Final Mix Considerations
This final chapter in Part IIb provides the essentials of digital mastering in the context of the project studio, preparing you to troubleshoot, export, and deliver your mixes to clients in a professional manner. Primary topics include psychoacoustic processing, automation, mix stems, noise reduction, and the use of a master chain within a DAW. Practical matters such as deliverable formats and ISRC coding are also addressed.
16.1 Volume automation in McIntyre, “Sunken Sally” (Pro Tools)
16.2 Send level automation in Logic Pro
16.3 Filtering and compressing a reverb aux track
16.4 A master chain in Logic Pro
16.5 Taming sub frequencies with a conservative EQ slope while slightly boosting the sparkle and air bands
16.6 The limiting stages of a master chain
16.7 LUFS metering with the Loudness Meter in Logic Pro
Flashcards
Click on the word to get the definition
psychoacoustic processing
a technique used to “excite” or “enhance” an audio signal by adding synthesized harmonics.
a psychoacoustic processor that adds brightness—sometimes referred to as “sparkle”—to an audio signal, often by way of frequency-specific distortion.
a psychoacoustic processor that adds brightness—sometimes referred to as “sparkle”—to an audio signal, often by way of frequency-specific distortion.
a type of processing that is similar to compression in that specified frequencies become attenuated when they pass a volume threshold set by the user.
low-frequency enhancement
a type of psychoacoustic processing that involves adding synthesized harmonics to a signal in order to increase the perceived bass and sub-bass frequencies.
a form of psychoacoustic processing that incorporates phase shifting and MS processing to generate a sound field that is perceived to be wider than it actually is.
a group of audio signals that are fed into a single aux track in order to help with the global organization of a project while allowing for simple batch processing.
the final stage of production, which involves making large-scale adjustments to a complete mix or set of tracks (including noise reduction), embedding digital identifiers to audio files, and meeting established criteria related to the final recording deliverable(s) (e.g., sample rate, bit depth, file format, etc.).
a series of plugins that is added to the DAW’s master output for the purpose of digital mastering.
a type of psychoacoustic processing that involves adding a small amount of digital distortion to a signal, which in turn generates high-frequency harmonics that provide a simulation of the “warm” sound that is often attributed to tape recording.
shorthand for decibels relative to full scale, this relative scale orients the producer to the maximum output level, 0dBFS, at which clipping may occur.
a standalone program and/or plugin that is designed to combine all of the processing involved in mastering into a single virtual location.
a software functionality that allows the user to bypass any processing while boosting the signal to a level equal to that of the processed mix for comparison purposes.
the base level of unavoidable background noise that is created by the various electronics participating in a mix environment.
the process of eliminating clicks, hums, clips, and other unwanted noises from a mix, typically during the final mastering phase.
digitally encoded information about a piece of music, such as the artist(s) involved in its creation.
shorthand for International Standard Recording Code, a unique code that is generated to function like a digital fingerprint in identifying a specific recording of a piece of music.
or Loudness Units (relative to) Full Scale, this is a measurement that addresses perceived loudness as well as audio signal intensity together; it is used in mastering to match standards for various media.
a technique used to mitigate the loss of audio quality caused by downsampling. Dithering is accomplished by displacing the difference in frequencies between sampling rates by adding and spreading the information in musical ways.
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