Unleash Your Mastering Potential: The Top Plugins for Perfecting Your Mix
Mastering with Plugins: Top Plugins For Perfecting Your Mix
When it comes to mastering your music, there are a lot of different tools and techniques that you can use to achieve a polished, professional sound. One of the most popular methods for mastering is using plugins – software-based tools that emulate the effects of hardware processors. In this article, we’ll explore the world of mastering with plugins and highlight some of the top plugins that you can use to perfect your mix.
Introduction To Mastering With with Plugins
Before we dive into the world of plugins, it’s important to understand what mastering is and why it’s important. Mastering is the final step in the music production process, where a professional mastering engineer applies a series of processing techniques to the stereo mixdown of a track in order to enhance its overall sound and prepare it for distribution. Mastering can involve a variety of different techniques, including EQ, compression, limiting, stereo widening, and more.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Plugins for Mastering
Plugins offer a number of advantages for mastering, including their affordability, versatility, and convenience. Unlike hardware processors, which can be expensive and require a lot of physical space, plugins can be purchased and installed on your computer with just a few clicks. Additionally, plugins offer a level of flexibility that is difficult to achieve with hardware – you can easily swap out different plugins and experiment with different settings until you find the perfect sound.
That being said, there are also some disadvantages to using plugins for mastering. Some engineers argue that plugins can sound “digital” or “sterile” when compared to their hardware counterparts. Additionally, plugins can be prone to crashes and other technical issues, which can be frustrating when you’re in the middle of a session.
Recommended Plugins for Different Mastering Tasks
There are a wide variety of plugins available for mastering, and it can be overwhelming to know where to start. Here are some of our top picks for different mastering tasks:
FabFilter Pro-Q 3 – EQ
- The Pro-Q 3 is a powerful EQ plugin that offers a wide range of features and a beautiful, intuitive interface. With up to 24 bands of EQ, dynamic EQ, mid/side processing, and more, the Pro-Q 3 is an essential tool for any mastering engineer.
There are a wide variety of plugins available for mastering, and it can be overwhelming to know where to start. Here are some of our top picks for different mastering tasks:
FabFilter Pro-Q 3 – EQ
- The Pro-Q 3 is a powerful EQ plugin that offers a wide range of features and a beautiful, intuitive interface. With up to 24 bands of EQ, dynamic EQ, mid/side processing, and more, the Pro-Q 3 is an essential tool for any mastering engineer.
I cannot live without my Fabfilter Mastering Bundle, it is my go to for instant mastering when I’m working to a tight schedule. I have different mastering chains with ready made set ups that I tweak in a project by project basis.
I use Logic Pro’s Save Channel Strip Setting As to create different chains that serve different purposes. When I start a new commission, album, or project I first create a Project Template that will be used across all tracks or music cues, next I Load the mastering chain but have all the plugins switched off. As the project develops I tweak the mastering chain. When I’m ready to send demos to the client I render everything through my chain having saved hours mastering at the end.
I do work in different ways though, sometimes I’ll master within the project, for media work we don’t always have the luxury of time. If I’m working with a mastering engineer I’ll still use my chain for demos and to see roughly what the track will sound like when brought up to spec levels. When I’m done I’ll simply upload the Stereo Mix to the engineer.
I also like to experiment with differerent plugins too. Waves’ Smack Attack is a brilliant plugin that is great for glueing mixes together. I don’t use it for it’s original purpose of dealng with transients, I use it by setting up the Attack to be anywhere between a value of 1-4 and adjust the mix dial to be 50% or lower, that’s it but boy wow it make a difference!
Click below to get your go to mastering chain
Waves SSL G-Master Buss Compressor – Compression
- The SSL G-Master Buss Compressor is a faithful emulation of the classic SSL bus compressor, which is a staple in many mastering studios. With its punchy, aggressive sound and flexible controls, the SSL G-Master is perfect for gluing together the elements of a mix and adding a touch of color and character.
- iZotope Ozone 10 – Mastering Suite
- The Ozone 10 is a complete mastering suite that includes a variety of tools, including EQ, compression, limiting, stereo imaging, and more. With its intelligent processing and streamlined workflow, the Ozone 10 is a popular choice for both beginners and professionals. I have version 9 and absolutely love it, there can be a learning curve once you’ve mastered (pun intended!) it the results you can get out of Ozone is amazing! It’s the hole package. iZotope is now own by Soundwide, the parent company of Native Instruments so its future development is secure and in trusted hands so you can guarantee it will continue to be developed for years to come.
If that wasn’t cause enough to check out this all in one mastering suite Pulgin Boutique gave it the coveted Winner of Innovation award in 2022!
Ozone 10 is fast becoming a new standard all of it’s own with ground breaking tech that gives you much more power to achieve the masters you want.
Here’s what Izotope say about their product:
The Future of Mastering
“Achieving a professional master is faster than ever with Ozone 10. Match the sound of chart-topping hits or your favourite reference files with the new Master Assistant, as groundbreaking technology and an improved UI keep you in your flow. The new Assistant View UI and Tonal Balance metering make it easier than ever to craft a balanced and precise sound.
Maximize loudness with the new Magnify Soft Clip, improve mono with the new Recover Sides, and instantly match the sound of your favourite chart-topping hits and reference files using the new Master Assistant. Get detailed and superior results with Ozone 10, the most advanced and intuitive mastering suite in the world.”
and when you use the mastering assistant you can “Effortlessly achieve the sound of chart-topping hits or your favourite reference file using groundbreaking matching technology for tone, dynamics, and width.” This type of technology is well worth a look and is the future of music tech analysis. I’d say get Ozone 10 now and then save on the AI updates that are bound to come in the future to help you produce better masters!
Take a look at Ozone 10, click below
Using Multiple Plugins in a Mastering Chain
One of the key advantages of using plugins for mastering is the ability to use multiple plugins in a mastering chain. By chaining together different plugins in a specific order, you can achieve a wide range of different sounds and effects. Here’s an example of a common mastering chain:
- EQ – to shape the overall frequency balance of the mix
- Compression – to glue together the elements of the mix and control the dynamics
- Limiting – to increase the overall loudness of the mix and prevent clipping
- Stereo Widening – to create a wider, more spacious sound
Of course, there are many different ways to set up a mastering chain, and it ultimately depends on the sound you’re trying to achieve and the specific plugins you are using.
Of course there are many different techniques and tricks that aren’t covered in this article but mastering is all about setting up a chain of processing plugins that do two main things. Subtly enhance and balance and sound that already exists from the mix and gently (or not so gently) raise the level of the mix so it competes with other commercial tracks or meets the standards of broadcast and streaming media.
Setting up the chain is the easy bit, learning the techniques of the masters and developing an ear that recognises the changes that are required is the key to mastering the art of mastering but with technology like Ozone the future of assisted plugins is something we should embrace to help us write and produce better music faster and more efficiently.