Great stuff as usual mate. Stem mastering is great because when the client exports their stems they're often not all hitting their master bus chain giving the stems a more open dynamic sound for you to work with.
14:03 the problem with being autistically hyperfixated on audio AND street dance is that sometimes, I can’t sit still and focus on what you’re saying because I’m BREAKDANCING in my head! (Okay, sometimes quite literally in real space) so I have to rewind. This beat is campy but it HITS!!!!!
-5LUFS (integrated) is a lot of people's goal in mastering (EDM). Normalisation varies amongst different platforms and has nothing to do with dynamic range choice. It's a simple volume reduction. A -5LUFS track will sound completely different when turned down by 8dB to the same track mastered at -13LUFS (untouched by the said platform). Dynamic range is a sound design/engineering choice massively dependent on genre and personal preference.
I would say 'C' is analogue. It feels like there is more movement going on between elements and the audio image/spacing feels less 'flat' / digital. Curious what the answer will be :)!
16:33 the salient point may be that I don’t care. Reason being, the delta is infinitesimal. It’s more about which one do I prefer. We are at the point wherein how the sausage is made is completely irrelevant.
Love your content ! Give a try to the new mastering grade Acustica Audio Pumpkin Pro for saturation. It is on the level of the Michelangelo in my opinion. There is a FREE non pro Pumpkin version with fewer saturation modules if you want to try it ! Their new Anti Aliasing algorithm combined with oversampling produces exceptional clean/warm saturation with no "guitar distortion pedal" harshness found in most saturation plugins. B is Analog ?
I have no idea which master is analog but i do like the green one a tad better than the red. Not that i even noticed much of a difference but green seemed to have a more dominant snare sound.
Mid side balance and how clear/musical the vocal or the snare is (the front back depth or amplitude positioning) can influence the judgement of master/mix (opinion), depending on the genre obviously. Some like the clear audible vocal and snare in the mid. Some may like the wall of sound (usually at a chorus), powerful and loud but may lack vocal and snare depth details and distinctions (in characteristics). Been checking out Melda Mcenter for this spectral and mid/side management. Frequency balance (and discussion of Eq balance) aside, transients and pumping discussion aside.
15:39 People will argue digital with religious fervor for the foreseeable future because if they’re older than me (ie established baby boomers), they may be biased to whatever was the established protocol in their day in their 20’s - early thirties. Others will argue and scoff digital because the aforementioned experts (real or self-described) taught them to believe that. You are right. The audiophile listener - regardless of how sure they are - CANNOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE. Give the same capable user an MPC or Ableton with one shots, the results will both sound the same level of good. Maybe they’ll sound different to the extent you can null test and hear the delta, sure. They aren’t the same. But you are right: no one will be able to discern which one is the mpc and which one is ableton or fl or maschine. Not to mention an MPC is actually digital as well. It’s just an old computer. Same for plugins v hardware. Lossey v. Lossless Etc. etc. The reasons people are so adamant that they ARE able to tell is self-fulfilling prophecy, generational bias (you’re increasingly likely to be pro analog the older you were when digital was normalized in the professional audio space), and flat out ego.
If your want you'd track to adored by audiophiles, or want your track remain pristine, listen to my discovery after trying almost every plugin. I tried almost all the clippers and no matter how little I set things up, it made my track sound less than pristine, I tried every ozone feature my transients like snares and clap were squashed, limiters were all squashing making the groove flat as if someone added 100 percent quantize to the groove and now though loud but the musicality, the feel like dancing, as you hear track was gone. Anytime I compared to the original track, I notice I would nodding and viking to it, but not the loud one I was working. People don't about that, the other game changer was loading the original and constantly comparing, something you don't taught or see. Just adding this and that till it's getting louder and sound clean, is not true till you really listen to both and then, you end removing all the limiters and clippers. Wow. The only and one thing that made it loud and still sounded as groovy as the original unmastered was, INFLATOR. most producers and engineers do not compare back to the original. The eye opener in my comment here is, Master the track and then compare to the unmastered one, increase the unmastered one as loud or even louder and see, how the mastered with all the plugins has caused to lose all the feel, all the musicality, and good stuffs even difficult to describe with words. This no one has ever talk about. Even the way the hats sounded or the highs was all artificial, but only apparent when you compare to the unmastered version. The loudness and more energy fooling the ears. Inflator from Oxford is a secret weapon, that does not touch your transients nor change the flavour of your highs. But people wont get this because they let themselves get deceived to believe the one I put so much has to be better. comparing is the biggest secret in mastering I found but no one told me. Thanks this is not to take away from this video, but try what I say and you will thank me in your heart.
Great share. I think also to add, is the nature of material is ALWAYS different. So the degree of effectiveness/comprimise will always vary from one track to the next.
