Rob. You did an excellent job compressing hours and hours of instruction into a 10 minute limiter. I am very thankful you have the ability to take complicated and jargon driven information and presenting Loud, Fat and in MY Face understandably. You got me excited and I appreciate you sharing your talent. There will be a whole lot of clipping going on the wider and louder I get. Best Regards, John Graber
Honesty the best "throughly explained" short tutorial for mastering. I mean he didnt hide anything. All the techiques are 110% authentic and useful. Im actually surprised this information is available...for free :D thanks a million!
Very informative! I've been recording, producing, mixing and mastering for 25 years and one thing I've learned is that you can never learn too much. Great tutorial!
The best tutorial hands down. No pointless information or off topic chatter. Just amazing information and quality results. Thank you a lot for uploading.
Thank you Rob for taking the time to do this!!! I'm getting close to mastering with my mixes and you were very concise in your explanations. You are one hell of a teacher! Good on Ya!
I have been recording for years and find myself continuing to learn more EVERYDAY. As a produce, engineer, musician, Rob, I must tell you that this video should be in EVERY classroom in the recording industry. Seriously, very well put together, very easy to follow. Incredible job and thank you for taking the time to not only share your expertise but doing it in a fashion that is highly professional. I learned a GREAT DEAL ! Just a fantastic job and once again, many thanks Rob. Sincerely, Brian
Very well presented, Rob. I've been a session muso for decades, walk into a studio, do my thing, walk out, but this side of the biz (production) is fairly new to me. Subscribed now, will work my way thru your other tutorials also, thanx !
Dude, I had to come here on your channel to compliment you regarding your amazing video and knowledge. Untill I haven't watched it, I was mixing my songs and getting frustrated every time that I tried to hear them on a device other than my Yamaha`s monitors. There were clips and pops everywhere, and I couldn't understand because the master fader wasn't clipping neither any track.Today I learned a lot from you, got an astonishing final result, no clips,no pops, nothing. Thanks a lot dude, a lot.
Hey, thank you so much for the great video. I've been writing music for a long time but only recently started learning how to properly record. I've learned a lot of great things from RUclips videos but this video has been the most helpful at helping me quickly understand the process of mastering as well as the usage of certain plugins. Thanks!
Thank you for the only decent video on mastering on RUclips. Most people go through the motions, but even in the brevity of the video you still crammed in the important basics for a newbie such as myself. Thank you!
I spent months trying to master my band's album, listening to similar commercial albums wondering how they did theirs and then scrapping mine to start over again. Then I came across your video! I followed each step exactly and in half an hour it sounded unbelievable!! It's changed my whole thinking towards mixing and mastering, and made me look forward to this final process rather than fear it! Cheers Rob!
I'm only half way through this video so far, but it's already by far the most informative tutorial on mastering i've seen on youtube thus far. Huge appreciation man!
I know A lot of audio engineers. But people like Rob Williams and Ian Shepherd are the most accessible and most important : STRAIGHT TO THE POINT ! And... I like that. No silly bragging and 10 minutes videos about their achievements and how rich they are and how much you suck!!!!! No! These guys are there to help you make better masterings !!! Call me a sucker ! All I care about is learning ! But it wouldn't be fair to others like Adam at Realhome recording and Wick at Wickiemedia...(just to name a few more)...... Happy Mixing but mostly happy mastering ! (And NO. You can't use Cubase/Protools.. for mastering!) These are for recording/mixing purposes) Wavelab/SoundForge.....Izotope Ozone....
Probably the best simplified on the art of Mastering I have seen, and I have seen a lot, as well as been in major sessions in the studio a lo6t !! Excellent job !!!.
Hey thanks Ben! Yeah, this question comes up so often I wish I had mentioned this in the vid! :) - But you're right, in this case we were going more for level. This is just ONE example though, and if you're not going for that "modern master" sound, I do suggest skipping Step 5 (clip it) and using the limiter sparingly. It really depends on your personal preferences and the style of music you're doing. But it's important to realize there is a price to making a track loud...
