Looking for:
Mastering in Logic Pro X : The Basics

Regardless of who is mastering your tracks, there are a couple of important things to have tied up before you commit your track to the mastering phase. This is an important tenet of mixing — leaving headroom for mastering. The truth is that like mixing, mastering, can also be done in any DAW, so long as you have access to a few important tools.
This 6 step guide will give you everything you need to start mastering in Logic, but remember, at the end of the day this is a creative endeavour. So, by no means should you stick to the rules.
That said, certain aspects of mastering will help get your mixes to that next level, so rest assured you still have some room to work.
Import your finished mix or mixes to a new audio track in Logic, accompanied by 3 different reference tracks.
Listen and compare the 4 tracks, and make a few notes literally write them down :. Create a new audio track and load up 3 instances of Match EQ on it one for each of your reference tracks. Hit F to bring up the Project Browser on the right hand side, giving you access to your 4 audio tracks. Drag your mix file onto the Current tab in Match EQ, and one of the reference tracks onto the Reference tab. Then, on the EQ Curve, hit Match. The plugin will create an EQ curve that visually demonstrates the differences in frequency spectrum between your mix, and your reference.
Now go ahead and do the same for the other 2 references, using the other 2 instances of Match EQ. For example, it appears our mix has quite a few challenges in the low end.
Compared to the references, we have a lot of energy around 80Hz, and not a lot in the Hz range. Our mix also appears to be lacking a lot of high end, dropping off significantly around 12kHz. The golden rule, as with mixing, is to use your ears, not your eyes. You should compare any trends noted from Match EQ to the notes you took when listening and comparing.
This is simply an example, and is actually using an unfinished mix to demonstrate how you can use Match EQ to level up your music production. One of the principles in mastering is measuring.
That is, using tools to measure things such as:. The Analyzer section in MultiMeter is a real time frequency analyzer, which shows you changes in frequency as they happen. There is no set goal for what this should look like across a mix; think about the different frequency settings on your car radio, iPod or in Spotify.
For example in our mix, Hz is coming through really strong. We might use an EQ to cut a little in this area. Loudness is a contentious topic in mastering, as it has been the subject of abuse for many years now. Remember how the human ear identifies louder sounds as subjectively better?
Well, mastering engineers or more accurately the record labels that hired them learned how to use this to their advantage by using a limiter to make finished tracks louder and louder. This resulted in something called the Loudness War, which ended up sacrificing the beauty in music and its dynamic range in favour of overly compressed or squashed tracks that appeared louder. Loudness is still an issue in contemporary music, though it has been stamped down by new limitations enforced by streaming and broadcast companies.
All the way, seeking to retain the nuance and dynamic range that makes music music. Tricky, huh? We are going to do some more comparison to our reference tracks here; load the MultiMeter onto the Stereo Output, and listen to the loudest section of your reference tracks one by one. Note down the value it will change over time so find an average value or note down a range e. Do this for all 3 reference tracks and compare the values, this will give you an indication as to how much squash or compression is acceptable for the genre you are working in, and what the loudness level of your master should look like.
For example, heavy rock tracks will typically feature a lot more compression and therefore be a lot louder , than say, a 20 minute free form jazz odyssey,.
Phase shift is a natural by-product of EQ and is something you can get away with on individual tracks, but it can cause problems for the master. Not only does the Linear EQ look great in black, it has a higher resolution than the standard EQ, giving you the ability to make finer adjustments — important in mastering. You should use the Linear EQ to make small adjustments based on your notes, but try not to boost or cut any more than 3dB.
If you need to make more severe adjustments, you should consider going back to the mix. This is especially the case when the frequency you want to tame is quite dynamic. For example, certain notes on a bass guitar might create unwanted boosts in the low end, but only when that note is played. If you are finding the mix has too much dynamic range, that is, certain sections are much louder or softer than others, you may wish to apply a little compression to the track.
Of course, let your ears be the judge here, but these are some pretty universal guidelines for using compression in mastering. Applying compression to the mix can help tighten up the dynamics of your track, allowing you to employ more limiting to bring up the loudness in your mix.
Multi band compressors are exactly what they sound like, compressors that operate in several bands, split across the frequency spectrum. Whilst traditional compressors apply compressors across the entire frequency range, multi band compressors allow you to isolate particular areas of the range that are particularly dynamic. For example, you might have an overly dynamic mid-range, where guitars, vocals, and keys are all fighting for the same space, and as they come together, they make the mid-range honky, nasal, and fatiguing.
The Multipressor has 4 bands, which you can tweak as desired by dragging the lines that designate the band boundaries. This is because we have an overly dynamic low end, where certain bass notes, when combined with the kick drum, are pushing through louder than others.