Is there a range you tend to stick to for clipping and gain reduction on the limiter? i usually stick to 2 each just to be safe and not smashing the dynamics but would like to hear about how we can push it. maybe would be a good vide to do as well!
He talks about oversampling (for gainstaging and clipper kneeing, limiting), it prevents the aliasing when you’re doing chains and stacks, then get transient preservation or restoration through algorithms to maximize clarity.
Stem mastering the focus/key is on mainting / keeping as close ot the integrity of the signed off mix, just using the stems to enhance hat is their for the brief of the client. Mixing you have more authority to make bold decisions creatively;
Stem mastering is used to fix issues that are getting in the way of a good sounding master…for example harsh midrange on a main lead or muddy bass that is interfering with the kick. Instead of trying to fix it in the stereo file where you will be destructive to all the elements in the mix you can just focus on the issues that need fixing without trying to win 2 wars and comprise. For example if you had harsh mid range and where to use a de-esser on the full mix it may compromise the clarity or balance of the vocal or snare. You have to make a choice of what is more important and comprise..do you keep the vocal upfront but keep the mix a little more harsh then you want or less harsh but the vocal sits slightly further back then it did originally. There are lots situations like this where stem mastering would be more optimal and is not exactly mixing because it’s still thinking about the entirety of the mix and how to not the small details like reverbs, delays, and even distortion ect. There is also in some cases that stem mastering is needed to get the loudest possible master and clipping of individual stems can increase the headroom for extra loudness potential. That however will always change the mixers intention of the mix
Thanks ….great useful topic. But we still dont know which tool you like to try. It would be great if you can you tell us up front what your top pick is from mastering rather than requiring us to listen to your video….ALso why not add sections .
It’s the only one that I can hear drift on when nulling the masters against the mix. I’m assuming this is because of the other mastering engineer having a different interface and the clocking being a bit different.
@@davidasher22tape drift or highs attenuation, transient smearing could be one way to differetiate it 🤔mimickable in digital though with reel/studer cassette style plugins
It really seems to me that getting super loud only interenst mixing and mastering engineers, users couldn't care less. We are stuck in the loudness war because tecnicians are involved in this show off contest.
I thought radios and even audio file players or playlists do normalizing and automatically gain it up to match, at least some of them. Depends on the music genre too, for loudness war. Clippers and saturators really get your music loud, maybe too loud
BRO THE PROBLEM IS THE DIFFERENCES ARE NOT OBVIOUS ON OUR SIDE OF RUclips FROM YOUR STUDIO, you need to exaggerate so we can hear the differences, thanks nice video still.
Attuning your ear to perceive the subtle-sounding differences is part of the process, I think... I do think the differences are audible in most of these examples.
@@panorama_masteringdon’t exaggerate. We’re all at different stages of our journey. Where you are is where you are. If people can’t hear the differences in your examples, they will in a few years time when they revisit them with a more refined ear. I’ve revisited so much of my knowledge and library over the years - at different stages to previous. I’ve heard and taken something different away every time. Keep it as authentic as you are credible, I say anyway. :)
Awesome videos - you are a real gift to the community... thanks a lot man
I appreciate that!
Awesome video, thanks for that :) you're my favorite yt channel lately :)
That was great, thank you
Love your content and love the Italian style hand gestures 🤌🏻
Thanks man!
Love this channel. Such valuable information in every video. Nothing but gratitude here 🙏
Great stuff as usual mate.
Stem mastering is great because when the client exports their stems they're often not all hitting their master bus chain giving the stems a more open dynamic sound for you to work with.
Saves time too
Mate, this is some pretty outstanding info. Thanks heaps!. Sending love from Melbs!
Glad you enjoyed it! Melbournian here too!
Dude that was a masterclass. Thank you!
Great! Especially on the 32 bit null test, headroom and over sampling part test, explanation.
Glad you liked it!
14:03 the problem with being autistically hyperfixated on audio AND street dance is that sometimes, I can’t sit still and focus on what you’re saying because I’m BREAKDANCING in my head! (Okay, sometimes quite literally in real space) so I have to rewind.
This beat is campy but it HITS!!!!!
Awesomeeeee video and explanation 👊
I didn’t understand most of that but it was wonderful. Your client s are very lucky to have you
Love this video!! ❤
Glad you liked it!!
-5LUFS (integrated) is a lot of people's goal in mastering (EDM). Normalisation varies amongst different platforms and has nothing to do with dynamic range choice. It's a simple volume reduction. A -5LUFS track will sound completely different when turned down by 8dB to the same track mastered at -13LUFS (untouched by the said platform). Dynamic range is a sound design/engineering choice massively dependent on genre and personal preference.
