Favorite mastering plugins

[getreel]

I'm still fairly new to the DAW world and recently have had the need to master some material. I used to dabble in a little mastering back in the 90s using Sound Forge 4 or Wave Lab. I'm thinking of using something like that again, probably Sound Forge 9 but haven't totally made up my mind yet. I know I'll need some plugins and I've experimented with T-Racks(got it free from Tune Core when I released an EP last year) and Endorphin. I've heard talk of everything from Ozone to the L2. I haven't seen any talk here on recent threads and I didn't want to dig through 40 something pages of search but I looked at the first few and didn't see much. Also, things tend to change rapidly in the DAW world. What are some of you guys getting the best results with? What's your favorite to use? Use vs sound quality and how easy to figure out how to get great sounds??

[digitaldrummer]

I bought Ozone and used it for a few projects that didn't have budget for real mastering. I think it worked pretty well. they also have a pretty good "white paper" that explains a little about how & where to use it, etc. I would usually start with one of the presets and then adjust from there. I certainly don't consider myself a mastering engineer as a result...

Mike

[getreel]

I'm no mastering engineer either. I don't plan to do any serious mastering but would like to tweak some old stuff and test master mixes for car listening etc. I have a mastering guy I can use whose not far away, but I find myself needing to do a little here and there on the cheap for certain clients etc. Ozone looks good and I just noticed the new version of Sonar has some mastering plugins with it. The studio I sometimes work out of has Sonar 7 Producer Edition and I like it quite a bit. I think they may be getting the upgrade so I hopefully I'll get to try their mastering plugs.

[MASSIVE Mastering]

Try Samplitude Master - You probably won't even want any other plugs.


DISCLAIMER: I don't use plugs often - But it's hard to beat Samplitude Pro's native plugs. Assuming "Master" has many of the same (AM-Suite, etc.), it's fairly "all in one" as far as digital horsepower is concerned.

[Dan Phelps]

I also use Ozone, mainly for sprucing up rough mixes, but it seems to be pretty powerful...generally I find a preset that is going in the right direction for what I want and dial it back a little bit to a nice medium ground.

I, also, am definitely NOT a mastering engineer.

[pedrohead]

Again the general disclaimer... "I'm not in any way a professional mastering engineer," but my studio is set up as an inexpensive one-stop shop so I do the best I can, and have always been pretty happy with the results.

My mastering chain is, in general:

On the audio track:
-URS API MIX EQ
-Waves C4 multiband compressor

On the master fader
-Digi EQ3 (for a last second hi-pass filter before limiting, set around 40-50 Hz, just depending on what sounds right)
-Sony Oxford Inflator
-DIGI IDR

I also duplicate the audio track and do the "NY mastering technique".

[wedge]

I also duplicate the audio track and do the "NY mastering technique".

Whatz that? Never herd of it...

[pedrohead]

I also duplicate the audio track and do the "NY mastering technique".

Whatz that? Never herd of it...

It's basically parallel processing, just when you do it in mastering it gets a cool name

Just EQ'ing and compressing one track and leaving a second, duplicate track untouched then blending them.

[acjetnut]

I use Universal Audio plugins to do basic mastering. I would always go elsewhere for a real, pro job, but for a basic demo for utility purposes, sometimes it helps the client to master the recording a bit for them. As far as specifics, I use the LA-2A, 1176, and Cambridge EQ plugins.

[Nick Sevilla]

I also duplicate the audio track and do the "NY mastering technique".

Whatz that? Never herd of it...

It's basically parallel processing, just when you do it in mastering it gets a cool name

Just EQ'ing and compressing one track and leaving a second, duplicate track untouched then blending them.

Yeah, except this is generally done when mixing, not when mastering... I don't know about you but the phase issue arising from doing this to a full mix would keep me from doing it.

When I do do this to tracks, I usually print the effect, and check phase issues.

Cheers

[MoreSpaceEcho]

it's entirely possible to do that parallel thing without any phase issues.

[wedge]

it's entirely possible to do that parallel thing without any phase issues.

Do you have to take any special steps to prevent phase issues, or are you saying that, inherently, phase issues aren't an issue in this process?

[Nick Sevilla]

it's entirely possible to do that parallel thing without any phase issues.

Yes, if the plugins being used do not alter the phase of the material passing through it.

Like the Logic Pro Linear Phase EQ, for example.

Any other Plug In that does not specify that it is phase linear, will change the phase relationship somewhat.

Some EQs do this in differing degrees, and always differnt EQs so desirable, like th Neve 1073 and 1081, which especially alter the low frequencies in a very pleasing way, as well as adding harmonics to the top end.

So for example, doing a parallel mastering thing with a Neve EQ emulation would automatically induce phase issues.

Now, whether these issues are Desirable or not, is entirely up to the engineer. Say, a metal track that is not edgy enough might benefit from some subtle third order harmonics introduced, to "edge out" the sound a little, making it less round sounding.

Cheers

[moogplayer]

I found T-rackS better than the L1 (I know we're talkin old school here). After hours of tweaks, I know where the sweet spots are with both programs (i.e. used lightly). If you're new to mastering, don't overdo it and think you have to have the hottest, loudest, fattest master ever. Especially with this kind of software. That being said, I am curious about Ozone's capabilities...

[DrummerMan]

I've been using:

UAD Pultec Pro for slight eq stuff

into

UAD Fairchild for mild compression (sometimes I use the 1176LN instead but haven't really found it right for most things)

into

Logic's Adaptive Limiter if it needs more meatiness

I don't know if these are the best, but I find them working well when I need to turn in something somewhat mastered, which is actually fairly often. Back in the old OS9 days, I used T-racks and was pretty happy with it, but my recollection may have rosier tinted lenses than is necessarily deserved.