what effects you put on your master channel in ableton?

[netwarrior]

hi!

which effects you put on your master channel when producing so overal mix will sound punch and tight?

i put compressor, EQ (40 HZ cut and little cut at 200 HZ area) and limiter

any suggestions?

[simonlb]

Nothing.

I try to make my mix sound as good as possible without anything on the master channel, IMO compression and limiting the entire track should be left to the mastering stage unless you're using it as some special effect.

Even if it was a special effect I'd be tempted to buss everything to another track and use that one for the effects, I've always just thought it's good practice to have an empty and unity-set master channel.

That's just my 2 cents, I'm sure there's people making better music than mine with compressors on their master, rules are there to be broken and so on...

[3dot...]

a limiter for when I'm composing..
and a 'room correction' eq .. sometimes a gate or a chopper for special-fx...

[AceLuby]

I compress, limit, EQ, and have some effects for live work. For creating tracks I just have the effects and do the rest during mastering.

[White_Rabbit]

I keep effects off the master channel. Sometimes I'll have S(m)exoscope, spectrum and a utility on there to see whats going on change volume while leaving master fader at 0

Your other question 'producing so overal mix will sound punch and tight?' is probably better answered by someone with more experience than me but I suggest doing it at the source and leave the master for mastering

[simonlb]

Your other question 'producing so overal mix will sound punch and tight?' is probably better answered by someone with more experience than me but I suggest doing it at the source and leave the master for mastering

Yeah, a compressor/limiter on your master track isn't suddenly gonna make everything sound punchy and tight. Sure it can be the icing on the cake but you still need a tasty cake under that icing

[oddstep]

Recording. Multiband compressor and a limiter.
Live. I seem to always run into problems with master channel compression... flat sound, weird peaks, loss of control over mix... so i have stopped doing it. Now i just have a grain delay and frequency modulator on it.. so i can get as alien as possible.

[Migra]

Usually EQ and Limiter (Sometimes Ableton's sometimes 3rd party)

[Tarekith]

In the studio, nothing. I leave it at 0dB with no effects, if it wasn't for the scene launch buttons, I'd never even need to see the master channel.

Live I have a limiter on the master, set with a threshold of -0.3dB. Just to catch anything unexpected, I never get near it usually though.

[Cool Character]

A limiter just in case. It never compresses because when I'm jamming I constantly turn the volume DOWN.

An EQ that takes off some lows and highs, because I realize I'll take out highs and lows from even a well mastered track. So instead of screwing up everything I just make it nice for me when I'm creating music, then remove the EQ when I'm done.

[Anubis]

SPAN

[leedsquietman]

Typically nothing on a mix. EQing should be fixed on a individual track and/or a buss group level not on the master IMO. I don't even throw a limiter on there, I make sure my levels are leaving good headroom and not peaking anywhere close to full scale. I sometimes throw a limiter on a drum buss because that's where short transient bursts often come through, if I'm scared of overs.

I always do mastering as a seperate session but I don't use Live for this purpose. If I was using Live for this purpose, then there could be some minor EQ tweaking/shelving, compression and limiting and sometimes things such as Sonalksis's Stereotools or other utility plugins such as SPAN etc, sometimes a touch of tape saturation, whatever. It's all dependent on the material. I never use preset frequencies for EQing, always sweep the bands, it's rare that any two songs will sound optimal with deliberate preset frequencies, such as cut a little 200. Some tracks may require a BOOST at 200 !

[outershpongolia]

As far as processing: NOTHING

if you're interested in my LIVE rack I have:

2 beat repeats - one is on Repeat, and the other catches every half bar with some variation, randomness, etc.
Hi Pass Filter - this macro also turns on AND increases a redux that gives it some bite - love that effect.
Fade to Grey - You can find that in the Library..
DJClimax - can't tell you the source (sorry dude) but someone posted a DJClimax patch - took the freq. shift out of it cause I don't want that pitch shift..
Autopan - setup like a gate or a chopper - just does 1/8 - 1/12 - 1/16 chops on the master for that tweak chop shitz..


EDIT!: posted a few racks here, thought someone might like them - they are really simple but pretty useful I guess : http://www.mediafire.com/?5wdh1whjl9cc88t

[Angstrom]

I usually have a selection of things on there, a utility, a saturator, multiband compressor, a few (normal)compressors. It's usually just for testing though, because the inevitable 'mastering' that happens later can have a really strong impact on a mix and it's best to catch issues before then, so I have a bunch of these things to flip on and off to see what leaps out. Utility for mono tests, some varied harsh compression usually points out my percussive (programming)errors that I would otherwise let slip.

But, I do like pissing about with effects on the master just for fun, and have from time to time kept a saturator,or some other stupid thing on the whole mix. I think it's important to have that freedom rather than locking yourself into the terrible "engineering perfection" headspace. That can be a very un-musical place to be. Better some wild idiocy than than yet another minimalist 96khz 48bit nerdgasm with an award-winning low noise floor.

I'm more than happy with a pile of unbalanced crunchy grunge if it gets my head nodding.
So, FX on the master FTW.

[shuutobi]

Default saturator with soft clip, to protect my monitors.

Sometimes I'll bust out EQ8 or the compressor... But never for rendering.