Bang on. Especially re: EDM
I would say 'C' is analogue. It feels like there is more movement going on between elements and the audio image/spacing feels less 'flat' / digital. Curious what the answer will be :)!
Brilliant Video!
Glad you enjoyed it
How loud are your monitors set when you're mastering? Around 80dB or more?
at 12'oclock I've calibrated to 83dB
@@panorama_mastering thanks! Did you use any dedicated special SPL meter or just a phone app?
16:33 the salient point may be that I don’t care. Reason being, the delta is infinitesimal. It’s more about which one do I prefer. We are at the point wherein how the sausage is made is completely irrelevant.
Fair enough; for me every aspect of processing which affects the sound, no matter how small is all cumulative to a final result.
Love your content ! Give a try to the new mastering grade Acustica Audio Pumpkin Pro for saturation. It is on the level of the Michelangelo in my opinion. There is a FREE non pro Pumpkin version with fewer saturation modules if you want to try it ! Their new Anti Aliasing algorithm combined with oversampling produces exceptional clean/warm saturation with no "guitar distortion pedal" harshness found in most saturation plugins. B is Analog ?
I have no idea which master is analog but i do like the green one a tad better than the red. Not that i even noticed much of a difference but green seemed to have a more dominant snare sound.
Mid side balance and how clear/musical the vocal or the snare is (the front back depth or amplitude positioning) can influence the judgement of master/mix (opinion), depending on the genre obviously. Some like the clear audible vocal and snare in the mid. Some may like the wall of sound (usually at a chorus), powerful and loud but may lack vocal and snare depth details and distinctions (in characteristics). Been checking out Melda Mcenter for this spectral and mid/side management. Frequency balance (and discussion of Eq balance) aside, transients and pumping discussion aside.
No one does ;)
B analog is my guess :)
15:39 People will argue digital with religious fervor for the foreseeable future because if they’re older than me (ie established baby boomers), they may be biased to whatever was the established protocol in their day in their 20’s - early thirties.
Others will argue and scoff digital because the aforementioned experts (real or self-described) taught them to believe that.
You are right. The audiophile listener - regardless of how sure they are - CANNOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE.
Give the same capable user an MPC or Ableton with one shots, the results will both sound the same level of good. Maybe they’ll sound different to the extent you can null test and hear the delta, sure. They aren’t the same.
But you are right: no one will be able to discern which one is the mpc and which one is ableton or fl or maschine. Not to mention an MPC is actually digital as well. It’s just an old computer.
Same for plugins v hardware.
Lossey v. Lossless
Etc. etc.
The reasons people are so adamant that they ARE able to tell is self-fulfilling prophecy, generational bias (you’re increasingly likely to be pro analog the older you were when digital was normalized in the professional audio space), and flat out ego.
Spot on!
I'd always prefer a competent operator in digital, than someone who has no clue with what they're doing using analog.
the metal song in the beginning sounds familiar! :)
but I cannot guess it.
Nicholas, could you plz kindly suggest me its name?
many thanks in advance!
Wardens - Warning Sign!
21:28 yeah but what if im also the mixing engineer? Can i blame the mix then? 🤔
Go back and fix it ;)
If your want you'd track to adored by audiophiles, or want your track remain pristine, listen to my discovery after trying almost every plugin.
I tried almost all the clippers and no matter how little I set things up, it made my track sound less than pristine, I tried every ozone feature my transients like snares and clap were squashed,
limiters were all squashing making the groove flat as if someone added 100 percent quantize to the groove and now though loud but the musicality, the feel like dancing, as you hear track was gone.
Anytime I compared to the original track, I notice I would nodding and viking to it, but not the loud one I was working.
People don't about that, the other game changer was loading the original and constantly comparing, something you don't taught or see.
Just adding this and that till it's getting louder and sound clean, is not true till you really listen to both and then, you end removing all the limiters and clippers. Wow.
The only and one thing that made it loud and still sounded as groovy as the original unmastered was, INFLATOR.
most producers and engineers do not compare back to the original.
The eye opener in my comment here is,
Master the track and then compare to the unmastered one, increase the unmastered one as loud or even louder and see, how the mastered with all the plugins has caused to lose all the feel, all the musicality, and good stuffs even difficult to describe with words.
This no one has ever talk about.
Even the way the hats sounded or the highs was all artificial, but only apparent when you compare to the unmastered version.
The loudness and more energy fooling the ears.
Inflator from Oxford is a secret weapon, that does not touch your transients nor change the flavour of your highs.
But people wont get this because they let themselves get deceived to believe the one I put so much has to be better.
comparing is the biggest secret in mastering I found but no one told me.
Thanks this is not to take away from this video, but try what I say and you will thank me in your heart.
Great share. I think also to add, is the nature of material is ALWAYS different. So the degree of effectiveness/comprimise will always vary from one track to the next.
