Mastering plugins input / output levels?
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Mastering plugins input / output levels?
hi all,
forgive me if this question has been answered before. i've watched a ton of tutorials and, i'm still a little bit fuzzy on this topic.
from the tutorials, i've learned to use the Utility tool to gain stage the diff instruments, and my Master Bus level is -6. so far, so good. i then export to a .wav file.
i then import the .wav file into a new Ableton session, and then typically add 2 plugins:
1 - saturator (Waves Infected Mushroom)
2 - limiter (Tokyo Dawn Limiter 6 GE)
starting with the saturator, the thing that's got me perplexed is - how do i determine the input and output levels? is it some combination that results in the output levels maintaining the -6 headroom going into the limiter?
thanks in advance.
Gianni
forgive me if this question has been answered before. i've watched a ton of tutorials and, i'm still a little bit fuzzy on this topic.
from the tutorials, i've learned to use the Utility tool to gain stage the diff instruments, and my Master Bus level is -6. so far, so good. i then export to a .wav file.
i then import the .wav file into a new Ableton session, and then typically add 2 plugins:
1 - saturator (Waves Infected Mushroom)
2 - limiter (Tokyo Dawn Limiter 6 GE)
starting with the saturator, the thing that's got me perplexed is - how do i determine the input and output levels? is it some combination that results in the output levels maintaining the -6 headroom going into the limiter?
thanks in advance.
Gianni
Re: Mastering plugins input / output levels?
Instead ask yourself, why are you using a Saturator in the first place? What issue in your song do you hear that you think requires a Saturator?
tarekith
https://tarekith.com
https://tarekith.com
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Re: Mastering plugins input / output levels?
thank you for your reply.
i'm a virtual noob to this, but w/o the saturator, the song sounds kind of "pale" - i guess that's that best way for me to describe it.
if there are other (non-technical) ways for me to achieve this, i would certainly welcome any advice.
Gianni.
i'm a virtual noob to this, but w/o the saturator, the song sounds kind of "pale" - i guess that's that best way for me to describe it.
if there are other (non-technical) ways for me to achieve this, i would certainly welcome any advice.
Gianni.
Re: Mastering plugins input / output levels?
Hard to say what you should do without hearing the song. Can you post the mix down so I can take a listen?
tarekith
https://tarekith.com
https://tarekith.com
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Re: Mastering plugins input / output levels?
thanks again. i will post a couple of samples. still new to this, so it may take me a day or two.
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Re: Mastering plugins input / output levels?
a little off-topic, and i'd hate to kick a company when they are down, but i think i'm not a fan of Waves' business practices, so i'd eventually like to move away from the Waves Infected Mushroom plugin.
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Re: Mastering plugins input / output levels?
hi and sorry it took so long. the whole Mastering process is still a bit of a mystery to me.
i've tried to match the Integrated LUFS on both clips. i'll attach a link to a couple of clips here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing
1. Song with Saturation.
2. Song without Saturation.
thank you.
i've tried to match the Integrated LUFS on both clips. i'll attach a link to a couple of clips here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing
1. Song with Saturation.
2. Song without Saturation.
thank you.
Re: Mastering plugins input / output levels?
Yes, I agree that the version without the saturator sounds a little more dull in comparison. That said, the version WITH the saturator sounds a little buzzy and harsh in places too. Not saying that using a saturator in mastering is wrong, but for something like this a gentle EQ boost of about 2dB around 1kHz with a broad Q setting could help gain back some of that presence without adding distortion.
Anyway, as always there's more than one way to fix and issue in music production. Best advice I can give is to not reach for Saturation all the time, but instead consider why you would use it versus something like EQ.
Anyway, as always there's more than one way to fix and issue in music production. Best advice I can give is to not reach for Saturation all the time, but instead consider why you would use it versus something like EQ.
tarekith
https://tarekith.com
https://tarekith.com
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Re: Mastering plugins input / output levels?
Am I daft in thinking that "saturation" is different than "tape emu" ?
If I'm not, then I'd strongly recommend trying something like "tape" by softube or the now native "studder" by UAD.
Both have excellent no-BS demos, so you could try that and see if it adds more of what you are looking for. The studder is my fav, personally.
If I'm not, then I'd strongly recommend trying something like "tape" by softube or the now native "studder" by UAD.
Both have excellent no-BS demos, so you could try that and see if it adds more of what you are looking for. The studder is my fav, personally.
Live 11.x Suite, Push 2, AMD Ryzen 7900x @ 4.7 GHZ, Windows 11, 32 GB ram, Volt 2, Nektar T4 and Atom SQ.
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Re: Mastering plugins input / output levels?
thank you all for the replies.
i'd be more than willing to try diff ways to address the "vibrancy" of the music, and if i can subtract one more moving part, i'd be more than happy to do so.
but circling back to my orig "head-scratcher", all these plugins have Input and Output knobs.
so if the music is being fed to the plugin at -6, should i be leaving the input control at 0 and tuning the output levels to match the -6 of the original signal? at which point the Limiter does the rest?
i'd be more than willing to try diff ways to address the "vibrancy" of the music, and if i can subtract one more moving part, i'd be more than happy to do so.
but circling back to my orig "head-scratcher", all these plugins have Input and Output knobs.
so if the music is being fed to the plugin at -6, should i be leaving the input control at 0 and tuning the output levels to match the -6 of the original signal? at which point the Limiter does the rest?
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Re: Mastering plugins input / output levels?
in my noob-level understanding, i think they are all similar in terms of function?chris harbin wrote: ↑Wed Apr 05, 2023 5:47 pmAm I daft in thinking that "saturation" is different than "tape emu" ?
If I'm not, then I'd strongly recommend trying something like "tape" by softube or the now native "studder" by UAD.
Both have excellent no-BS demos, so you could try that and see if it adds more of what you are looking for. The studder is my fav, personally.
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- Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2023 9:28 pm
Re: Mastering plugins input / output levels?
i will certainly try these suggestions - thank you.Tarekith wrote: ↑Wed Apr 05, 2023 5:08 pmYes, I agree that the version without the saturator sounds a little more dull in comparison. That said, the version WITH the saturator sounds a little buzzy and harsh in places too. Not saying that using a saturator in mastering is wrong, but for something like this a gentle EQ boost of about 2dB around 1kHz with a broad Q setting could help gain back some of that presence without adding distortion.
Anyway, as always there's more than one way to fix and issue in music production. Best advice I can give is to not reach for Saturation all the time, but instead consider why you would use it versus something like EQ.