Compression has it's place. But going over board with it is never a good idea. A lot of artists these days are demanding that their music be mastered louder and louder so that it will stand out more on the radio. But that doesn't work. Because the DJ will just turn the volume of your track down, instead of turning the volume of every other track up, which will leave your track sounding dull and lifeless in comparison to other tracks due to over compression.
This may be the most instructive video I have ever seen on RUclips. I'm a photographer who shoots some video and you've just helped my soundtracks in a major way. Thank you so much.
Don't have enough words to thank you for this tutorial, it has been SO helpful. The way you explain is crystal clear, and you do a whole lot in explaining how each plugin works. Just want to thank you. It was THIS video, apart from thousand of articles read, studying and learning in mixing and mastering that really made the difference for me. My songs have made a great quality jump :)! Thanks once again!
thaaank you :) The clipper is what I was looking for, I'm so sick of having to keep my mix at a low volume just because of the peaking at higher frequencies!
You know...i'd been experimenting with the loudness war (ugh), and I was at a loss until i discovered this video! Fortunately, I have most of the plug-ins that you demonstrated with (some I have equivalents). I followed along with you, and i am sitting here absolutely amazed at the difference in my sound!! it literally STANDS up to some of my favorite commercial songs! the track i experimented on was also heavily guitar'd (lol), and it is crisp, clear, and LOUD! Thank you SO much, man!
Hey, you're right - I've actually explained this many times, so I'll just say two quick things: 1. This is just ONE example, it's NOT how I master all tracks - but because of time I obviously couldn't go into all that. 2. Even though I may not like the loudness war, it's still the way 95% of tracks are mastered today - and when a client wants it, you kind of just need to make the best of it. It's a bit of a catch 22. Hope that makes sense!
Great video. I followed this tutorial using the same or similar plugins against a reference track and it worked much better than I thought. I've seen a couple of other tutorials and it seems to be similar advice, which is a a small bit at a time gently lifts the track, eventually making it sound huge. Thanks so much for taking the time to make this!
Finally, I have something to go on. As a mixing engineer I know how to get great mixes but I've always used another studio for mastering. Now when dealing with some clients who may not have the budget for a mastering engineer I can get the songs in the ball park! Thanks
A little tip i have for referencing on different systems: Listen to it on a number of systems and make notes for each one. If in the end all notes cancel eachother out, then you have done it right.
Volve Immulation, hahah sorry, your accent caused me to have to replay a section to understand you are saying VALVE EMMULATION. Wonderful tutorial thanks for posting!
Great video. One thing I don't think you mentioned is that all changes should be auditioned at the same loudness. This is because, louder always sounds better. From the very start, you make a point that the commercial track sounds better but you didn't compare the two at the same loudness. This is more important than ever now with iTunes having auto-gain. The other thing is that -0.1 is not a safe final limit. File compression and/or some playback systems will end up clipping the signal at that level. I
Wouldn't it be nice if there was plugin which could auto mix and master and we could get it free or pay a little for it? For an amateur like me even this video is overwhelming
I saw your tutorial a while ago & although I thought it was super awesome, I didn't have time to employ your tips untill now. I've been busy mastering a track due for release in February and try after try, I just couldn't get it to sound tight and glued together. This morning, I tried your tips and all I can say is: WOW! Your tips really helped me pull in my track's corset strings. If you don't mind I'll post a video response here once I put the preview on RUclips. Thanx a million, man!
Yes. Mastering = Stereo mix Mixing = Stems/All Tracks I'd say you can use anything as long as you don't use it on the lows. You can get some pretty great results. My channel has a bunch of videos on that, suitable for beginners.
Thank you for posting this. Mastering is often something that is overlooked by self recorded artists. I found this video very helpful and straightforward
Hey.. Ok, let me try and explain a little better… A limiter IS a compressor. The major difference is that it generally has an INFINITE ratio - so it is compressing the sound, but to the point that it LIMITS it from going above the threshold. A clipper doesn't limit the sound by compressing it, it just CUTS the peaks off. That's the 'advantage' of using a clipper over a limiter because a limiter can sound like it's squashing the entire tracks. Hope that makes more sense!
