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Limiting
Limiting
N
Mastering Processes
My Inspiration is based in sonics and different ways of expression, mostly music push me to write lyrics.
I'm keeping myself confident that true story always find a listener since if something is real than it is possible that someone can identify with that words in real life.
Limiting
Reading the article about Limiting helped me to understand Maximising with a limiter or a compressor. To make my songs stand out in a streaming services I had to aim for a signifficant factor of required loudnes. To "push the overal level of the input signal as high as possible" (CM 2013: 23) by setting a low threshold, to achieve a lot of gain reduction and giving it back using makeup gain so the peaks reach 0dB. This process caused me a lot of confusion and I think I am improving effectively.
Stereo width
Here is the tip for controling the Stereo width that I've used on my last album. It comes fro Practical Mastering- A Guide to Mastering in the Modern Studio book and it is a method widely used in Mastering which involve "M/S processing techniques to help in the processs of loudness creation." (Sawyer 2013;158) Thanks to this technique I was able to make adjustments not only beneficial for stereo width but also for increasing loudness.
EQ
Mastering without use of EQ would be like consuming bread without butter. Essentially all of the frequencies from broad range from 20Hz to 20000Hz needs to be distributed carefully. This space is dedicated to provide a balance of instruments which is mostly done during the mix but I had to make subtle changes and use a little bit of EQ to add little bit of life, clarity to songs I've made.
Here is the important sentence I've stumble across when I was looking for a EQ techniques for mastering. "The best repair approach is to startsubtly and advance to severity only if subtlety doesn't work" (Katz 2002; 104)
Compression
I had to learn how to use compressors in order to be able to controll transients and level-out signals. I've learned about compresor seetings most comonly used in mastering plus model dependent controls.
Processes that I used are called: "Gentle mastering compression" (Sawyer 2013; 69) and Michael Brauer Multibuss Technique in order to achieve that commercial sounding track.
Adding Fades
Important process of adding tailored fades to finished tracks was something very important. I found it similiar to level automation and worth listening out for. Here is the quote from a book that I found inspiring to use it. "Aesthetically, it is gentler than the cut; it gives a stronger sense of finality to a scene that is ending and a sense of posibilities to the scene that is begining."(Alten 2012)
Monitoring
I had to adapt my studio to a professional acoustic monitoring environment. I've calibrated the monitor control according to formula that the sum of the momentary loudness at the monitor position should be -20 LUFS for Forte. "This formula is the principle of the new loudness- based K-System of calibrated monitoring" (Katz 2015;265), I also got familiar with using Sonarworx Reference 4 to make sure that the masters will translate wherever is played.
10 Piano Hip-Hop
References:
Cousin, M. and Hepworth-Sawyer R. (2013) Practical Mastering (1st edn). Oxon: Focal Press
CM (2013) "Understanding Limiting". Computer Music Special 64, 22-24
Katz, B. (2002) Mastering Audio the art and science (1st edn). Oxon: Focal Pres
Katz, B. (2015) Mastering Audio the art and science (3rd edn). Oxon: Focal Press
Alten, S. (2012) Recording and producing audio for media (1st edn). Boston: Michael Rosenberg
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