Conclusion – Logic x pro mastering audio free

Send me your Project today! When exporting your tracks please export 32bit Also ensure the volume is sitting at a comfortable -6db. My Mastering will translate in the club, the car and on your mobile devices. I have over 15 years of Mastering Experience in all styles of Music. The easiest way to take your Ableton Live Project and turn it into a fully Mixed and Mastered final is to send your project to me!

I will take your project and balance the tracks and professionally mix it to be loud and dance floor ready. Send me your Logic Session today! Most of the time I can take your Logic Pro session open it without any issues. I usually demo the plugins I do not have. If I can not get your plugins working you will have to send me the audio tracks as they are.

When exporting from Logic Pro X, export like this You might be surprised to know that mastering engineers tend to use the same plug-ins you use to mix your own music.

Equalizers, compressors, limiters, and even the occasional reverb are all regularly used. But instead of focusing on the individual elements of a mix, mastering engineers focus on the tonal and dynamic balance of the mix as a whole.

Apple’s Logic Pro is a fantastic digital audio workstation DAW for capturing and arranging your creative ideas. Logic Pro gives you every tool you need to begin writing, recording, arranging, editing, and mixing your music. While more specialized workstations exist for mastering, there’s no reason why you can’t master your own music in Logic Pro.

So let’s begin by importing a stereo bounce of a mix into a new Logic Pro Project. Importing a stereo bounce of your mix is simple.

Navigate to the stereo file you plan on importing using your Mac’s Finder. When you import your mix, you may run into some pop-up windows during the process. That’s because Logic Pro embeds certain metadata into audio files and bounces.

If you mixed your song in Logic Pro, you can also import certain details from your original mix Project. For example, you can import the tempo track from your original track. These details can be beneficial for navigating your session as you master your track. So let’s import both the tempo and markers from this file. From here let’s customize the Logic Pro interface a bit. By default Logic Pro’s timeline is measured in bars and beats. But sometimes it might be more helpful to see how long the track is using a time-based timeline.

Once enabled, the secondary ruler will now show a time-based ruler along the top of the Tracks Area. By default, the LCD can provide some basic information about our Project. But again, more specific information about position and time can be helpful when mastering. From the dropdown let’s select the Custom option. Ah, much better! Now we can clearly see the details of our project, as well as where we are in our project.

Next let’s attend to some housekeeping details. We’ll want to bring our attention to the “top and tail,” or beginning and end of our stereo file.

You may find that your stereo bounce may have silent or “empty” bits at the beginning or end of your file. Your audience is not likely willing to sit through several seconds of silence to hear your song. So we need to trim this excess from our masters. In our example, my stereo mix has no empty space to trim at the beginning. So all is well, right?

Well, even though we have no extra lead time to trim, we should add a fade-in as a precaution. You’d be surprised how often we fail to notice ambient noise or effects in the background of our mixes. This is usually due to noise from plug-ins that emulate analog gear. Or time-based effects that last far longer than we tend to notice. And if we don’t add fades to our stereo files, we could end up with pops or clicks in our masters.

So to be safe, let’s add a short fade-in to this mix. To do so, let’s set the Mouse click tool to the Fade tool. You can access the Fade tool by heading up to the Mouse Tools at the top of the Tracks area and click on the right-hand menu. The right-hand menu is what we call the Command-click tool. Let’s select the Fade Tool as your Command-click tool. Now hover your mouse over the left edge of your mix’s region. Hold Command, click and drag from the left edge to the right.

At the end of the song, there’s a fade-out. But as it turns out, when I bounced my track I included too much silence at the end after the fade-out. Listen to the fade-out on this track as it is below. There’s really no purpose for all that extra silence. So let’s remove it. Using the supplied Logic Mastering template , though, we can quickly compare the musicality of different loudness settings and discover what works best for our music.

Drag the song onto both the Master and Reference track, which will allow you to audition the track before and after processing. The project includes two Screensets. Placed across the main Stereo Output bus, we can solo either the Middle or Side channels accordingly. Notice how the EQ is only lifting the sides of the mix, accentuating details like the reverb rather than the entirety of the sound.

