on the original sessions mixbus.
Can you then use it in a full mastering chain maybe before the limiter or must you use it in a mixdown as you said and then bounce the track again then only can you master it?
@@officialsumming6813 I use it in a mastering chain
That’s my experience as well . For down and dirty pseudo “mastering” I think it does a very good job.
Incredibly helpful tip for the novice. Thank you! I was wondering why I was having trouble getting the volume into the green area.
Yeah man that's the best way to use it, I have my own mix bus processing and use it in a new session for "mastering" purpose
Great review I subscribed.
Great review as always!! Thank you Michael!
...what a great song...!!
Thanks for this. Watched last night & used this tool on a new master today.
If you cannot hear the rather massive difference this processor is making please make ear training your priority. For this mix, the improvements to articulation and translation with bx_masterdesk enabled are very desirable. I can hear exactly what's happening and I'm listening on stock Apple iPhone headphones. Perhaps the presenters choices lean too far towards the "harsh" or "pushed" end of the spectrum, but based on his very solid demonstration, I want to download and try it out. Overall It sounds MUCH more natural than Oxygen 8 (which I own).
Thanks Parnell, I was beginning to think I missed something here. I loaded this up and though this was an amazing mastering plugin for a simple layout without the layers of settings. That said, I've been mastering music for almost 20 years now and i wonder if the general market for this type of plugin is perhaps not familiar enough with the way a mastering engineer listens to, and processes music.
@@mixingwithmike Hi Mike do you think this plugin is professional enough to use it in a professional studio for a discographic release?
Then that means all you are actually hearing are mids and high mids.
Hi! I am a singer/songwriter (in training?) and I heard such a slight difference but I have been trying to use videos such as this with what's available to me to help train my ear. At least for the sounds/tones that I like.
Foundation is basically a tilt EQ around 1KHz.
Very nice and helpful plugn. I was actually surprised by what great results it can give and how much time it can save, as there's no need to load EQ, compressor, saturator and limiter separately.
Mike just sold me a plugin. Plugin Alliance must LOVE him. 😂
Uad-2
You said you liked the compressor link and would use it while it made the mix more open, which I liked, but then you didn’t?
Thank you Mike!!! As usual crystal clear. Just got the demo from UAD. Bit pricey I think. Better than Weiss DS1-MK3 though. Softube are pushing a little I think. :)
Thanks
I'm trying to see how this plugin would work with the BX Digital EQ and the XL2 limiter. It would be nice if it had two insert points. Sorta like a real mastering desk.
It does incorporate elements from those plugins but there is nothing preventing you from putting the bx_digital EQ > bx_masterdesk > XL2 Limiter as a processing cain and bypass those elements within the bx_masterdest plugin.
Great video.
Great video, but I have a question. I tested the DEMO via UAD and when I put on the Master Bus automatically he transforms everything in Stereo (also my mono Kickdrums). I play around with all the settings and he made a great job on the resonance filters and with the foundation knob, but there is a lot of stereo information that I don't desire (mainly the kick and the sub basses) going on.
I Mix and mastered electronic music so for me is fundamental to have some elements right on the center to play it better on clubs and stuffs...
Any suggestions about this? Maybe just work with the plug in on Stereo Bus separated/before the Master Bus?
Thank you for your time.
Best
Bernardo
Interested to hear a response to this...
I personnally use stereo imager ( izotope) on the chain for keeping a mono low end
Well, it does have the mono maker knob. I’ve had this about three years. I think it’s a helpful tool.
Hi Michael, wondering what you like better, this or Lurssen?
I have not checked out the Lurssen Mastering Plugin. Have you found good results with it?
I tested the demo and found it really effective and easy to use. Though I don't do mastering it really made doing masters easy, recallable and excellent sounding. Similar to Brainworks but more featured.
I wish you would have turned the output back up some so we could see and hear what it does to the sound. It was way too low where you had it.
Good job !
very well explained. Thanks a lot
Thanks Mike, really helpful tutorial!! :)
Thank you!
Blimey, how good do your ears have to be to follow that - I can hear and really like the difference the settings make, the plugin sounds great, but in terms of actually tweaking the individual elements, really struggled there, how do you get your ear in THAT deep?
I do a lot of mastering work. and have been a full time professional audio engineer for over 30 years. Probably helps :-)
Great video Michael...as always!
Cheers!
the mix of the song is really good
and the plugin has a 6666 settings \m/
Cheers!
this plugin is amazing....
Were you using this plugin on your mix buss or was "the tune" already mixed we were hearing a 2 track mix? The video looks as though you're using the plugin on the mix buss. Thanks!!
I ran the demo but I am not convinced. I find it odd that the compressor goes from 0 to 80 / 90 percent. The de-esser is a nice feature but I am not impressed by the compressors. I am quite a big fan of P.A. but this thing doesn't make me warm.
martijnvandongen I'm interested to hear why you feel negatively toward this plugin. My ears do not agree with yours, I suppose. For me, those compressors are a well designed "light touch," as they should be considering their intended application. Which compressors do you prefer in this function?
I really feel like the green area of the dynamic range meter should have been from 10 to 8 and then orange for 8 to 6.
As it is right now it just promotes the loudness wars
I thought he placed the green area perfectly. This section does not reflect loudness directly but 6 seems to sit right on the edge of where most commercial music starts to get overly limited. Unfortunately the Loudness system that manages levels for streaming services is imperfect at best. Don't think the loudness wars are going away anytime soon until there is a legitimate detriment to doing so.