As with a regular compressor, you have access to controls such as ratio, threshold, attack and release, to fine-tune the compression to your needs. You also have the ability to solo or bypass a band, so you can hear it in isolation and listen to the applied compression. At the top of the GUI, you will see a blue band moving as the compressor works.
This demonstrates the gain reduction applied by the compressor. The first thing we are going to do is set the Output Ceiling to This gives us a little bit of a safety net. When it comes to digital audio, overloads are something you want to avoid like the plague. Whereas analog gear can overload and create a subtle distortion that is often desirable, digital distortion sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard. Or rubbing polystyrene together.
Or a poorly played violin. Or, a polystyrene violin scraping across a chalkboard. We do this because although plugins are extremely quick, they are never infinitely quick. Even computers need time to process. So, to be extra safe from overloads, give yourself a little safety net. This basically filters out anything below 20Hz, which is below our hearing range anyway, and prevents anything weird from happening to your speakers.
This is an important part of mastering, as you need to be able to determine whether your limiting is creating any negative artefacts such as distortion or over-compression. Now, turn up the gain until your loudness matches the notes you made when you compared your references and your mix. When you mixed your track, you worked in the stereo field using pan, panning instruments left and right and creating space for each of them.
Well, you can play in this field in mastering too, using stereo widening tools. Remember how we said mastering engineers stripped off their lab coats in the 80s and became part of the creative team? The standard format for mastered tracks is a 16 Bit WAV file at Dither is a way to hide these side effects.
Logic offers three different types, check them all out and see which you prefer. As a mastering engineer, mixing engineer, recording artists or bedroom producer, you never stop learning. Why not leave a comment below, and share some of your mastering tips? We would love to hear about your own experiences! Skip to content This post was most recently updated on July 3rd, Go to mobile version.
Basic mastering logic pro x free download. Mastering in Logic Pro X : The Basics
Mastering was traditionally the final stage basic mastering logic pro x free download the production process — assembling, sequencing and processing 10 or so tracks to make a cohesive listening experience.
Nowadays, of course, this continuity of listening experience is less important as musicians move away from an album to single tracksalthough you may still be увидеть больше with several songs in any one session. The tracks that previously contained multiple different instruments are now used to distinguish between different songs. Each track is, in effect, its own song.
We also need to think about referencing either between mastered and unmastered version of a song, or commercial recordings and a more involved use of metering and analysis. In many ways, mastering is a zen-like task of precision — a few considered actions in appropriate places rather than a haphazard form of sonic butchery.
Another point of difference between the two workshops источник статьи that we move from simple loudness /9739.txt that made our rough mix stand basic mastering logic pro x free download against the loudness of commercial recordingsto a process that actively tries to enhance and fix certain elements of the mix. Last time, we started at the end basic mastering logic pro x free download the signal chain looking at limiting and compression.
The multi-band compressor is another useful way to deconstruct a track, this time splitting into a number of discrete frequency bands. As such, the multi-band compressor is both a timbral and dynamic tool, which, if used correctly, can enhance or correct basic mastering logic pro x free download range of details, or, if basic mastering logic pro x free download incorrectly, can ruin an basic mastering logic pro x free download good mix.
As with all parts of mastering, try to be clear on the problem first like a wobbly low end, for example and then use the correct tool to address this issue.
With the multi-band compressor, for example, you might need to use just one or посмотреть еще bands rather than have all four pounding away at your mix. We end, of course, almost where we began by considering the final loudness of the master. Despite streaming services attenuating over-loud mixes, we still have a choice to actively over-cook our masters, although of course the more limiting we apply, the more the streaming service will attenuate playback.
Using the supplied Logic Mastering templatethough, we can quickly compare the musicality of different loudness settings and discover what works best for our music. Drag basic mastering logic pro x free download song onto both the Master and Reference track, which will allow you to audition the track before and after processing. The project includes two Screensets.
Placed across the main Stereo Output bus, we can solo either the Middle or Side channels accordingly. Notice how the EQ is only lifting the sides of the mix, accentuating details like the reverb rather than the entirety of the sound.
Apply a heavy high-pass filter cut on the low-end of the Side channel. To keep the low end tidy, this EQ setting could also be combined with the high-pass cut around 30Hz.
Solo each of the bands to hear how the track is currently being deconstructed. The gain reduction attenuates the signal level and reduces the dynamic range of the low end. Adding a small amount of Gain Make-up restores the level and gives the low end a tighter, punchier sound than before. No Gain Makeup is applied in this application. The final stage, of course, is the Adaptive Limiter. Bounce this reference master to disk.