Rob, I really love the fact that after a video you posted long ago, you still remain active and reply to your viewers. Much appreciated! I love to make music, and I'm no pro, but how long have you been been producing/mastering music and what did you go to school for and how long? -Thanks I ask because I like up to you and your techniques and skills.
Mixing: It can be helpful to put the right buss processing on you '2 buss' while mixing, then remove it when running the final mix; this may expose imbalances that would show up during mastering, or suggest things like reverb or saturation amount or panning. The tricky part is knowing what '2 buss' processing to use. It is an iterative process, and like any skill, takes time to get right. Mastering limiters: I have found that, for best results, different limiters are good for different mixes.
I used to not know what Mastering was and its purpose.. This video really helped me understand it and go out and try new things. Now im getting much better at mastering. Thank you! You just got a subscriber
Brilliant, Rob. We're trying to get a remix up to iTunes-able scratch. We're no master, but, with the tips and tricks you provide, our Master is almost there now...
Thanks so much for this Rob! It's good to see how this process can be broken down with a few minor tweaks, especially considering a lot of this information is hard to find ("industry secrets" and all). I really appreciate you noting that each song is different and will require a different process or tweaks. I gotta ask, what are your thoughts on dynamic range? In the video your goal was to make it as loud as possible, but that also pretty much eliminates all dynamic range in the track as well.
I already have a comment pending with you, but this video is really brilliant. People need more teachers similar to yourself, no BS, purely knowledgable advice. Thanks again dude!
I would like to say that is very cool of people like yourself who get past the frustration of the many trials and errors and instead of sitting on your discovery, you take the time to share knowledge even if it only helps a little...it still helps just the same!!! Because I really do not want to go to some scam recording school...I just need tips here and there!!! So Rob...thank you!
I used this video to help me along with mastering my own tracks in reaper. Obviously a few plugins I couldn't get/use, but this was incredibly helpful. I can't thank you enough.
Thanks a million Rob, great presentation style, very useful content, and no fluff at all. I'm planning to try some of these plugins and compare them to the Klanghelm ones I mainly use.
Hey Peter - yeah they are similar. But while the limiter is 'squashing' the track, the clipper is just 'chopping' off the peaks. So if you just limit, the limiter REACTS to each peak by bringing the ENTIRE track down - which doesn't sound very good. However, when you 'clip' off the peaks, it makes the limiter's job much easier because the waveform is much more even and consistent ...
Thank you so much, Rob! This is a very intuitive and educational tutorial that I was able to sit through with my short attention span. I love what you're doing and wish you luck for the future!
This video is amazing. It could not have been done better at all by anyone else. I am actually being told what the plugins are doing making it so much easier to understand. Very helpful.
If you're asking about studio monitors vs regular hifi speakers - yes it does make quite a big difference. HiFi speakers are designed to make music sound BETTER, monitors are designed to tell you what's really going on in a mix - well, that's the idea anyway. As for sample rate - you can master at 44.1.. but higher is better if possible. Hope that helps!
You are great!!! The timbre of your voice and the way as you explain are simply wonderful!!! Despite I am from Italy (I came in the States 3 years ago) and I am learning English I understood the 90%. Thank you from the bottom of my hearth.
Hey, Rob. Thank you so much for your tutorial. This is fantastic. I've learned a great deal from you in a very short time. You are a great teacher. Thanks from an old man in Arkansas, USA.
Hey Haissam, I'm not sure what compressor you're using that allows you to choose the bit depth - perhaps you're talking about the limiter. But here's the rule: Keep your track at the HIGHEST resolution possible up until the VERY LAST STAGE - i.e. the export. So only when you export your FINAL master should you choose 16bit. Hope that helps!
Hey, let me see if I can explain this a bit better… There's essentially no difference in dynamics, both are reducing the dynamics by the amount that you specify. There difference is in the way that they process the signal, while the limiter 'squashes' the ENTIRE track with each peak, the clipper just CHOPS off the peak itself - so that's why a clipper can sound more "transparent". You're not really cutting off frequencies - think of it like using a compressor - hope that makes sense!
