Making a Clean Master
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- Опубликовано: 27 фев 2023
- Learn about Sage Audio here: www.sageaudio.com
If you’re new to Sage Audio, we’ve been providing industry-leading audio engineering services and education for over two decades and created this channel to help you make professional songs.
I appreciate how concise and on point your tutorials are. I am so sick of other tutorials where they "expertplaining" every tiny bit of technical aspect. I've learned a lot from this channel
Thanks for watching and that's great to hear! Glad you found the video helpful!
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bro, thank you so much for explaining plainly what a clipper actually does, this has been killing me for years
Of course! Thanks so much for watching!
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This video must be one of the most spot on videos I have ever seen on a mastering chain. The ending came a bit of nowhere but other then that this video is pure gold.
Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed it! And thanks for letting me know the ending feels abrupt - I'll come up with something to fix that.
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Thank you! Finally someone generally taking Phase Alignment into consideration, this is so important! I'm post producing podcasts and the material I get is often so terribly off-center, it hits my processing chain completely different than it should.
Thanks for watching and sharing your thought! It definitely makes a difference, especially when processing in layered in.
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Fav vid of ursss! Been watching u for a few years n this is the cleanest easiest and most demonstrated video on yt. Cut to the point straight and useful. Keep it up mannn
Thank you so much! We've been working on finding the best way to showcase info, so great to hear that this newest iteration is an improvement. All the best!
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I always learn something new.
That's great! Thanks for watching!
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Wow! Thank you. This will help my production! I love it to make new sounds and music but always had a hard time to manage the master. This will help a lot! Thank you
That's great to hear it's helpful! Thanks for watching!
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Finally I have a general idea of what mastering actually is
I thank you for making this video, clear, straight forward and more. Can't believe I only just discovered you
That's great! Hope it helps!
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Thanks sage. So many tips i really wanted. All this time i was learned to use low shelving instead of pass filter when doing low in ms eq processing since it might harm overall frequency. Thats a new sight i got from you that actually pass filter can sound more clean and somewhat more dynamic. One funny thing is it becomes notion that we need to cut to the 20hz😂 same in my contury.
Thanks for watching HJ! Great to hear the video covered a lot of useful info for you. All the best with your productions!
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Awesome Man! You literally explained what I've been trying to figure out, subbed for sure, I mean the phase alignment was a gem, cos iZotope throws the phase outta wack I can attest to that.
Awesome! Great to hear you enjoyed the video and thanks for the sub.
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Quickest subscribe of my life. Amazing job on this!
Awesome! Thanks John!
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your videos get better and better! awesome explanations, simple and perfectly to the point, and like that you use high tier gear but always recommend free alternatives. always wanted longer a/b comparisons though!
Thanks for watching and for the kind words! Great to hear your enjoying the videos and where they're going.
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I needed to understand the phase allignment method you showcased on your previous video, so thanks for that one
Thanks for watching this video too!
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wow thanks so much for this, my masters were pretty good already but now with the phasing and mid side eq and compression just made my them sound incredible!!!😱😭
Thanks for watching!
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Wonderful. Glad to see you keeping going with the quality. Only thing I missed was a "matched perceived loudness" comparison of master-premaster to be able to hear more subtle differences without having to match the volume myself
Thanks for watching Saar! I appreciate you sharing your thoughts - maybe I can do both the peak normalized and loudness normalized AB.
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best most true video on mastering I've seen on YT
That's awesome! Thanks for watching!
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amazing video, so very informative! i cant believe this is free; thank you for posting 🙏🙏
Thanks for watching Bobby!
Great tutorial
Thanks Sage! Salute from Malaysia 🇲🇾
Thanks for watching!
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Great demo on the mastering plug-in process, thanks. One tip I'd not thought of was 2 limiters.
Thanks for watching! Great to hear you found a new trick!
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such a great refresher. thank you!!
Thanks for watching!
Meu Deus. É um vídeo melhor do que o outro. Onde eu estava que não assisti esse antes?🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️ Thanks Sage Áudio.🙏🏻👍🏻
Temos muitos vídeos, então alguns são fáceis de perder! Obrigado por assistir ao vídeo!
The most important thing about mastering I've noticed it's all about knowing your frequency most videos don't tell you that
The frequency response is very important! Making EQ a huge part of mastering - here's a video we just put out about that - ruclips.net/video/FYtLsFyDt44/видео.html
THANK YOU no bloat. Just pure, valuable info.
