I'm impressed. I always hesitated using HPF in scenarios where I wanted to avoid phase shift but thanks to you I can now see a positive use case for it.
Always a pleasure watching your videos and even if this is something already known or used in my day-to-day studio use. Your explanation and breakdown help further understand the terminology behind it....
That's why there are few likes 😅... Not every producers understand that they need this... Your material is gol... Thanks... From Africa - Mozambique 🇲🇿
I have tried and tried and tried to explain tip 2 here forever to people and no one really gets it. Transient response to phase shifted frequencies can be plotted in steps of milliseconds, typically in increments of less than 10ms per 1/3 octave in 2nd order slopes (6db electrical ie CR or RC, not 12db as audible slopes are referred to in active filtering) for lower frequencies to around 3ms above 2.8k or so. It's a big issue to some when to use linear filtering as ring modulation is a fact of that life. My advice is to avoid Q above 1 (0.71) whenever possible and when you can't do that use it ONLY when you can afford to change the surrounding frequencies in a tonal (time skewed) way - keeping in mind that the safety margin is always greater than 1/3 octave out from whatever the plotted line of the slope is. At the recording stage, if you know these things and if you can record a solid source accordingly to avoid this issue, do so, altering the source in other ways during mix takes time and complicated steps, by the mastering stage you are pretty well stuck with very gentle real time filtering - unless you have the patience and understanding it takes to parallel process everything using additive subtraction (multiple layers of gentle slopes to bleed the phase shifts out more gradually over a larger region - which only crazy people will or even can do lol). Using a steep pass filter as you suggest is an artistic decision as it does de-correlate tonal perception and I'm glad you mentioned consulting with the client as a mastering engineer, as those who cut vinyl rarely will because avoiding the needle popping out of the groove is just taken as granted, a no-brainer that doesn't require anyone's approval. It's not just single sloped filters we have to pay attention to, though, and I use Q above 3 on occasion even within 1k-8k but I do so KNOWING how it will fill the space and drag down or isolate transient perception. In fact, I have intentionally recorded guitar tracks with phase anomalies so that when mixed I can separate them with addition shifts. It takes a lot of time to do that and you're dealing with between 60 to 120 degrees out which is then pushed an additional 120 to 60 degrees, respectively but it can make a 2 guitar band instantly identifiable without panning each around so that neither lose out in a mono environment. That's craziness for 99% of us to even contemplate but it is possible. Your video here is a great introduction to the subject. Subbed.
Thanks for your comment! Me and Sofia had to take a moment to discuss it. We might revisit this subject in a follow-up video later. But yeah, manipulating phase shift and ringing can surely range from inaudible to very obvious. Thanks for your thorough input! /Thomas
Hey Guys, I'm revisiting this video with a couple slightly on/slightly off topic questions. Both are to increase my understanding of how Low Cut Filters come into play, mostly during mixing: (BTW, Tip #2 is the obvious gold in this video!) 1) As to the EEQ filter in the sides used for Mastering to Vinyl that you discussed here (6dB/octave at 150 or 300Hz on the side signal?), would there be a benefit to adding such a filter on the 2-bus during Mixing, and mixing 'into' it? It seems logical that if this is one of the things a Mastering Engineer would do Pro-Forma at least for Vinyl, then mixing into it from the start and getting everything to sit with this in place would lead to no surprises when the master is returned, and generally delivering something that's a bit more finished to that next stage. What are the downsides of this EEQ? 2) Similarly, as I understand it, the benefits of "mono-ing the bass" extend beyond just vinyl and keeping the needle in the groove. A) On real world Stereo playback systems, having the low end energy "monoed" means that both drivers are dividing the workload and therefore each can work slightly less to achieve the given desired low end balance, and since low frequencies are mostly omnidirectional and hard to localize, there isn't really a stereo image loss by doing so. Thoughts? B) In real world venues such as clubs or concerts, "mono-ing the bass" means even-distribution whether the listener is in the center of the room or off to either the far right or left. The 'foundation' of the music would remain relatively consistent and the stereo image would come primarily from the 'tops'. This combined with the usual practice of centering the Kick, Snare, Bass, and Lead Vocal instruments, then panning the 'support' instruments, seems to all lead to a consistent listening experience in any venue where the listener can't be perfectly triangulated between two monitors. Is that right? C) And perhaps most interesting, when listening to a Stereo Mix on Headphones as opposed to Speakers, because sound in the left channel no longer enters the right ear and vice versa, panning and stereo imaging can be quite different when listening on one or the other. I've been reading that because of this you Can't pan nearly as wide on headphones as you can get away with on speakers. But I've also read that if you Mono the low frequencies, or low cut the sides (difference?), you will be allowed to pan a source much wider before the stereo image 'breaks'. I haven't had time yet to experiment with this (still re-building my new studio), but I am imagining that with a variable low-cut in one hand and a widening knob in the other (both operating on the side signal), these two are interrelated and decreasing the first would allow more increase of the second. Im also wondering though if like Question 1, I implemented an EEQ from the start of the mix (and you've given some actual standards of 150 or 300), if Panning/Widening the mix would become more intuitive and translate more consistently right out of the gate. Hopefully this thought exercise isn't completely wacky, and if so please let me know what I'm missing. Either way, Thanks you guys for everything you do. We are paying attention!