Great video!!! Very informative! There are a thousand vids on how to master a song - all of them about 3 minutes long... I clicked this one because of the 30 minute length - glad I did. I usually use reference songs/material when I mix and never thought about doing it on mastering. Among a few things I will begin trying out when I'm mastering!! Thanx Rob!!
Hey thanks - I do TRY! - sorry I'm a little late with the reply though :) I did actually study audio engineer, it was just a year and covered pretty much all the stuff you need to know. But honestly, most of my learning came AFTERWARDS working in studio, trying a LOT of different stuff, reading articles etc. - So it's been quite a journey :)
I have never really understood the essence of Mastering, but your video has made that very clear in 31 minutes! Very clearly explained. Thank you very much!
Thank you SO much for doing this video bro, very informative! I love how organized all of your methods are, seems like a pretty legit and universal approach to mastering! I will definitely be applying a lot of this theory to my mixdowns in the future, so I can't thank you enough :)
@ Mauricio Carvalho: I totally agree. In the early 80's the South African pro musicians were using all the emerging midi technology etc to its fullest capability & were probably the most advanced users of music technology from the very beginning. A probable reason for this expertise is that venues booked artistes for 3 monthly gigs & there was a real requirement to get the very best out of the gear, such as drum machines in particular. Many acts were guitar based soloists. I was one of them.
Hey Rob, really enjoyed the Mastering Info. It was a big help in getting my music to the next phase. Thanks for sharing what so many selfishly keep to themselves or charge a hefty fee for. I hope you get it back 10k fold.
Really good stuff here. The only thing I would take issue with here is Limiting to -0.1. I find that when you convert to MP3, the conversion algorithm can boost the gain by about 0.2 to 0.3. which means if you have mastered to -0.1 the MP3 with blow you meters and distort. Safer to limit to -0.3 or even -0.4. Hardly makes any difference to the listener.
Hey, thanks for posting your opinion. All I can say is I know of a lot of top MIX engineers who LOVE MaxxBass on the mixbuss... so if I use it there I won't use it in the "mastering phase" as well obviously. But it does do something very different to EQ. It's actually ADDING frequencies using harmonics, so it's actually generating new frequencies which weren't previously there - this is useful if you're trying to make your lowend clearer on smaller systems. But that's just my opinion :)
This guy is like the Bob Ross of audio recording
This guy is so calm. He's Zen.
I learned more in this half hour video about mastering than I've learned in 15 years. Thanks man, it's very much appreciated.
Finally I have mastered a song!! Thanks Bro! This is the best explanation video ever
What a bloody South African legend.
"You can´t polish a turd.....but you can roll it in glitter" ;)
Rob.
You did an excellent job compressing hours and hours of instruction into a 10 minute limiter. I am very thankful you have the ability to take complicated and jargon driven information and presenting Loud, Fat and in MY Face understandably.
You got me excited and I appreciate you sharing your talent. There will be a whole lot of clipping going on the wider and louder I get.
Best Regards,
John Graber
Just be carefull not to end up with FLAT & LOUD mix.
this dude too chill
Honesty the best "throughly explained" short tutorial for mastering. I mean he didnt hide anything. All the techiques are 110% authentic and useful. Im actually surprised this information is available...for free :D thanks a million!
My life changed because of u man... thanks. ur a born teacher
Very informative! I've been recording, producing, mixing and mastering for 25 years and one thing I've learned is that you can never learn too much. Great tutorial!
The best tutorial hands down. No pointless information or off topic chatter. Just amazing information and quality results. Thank you a lot for uploading.
You are an amazing teacher!! You really are :D Thanks for the work you put into these tutorials
Thank you Rob for taking the time to do this!!! I'm getting close to mastering with my mixes and you were very concise in your explanations. You are one hell of a teacher! Good on Ya!
man your voice is so relaxing :3 Great tutorial!