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed the video and found the info helpful
I never like or comment on anything here on youtube, BUT this video/chain is just 🔥🔥🔥! I do watch every of your videos etc. but going thru this chain top to bottom, step by step is just exactly what someone that watches this kinda videos wants and needs 💯 Thanks a lot! And I would love a simpel video for the mixing process before this chain - like what plug-ins you put on your drum-bus, instru-bus etc. and how you do the most effective routing to get into the master-chain… Keep it up man! 🎉
Thanks for watching Denyo! Great to hear you found the video helpful! I'll definitely keep what you said here in mind and make more videos that cover tops in this way. We'll make a new video on mixing soon!
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@@sageaudio … perfect! Btw - I edited your CleanMasterChain by starting with the Waves NLS Buss to give it a analog console vibe in generell, went into the GodParticle (only like 30-30%) to uplift some parts of the whole song, then used your order of the chain and exchanged the u-he presswerk into the sonible smartcomp (that m/s comp by u-he didnt sound well on a modern 808 driven song to me). I also exchanged the Weiss DeEsser with the FF DS-Pro (since I don‘t have the Weiss) and put a UAD-Pulltec at the end (before the Clipper/Limiters) with your suggestions outta your latest EQ Mixing Tipps and it just sounds AMAZING (loud/warm/full etc.)! Your free-alternative of the Clipper is also just beautiful (incl. oversampling) with such a power! Man - just an crazy strong chain period. 🔮🎶
Thanks Sage!
Thanks for watching!
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much love
truly the king of tutorials.
Thank you!
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Tight video. Good work sir
Thank you!
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Thanks so much for sharing this!
Thanks for watching!
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@@sageaudio I never miss out your videos
Great channel. A lot of info to dive into. ✅✅✅
Thanks! Lots of videos haha
Nice made tutorial!
Thanks for watching Jan!
Awesome insight on saturation
Awesome! Thanks for watching!
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Thanks!
Thanks for watching!
😀Thanks good comparisons with a hugh difference.
Thanks!
Thank you
Thanks Thamil!
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thx for tutorial 👍👍
Thanks for watching!
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Clipping: Clip with Soft Knee instead of Hard Knee. Hard Knee will shave the transient straight across, whereas Soft Knee shaves it with round transients, which still have a peek at their apex.
This method will provide more clarity and punch, combining the white noise before limiting it. Using 50% to 53%, Soft Knee works best (sweet spots).
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I'll try out that value with a soft knee!
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Very good video!
I notice you have soothe as the second in the chain, but for some reason I have been under the impression it should go before the final limiter.
I will have to try it earlier in the chain. It makes sense why it should go earlier. Cut those resonant frequencies before they get to a compressor or limiter.
THANKS CHIEF!
Thanks for watching Ammar!
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Thanks
Thanks for watching!
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I love you thanks
Thanks for watching!
Wow! This was REALLY enlightening! Thank you😊
Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed the video.
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Probably one of the most concise and informative vids you've made about getting loud masters!! I'm trying, though, to figure out how to use TrackSpacer to attenuate resonant frequencies, since you mentioned that as an alternative to Soothe...? Thanks!
Thanks for watching! Great to hear the video was helpful - as for trackspacer, I'm kind of regretting mentioned it haha. But if you side-chain a reference mix, trackspacer will attenuate excessive resonances on the processed track. It's definitely not perfect, but works ok.
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@@sageaudio ahhh. Ok. That makes sense. Appreciate the honesty. Haha.
Great video, could you make more detailed explanation of the plugins technicalities?! You have so much knowledge about these aspects! Thanks! 🔥🔥
Thanks for watching! I could! What do you have in mind? Just how they work? Or some of the more technical aspects of how they're affecting the audio?
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Getting rid of noise can get you a clean master as well
True! Thanks for watching!
Ndagukunda cyane
Mwakoze kureba! Nishimiye ko wishimiye umuyoboro
Note: Ozone imager can be set to Linear phase. By default it’s set to a hybrid mode which is fairly close to linear phase!
Thanks for letting me know! I still avoid it due to the phase cancellation is causes to create the expansion (which I'm not sure linear phase will fix). Thanks again for watching!
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Reaper has built-in oversampling for single plugins or the whole chain
wow actually goos tips on RUclips !!
Nice! Thanks for watching!
