Can You Recommend A Mastering Chain For Under £10,000?

[@S7V7N_SEAS]

You can also do a WesAudio mastering chain

[@damionhill3249]

I recommend using plugins.. I'm in debt at the moment with my flashy mix bus Chain.

[@S7V7N_SEAS]

I have a RHEA VARI-MU COMPRESSOR WESAUDIO > SPL BIG 500 (STEREO width)>DIONE (SSL BUS COMP)> PROMETHEUS (PULTEC)> HANDSOME AUDIO ZULU (TAPE SATURATION) > PHOEBE (WESAUDIO 1073 PRE) and back into my interface

[@lauraovalle3802]

Hi, Paul. I hope you are good!. I have a small doubt, I hope you can solve it for me. I have the museq connected to the fusion in MID/SIDE mode. My question is, the museq becomes a mid/side eq and the right side SIDE and the left side MID of the eq, is that so? In other words, if I only want to use the Side part to equalize, I only have to have the right button connected (right) or if I only want to use the Mid, the button (LEFT) is correct? thank you!

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

Yes that is correct. Left will EQ the mid and right will EQ the sides.

[@lauraovalle3802]

@@AudioAnimalsStudio superb thanks!

[@kagaro99]

As someone who has a ton of experience creating stereo masters and Dolby Atmos masters, what do you think the future of stereo is going to be? Do you see a day when you sell all your bus compressors and EQs and only use analog gear for tracking and some single track mixing here and there, staying mainly in the box using the Dolby Atmos Renderer? Just curious about where you see the industry headed. It seems like a properly produced, mixed and mastered stereo track will be able to "beat" a Dolby Atmos Stereo Fold Down but would love to hear your thoughts on the subject and how you see the future effecting your equipment setup. Thanks!! Also if people are working in very loud, often EDM, genres, how does Atmos keep pace. Also often tracks are needed for DJ sets and stereo and sometimes mono playback at festivals and clubs - would love to hear you comment on this and how Atmos might fit in (or not) to this paradigm. Really appreciate your insight!!!

[@russtheguitarist]

Curious if you’ve tried the GOLY Porter Grinder and how you feel it compares with the HCL Thermos. They’re both 4 band mastering EQ’s with M/S options around the 3k mark, but I’m guessing they sound very different.

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

The Goly is a better overall EQ. I will do a video comparison comparing my Thermos to my Goly PG. I would also be interested in the results. The PQ is a really really good EQ.

[@amateurmusicstudio]

Tegeler Audio??? Have you ever tried any of their gear?

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

Yes. It's very good gear.

[@joseveiga1126]

Hi Paul! Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I have a small studio where I mainly do experimental electronic music and some mixing and mastering work for some clients. I recently started investing in some hardware (I have a wes audio ng bus comp and a ssl fusion, which is a small rack). My converter is a rme fireface ucx, I know it's just an ok converter, I'm satisfied, but I know it's far from a mastering grade converter. I'm thinking of getting a better converter like a lynx studio hilo and an equalizer to complete my rack (do you think museq is a good option to use before wes audio ng bus, or do you suggest another eq)? Thanks and keep up the good work! Cheers, José

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

The hilo is brilliant. We have the Lynx Aurora in one of our studios. It’s a brilliant converter. Highly recommended. I have Burl converters in my studio. They are next level. The MusEQ is a good EQ. If I had £4k to spend on an EQ I would be buying the Goly Porter Grinder. I've just bought 2 and they are brilliant. Have the option of mid side also.

[@amateurmusicstudio]

I liked the SPL Fusion 🙂 @3:38

[@lordberly]

Ah, a merger between 2 giants in pro audio 🇩🇪🇬🇧

How do you master an entire album which contains different vocals and different styles? Which one Is it easier Mastering each of every 10 singles or an entire album

[@Lewis_Emblack]

Curious to see what your chain looks like now as see you have changed it around a bit.

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

I will be doing a new studio tour soon

[@JescowMason]

which from the bettermaker units would you recommend buying first, if you have none of these (assuming you don't have any other hardware for mastering)

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

I'd probably say start with either the compressor or EQ. These are your two main components of the mastering chain. Then you can add the rest over time. EQ, comp and limiter. The bus comp and additional EQ are luxury extras that aren't essential.

[@JescowMason]

@@AudioAnimalsStudio thanks for your quick response and work in general!

[@lauraovalle3802]

Hi PAUL, so it's better to put the compressor in front of the eq?. In the chain that he recommended to me a few days ago, he recommended me to put. FUSION + MUSEQ + SSL THE BUSS + NVLOPE + BETTERMAKER LIMITER, I think the EQ was before the compressor?

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

If you have 2 EQs have one before and after. In your case you only have the museq which should be before the compressor.

[@lauraovalle3802]

@AudioAnimalsStudio Thanks for the clarification PAUL, I love your quick responses! By the way, how do you use the HG2 in the chain, the first of all?

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@Laura Ovalle I use the HG2 near the end of the chain. I create my master and the sound I want to achieve then use the HG2 to add a glow to the low end and crispy top if required. It is used to great effect to bring out the presence.

[@lauraovalle3802]

@@AudioAnimalsStudio Great, can I also use it at the beginning of my mixchain, just before the merge to add weight to the mix? Or at the end, after the NVLOPE and before the limiter?

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@Laura Ovalle you could have it either. I use the portico 2 at the start of the chain which is why I use it at the end.

[@joeyramonelookalike]

Great video. What about a hardware mixing chain under 10k?

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

For the mix bus I would go with the chain I talk about in this video. Total recall for a digital mix. A £10,000 mixing chain would depend on the number of channels. As we are on a budget I would recommend going down the 500 series route. Very cost effective gear.

[@infojunkie4989]

Maybe a better question is: what is a 10k mastering chain meant to achieve? Will someone be able to professionally master on it and get a good income from a 10k chain? Or is it self master - mastering’s quite cheap compared to time (so you’d need to have 100+ tunes ready to publish to break even? ‘Ish’) and I bet if you offered a mastering engineer a retained you’d get a healthy discount for bulk…. I came to conclusion that building a ‘proper’ mastering chain was overkill and a waste of time and money. Better pay a pro who focuses on that task and spend the money on better mix gear. What I’d really pay for is 10k worth of consulting to help me get my mix game up to scratch that the mastering was much easier at the end of it 😂.

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

This is a great question to do a video on. This one is on the list to record tomorrow.

[@konjstip6156]

And, two months after this video, this chain is £12,000

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

£15k next month. It's a knock on effect and everything is creeping up. If you already have the gear before the price increase your second hand value is the same as new.

[@jaimegylanpga8753]

Dude your girlfriend is texting

[@bonafontciel]

On another topic, curious what’s you take on Mastering switchers like the SPL Hermes . I’ve never seen a video about it on your channel. Perhaps this may be a good topic for the future

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

It's quite a boring topic to be honest. We have one in our other mastering studio. They are really useful if you want go change your mastering chain often. Me personally I don't. Which is why I don't have one in this mastering chain.

[@bonafontciel]

@@AudioAnimalsStudio thanks for your point of view :D