Graham once said one of the wisest pieces of advice I've heard in my time as a producer. Track like it won't be mixed, mix like it won't be mastered, and mastering will improve the song greatly with subtle and small tweaks.
Said it before, and I'll say it again: mastering is all about optimizing your final approved mix for your intended medium. That's it. I can add an additional statement that's similar to how I define mixing. If mixing is about bringing together different elements within a track to form a cohesive whole, then mastering is about bringing together *different* tracks to form a cohesive whole, either an EP, an LP or even longer.
I agree wholeheartedly with you. I do use St-1's Project Pg for mastering. It's a great tool. I have a Template of 7 plugins on each song, but don't use all of them for every song, only what I need. Plus I master my own songs, so I'm pretty happy with my mixing going into the mastering phase. I also use a couple Izotope plugins that to me are indispensible, i.e. starting with Ozone 10 Advanced, and then just use the modules I need to use after it goes through its own "analysis". That's my MAIN mastering plugin because it has all the various other modules if needed, EQ, compressor, and its "maximizer" at the end of its own chain which is like a limiter. AND Tonal Balance Control, where I can then adjust any EQ using a Waves Q8. I also use some "enhancement" plugins like RM Pro and the bx_masterdesk True Peak, and sometimes ADPTR's Sculpt. I mix all my songs to -18 LUFS, and master all my songs to -14 LUFS. Works well for me. All my releases are 5-song EP's.
Some day when my recording, mixing and editing skills, and even more important, my ears, reach higher levels, I'll be able to mix and master like Joe. Thanks for the encouragement and the great lessons.
Advice I got from an experienced mastering engineer is to just leave the true peak off if possible. I’ve tried both on and off and I tend to lean toward off more times than on. Don’t forget there’s no mixing or mastering rules etched in stone. As the old adage goes use your ears which is the best piece of equipment you’ll ever own. Keep up the great work Joe. Wow I’m getting old. Seems like it was just yesterday when you and Graham were doing dueling mixes. Now I have grandkids.
Focus on the best mix possible and mastering doesnt take long and very little needs to be done. If you have to start "fixing" stuff in the master, you should go back to your mix. Maybe, laymen opinion lol
Even if the mix is perfect a mastering engineer is there to enhance it even further. Mastering isn't just fixing mixes, infact thats pretty ignorant thinking. If a mix is really that bad a mastering engineer can only do so much. Ultimately the song will need to be remixed.
Yes, but sometimes the opposite exist. Remember a mastering engineer who talked about receiving a mix from A. Scheps and just did the bounce to different format controlling the dithering
Turn off True-Peak on the limiter and just bring your ceiling down a tad more. I find it messes with the low-end with it on. My masters started to sound way better without it.
If your just a mastering engineer then it can require anywhere from 1 plugin to as many as it takes to make it happen. It all depends on what happen in the mix.
So, I recognize that this is the 2 cents of a hobbyist but I've noticed that certain qualities and characteristics in music are moving to earlier stages of production with mastering being relegated to quality control. I just can't see a good argument against focused roles in mixing and mastering. Am I missing something? If interested in more detail... I take a divide and conquer approach to mixing and mastering. In mixing, I'm trying to achieve energy, clarity and cohesion. In mastering, I'm trying to achieve immersion (and AES standard levels, of course). I've used Ozone for over a decade and do prefer what it can bring to the table over non-mastering grade effects. There's a fullness, presence and space that comes together for that immersive effect so I prioritize effects in mixing that are complementary to that. For example: - Rather than multiband compression, use some bus compression for "glue" as it's complementary to Dynamics - Rather than adding air or hard saturation, mix warmer or use warm saturation as it's complementary to the Exciter - Rather than widening the stereo, use mid/side compression/EQ as it's complementary to Imaging Without focused stages, it feels unnecessarily difficult without the same results.