In most cases, you can bypass Oversampling entirely if your DAW Sessions are 96k Sample Rate and above with 32-bit Float). Oversampling will minimize unwanted harmonics, yet to obtain the most transparent setting, you will need to use 16x and above. Another element is using 96k Sample Rate and above will eliminate Nyquist. The flip side is over 50% of plugins today does not support 192k Sample Rate, yet they do support 96k Sample Rate. I am not saying you have to avoid Oversampling altogether if the session is 96k. In fact, Oversampling does add psychoacoustic transparency, which will add more clarity to the Mix/Master. If 32-bit Float is available within the DAW you are using, I suggest using that as the standard. PCM Bits will produce clipping the moment headroom exceeds 0dB, regardless if it is a track or master fader. In regards to Fabfilter Pro-L 2, the most transparent style next to Safe is Transparent. Be aware all styles generates harmonic distortion, with Bus style generating the most.
Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts! From what I've observed in testing oversampling, it works a good amount better than a 96kHz sampling rate due to the additional low-pass filter. That said, using a higher sampling rate is definitely helpful for avoiding aliasing, and then when combined with oversampling, it's made all the better. Thanks again for watching!
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Thanks for the videos, been an avid follower for some time now. Question: when doing phase alignment it looks like the waveforms for the in-line are smaller in amplitude which would lead to less compression anyway, is it normal for phase aligning to reduce the overall amplitude of the wave? Please keep up with the vids, good stuff.
Thanks for watching Andrew! The overall amplitude is the same, since any info that was oriented to the positive or negative side is just shifted/balanced. This makes it look like the peaks are lower.
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🔥
Thanks for watching!
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how can we compare the before and after if they are different loudness?
Amazing Video as usual. Quick question , for your second limiter what attack and release values did you use?
Thanks for watching! I used quick attack and release settings - usually around 10ms each.
Great video!
Is there another (cheaper) way to do the phase alignment than using iZotope RX?
Thanks for watching! I'll have to look into this, but I'm sure there is. If I find a plugin that offers a similar function I'll be sure to mention it in a video.
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A question about a phase alignment here: is it beneficial to run a phase alignment on STEM tracks separately?
Thanks again for the useful video🙏
Tysm!
Could you make a short video about how to mix/master Lofi?
Thanks for watching! Lots of the tips here should help with mastering lofi - I think some additional saturation should help as well, typically tape saturation has the expected sound for Lofi.
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@@sageaudio Thanks!
I usually keep very raw mixes (cuz there arent many instruments) and very dynamic masters (boomy drums).
What db should your track peak at before applying all of this?
💞💞
I have a few questions:
1- Should I phase align if I mixed the track by myself and is not a single track that was sent to me?
2-Can I make use of Pro-L2 as a Clipper too? But with 1:1 activated ( to avoid volume change) and transparent mode?
3-Do you have any videos where you mix a track by stems?
4-(this one is another topic) When mixing my stems (not a single wav track) with the vocals.. how I make them fit in the mix? Should I use soothe to reduce any particular sound? Or as sidechain in the beat send channel that group everything apart from the vocals? Thx for such knowledge!
Thanks for watching!
1. to be honest, this step isn't absolutely crucial, but it is helpful and may prevent distortion - that said, I'd recommend it but it's not the end of the world if you don't align it.
2. The L2 is in a way a clipper (all limiters are) they just affect the transients differently to achieve a distinct sound. So you could do this, but I'd avoid the 1:1 function, unless you really need the loudness to stay the same.
3. Yes! This one is older but should be helpful: ruclips.net/video/UVvCfJNfSr8/видео.html
4. Both of the ideas you had should work if you want to separate the vocal from the stems - like you said, you could use soothe 2 on a stem and side-chain the vocal to help separate the 2 signals. YOu could also dip a little of 2.5-5kHz on a stem to help the vocal stick out.
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2. the author of the video doesn't really know pro-l 2 (the explanation in the second part is really showing), and just takes wild swings. both TPL and lookahead are explained completely incorrectly.
yes, pro l and pro l 2 can act as clippers. maximum attack, minimum release, minimum lookahead, minimum stereo link and NOT newer algorithms. you can nulltest to check that.
however, if you don't plan to "crossfade this clipper" to a "limiter" territory, there's no practical benefit to doing this; clippers are always available for free to everyone.
in general, if you have to hardclip in mastering, but you still have access to the tracks, you're selling your material short. nothing wrong with fast limiting; clipping, though, especially with such a soft material as demonstrated, should only be applied to the shortest peaks and only if you can really hear the results on multiple quality systems.
longer clipping artifacts are really easy to recognize, they are generally terrible, so you should really think after you've tried them.