Apply a heavy high-pass filter cut on the low-end of the Side channel. To keep the low end tidy, this EQ setting could also be combined with the high-pass cut around 30Hz. Solo each of the bands to hear how the track is currently being deconstructed.

The gain reduction attenuates the signal level and reduces the dynamic range of the low end. Adding a small amount of Gain Make-up restores the level and gives the low end a tighter, punchier sound than before.

This is where you actually create the master files. Simply use the Bounce command in Logic Pro X and select the appropriate formats for where you want to submit your music. Tip: Dither your master. Any dither is better than truncation distortion!

Unlock a bundle of free resources to help you create and release your music. Music Production. Many get lost though. Perhaps you can relate! Table of Contents 1. How To Prepare Your Mix es 2. Calibrate Your Mastering Level 3. Gain Stage Your Reference Track s 4.

Set The Ceiling 5. Find Loudness 6.

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Logic x pro mastering audio free.5 Best Free Mastering Plugins (UPDATED: )

Its five modules include: RMS compressor, peak limiter, high-frequency limiter, clipper, and true peak limiter. Each of these modules have extremely flexible controls. The five different themes allow the user to change the look to various classic VU and PPM Meters, which is a nice touch.

Some mixes require a bit of balancing the information spread between the channels, and Stereo Tool v3 is prefect for this application.

It includes panning controls for the left and right channels, a vector scope display, global stereo width and pan controls, PPM Input and Output meters, a phase correlation meter, and a variety of other useful features. Being able to sculpt your signal using an equalizer is essential for a mastering engineer. This linear-phase band graphic equalizer is impressive in both functionality and sound.

Being able to work in mid-side mode allows the user to treat information in the center separately from the sides, which, when used properly, can result in a much clearer stereo spread, and a more defined space amongst individual elements. I generally believe that in audio, you get what you pay for, but each of the aforementioned plugins are exceptions to this rule. Lastly, two equalization knobs control which harmonics are more prominent, with the low rotary increasing the amplitude of low order harmonics, and the high rotary increasing the gain of high order harmonics.

Beyond the aesthetics, the plugin offers a lot of functionality and a great sound. The threshold enables an auto make up gain function that increases the overall amplitude of the signal whereas the output rotary serves as the ceiling. The release is input dependent but with 3 chasuble modes, fast, medium, and slow. The input can be controlled between the left, right, and mid channels. When the mid mode is selected, the width of your image will be affected. Lastly, a soft clip function allows for gentle to significant harmonic distortion that pleasantly amplifies your signal.

Try the Frontier plugin as a parallel compressor or as a maximizer on your output channel. One thing to keep in mind when using this plugin is that the plugins default setting has the threshold set to dB, meaning the makeup gain will automatically be pretty significant. The rotary in the middle of the plugin allows you to easily shift between a smooth, transient reduced sound, or an aggressive, transient accented sound. The fast, medium and slow settings on the left allow you to alter the attack time of the plugins dynamic functions, whereas the period slider under the main rotary allows you to change the duration for which the transient shaping lasts.

The link icon allows for automatic gain attenuation or makeup based on the settings, but this can be disengaged. The mode slider alters the incoming signal between mid and side, just mid, and just side.

Just as important is the tube-based harmonic generation this plugin provides. The very act of using the plugin or inserting it on your signal introduces complex harmonic generation that makes your signal fuller and more nuanced.

The default setting is a great start, but changing your routing to mid and side stereo gives you advanced control over both your frequency response and the stereo image of your signal. If you have the need for it, the Overtone GEQ can also support various surround sound configurations, making this plugin truly versatile. If mastering, an oversampling function provides an easy way to avoid any unwanted intermodulation distortion and aliasing.

A truly unique plugin, and one that stands apart from any of the others on this list, the HPL2 Processor converts any signal into a spacious and natural-sounding one.

Designed to provide headphone users with a more realistic sound, the HPL2 Processor gives headphone users an idea of what a mix or master might sound like over loudspeakers. Just like how NSs allow engineers to hear their mixes on a consumer-grade system, the HPL2 Processor exposes flaws in a mix or master that you may not hear if solely using headphones.

