How do you master your works/beats after cooking them straight from the sequencer

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Molotovbeatz
Posts: 151
Joined: 29 Jan 2019

18 Jun 2019

Hi :reason: gang,

So I was wondering how different producers are mastering their works/beats after cooking them straight from the Reason sequencer.

I heard about some people exporting their songs into wave and then mastering them with IZotop Ozone, I heard some people just using the SSL mixer in Reason to mix their work.

Me for example I am using the SSL mixer, then exporting my song into wave and applying an effect we call Mastering in Adobe Audition software where I increase what is called Excited by 5 pr 10% and the Loudness maximizer by 25 or 35% depending on the wave graphs if it reaches maximal peak or not.
adobe_audition.png
adobe_audition.png (26.39 KiB) Viewed 1830 times
In result the sound is boosted and have a kind of life.

Now I am interested in other methods of mastering the songs/beats etc...

If someone would like to share the best method to master the beats/songs, I would like to know about them. Each producers have their own workflows of course but It's good to know about different methods in my opinion. Since I am in the right section "techniques", lets hear it, what kind of techniques do you have guys. I would like to try out different methods (still gathering $$ for Izotope Ozone)

Cheers.
M.

tibah
Posts: 903
Joined: 16 Jan 2015

18 Jun 2019

Custom mastering chain. Using a bit of EQ, coloration and compression/limiting. Using individual plug-ins such as ToneBoosters Barricade, ThrillseekerVBL and the EVE series by Kuassa.

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NekujaK
Posts: 631
Joined: 09 Oct 2016
Location: USA

28 Jun 2019

A basic mastering chain consists of: EQ -> Compressor -> Limiter

This is often augmented with a Stereo Imager, Enhancer/Saturator, and/or maybe a gentle Reverb, usually inserted somewhere after the EQ and before the Limiter.

Besides imparting loudness to a track, mastering should also address overall frequency balance to ensure the track translates properly to other systems. IMHO, this is the trickiest and most challenging aspect of mastering, and where a professional mastering engineer adds tremendous value.
wreaking havoc with :reason: since 2.5
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reasonsuser88
Posts: 272
Joined: 29 Apr 2019

28 Jun 2019

Vertigo VSM-3 (saturation)
SPL Vitalizer MK2 (stereo enhancement)
Klanghelm MJUC (compression)
Brainworx bx_digital V3 (mid side EQ)
Fabfilter ProQ3 (tonal balance EQ)
Maag EQ4 (top end EQ)
Ozone 8 Limiter (maximization)
iZotope Tonal Balance Control (referencing)
Brainworx bx_meter (monitoring)
The time has come for you to take care and comb your hair. :wave:

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Zac
Posts: 1784
Joined: 19 May 2016
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28 Jun 2019

reasonsuser88 wrote:
28 Jun 2019
Vertigo VSM-3 (saturation)
SPL Vitalizer MK2 (stereo enhancement)
Klanghelm MJUC (compression)
Brainworx bx_digital V3 (mid side EQ)
Fabfilter ProQ3 (tonal balance EQ)
Maag EQ4 (top end EQ)
Ozone 8 Limiter (maximization)
iZotope Tonal Balance Control (referencing)
Brainworx bx_meter (monitoring)
What time setting(s) do you use on Tonal Balance?

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reasonsuser88
Posts: 272
Joined: 29 Apr 2019

28 Jun 2019

Zac wrote:
28 Jun 2019
What time setting(s) do you use on Tonal Balance?
Three seconds in fine mode.
The time has come for you to take care and comb your hair. :wave:

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Zac
Posts: 1784
Joined: 19 May 2016
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28 Jun 2019

reasonsuser88 wrote:
28 Jun 2019
Zac wrote:
28 Jun 2019
What time setting(s) do you use on Tonal Balance?
Three seconds in fine mode.
Thanks.

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reasonsuser88
Posts: 272
Joined: 29 Apr 2019

28 Jun 2019

Zac wrote:
28 Jun 2019
Thanks.
This plugin can be kind of a tricky beast though. I recommend importing a selection of reference tracks into the DAW and then exporting the busiest 8 bars of every reference track. The reason for this is because the tonal balance changes throughout a song and the average is too wide for an ideal reference. Also, the busiest part of your own track is typically looped while mastering. Then you can create individual snapshots from the exported reference sections and save them. I think scrolling through individual track snapshots is a better reference method than creating an average tonal balance curve from all of them. The reason for this is you ideally don't want to be hitting different ranges of different tracks because it kind of defeats the purpose of finding a sensible tonal balance. Just my two cents. That said, I hope one day I can have some tracks to send to a real engineer, and then I'll be really cooking with gas.
The time has come for you to take care and comb your hair. :wave:

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Zac
Posts: 1784
Joined: 19 May 2016
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28 Jun 2019

reasonsuser88 wrote:
28 Jun 2019
Zac wrote:
28 Jun 2019
Thanks.
This plugin can be kind of a tricky beast though. I recommend importing a selection of reference tracks into the DAW and then exporting the busiest 8 bars of every reference track. The reason for this is because the tonal balance changes throughout a song and the average is too wide for an ideal reference. Also, the busiest part of your own track is typically looped while mastering. Then you can create individual snapshots from the exported reference sections and save them. I think scrolling through individual track snapshots is a better reference method than creating an average tonal balance curve from all of them. The reason for this is you ideally don't want to be hitting different ranges of different tracks because it kind of defeats the purpose of finding a sensible tonal balance. Just my two cents. That said, I hope one day I can have some tracks to send to a real engineer, and then I'll be really cooking with gas.
Good stuff P. I certainly find it tricky. I can get my tracks in the band on infinite and fine but the low end definitely goes above on 3 secs (even though my crest factor indicator is ok - just right of middle) I keep putting off getting and analysing a decent set of ref tracks but i will do it. Good advice about the busiest 8 bars, thanks.

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mcatalao
Competition Winner
Posts: 1824
Joined: 17 Jan 2015

02 Jul 2019

I use the following chain, that always starts bypassed or at very small amounts and a lot of times doesn't even get everything on:

Kuassa Eve MP5
McDsp c670
Softube Tape
Isotope Ozone 8 (I usually start by letting it analyse, but most eq work and compressing were already done before ozone, so the most active part is always the limiter. Most if not all my songs have a target loudness of -14 to -13 lufs).
Isotope Tonal balance
And finally, to check programme, integrated and instant loudness i use RE128 in the end. I can also use it to level my song against other not passing by the bus.

If i'm mastering a full EP or LP i usually export all songs to a wave file (24 bit, 44.1 kHz) then load all of them on a different mastering project. Then this chain is broken into 2, where Eve Mp5, McDsp c670 and Softube Tape are put in the track insert chains, so that each one has different settings, and finally Ozone 8, tonal Balance and RE128 are in the master bus. This way i can limit changes at izotope and balance all songs with the 3 inserts devices (MP5, MCDsp and TAPE). I think with Reason 10.4 i could have multiple instances of Ozone, but this has been working quite nicely and i don't think i'm changing this workflow for now because i think i'm profiting from getting a more even balance between the songs.

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BRIGGS
Posts: 2133
Joined: 25 Sep 2015
Location: Orange County California

02 Jul 2019

Bake everything inside reason. I like to have a simple workflow. Less friction, means more music.
r11s

BigPictureSound
Posts: 68
Joined: 25 Jun 2019

07 Jul 2019

BRIGGS wrote:
02 Jul 2019
Bake everything inside reason. I like to have a simple workflow. Less friction, means more music.
This. I have been creating music and designing sound for more than 15 years and can confidently say less is more. In Reason's case, "less" is very much subjective as it already has tons of built-in effects and instruments. I am relatively new to Reason, having picked up version 10 towards the end of last year, but have acclimated quite well to the work-flow vs the other DAW's I am used to working with.

The SSL styled console makes it really easy to mix quickly and correctly with common dynamic tools built into each channel strip.

Regarding mastering, I always viewed it as a process used to "glue" multiple album tracks together to achieve continuity across the album. If it is only one track that will stand on its own as a demo or single, I will enhance it during the mix process. If there is anything further that needs to be done after bouncing down, to me it just means I missed something during mixing. That is my own spin on it, and I am sure many will have varying opinions on it.

TL;DR

I keep it all in Reason.

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reasonsuser88
Posts: 272
Joined: 29 Apr 2019

16 Jul 2019

BRIGGS wrote:
02 Jul 2019
Bake everything inside reason. I like to have a simple workflow. Less friction, means more music.
I like simple workflows. I was making beats with ID8 all day.

I figured I'd post this here in reference to the mastering chain. We don't want to push it too hard to leave space for vocals.

The time has come for you to take care and comb your hair. :wave:

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BRIGGS
Posts: 2133
Joined: 25 Sep 2015
Location: Orange County California

17 Jul 2019

reasonsuser88 wrote:
16 Jul 2019
BRIGGS wrote:
02 Jul 2019
Bake everything inside reason. I like to have a simple workflow. Less friction, means more music.
I like simple workflows. I was making beats with ID8 all day.

I figured I'd post this here in reference to the mastering chain. We don't want to push it too hard to leave space for vocals.

Thanks, I didn't realize ID8 had drum sounds!
r11s

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reasonsuser88
Posts: 272
Joined: 29 Apr 2019

17 Jul 2019

BRIGGS wrote:
17 Jul 2019
I didn't realize ID8 had drum sounds!
I didn't know either. I'm getting into a habit of sketching out ideas with ID8 and then I noticed the drum group just yesterday. I didn't have the intention of flushing out an ID8 composition but I got a little carried away. Hehe.
The time has come for you to take care and comb your hair. :wave:

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