+2 lufs integrate seems bonkers to me. In the hottest sections of loud music I’ve seen -3.5 but averaging around -7 to -9
Thanks for watching John! The LUFS was roughly -7. The Pro L2 was measuring the loudness relative to -9LUFS (kind of a weird way to measure it but that's how that plugin does it haha).
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Phew! Ok that makes a lot more sense. Thanks 😊
How do you use Trackshaper to perform tasks similar to Soothe 2? @3:49
You'd have to side-chain a reference mix - not a great solution but it would work somewhat similarly.
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Do you uave a video on exactly what you use and how you record your vocals for your videos?
We don't have one like that unfortunately! Thanks for watching!
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Just today I read a comment under a video about whether new music is not as good (Mary Spender's channel I believe) - one person said "I don't like it as much because it seems overproduced". Watching and listening to this video I can see you had a great master in the end in terms of clean production and good separation (i.e. audible) of the instruments/frequencies, but... is that what really people want? Or did we fall in the trap of "plugins can produce squeaky clean results, so we MUST use them to that capacity"...
Thanks for watching! I'm not entirely sure! Some people will probably prefer a cleaner sound whereas others may like something more natural sounding like you described. Probably depends on genre and the listener's expectation.
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Used that soothe 2 preset on my latest project and was blown away. Awesome stuff. But! What is this song?! I really like it!
Thanks for watching - great to hear it worked well for your session. I can't remember the exact name, but the band is 'The American Indie'
@@sageaudio thanks! Name of the track is rendezvous if anyone else is interested. Cool track. Pretty unique sound.
love this tutoria :) whats the LUFS goal in your Masters?
-8lufs is industry standard for most commercial music. A few years back I received a master from Sage at around -7lufs.
Could depend on the genre too
Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed it! Somewhere between -14 and -7 depending on the genre. Classical can be as low as -18 whereas EDM as high as -6. So it really depends.
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what are some pointers for listening out for those really small eq changes and the resonance reduction choices you make? i can barely if at all tell the difference in the a/b for the problem frequencies, shaping and resonance reduction
It just takes time to notice a difference! The more you master the easier it'll become to notice smaller differences. Thanks for watching!
at 2:09 would that be similar as adding waves vitamin ? on the -150ish?
Thanks for watching! I don't think so but I'm not sure - I haven't used that plugin. Looks like that plugin also adds harmonics.
How do you make sure you don't deliver files with inter sample peaks higher than -1 with nothing set for "true peaks" on your master? You analayze the final master and bring it down by whatever intersample peaks you detect?
Thanks for watching! And that's exactly what I do! I lower the limiter's output by the amount of inter-sample peaking, and then lower it a little more if the track is going to be encoded. Since the plugin operates in 64-bit, the overs don't result in clipping distortion within the plugin, but the output or master channel fader need to be lowered to avoid the clipping these overs would cause.
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it would be great to gain stage when you show the before and after.. without it it is hard to say if the mastered one truly sounds better
Thanks for watching! For the initial before and after of the mix and master, there would be no way to match the loudness any closer without having to add processing to the original mix. Both the original mix and master were peak normalized to -1dB; however, if I was to normalize the loudness of the mix to match that of the master it would be clipping +6dB. That said, instead of lowering the peak of the master significantly to match the LUFS of the mix, I left it as is.
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You mean... gain match/compensation 😉
my first ever comment 🤭. But question, do u recommend having the 24 bit dither option on in the Oxford limiter in this chain? even when exporting in 32 bit float?
Thanks for the comment! If you're exporting to 32-bit float, no need to use dithering. In most instances, dithering isn't necessary - I only use it when exporting from 24-bit to 16-bit.
Can MSED be used effectively for phase alignment?
Thanks for watching! I don't think so - I think that plugin is mainly for isolating the mid and side images.
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Great video , what’s the song ?
Thanks for watching! I can't remember the track name, but the band is 'The American Indie'
Are you able to mix the track on any DAW or is there a specific on you need to use
Just about any DAW will work! I just use Logic Pro X since it's the one I started with. Thanks for watching!
@@sageaudio I use Ableton. I am relatively new to this but I’m getting a solid mix down and now I need to learn how to master because I only have myself to do this
It looks like you've got an older version of Newfangled Saturate, an update added oversampling
Thanks for letting me know! I'll be sure to update it.