By prioritizing the mid-range, and altering some of the phase relationships, this plugin recreates the signal to sound more open — in turn changing a forward and punchy headphone mix into a somewhat washed out and distant sound. When using this plugin the only parameter you can control is the output. Typically, using this plugin decreases the overall volume by 3 to 6dB , so you will probably be using this to offset some of that attenuation.

It imparts clean compression on a signal and uses input dependent attack and release settings to create a loud and clear mix. The link button enables inter-sample peaking detention, also know as true-peak detection. This ensures that no peaking is occurring between samples.

The link function allows both faders to be controlled simultaneously, which is a great method to use when you want clean and transparent compression on an individual instrument or vocal. Unlike other limiters, there is no expansion or variable compression settings, nor is there any analog emulation via harmonic generation. The dpMeter4, although not the most aesthetically pleasing, accurately displays multiple metrics regarding the loudness and peaks of your signal.

Additionally, it allows you to set the measurements for various broadcast standards. However, they can and will work as a supplement to your hearing, but nothing more than that. Now that you have set up your monitoring level , you may also choose to use a reference track in the mastering session. Do this by ear and make adjustments along the way so that comparisons are always fair. Remember, a slight difference in loudness also equates to a difference in how we perceive dynamics and frequency balance EQ.

This means that if necessary, we can make it louder without clipping. This is the true purpose of a peak limiter. Load it as the final plugin in your chain and set the ceiling to This where we start to work backwards, at least as far as the order of plugins in your chain is concerned. Before, I mentioned how playback volume has a huge bearing on how we perceive frequency balance and dynamics.

This is where we work to minimise that variable. Earlier, I shared this article on how to set up your monitoring level. Now that you are close to the goal, any issues with regard to dynamics and EQ will start to make themselves apparent.

Now you can work your way back into the chain, tackling these specific issues. Use the tools at your disposal to solve the problems. If there are no problems, have the courage to believe that and move onto the final step. This is where you actually create the master files. Simply use the Bounce command in Logic Pro X and select the appropriate formats for where you want to submit your music. Tip: Dither your master. Any dither is better than truncation distortion!

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Article Content – Logic x pro mastering audio free

Mastering in Logic Pro X is absolutely possible, even with just stock plugins! Many get lost though. Perhaps you can relate! Table of Contents 1. How To Prepare Your Mix es 2. Calibrate Your Mastering Level 3. Gain Stage Your Reference Track s 4. Set The Ceiling 5. Find Loudness 6. Problem Solving 7. How To Prepare Your Mix es There are many articles and cheat sheets out there that tell you things in absolutes like needing 6 dB of headroom and such.

If you are confident in the sound of the mix then just bounce it down to a 24 bit wav file. In includes a correlation and balance meter. What is Stereo Imaging? The ISOL8 allows you to solo various bands of your master. At the top you can alter the bandwidth of 5 bands. The monitor section allows you to quickly switch between left, right, mid, and side.

BL Waves offers a unique take on the frequency analyzer. You can change the angle of the graphic by clicking and dragging the display. Three window sizes, 3 modes, and 3 variable display settings allow you to customize your display. At the bottom, you can switch between multiple model types and amplify or attenuate low order or high order harmonics. The Frontier is a powerful limiter.

The release is input dependent with some control via the rotary on the bottom left, and the threshold has an auto make-up gain function tied to it. A softy-clip function introduces harmonic distortion. Top 10 Free Compression Plugins. Bittersweet is a popular free plugin that sounds great on a master or mix bus. The mode section in the bottom left switches the processed signal from stereo, mid, and side.

The GEQ adds harmonics to a signal when inserted. It is capable of a multitude of routing configurations including surround sound. Top 10 Free Equalization Plugins. The HPL2 processor is great for getting a new perspective on a mix. There are tons of great videos and tutorials on the internet, as well as courses, but it may be difficult to know where to start. Here are a few important points to learn about to help you master the subject:. We strongly recommend that you take a look at our Basic Mixing Techniques video as well.

Tip: For tips on how to improve your workflow and get results faster, consider checking our Logic Pro X Shortcuts guide. There are a few things you should note when you bounce your mixdown for the mastering process. The first is the amount of headroom that is present in your mix, that is, at what level it is peaking. You can easily notice this by looking at your master channel dB meter.