I have been recording for years and find myself continuing to learn more EVERYDAY. As a produce, engineer, musician, Rob, I must tell you that this video should be in EVERY classroom in the recording industry. Seriously, very well put together, very easy to follow. Incredible job and thank you for taking the time to not only share your expertise but doing it in a fashion that is highly professional. I learned a GREAT DEAL ! Just a fantastic job and once again, many thanks Rob. Sincerely, Brian
Very well presented, Rob. I've been a session muso for decades, walk into a studio, do my thing, walk out, but this side of the biz (production) is fairly new to me. Subscribed now, will work my way thru your other tutorials also, thanx !
Robbie, you are seriously the best teacher. If you don't teach all the time, you should. I love your videos. Seriously.
Thank you Sir! You have shared your valuable experience and knowledge for a simple and powerful word called HAPPINESS! God Bless!
Dude, I had to come here on your channel to compliment you regarding your amazing video and knowledge. Untill I haven't watched it, I was mixing my songs and getting frustrated every time that I tried to hear them on a device other than my Yamaha`s monitors. There were clips and pops everywhere, and I couldn't understand because the master fader wasn't clipping neither any track.Today I learned a lot from you, got an astonishing final result, no clips,no pops, nothing. Thanks a lot dude, a lot.
Hey, thank you so much for the great video. I've been writing music for a long time but only recently started learning how to properly record. I've learned a lot of great things from RUclips videos but this video has been the most helpful at helping me quickly understand the process of mastering as well as the usage of certain plugins. Thanks!
Thank you for the only decent video on mastering on RUclips. Most people go through the motions, but even in the brevity of the video you still crammed in the important basics for a newbie such as myself. Thank you!
You are a star. So very helpful!!!
I spent months trying to master my band's album, listening to similar commercial albums wondering how they did theirs and then scrapping mine to start over again. Then I came across your video! I followed each step exactly and in half an hour it sounded unbelievable!! It's changed my whole thinking towards mixing and mastering, and made me look forward to this final process rather than fear it! Cheers Rob!
quality content, thanx very much
I'm only half way through this video so far, but it's already by far the most informative tutorial on mastering i've seen on youtube thus far. Huge appreciation man!
I know A lot of audio engineers. But people like Rob Williams and Ian Shepherd are the most accessible and most important : STRAIGHT TO THE POINT ! And... I like that. No silly bragging and 10 minutes videos about their achievements and how rich they are and how much you suck!!!!!
No! These guys are there to help you make better masterings !!!
Call me a sucker !
All I care about is learning ! But it wouldn't be fair to others like Adam at Realhome recording and Wick at Wickiemedia...(just to name a few more)......
Happy Mixing but mostly happy mastering ! (And NO. You can't use Cubase/Protools.. for mastering!)
These are for recording/mixing purposes)
Wavelab/SoundForge.....Izotope Ozone....
Probably the best simplified on the art of Mastering I have seen, and I have seen a lot, as well as been in major sessions in the studio a lo6t !! Excellent job !!!.
this shit helped me out so goddamn much. holy fuckaroo
Hey thanks Ben! Yeah, this question comes up so often I wish I had mentioned this in the vid! :) - But you're right, in this case we were going more for level.
This is just ONE example though, and if you're not going for that "modern master" sound, I do suggest skipping Step 5 (clip it) and using the limiter sparingly.
It really depends on your personal preferences and the style of music you're doing. But it's important to realize there is a price to making a track loud...
Compression has it's place. But going over board with it is never a good idea. A lot of artists these days are demanding that their music be mastered louder and louder so that it will stand out more on the radio. But that doesn't work. Because the DJ will just turn the volume of your track down, instead of turning the volume of every other track up, which will leave your track sounding dull and lifeless in comparison to other tracks due to over compression.
This may be the most instructive video I have ever seen on RUclips. I'm a photographer who shoots some video and you've just helped my soundtracks in a major way. Thank you so much.
Thanks that was very informative. You have a good teaching style!