Is there a range you tend to stick to for clipping and gain reduction on the limiter? i usually stick to 2 each just to be safe and not smashing the dynamics but would like to hear about how we can push it. maybe would be a good vide to do as well!
He talks about oversampling (for gainstaging and clipper kneeing, limiting), it prevents the aliasing when you’re doing chains and stacks, then get transient preservation or restoration through algorithms to maximize clarity.
@@gossipboynyc9625-VN time stamp on video?
B sounds more alive, not huge dif but sounds more warm.
If you right click on the gain reduction meter you can change it to 1-3 db and see even more precisely the gain reduction.
Bang on!
14:45 WHAT’S The difference between “stem mastering” and just “mixing”?
Stem mastering the focus/key is on mainting / keeping as close ot the integrity of the signed off mix, just using the stems to enhance hat is their for the brief of the client.
Mixing you have more authority to make bold decisions creatively;
Stem mastering is used to fix issues that are getting in the way of a good sounding master…for example harsh midrange on a main lead or muddy bass that is interfering with the kick.
Instead of trying to fix it in the stereo file where you will be destructive to all the elements in the mix you can just focus on the issues that need fixing without trying to win 2 wars and comprise. For example if you had harsh mid range and where to use a de-esser on the full mix it may compromise the clarity or balance of the vocal or snare. You have to make a choice of what is more important and comprise..do you keep the vocal upfront but keep the mix a little more harsh then you want or less harsh but the vocal sits slightly further back then it did originally. There are lots situations like this where stem mastering would be more optimal and is not exactly mixing because it’s still thinking about the entirety of the mix and how to not the small details like reverbs, delays, and even distortion ect.
There is also in some cases that stem mastering is needed to get the loudest possible master and clipping of individual stems can increase the headroom for extra loudness potential. That however will always change the mixers intention of the mix
How to manage latency on plugins???
It's not that important, don't trust every tip on the internet
Plugin delay compensation engine in PT
Thanks ….great useful topic. But we still dont know which tool you like to try. It would be great if you can you tell us up front what your top pick is from mastering rather than requiring us to listen to your video….ALso why not add sections .
He has tons of videos specifically about the tools he uses, and mentions quite a few of them in this video.
No worries!
The plan was to add sections, but I didn't in the end. My mistake!
I can actually say with 99% certainty that the RED master is the analog master.
It’s the only one that I can hear drift on when nulling the masters against the mix. I’m assuming this is because of the other mastering engineer having a different interface and the clocking being a bit different.
@@davidasher22tape drift or highs attenuation, transient smearing could be one way to differetiate it 🤔mimickable in digital though with reel/studer cassette style plugins
@@gossipboynyc9625-VN I think what I am hearing is more of a clocking discrepancy.
i guess "C" is analog mastered as i heard but it can be a better in the box master. never know :( 🎆 great mix by the way👍👍👍
Thanks for listening… i can’t say! Yet….
2nd was digital
the green is digital the red is analog! easy 🤷🏽♂
interesting guess!
On headphones I'm guessing C is analog😊
A Analog B Digital
A is original lol
watch "C" be LANDR.
C is analog
Maybe.
89th comment :D
It really seems to me that getting super loud only interenst mixing and mastering engineers, users couldn't care less. We are stuck in the loudness war because tecnicians are involved in this show off contest.
Man, I agree. As long as the product is cohesive, listeners could care less about the extra. It’s good knowledge to have though nonetheless
I thought radios and even audio file players or playlists do normalizing and automatically gain it up to match, at least some of them. Depends on the music genre too, for loudness war. Clippers and saturators really get your music loud, maybe too loud
@@khaliljohnson1804Musicality means so much man, it’s all about that live performance dynamicness.
C sounded better, don't know if it was analogue or digital...
C Analog
I prefer b
BRO THE PROBLEM IS THE DIFFERENCES ARE NOT OBVIOUS ON OUR SIDE OF RUclips FROM YOUR STUDIO, you need to exaggerate so we can hear the differences, thanks nice video still.
Fair point! I try to keep all the changes controlled to what is realistically done in sessions
Attuning your ear to perceive the subtle-sounding differences is part of the process, I think... I do think the differences are audible in most of these examples.
The problem is that his mixes are already good before the mastering
That’s why you hear the differences
@@panorama_masteringdon’t exaggerate. We’re all at different stages of our journey. Where you are is where you are. If people can’t hear the differences in your examples, they will in a few years time when they revisit them with a more refined ear. I’ve revisited so much of my knowledge and library over the years - at different stages to previous. I’ve heard and taken something different away every time. Keep it as authentic as you are credible, I say anyway. :)
@@panorama_masteringthank you for that!
First to comment
Really good discussion on reconstructing sample points, 32 bit headroom and over sampling.