We advise you to have your track peaking at about dB to -8dB. If your mix is too above or below that range, you can simply insert the gain plugin on your master channel and trim it.

The next step is choosing the right audio format. Now that you have your file bounced and ready , take a minute to search for one or two reference songs. You should pick something in the same style and genre as your music and, above all, that you like the sound of. This step is important and professional sound engineers do it all the time. You can also take a moment to compare your reference with your own track, using tools such as the Multimeter to see how it performs on the technical side and to analyze the frequencies of each of the files.

Once you have your track loaded up in Logic Pro, it is time to think about using a compressor to further control your dynamics and glue everything together. The Vintage VCA is an emulation of the famous Solid State Logic compressor present in the SSL Series channel strip, and it is famous for its ability to glue everything together and give your music extra analog mojo.

The standard Platinum Digital is an all-around workhorse, but if you feel like your track is sounding too digital or harsh , it may benefit from the subtle coloration of the Vintage VCA. The Threshold will define when your compressor will start working. For example: at dB, it will only be engaged when your audio is above that level. As a rule of thumb, you should leave between 3 and 6dB Peak, or around to LUFS, for the mastering process to have enough headroom.

A loudness level of LUFS will meet the needs of most streaming platforms. If your master is louder than this, chances are your song will be altered when you upload it on streaming platforms like Spotify. Listening to your mix on different speaker systems, headphones and devices will give you a clearer understanding of how your song actually sounds. Marco Sebastiano Alessi Jul 30th, Logic Pro X: An Overview.

What is the Mastering Process? When it comes to loudness, you should consider LUFS as your landmark. In this article: What is Hiss? This site and third party services use cookies to provide you with the best user experience and deliver offers that are relevant to you. By continuing to use this site you will be agreeing to our terms of service and privacy policy.

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We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Necessary Necessary. In our example, my stereo mix has no empty space to trim at the beginning. So all is well, right? Well, even though we have no extra lead time to trim, we should add a fade-in as a precaution.

You’d be surprised how often we fail to notice ambient noise or effects in the background of our mixes. This is usually due to noise from plug-ins that emulate analog gear. Or time-based effects that last far longer than we tend to notice.

And if we don’t add fades to our stereo files, we could end up with pops or clicks in our masters. So to be safe, let’s add a short fade-in to this mix. To do so, let’s set the Mouse click tool to the Fade tool. You can access the Fade tool by heading up to the Mouse Tools at the top of the Tracks area and click on the right-hand menu. The right-hand menu is what we call the Command-click tool.

Let’s select the Fade Tool as your Command-click tool. Now hover your mouse over the left edge of your mix’s region. Hold Command, click and drag from the left edge to the right. At the end of the song, there’s a fade-out.

But as it turns out, when I bounced my track I included too much silence at the end after the fade-out. Listen to the fade-out on this track as it is below. There’s really no purpose for all that extra silence. So let’s remove it. To do so, hover your mouse over the right-hand side of the region until you see a bracket icon. Then click, hold and drag the right edge to the left to trim the tail of your stereo mix to your preferred length.

Now that we’ve adjusted the region length, let’s add a fade-out. Once again hold Command, click and drag from the right edge of the region to the left to introduce a fade-out. With this mix’s length fine-tuned, we can now attend to an issue related to the vocals using RX. There’s much more to mastering besides EQ and loudness levels. In fact, mastering is also about listening carefully for sonic problems that weren’t noticed at the mix stage. Issues like pops and clicks from poor edits, or background noise from the recording or processing.

In this case, we’ll be reducing the level of an aggressive consonant sound from the vocals during the chorus. Let’s listen to the second chorus of this track.

Pay special attention to the “T” sounds of the main and backing vocals at around in this audio clip:. Do you notice how aggressive and bright that “T” is in the vocals? The vocals lurch out of the mix in an unpleasant way.

While we could try to automate an EQ to reduce this issue at this one moment, let’s instead use RX. Normally if you wanted to clean up this mix using RX, you’d have to:. That’s 4 steps between applications to clean up one small issue. And who knows if there are more issues to correct elsewhere in the file? The moment we press play, our stereo mix is instantly transferred to the RX Spectral Editor.

No exporting and importing is required.

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