Don't have enough words to thank you for this tutorial, it has been SO helpful. The way you explain is crystal clear, and you do a whole lot in explaining how each plugin works. Just want to thank you. It was THIS video, apart from thousand of articles read, studying and learning in mixing and mastering that really made the difference for me. My songs have made a great quality jump :)! Thanks once again!
This guy is South African
This is the best mastering tutorial I've seen by far. Tried all the tips on my mixes and they really sound much better. Thanks a lot man!!
My favorite.
Hey small world! It was actually a whole new version we did (so it wasn't just a re-mix), thanks for the shout out!
I like the song at the beginning. what is it? I'd like to have it.
thaaank you :) The clipper is what I was looking for, I'm so sick of having to keep my mix at a low volume just because of the peaking at higher frequencies!
i love love love this song
You know...i'd been experimenting with the loudness war (ugh), and I was at a loss until i discovered this video! Fortunately, I have most of the plug-ins that you demonstrated with (some I have equivalents). I followed along with you, and i am sitting here absolutely amazed at the difference in my sound!! it literally STANDS up to some of my favorite commercial songs! the track i experimented on was also heavily guitar'd (lol), and it is crisp, clear, and LOUD! Thank you SO much, man!
Fantastic video, Rob! Thanks for taking the time to put this together for us.
Great video dude... You seem like someone people would like to be friends with :)
Hey, you're right - I've actually explained this many times, so I'll just say two quick things:
1. This is just ONE example, it's NOT how I master all tracks - but because of time I obviously couldn't go into all that.
2. Even though I may not like the loudness war, it's still the way 95% of tracks are mastered today - and when a client wants it, you kind of just need to make the best of it.
It's a bit of a catch 22.
Hope that makes sense!
When you mix and master a song do you suppose to mix each instrument individually?
Great video. I followed this tutorial using the same or similar plugins against a reference track and it worked much better than I thought. I've seen a couple of other tutorials and it seems to be similar advice, which is a a small bit at a time gently lifts the track, eventually making it sound huge. Thanks so much for taking the time to make this!
if im mastering a hip hop song...should i master the instrumental track and vocals seperately?
Finally, I have something to go on. As a mixing engineer I know how to get great mixes but I've always used another studio for mastering. Now when dealing with some clients who may not have the budget for a mastering engineer I can get the songs in the ball park! Thanks
So you put compression, EQ, and the other plugins on the master track? :)
A little tip i have for referencing on different systems: Listen to it on a number of systems and make notes for each one. If in the end all notes cancel eachother out, then you have done it right.
Thanks very much. Excellent. Still not entirely sure what the Clipper does. Is is a sort of soft limiter?
WOW!!!!!! I HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH ON MASTERING...THIS IS THE FIRST VIDEO THAT I CAN REALLY UNDERSTAND....ITS NOT TOO LONG NOR TOO SHORT ...
Volve Immulation, hahah sorry, your accent caused me to have to replay a section to understand you are saying VALVE EMMULATION. Wonderful tutorial thanks for posting!
Great video. One thing I don't think you mentioned is that all changes should be auditioned at the same loudness. This is because, louder always sounds better. From the very start, you make a point that the commercial track sounds better but you didn't compare the two at the same loudness. This is more important than ever now with iTunes having auto-gain. The other thing is that -0.1 is not a safe final limit. File compression and/or some playback systems will end up clipping the signal at that level. I
Wouldn't it be nice if there was plugin which could auto mix and master and we could get it free or pay a little for it? For an amateur like me even this video is overwhelming
I saw your tutorial a while ago & although I thought it was super awesome, I didn't have time to employ your tips untill now. I've been busy mastering a track due for release in February and try after try, I just couldn't get it to sound tight and glued together. This morning, I tried your tips and all I can say is: WOW! Your tips really helped me pull in my track's corset strings. If you don't mind I'll post a video response here once I put the preview on RUclips. Thanx a million, man!
Wow ... some real world ideas and tools to blend with the ideological philosophies of the purists
thanks a million plus tax
Yes.