Why does it take the mixbuss to mono as soon as you load in the mixer channel?
Any tips
On this plugin
Needs bypass buttons on each section. Next update maybe?
Thanks Mike!
Cheers!
4You7g hsh o7uld hg7unblockhg me ghong h1facebookg hDi7rk, hgno4thg cool
THX DEAR MIKE!
EXCELLENT run thru
could someone please explain me why in my song when there's only one insturment playing it goes into the red zone? is it okay? should i fix it somehow?
Awesome review/tutorial! Great plugin too :)
Thanks 👍
I realize it’s all subjective, but in your expert opinion what’s the most you would pay for this?
Once you understand how plugin alliance works with their sales just be patient. It’ll go on sale for like 20-40 bucks at some point. Don’t be fooled by the high msrp price tag their plugins all show 299-399 prices but eventually you will get at 20-40 bucks during their sales that run every couple months.
BX FOR ME ALL DAY.
Thanks for the vid man
awesome thanks
Cheers!
wow incredible
This is an "all-in-one" mastering plugin like: IK Multimedia Tracks One, iZotope Ozone. Nothing is new under the sun only new skins. So much for that one!
Deffo!
Thank you for your effort! I like you more and more 😉
I like the song and the mix but d'ont hear much difference ….would not pay to have it
Great video as always but I don't hear enough to make it worth a purchase. I'd like to hear you just put the UAD Pultec on the mix and see if you can get to the same place and more.
it sounds MUCH better after his settings on the plugin. use headphones or somethin. its a mastering plugin....the changes will be subtle not drastic....
With anything like this that adds polish -- mastering tools, tape sims, reverbs -- you can't judge them too well by a RUclips video or a Soundcloud example. The exact benefits these effects provide get stripped away by RUclips's audio encoding mathematics as 'non-essential' signals. The demo is just a couple of clicks away. If you see anyone demoing U-He's Satin on RUclips, you will hear barely any difference but if you talk to anyone who owns Satin, they'll probably rave about it. [Btw, I'm not saying Masterdesk *is* great; I haven't demo'ed it yet either!]
Great fantastic music. Who is this - which band is this ?????
So why not provide a simple “before and after” audio clip at the end of the video (or better, at the beginning of the tutorial) to demonstrate the changes and progress you made in mastering this track?
Hahahah man he bypassed many times do you can listen the plugin..... Your. Olmert is useless....
Really helpful! 👌🏻🕶✌🏻
The davinci of plugins. Developed up north
I thought he did a great job, and the masterdesk sounded good too. People in the comments sound quite whingy and probably aren't professionals.
Conehead Dirk is good
The best!
What? 😂
Hey Dirk, Great job with the design on this one! Love, Love Love the Stereo Enhance feature and hope you bring this to future releases.
Look forward to "consuming mass quantities" with you at AES or the next NAMM show!
the sound is muddy to me, thank you for video
Thanks for the feedback
Are you serious? The mix is great
👍🎼🎵🎶👏👏👏👏👏👏
I don't think its legit to write there "Analog mastering system". It is a digital plugin
"emulating" an analog system. Sorry if I misspoke
$9.99 currently
Where
@@gumaryae was after Christmas...
Free now 😁
Ok but uad remodeled it now so why u ain't letting ppl know they could get from them for the those who have uad smh
Sorry about that, my fault. UAD or Native is the choice. FYI, it was not remodeled, it was a simultaneous release.
You do see that he is using the UAD version?
Nasal productions 2.0
Lol
This is a solid video, much love, but your voice is a combination of Kermit the frog and Goofy lol
hahaha! Cheers!
Easy pass
Snake oil, plugin alliance has hit the status of waves in they've began grasping at straws for a buck. I see nor hear anything special here and I'm not impressed with the EQ or compression either, I give it 👎👎 sounds like the mix is in a box as well
What don't you like about the EQ and compression?
Wow, someone has their grumpy pants on a bit too tight.
I like most of the Plugin A plugs but I do wonder how the music business ever got by without Mastering (other than lathe engineers) for all these decades that are considered the golden years of music. I do use the CLA Mixdown plug from time to time for quick balancing. Getting your mix sent through iconic boxes like the Manley stuff is certainly understandable with the price of those units.
The Mastering Engineer, as a profession has been around since the 1950s when studio sessions started being recorded to tape instead of directly to the cutting lathe. Some record labels hired "Transfer" engineers to just copy the tape recordings directly to the cutting lathe, but soon realized the benefit of an extra stage of processing. Studios like Abbey Road (EMI Records) designed mastering studios completely outfitted with custom gear specifically for mastering. Not sure what you consider the "golden era" of music, but if is the 50's - 70's, it was most likely run through a mastering process before hitting vinyl.
I'll defer to your knowledge on the subject. I was involved with several big time records back in the day and just didn't see a Mastering Engineer being in the mix of production discussions like it is today. Whereas the Lathe Engineer and getting that right was always crucial. Thanks for all the great videos and helpful discussion.
TOO MANY TALKS !
Yes, Mike utilizes talking as a "communication enhancer" in his efforts to convey valuable information to an interested audience - a novel approach to be sure!
That's the point of a review. Most people enjoy detailed information on a product, not everything has to be "8/10, sounds nice".