Import your reference bounce into the useful website loudnesspenalty. If you want, adjust the limiting in response to your findings. You can use the reference channel to compare a less-compressed master — applying the streaming loudness adjustment using the Gain plug-in.
Reprint the master if you decide to go for a greater amount of dynamic range. Re-import the bounced master into the project and place it on a spare track.
Now set a precise start and end point for the audio file. Allow a frame or so of silence at the start. A fade out can be applied to the mastered audio file do not ever try to compress or limit a track with an existing fade out! Adjust the curve to achieve the right movement. Rebounce the master, with the fade and top-and-tailing in place. Use the Set Locators feature on the Toolbar to precisely set the duration of the bounce to be equal to the size of the region.
For more Logic tutorials and workshops, check here. Napolian, electronic musician and prominent LA-based producer, dies at Data miners discover Spotify HiFi interface graphics and settings. Hardware Instruments. Review: Line Audio CM4. Basic mastering logic pro x free download Eventide UltraTap. Apple Logic Pro. Steinberg Cubase. Ableton Live. Image-Line FL Studio. Buyer’s Guides Essential Guides. Buyer’s Guides.
Best sample packs of the month: June Best plug-ins to buy in 12 best plug-ins for making lo-fi beats. Best freeware of the month: June Best speakers to buy in 11 best mini studio monitors. Tutorials Apple Logic Pro. How to develop a professional mastering workflow in Logic. By Mark Cousins. Beyond loudness Advertisement. Napolian, electronic musician and prominent LA-based producer, dies at 29 Music 5th July
Logic Pro X: Audio and Music Production – PDF Drive
Christopher Carvalho. This article should help you get going, so you can confidently make great sounding masters for your music. There are many articles and cheat sheets out there that tell you things in absolutes like needing 6 dB of headroom and such. You might even to choose to take up to a week between mixing and mastering the same song, without once listening to the mix in between. Your call. With regard to peak headroom, here is an article I wrote about it.
If you would like a general guideline, around 14 dB of difference between peak and RMS in the loudest moments in the mix is a good place to start. Measuring EQ, dynamics, and loudness are not things you can rely solely on meters for. However, they can and will work as a supplement to your hearing, but nothing more than that. Now that you have set up your monitoring level , you may also choose to use a reference track in the mastering session.
Do this by ear and make adjustments along the way so that comparisons are always fair. Remember, a slight difference in loudness also equates to a difference in how we perceive dynamics and frequency balance EQ. This means that if necessary, we can make it louder without clipping. This is the true purpose of a peak limiter. Load it as the final plugin in your chain and set the ceiling to This where we start to work backwards, at least as far as the order of plugins in your chain is concerned.
Before, I mentioned how playback volume has a huge bearing on how we perceive frequency balance and dynamics. This is where we work to minimise that variable. Earlier, I shared this article on how to set up your monitoring level. Now that you are close to the goal, any issues with regard to dynamics and EQ will start to make themselves apparent. Now you can work your way back into the chain, tackling these specific issues. Use the tools at your disposal to solve the problems. If there are no problems, have the courage to believe that and move onto the final step.
This is where you actually create the master files. Simply use the Bounce command in Logic Pro X and select the appropriate formats for where you want to submit your music. Tip: Dither your master. Any dither is better than truncation distortion! Be sure to watch this video on how to properly use reference tracks when mastering in Logic Pro X.
Sign up to Labs for a bundle of free resources to help you create and release your music. Music Production. Many get lost though. Perhaps you can relate! How To Prepares Your Mix es There are many articles and cheat sheets out there that tell you things in absolutes like needing 6 dB of headroom and such.
If you are confident in the sound of the mix then just bounce it down to a 24 bit wav file. Then master the wav mix in a brand new session another day with fresh ears. Give your brain time to forget about it for a bit! Just make sure there is an appropriate amount of dynamics in the music. Calibrate Your Mastering Level This bit is huge. Gain Stage Your Reference Track s Now that you have set up your monitoring level , you may also choose to use a reference track in the mastering session.
There is only one tip you need to know about using reference tracks… Turn them down or up to your mastering level! That way, there is no loudness bias between your master and the reference track. Set The Ceiling As you probably know, a limiter is very much a usual suspect in your mastering chain. Find Loudness This where we start to work backwards, at least as far as the order of plugins in your chain is concerned. Problem Solving Now that you are close to the goal, any issues with regard to dynamics and EQ will start to make themselves apparent.
Happy mastering!
– Basic mastering logic pro x free download
Подойдя вплотную, черт его дери. В комнате тут же стало тихо! Британского флага нигде не было. – Н-ну, – заикаясь начал он, что тот .