Mastering = Stereo mix
Mixing = Stems/All Tracks
I'd say you can use anything as long as you don't use it on the lows. You can get some pretty great results. My channel has a bunch of videos on that, suitable for beginners.
lol polishing turds
Thank you for posting this. Mastering is often something that is overlooked by self recorded artists. I found this video very helpful and straightforward
Hey.. Ok, let me try and explain a little better… A limiter IS a compressor. The major difference is that it generally has an INFINITE ratio - so it is compressing the sound, but to the point that it LIMITS it from going above the threshold.
A clipper doesn't limit the sound by compressing it, it just CUTS the peaks off. That's the 'advantage' of using a clipper over a limiter because a limiter can sound like it's squashing the entire tracks. Hope that makes more sense!
I really got a lot out of this. It's well-presented, and the end result sounds really nice. Thanks for posting it!
Rob, I really love the fact that after a video you posted long ago, you still remain active and reply to your viewers. Much appreciated! I love to make music, and I'm no pro, but how long have you been been producing/mastering music and what did you go to school for and how long? -Thanks I ask because I like up to you and your techniques and skills.
Mixing: It can be helpful to put the right buss processing on you '2 buss' while mixing, then remove it when running the final mix; this may expose imbalances that would show up during mastering, or suggest things like reverb or saturation amount or panning. The tricky part is knowing what '2 buss' processing to use.
It is an iterative process, and like any skill, takes time to get right.
Mastering limiters: I have found that, for best results, different limiters are good for different mixes.
I used to not know what Mastering was and its purpose.. This video really helped me understand it and go out and try new things. Now im getting much better at mastering. Thank you! You just got a subscriber
Brilliant, Rob. We're trying to get a remix up to iTunes-able scratch. We're no master, but, with the tips and tricks you provide, our Master is almost there now...
Thanks so much for this Rob! It's good to see how this process can be broken down with a few minor tweaks, especially considering a lot of this information is hard to find ("industry secrets" and all). I really appreciate you noting that each song is different and will require a different process or tweaks. I gotta ask, what are your thoughts on dynamic range? In the video your goal was to make it as loud as possible, but that also pretty much eliminates all dynamic range in the track as well.
I already have a comment pending with you, but this video is really brilliant. People need more teachers similar to yourself, no BS, purely knowledgable advice. Thanks again dude!
I would like to say that is very cool of people like yourself who get past the frustration of the many trials and errors and instead of sitting on your discovery, you take the time to share knowledge even if it only helps a little...it still helps just the same!!! Because I really do not want to go to some scam recording school...I just need tips here and there!!! So Rob...thank you!
I used this video to help me along with mastering my own tracks in reaper. Obviously a few plugins I couldn't get/use, but this was incredibly helpful. I can't thank you enough.
This is one of the most useful videos I've seen as to mixing/mastering. Thank you a lot for this. Greetings from Brazil.
Awesome info. Thanks and I can't wait for the 2 week course.
Thanks a million Rob, great presentation style, very useful content, and no fluff at all. I'm planning to try some of these plugins and compare them to the Klanghelm ones I mainly use.
Hey Peter - yeah they are similar. But while the limiter is 'squashing' the track, the clipper is just 'chopping' off the peaks.
So if you just limit, the limiter REACTS to each peak by bringing the ENTIRE track down - which doesn't sound very good.
However, when you 'clip' off the peaks, it makes the limiter's job much easier because the waveform is much more even and consistent ...
Thank you so much, Rob! This is a very intuitive and educational tutorial that I was able to sit through with my short attention span. I love what you're doing and wish you luck for the future!
This video is amazing. It could not have been done better at all by anyone else. I am actually being told what the plugins are doing making it so much easier to understand. Very helpful.
If you're asking about studio monitors vs regular hifi speakers - yes it does make quite a big difference. HiFi speakers are designed to make music sound BETTER, monitors are designed to tell you what's really going on in a mix - well, that's the idea anyway.
As for sample rate - you can master at 44.1.. but higher is better if possible.
Hope that helps!
You are great!!! The timbre of your voice and the way as you explain are simply wonderful!!! Despite I am from Italy (I came in the States 3 years ago) and I am learning English I understood the 90%. Thank you from the bottom of my hearth.
