Mastering help!

[The_G]

So I'm working on a synthwave (i.e. 80s retro dance music) project and am using the mastering tools in Reason to be a rough master (for demo purposes). Unfortunately, mastering is not my strong suit, so I was wondering if I could ask for some advice here!

First, I run my tracks through the mastering tools and get everything right up to the point where it starts clipping--but the final result still feels "too quiet." Do any of you have any techniques or settings you'd share, and which would help me increase the loudness without clipping?

Second, do you have any other tips or tricks you'd like to share?

Thanks!

[normen]

Maybe you should look more into the arrangement and mix to get it "louder". If you have too much bass the mix will sound quiet even though its clipping for example.

[Osmose]

Loudnes is perceived, meaning a trick of the mind. (In a short rough way). Reading up on tje subject and getting back to your mix might be the best you could do at the moment.

Running trough reasons "mastering tools" isnt really explainatory by the way. There is alot of ways to master, and so are the tools!
But best tip i could give is, double check your mix with eq, run it trough a multiband compressor and then a maximixer.
Use the multiband comp to bring out the goodness and tame some areas that need it. Dependand on the sound go gentle and couress or get aggressive and nudge it..
Use the maximizer purely gently, and adjust the output gain till needed.

And last but not least, when you think your done. Get back after a day or two and see double check everything.

Either way, better to go gentle then to overdo it..

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[QVprod]

What normen said. First thing is to check your mix. The other thing is, what you seem to want to do is just raise the volume to be at commercial levels. Best tool for that is a Brickwall limiter. The default Mclass Maximizer doesn't do Brickwall limiting.

That said though If the Mclass is all you have to work with currently I would say that on the Master insert, select the Brickwall+Hi Band Spread Master preset (select Show Programmer to choose presets) and Bypass (or delete) the EQ and Stereo Imager. That will put you a better starting point with settings to achieve a more brickwall-like result.

Keep in mind though the balance and level of your mix will determine how transparent this is. You only want no more than a few dB of gain reduction or else it starts to squash your mix.

[Loque]

You will realize soon or later that you cannot fix everything in the master by putting a compressor in it, using multiband compression, a limiter or maximizer.

Rather understand the problems with frequencies amd adding sounds. Having a ultra loud and fat bass brings a lot of preassure and presence to the mix. Adding a big kick with the same properties and additional higher frequencies for that special punch, you start going into trouble with clipping. At this point there is no room for other instruments. Additionally low frequencies influences all other frequencies more than higher ones.

So start to fix low frequencies first. Simples solution, use a HP filter for bass starting at 25hz. Same for kick. Use a dynamic EQ or a compressor on the base with the kick for the side chain. I recomend Carve RE for that. Now put both on a low frequency bus, HP filter and Gate or Expander, maybe a LP filer around 3khz or lower and a bus compressor.

All other instruments BP filter to let only the main frequencies through. If they overlap, think about EQ, dynamic EQ and compressing.

Considering this, you have plenty room for loudness and a clean mix for mastering.

Good luck.

[The_G]

Maybe you should look more into the arrangement and mix to get it "louder". If you have too much bass the mix will sound quiet even though its clipping for example.

I put HPF on every track in the mixing phase to get rid of excess bass, and that definitely helped. I'll work on this bit some more.

[normen]

Maybe you should look more into the arrangement and mix to get it "louder". If you have too much bass the mix will sound quiet even though its clipping for example.

I put HPF on every track in the mixing phase to get rid of excess bass, and that definitely helped. I'll work on this bit some more.

Its also arrangement. Many people tend to clutter the arrangement with instruments in a few frequency ranges that they like and forget to fill the whole spectrum with instruments. Try moving some instruments that clutter into different ranges by EQing or replace some parts with instruments that by themselves might sound "harsh" or "thin" but complement the whole arrangement.

[Chizmata]

So I'm working on a synthwave (i.e. 80s retro dance music) project and am using the mastering tools in Reason to be a rough master (for demo purposes). Unfortunately, mastering is not my strong suit, so I was wondering if I could ask for some advice here!

First, I run my tracks through the mastering tools and get everything right up to the point where it starts clipping--but the final result still feels "too quiet." Do any of you have any techniques or settings you'd share, and which would help me increase the loudness without clipping?

Second, do you have any other tips or tricks you'd like to share?

Thanks!

this can have multiple reasons and you would need a deeper understanding of mastering to sort these out. you wont learn them in this thread, i can just recommend to watch tutorials.

but there are some things:

1 - loudness is not important for a pre-master. actually mastering engineers prefer to have quite a lot of headroom. if you plan to have your track mastered professionaly, just leave the limiter out.

2 - ask yourself what you want to achieve by mastering that you cant with mixing. which effects can you only achieve by working on the sum? if you just want to make some elements louder or sth, do it in the mix.