The belief that you need expensive plugins to get a good sound is also controversial. There are incredible plugins that are totally worth it don’t get me wrong, but if anyone is a beginner, know that you can get spectacular sound if you learn and master stock plugins. If you’ve watched Mix with the Masters, you’ll see that many of them use stock plugins many times lol. Thanks for sharing, love your channel👏🏻!
When you hand something off to mastering. You are also paying for EXP. Hats off to mastering if they don't just hop in and start playing around. Something that is important is to play the track and get a grasp on whats going on and take notes. Good stuff.. Always hits home.. Keep it simple Stupid is advice i always tell my self after watching your vids. Stay Safe
I think of it as the most strong form of limiting, where it is literally cutting off peaks that pass the threshold. So, I think the way to think about it is that depending on how hard you hit that threshold, it can make your mix more flat than other forms of limiting, that process the audio in a way that can sound more transparent and less obvious.
A great chef has a 1000 was to alter the taste of your food as well as any other chef but the difference between a great chef and someone who knows how to cook is he knows how much, how long and when too much has been added and when to start from scratch because he knows the end result he’s looking for A great steak needs no steak sauce
I totally agree with not using too many plug-ins and the same with too many instruments. You don't need 15 guitars, 7 keyboards, 5 bass players and 2 drummers on a song. The reason you have multiple instruments in a symphony is for volume and chord structure. Thank you so much for the wonderful videos. I'm just an old hobbiest trying to learn Studio One.
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Graham once said one of the wisest pieces of advice I've heard in my time as a producer.
Track like it won't be mixed, mix like it won't be mastered, and mastering will improve the song greatly with subtle and small tweaks.
I love your less is more approach. This totally makes sense. Thank you!
I get great results by using the same simple approach. Most of the time I only have 3 plugins on my Mastering chain; EQ, Compressor, Limiter 👍
Helpful as always. Thanks Joe!
Reminds me of a great advice I got many years ago - "Don't create a solution that leads to another problem."
Said it before, and I'll say it again: mastering is all about optimizing your final approved mix for your intended medium. That's it.
I can add an additional statement that's similar to how I define mixing. If mixing is about bringing together different elements within a track to form a cohesive whole, then mastering is about bringing together *different* tracks to form a cohesive whole, either an EP, an LP or even longer.
I agree wholeheartedly with you. I do use St-1's Project Pg for mastering. It's a great tool. I have a Template of 7 plugins on each song, but don't use all of them for every song, only what I need. Plus I master my own songs, so I'm pretty happy with my mixing going into the mastering phase. I also use a couple Izotope plugins that to me are indispensible, i.e. starting with Ozone 10 Advanced, and then just use the modules I need to use after it goes through its own "analysis". That's my MAIN mastering plugin because it has all the various other modules if needed, EQ, compressor, and its "maximizer" at the end of its own chain which is like a limiter. AND Tonal Balance Control, where I can then adjust any EQ using a Waves Q8. I also use some "enhancement" plugins like RM Pro and the bx_masterdesk True Peak, and sometimes ADPTR's Sculpt. I mix all my songs to -18 LUFS, and master all my songs to -14 LUFS. Works well for me. All my releases are 5-song EP's.
Some day when my recording, mixing and editing skills, and even more important, my ears, reach higher levels, I'll be able to mix and master like Joe. Thanks for the encouragement and the great lessons.
Advice I got from an experienced mastering engineer is to just leave the true peak off if possible. I’ve tried both on and off and I tend to lean toward off more times than on. Don’t forget there’s no mixing or mastering rules etched in stone. As the old adage goes use your ears which is the best piece of equipment you’ll ever own. Keep up the great work Joe. Wow I’m getting old. Seems like it was just yesterday when you and Graham were doing dueling mixes. Now I have grandkids.
“Wait, Master, It Might Be Dangerous… You Go First.” - Igor
Thanks Joe. I've been using the ozone mastering assistant, and it has really simplified the process for me.