Hey, Rob. Thank you so much for your tutorial. This is fantastic. I've learned a great deal from you in a very short time. You are a great teacher. Thanks from an old man in Arkansas, USA.
By far the best and most educational mastering video I have seen on RUclips! Thank you very, very much for making this :)
excellent tutorial. I have been trying to master for years (quite horribly), and never realized these simple tips. THANX so much for posting this.
Hey Haissam, I'm not sure what compressor you're using that allows you to choose the bit depth - perhaps you're talking about the limiter. But here's the rule: Keep your track at the HIGHEST resolution possible up until the VERY LAST STAGE - i.e. the export. So only when you export your FINAL master should you choose 16bit. Hope that helps!
Hey, let me see if I can explain this a bit better… There's essentially no difference in dynamics, both are reducing the dynamics by the amount that you specify.
There difference is in the way that they process the signal, while the limiter 'squashes' the ENTIRE track with each peak, the clipper just CHOPS off the peak itself - so that's why a clipper can sound more "transparent".
You're not really cutting off frequencies - think of it like using a compressor - hope that makes sense!
Great video!!! Very informative!
There are a thousand vids on how to master a song - all of them about 3 minutes long... I clicked this one because of the 30 minute length - glad I did. I usually use reference songs/material when I mix and never thought about doing it on mastering. Among a few things I will begin trying out when I'm mastering!! Thanx Rob!!
One of the best mastering videos on youtube. Learned a few things I didn't know!
Hey thanks - I do TRY! - sorry I'm a little late with the reply though :) I did actually study audio engineer, it was just a year and covered pretty much all the stuff you need to know. But honestly, most of my learning came AFTERWARDS working in studio, trying a LOT of different stuff, reading articles etc. - So it's been quite a journey :)
I learned a lot from this tutorial. What I really took away from it is the importance of gain staging during mastering. Thanks for a great video!
Thank you so much for this tutorial. I come back and watch it every few months just so I can keep the ideas fresh in my head.
I have never really understood the essence of Mastering, but your video has made that very clear in 31 minutes! Very clearly explained. Thank you very much!
Thank you SO much for doing this video bro, very informative! I love how organized all of your methods are, seems like a pretty legit and universal approach to mastering! I will definitely be applying a lot of this theory to my mixdowns in the future, so I can't thank you enough :)
Rob, Thank you so much for this man. This is the most in depth tutorial I've ever seen in my life. Unbelievable
@ Mauricio Carvalho: I totally agree. In the early 80's the South African pro musicians were using all the emerging midi technology etc to its fullest capability & were probably the most advanced users of music technology from the very beginning. A probable reason for this expertise is that venues booked artistes for 3 monthly gigs & there was a real requirement to get the very best out of the gear, such as drum machines in particular. Many acts were guitar based soloists. I was one of them.
Hey Rob, really enjoyed the Mastering Info. It was a big help in getting my music to the next phase. Thanks for sharing what so many selfishly keep to themselves or charge a hefty fee for. I hope you get it back 10k fold.
Really good stuff here. The only thing I would take issue with here is Limiting to -0.1. I find that when you convert to MP3, the conversion algorithm can boost the gain by about 0.2 to 0.3. which means if you have mastered to -0.1 the MP3 with blow you meters and distort. Safer to limit to -0.3 or even -0.4. Hardly makes any difference to the listener.
Best resource for mastering I've found. Very good video. Thank you so much!
Ok, this is one of the best video about mastering i have ever seen!
This actually helped me instead of wasting my time.
Thx allot
Hey, thanks for posting your opinion. All I can say is I know of a lot of top MIX engineers who LOVE MaxxBass on the mixbuss... so if I use it there I won't use it in the "mastering phase" as well obviously.
But it does do something very different to EQ. It's actually ADDING frequencies using harmonics, so it's actually generating new frequencies which weren't previously there - this is useful if you're trying to make your lowend clearer on smaller systems.
But that's just my opinion :)
Great video Rob thank you so much for this! Great to see a fellow south african out there doing what you do