Obviously it’s better to get a better balance in the mixing stage but if I have low end that’s a bit too much is that something that can ruin the mix, I find when I turn down my kick and bass together in the mix then the snare becomes to loud and all the other percussion elements, been really hard for me to overcome this low end balance issue
When you apply the low cut to the Kik are you using linear phase EQ? I know that using linear phase EQ causes timing issues and I was wondering if that's how you achieved the delay of the lower frequencies in the Kick vs the higher frequencies in the Kik
I usually have the low-cut early in the chain, before any dynamic processing. But if I'm doing the phase-shift trick (#2) then it will be wherever it sounds the best. /Thomas
That phase-shift trick before the limiter was great, and makes a huge difference to the sound.
This is the BEST place on the internet for information on mastering. Thanks so much for answering all the nagging questions I have had for so long.
5:30 very clever trick
Best mastering channel. I really like the natural way you explain such complex topics in mastering.
Glad you think so! 👍
I was mindblown as you explained harsher phase shift in HPF
I'm impressed. I always hesitated using HPF in scenarios where I wanted to avoid phase shift but thanks to you I can now see a positive use case for it.
That’s great to hear! ☀️
Never understood phase shift until now... thank you!
Always a pleasure watching your videos and even if this is something already known or used in my day-to-day studio use. Your explanation and breakdown help further understand the terminology behind it....
Thanks Thomas, love the way you help me through this. Love the second one
Thank you for posting this very useful information. As a side note, it was refreshing to see the DMG equalizer rather than the ubiquitous FF offering.
answered so many questions in my mind about HPF/mastering, thank you
Brilliant! Thank you 🙏🕊️
Great explanations! Thanks very much!
Excellent presentation, thanks!
Best mastering tutorials
That's why there are few likes 😅... Not every producers understand that they need this... Your material is gol... Thanks... From Africa - Mozambique 🇲🇿
Invaluable information, thank you very much.
good job! I learned stuff! thank you. will follow.
så grym video..!
Very informative!! Thank you.
Wow glad I come across this channel, very well explained on a simple technique just subscribed 🔥🔥🔥🔥👍🏾
Welcome aboard! 🔥
Thank you again so very much!
I have tried and tried and tried to explain tip 2 here forever to people and no one really gets it. Transient response to phase shifted frequencies can be plotted in steps of milliseconds, typically in increments of less than 10ms per 1/3 octave in 2nd order slopes (6db electrical ie CR or RC, not 12db as audible slopes are referred to in active filtering) for lower frequencies to around 3ms above 2.8k or so. It's a big issue to some when to use linear filtering as ring modulation is a fact of that life. My advice is to avoid Q above 1 (0.71) whenever possible and when you can't do that use it ONLY when you can afford to change the surrounding frequencies in a tonal (time skewed) way - keeping in mind that the safety margin is always greater than 1/3 octave out from whatever the plotted line of the slope is. At the recording stage, if you know these things and if you can record a solid source accordingly to avoid this issue, do so, altering the source in other ways during mix takes time and complicated steps, by the mastering stage you are pretty well stuck with very gentle real time filtering - unless you have the patience and understanding it takes to parallel process everything using additive subtraction (multiple layers of gentle slopes to bleed the phase shifts out more gradually over a larger region - which only crazy people will or even can do lol).
Using a steep pass filter as you suggest is an artistic decision as it does de-correlate tonal perception and I'm glad you mentioned consulting with the client as a mastering engineer, as those who cut vinyl rarely will because avoiding the needle popping out of the groove is just taken as granted, a no-brainer that doesn't require anyone's approval. It's not just single sloped filters we have to pay attention to, though, and I use Q above 3 on occasion even within 1k-8k but I do so KNOWING how it will fill the space and drag down or isolate transient perception. In fact, I have intentionally recorded guitar tracks with phase anomalies so that when mixed I can separate them with addition shifts. It takes a lot of time to do that and you're dealing with between 60 to 120 degrees out which is then pushed an additional 120 to 60 degrees, respectively but it can make a 2 guitar band instantly identifiable without panning each around so that neither lose out in a mono environment. That's craziness for 99% of us to even contemplate but it is possible. Your video here is a great introduction to the subject. Subbed.