Focus on the best mix possible and mastering doesnt take long and very little needs to be done. If you have to start "fixing" stuff in the master, you should go back to your mix. Maybe, laymen opinion lol
Joe you are absolutely correct. your advice on this and your other videos are spot on I follow you exclusively. you're truthful and without an agenda
i tend to not use the true peak limiting, I go for oversampling. you should try, the difference is HUGE
Even if the mix is perfect a mastering engineer is there to enhance it even further. Mastering isn't just fixing mixes, infact thats pretty ignorant thinking. If a mix is really that bad a mastering engineer can only do so much. Ultimately the song will need to be remixed.
Yes, but sometimes the opposite exist. Remember a mastering engineer who talked about receiving a mix from A. Scheps and just did the bounce to different format controlling the dithering
This is great advice 💯
I love your lessons
Amen brother!
Turn off True-Peak on the limiter and just bring your ceiling down a tad more. I find it messes with the low-end with it on. My masters started to sound way better without it.
Do you have any songs on Pandora by your band?
This video just made my day, because its my feel.... like If on the mix you already did 1000 things, why does the master need 1000 more? :P
If your just a mastering engineer then it can require anywhere from 1 plugin to as many as it takes to make it happen. It all depends on what happen in the mix.
So, I recognize that this is the 2 cents of a hobbyist but I've noticed that certain qualities and characteristics in music are moving to earlier stages of production with mastering being relegated to quality control. I just can't see a good argument against focused roles in mixing and mastering. Am I missing something?
If interested in more detail... I take a divide and conquer approach to mixing and mastering. In mixing, I'm trying to achieve energy, clarity and cohesion. In mastering, I'm trying to achieve immersion (and AES standard levels, of course). I've used Ozone for over a decade and do prefer what it can bring to the table over non-mastering grade effects. There's a fullness, presence and space that comes together for that immersive effect so I prioritize effects in mixing that are complementary to that. For example:
- Rather than multiband compression, use some bus compression for "glue" as it's complementary to Dynamics
- Rather than adding air or hard saturation, mix warmer or use warm saturation as it's complementary to the Exciter
- Rather than widening the stereo, use mid/side compression/EQ as it's complementary to Imaging
Without focused stages, it feels unnecessarily difficult without the same results.
The belief that you need expensive plugins to get a good sound is also controversial. There are incredible plugins that are totally worth it don’t get me wrong, but if anyone is a beginner, know that you can get spectacular sound if you learn and master stock plugins. If you’ve watched Mix with the Masters, you’ll see that many of them use stock plugins many times lol. Thanks for sharing, love your channel👏🏻!
When you hand something off to mastering. You are also paying for EXP. Hats off to mastering if they don't just hop in and start playing around. Something that is important is to play the track and get a grasp on whats going on and take notes. Good stuff.. Always hits home.. Keep it simple Stupid is advice i always tell my self after watching your vids. Stay Safe
Mastering engineer really!😂
Turning on Truepeak on Limiter. Makes your Master flat. Is that true?
I think of it as the most strong form of limiting, where it is literally cutting off peaks that pass the threshold. So, I think the way to think about it is that depending on how hard you hit that threshold, it can make your mix more flat than other forms of limiting, that process the audio in a way that can sound more transparent and less obvious.
👌
A great chef has a 1000 was to alter the taste of your food as well as any other chef but the difference between a great chef and someone who knows how to cook is he knows how much, how long and when too much has been added and when to start from scratch because he knows the end result he’s looking for
A great steak needs no steak sauce
I totally agree with not using too many plug-ins and the same with too many instruments. You don't need 15 guitars, 7 keyboards, 5 bass players and 2 drummers on a song. The reason you have multiple instruments in a symphony is for volume and chord structure.
Thank you so much for the wonderful videos. I'm just an old hobbiest trying to learn Studio One.
AI will be doing all the mastering in 4-5 years LOL