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hey im using fl studio. Do you think I can master well/ mix audio well just using mainly stock plug ins and some free ones
I think so! This video is a little older, but it covers mastering in FL Studio using just stock plugins: ruclips.net/video/xBs1Roi0ch0/видео.html
You know, this is all suitable for rap music, but if I compose in the style of progressive trance / dream house, for example. What kind of mastering is suitable for these genres?
Thanks for watching! I'd recommend trying this chain and seeing if it works - if not, try a little more saturation, and adjusting the EQ as needed.
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@@sageaudio thanks 😉
should i do my master on a mp3 format or wave?
Wav is better - but if you only have the MP3 and can't get access to the wav file, the MP3 will be ok. Again though, if it's available, definitely use the Wav file.
Why did you put Saturate in DDMF metaplugin when it has an anti Aliasing button? is there a reason for this?
Thanks for letting me know! Where do you see the button, I can't seem to find it? Maybe yours is updated?
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks for watching!
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I enjoyed every phase except the final limiter which sounded louder but not better
Thanks for letting me know your thoughts! Sometimes thats the case unfortunately, but ideally it would sound better and louder.
Who mixed the track being mastered?
Thanks for watching! An artist named 'The American Indie'
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if doing a comparison you should keep the stems the same volume
cause he doesnt know what his doing
Why aren't you using a Linear Phase Filter, when cutting the side/mid frequencies? I know it can reduce punch, but many ppl still advise to. Really wondering? :)
Thanks for watching Justin! In this case it's not altering the phase in a significant enough way to justify linear-phase (at least in my opinion). If I was using a higher slope I might, but the result of a high-slope HP filter in zero latency would be a moderate boost to the frequencies right above the cutoff, so even then I wouldn't be too concerned about it. I appreciate the question!
7:30
video needs warning to not just always click oversampling for saturn and other saturation plugins as sound can change in some cases to worse side, so always listen, if you actually need oversampling
Thanks for watching! That's fair! From what I understand, the only difference in the audio that oversampling makes is removing aliasing, and some very subtle destructive interference to the transients (much less noticeable than linear phase processing). But I'll be sure to keep that in mind and discuss it when oversampling comes up. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
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what's the song called?
Can't remember the exact name, but the band is 'The American Indie'
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which song is this?
Thanks for watching! I can't remember the track name, but the band is 'The American Indie'
So how do I lower my lufs
Thanks for watching! Amplify the signal less - so use less of the gain function on your clipper or limiter.
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Why don't you use adaptive phase alignment. Is there a drawback
To be honest I'm not sure! I'll have to look into the plugin and see what it does exactly. Thanks for watching!
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@@sageaudio Can''t wait to get the notification when you address the topic
Hmmmm unlinked L/R limiting has made my tracks lose the center image, feels way off for me
Thanks for watching! Totally fair! I personally enjoy it, but like you said, it's not everyone's favorite sound.
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Why no hpf for classical music master?
Typically the bass occupies the side image in classical music and listeners don't want it cut out. Thanks for watching!
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@@sageaudio thank you for answering!
Whats the title of the song and artist? Thanks
Can't remember the exact track name, but the artist is 'The American Indie'
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@@sageaudio Thanks that will do. Stay safe.
I want to take a course
Awesome! Here's a link to our website: SageAudio.com
Pay once, study forever or pay annually.
WHAT PLUGIN WRAPPER IS THAT?
IS IT M2 MAC COMPATIBLE?
It's by DDMF! I don't think they've updated it for M2 yet, but worth checking.
@@sageaudio can't see anything online about it - hopefully, will cop it as soon as they do. its a brilliant plugin for the master chain
We have some geeky questions in the comment section 😂😂
Lol thanks for watching!
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isn't +1 LUFS insane ??? (first few seconds on pro-l hahaha)
Haha yeah the way they measure is weird. It's relative to -9LUFS when CD is selected, or -14LUFS when streaming is selected. So +1LUFS in the Pro L2 is -8LUFS
Did you actually bring it upto +2 Lufs?!?! 🤨😵🥴
Haha no that would be deafening. The Pro L2 measures LUFS in a weird way - it compares it to either -14 LUFS or -9 LUFS. So the +2 was in reference to -9LUFS, so it was -7 LUFS. Not sure why they use this method in their plugins.
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