Thanks for your comment! Me and Sofia had to take a moment to discuss it. We might revisit this subject in a follow-up video later. But yeah, manipulating phase shift and ringing can surely range from inaudible to very obvious. Thanks for your thorough input! /Thomas
huge info, thanks man! Very much appreciate the detailed explanations
Thanks, that´s just sooo informative. Swedes rock :)
Amazing explanation !!
Thanks
Wow this video is very instructive 👌🏽🔥
Thanks Thomas!
Great video👍
thnks 8:58
Hey Guys, I'm revisiting this video with a couple slightly on/slightly off topic questions. Both are to increase my understanding of how Low Cut Filters come into play, mostly during mixing: (BTW, Tip #2 is the obvious gold in this video!)
1) As to the EEQ filter in the sides used for Mastering to Vinyl that you discussed here (6dB/octave at 150 or 300Hz on the side signal?), would there be a benefit to adding such a filter on the 2-bus during Mixing, and mixing 'into' it?
It seems logical that if this is one of the things a Mastering Engineer would do Pro-Forma at least for Vinyl, then mixing into it from the start and getting everything to sit with this in place would lead to no surprises when the master is returned, and generally delivering something that's a bit more finished to that next stage.
What are the downsides of this EEQ?
2) Similarly, as I understand it, the benefits of "mono-ing the bass" extend beyond just vinyl and keeping the needle in the groove.
A) On real world Stereo playback systems, having the low end energy "monoed" means that both drivers are dividing the workload and therefore each can work slightly less to achieve the given desired low end balance, and since low frequencies are mostly omnidirectional and hard to localize, there isn't really a stereo image loss by doing so. Thoughts?
B) In real world venues such as clubs or concerts, "mono-ing the bass" means even-distribution whether the listener is in the center of the room or off to either the far right or left. The 'foundation' of the music would remain relatively consistent and the stereo image would come primarily from the 'tops'. This combined with the usual practice of centering the Kick, Snare, Bass, and Lead Vocal instruments, then panning the 'support' instruments, seems to all lead to a consistent listening experience in any venue where the listener can't be perfectly triangulated between two monitors. Is that right?
C) And perhaps most interesting, when listening to a Stereo Mix on Headphones as opposed to Speakers, because sound in the left channel no longer enters the right ear and vice versa, panning and stereo imaging can be quite different when listening on one or the other. I've been reading that because of this you Can't pan nearly as wide on headphones as you can get away with on speakers. But I've also read that if you Mono the low frequencies, or low cut the sides (difference?), you will be allowed to pan a source much wider before the stereo image 'breaks'.
I haven't had time yet to experiment with this (still re-building my new studio), but I am imagining that with a variable low-cut in one hand and a widening knob in the other (both operating on the side signal), these two are interrelated and decreasing the first would allow more increase of the second.
Im also wondering though if like Question 1, I implemented an EEQ from the start of the mix (and you've given some actual standards of 150 or 300), if Panning/Widening the mix would become more intuitive and translate more consistently right out of the gate.
Hopefully this thought exercise isn't completely wacky, and if so please let me know what I'm missing.
Either way, Thanks you guys for everything you do.
We are paying attention!
Obviously it’s better to get a better balance in the mixing stage but if I have low end that’s a bit too much is that something that can ruin the mix, I find when I turn down my kick and bass together in the mix then the snare becomes to loud and all the other percussion elements, been really hard for me to overcome this low end balance issue
When you apply the low cut to the Kik are you using linear phase EQ? I know that using linear phase EQ causes timing issues and I was wondering if that's how you achieved the delay of the lower frequencies in the Kick vs the higher frequencies in the Kik
Geat!
Is this what Ozone type 4 irc settings do prior to maximising?
Hi , in a mastering chain where do we place the low cut side , before or After what , thank a lot .
I usually have the low-cut early in the chain, before any dynamic processing. But if I'm doing the phase-shift trick (#2) then it will be wherever it sounds the best. /Thomas
@@MasteringExplained ok thanks .
Hey.. what is the best spectrum analyzer which is compatible for mixing and mastering please ?
I usually use the one in DMG Equilibrium. /Thomas
@@MasteringExplained thanks for the feedback Mr Thomas, I Will try it
In fact there is a trick to totally remove freq like no filter does, but I’m not going to say that! :)