3- mastering is no magic tool that makes a bad track good or even changes the sound drastically (aside from volume). and a great mix will be way easier to master than a sloppy one.

[The_G]

Maybe you should look more into the arrangement and mix to get it "louder". If you have too much bass the mix will sound quiet even though its clipping for example.

I put HPF on every track in the mixing phase to get rid of excess bass, and that definitely helped. I'll work on this bit some more.

Its also arrangement. Many people tend to clutter the arrangement with instruments in a few frequency ranges that they like and forget to fill the whole spectrum with instruments. Try moving some instruments that clutter into different ranges by EQing or replace some parts with instruments that by themselves might sound "harsh" or "thin" but complement the whole arrangement.

Good advice--thanks!

[The_G]

So I'm working on a synthwave (i.e. 80s retro dance music) project and am using the mastering tools in Reason to be a rough master (for demo purposes). Unfortunately, mastering is not my strong suit, so I was wondering if I could ask for some advice here!

First, I run my tracks through the mastering tools and get everything right up to the point where it starts clipping--but the final result still feels "too quiet." Do any of you have any techniques or settings you'd share, and which would help me increase the loudness without clipping?

Second, do you have any other tips or tricks you'd like to share?

Thanks!

this can have multiple reasons and you would need a deeper understanding of mastering to sort these out. you wont learn them in this thread, i can just recommend to watch tutorials.

but there are some things:

1 - loudness is not important for a pre-master. actually mastering engineers prefer to have quite a lot of headroom. if you plan to have your track mastered professionaly, just leave the limiter out.

2 - ask yourself what you want to achieve by mastering that you cant with mixing. which effects can you only achieve by working on the sum? if you just want to make some elements louder or sth, do it in the mix.

3- mastering is no magic tool that makes a bad track good or even changes the sound drastically (aside from volume). and a great mix will be way easier to master than a sloppy one.

To answer #2, I'm just trying to achieve a rough master--in part to teach myself a bit more about what elements of signal/effects processing are best used in the pre-master mixing stage and what elements are best left to the mastering stage. But also just to get a rough idea of what the tracks will sound like after getting them professionally mastered (which I may do in the end), as well as potentially to post on soundcloud (if I feel like doing that) or to send out as a demo (if I were to do a decent enough job).

At this point I'm looking for tips on things to try out, as well as pitfalls to avoid.

[Chizmata]

So I'm working on a synthwave (i.e. 80s retro dance music) project and am using the mastering tools in Reason to be a rough master (for demo purposes). Unfortunately, mastering is not my strong suit, so I was wondering if I could ask for some advice here!

First, I run my tracks through the mastering tools and get everything right up to the point where it starts clipping--but the final result still feels "too quiet." Do any of you have any techniques or settings you'd share, and which would help me increase the loudness without clipping?

Second, do you have any other tips or tricks you'd like to share?

Thanks!

this can have multiple reasons and you would need a deeper understanding of mastering to sort these out. you wont learn them in this thread, i can just recommend to watch tutorials.

but there are some things:

1 - loudness is not important for a pre-master. actually mastering engineers prefer to have quite a lot of headroom. if you plan to have your track mastered professionaly, just leave the limiter out.

2 - ask yourself what you want to achieve by mastering that you cant with mixing. which effects can you only achieve by working on the sum? if you just want to make some elements louder or sth, do it in the mix.

3- mastering is no magic tool that makes a bad track good or even changes the sound drastically (aside from volume). and a great mix will be way easier to master than a sloppy one.

To answer #2, I'm just trying to achieve a rough master--in part to teach myself a bit more about what elements of signal/effects processing are best used in the pre-master mixing stage and what elements are best left to the mastering stage. But also just to get a rough idea of what the tracks will sound like after getting them professionally mastered (which I may do in the end), as well as potentially to post on soundcloud (if I feel like doing that) or to send out as a demo (if I were to do a decent enough job).

At this point I'm looking for tips on things to try out, as well as pitfalls to avoid.

well, a really basic setup for me would be:

1. EQ
2. 3-band M/S controller (splits at ~363 and ~1700 Hz)
3. 3-band compression (same splits)
4. limiter (for the lulz, but leave it off or tame when you send something to mastering)

you can build this with the m-class devices

[SA Studio]

It's really all about metering. Loudness is perceived, but it's entirely measurable. You're not going to put a -15 RMS mix and a -8 RMS mix in front of someone and have them think theres a "mind trick" going on, the -8 RMS mix is incredibly "louder". There's no denying it.

Loudness is measurable.

My video here illustrates how to use metering along with a Limiter to get a mix to commercial loudness levels. I made this video for conversations like this. This should help