Garageband Mastering Tutorial-Custom Preset for you! - 2017

[@GaragebandandBeyond]

CHECK OUT THE UPDATED 2020 VERSION OF THIS VIDEO! kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYq6qYitabd0os0

[@lucamoscatelli3974]

Hi, I’m a beginner with mastering. I don’t understand if I can use compressors or not in the mixing because you told to turn ‘em off before mastering. So, do I have to use compressors only in the mastering?

[@andrewleebunting]

I have to say that your presentation of 'how to master' is one of the clearest and concise I have encountered. The job of any educator is to make the student understand the subject and this is exactly what you are able to do. You, sir, are outstanding and have earned a subscriber.

[@theForestRoom]

I recently recorded, sorta mixed, and mastered a three song ep all on my own for the first time recently. I gained a better understanding, I still feel like I have no idea what I'm doing, but I definitely improved and enhanced my recording further than I expected after watching your video.Thank you for sharing and being a super dude. Party on!

[@VleiRatFilms]

As an old hand from the analog years (40 of them) I love the way you explain stuff .. Really useful for a recent comer to the great opportunities of GarageBand... Many thanks.

[@davey555]

I'm a beginner to mastering, this has been incredibly helpful. Thanks so much for taking the time in making this.

[@zackbaksh0911]

I don't usually comment on videos to say they were helpful but this video is the most informative and useful video for mastering in Garageband that I have ever seen. Thank you.

[@grantledwich7288]

Where have you been all my life? These videos have just bought it all together for me. Thank you so much.

[@irobaskered]

Was just about to give up on a project and this saved me. Thank you!!

[@GaragebandandBeyond]

That is so awesome & thanks for letting me know! I'm really glad you enjoy the videos.

[@danielj.fittness182]

Lewin. I've been watching you for years. I just started a radio/podcast and you have been my professor. Thank you so much! This video helped more than you'll ever know.

[@brosephthomas3764]

you are a blessing man! theres a shortage of minimalist audio engineers. everyone thinks they need to drop 50 grand on equipment before they can get a good mix.

[@TopnotchFounda]

Your the best! I really liked that you explained the basic of compression n limiters n showing me that mixing is jus clearing the beat n vocals why master hell you with leveling everything thanks man!!!

[@DMDvideo10]

The Advertiser Chris Graham did a great job mastering a tune for me. I highly recommend him!

[@betronyx]

Awesome video! I was going to send the session to a friend who uses Logic, in order to get the output higher, and PUM! I found your channel and it worked, I only had to use the Compressor, and Multipressor only and it worked great! One song ready! 9 more to go! Thanks for sharing!

[@borisbunand-plexus]

Thank you for your generosity, it's precious to be able to learn so much in such a short time, at home ! 👍😊

[@Trazodonemusic]

I have watched so many videos by you this week alone and i'm learning so much, my music is getting to the quality I want thanks to you

[@jzmusicman99]

very nice and informative brudda. thanks. I recently acquired a Mac mini and GarageBand for the first time and I'm blown away at how advanced and user friendly it is. keep the vids coming please. Cheers!

[@corieclark5111]

Anytime I look up anything GarageBand this guy pops up Super useful pls keep it up

[@j.flynnmusic]

Thanks, the no eq and no compression before export makes total sense to me now. Back to the drawing board :)

[@garudasomanna]

Very helpful video Lewin! Hope I have got your name right! From what I have learnt is this: there should be no peaking in the mix, but peaking is allowed in the Master...am I right to understand it so? Also, when exporting the Master, do we put off the autonormalise feature? Regards, Dr. Somanna

[@liamanthonymusic4139]

This was a huge help. Thanks from Manchester UK. 👍🏻 My tracks are sounding a little more fuller thanks to your knowledge share. ✌🏼

[@rasmusolsson7877]

Anyone using Garageband can flip between stereo and mono easily. If you put the Gain plugin (found under utility) into the master track, and choose the "Convert to Mono" option, you now have a mono/stereo switch right there in the software.

[@GaragebandandBeyond]

+Mika Olsson great point!! Thanks for the comment!!

[@m2thef2thec]

Thanks Lewin. Just picked up on your channel a few months ago - great work. I've used a lot of your techniques already and this tutorial will help even more. Thanks again

[@mdshack6371]

I miss my TASCAM SX-1 but am digging garage band, and your presentations.

[@Wes_Anderson]

If you hold the scrubber on the track meter and drag it around youll notice it actually does have numbers beside it

[@johnpurlia]

A couple of notes about keeping levels out of the red. The OCD in me really freaked out when Apple removed the peak hold indicators of each track and the master volume indicator, compounded by the change to gradient color changes from yellow to red, rather than "hard" yellow and "hard" red. I needed to find a way to trust the meters, so I generated a solid tone in Audacity that peaked at 0db, brought that into GarageBand, set the track level to 0db, and observed the playback volume meters using both the track meter and a 3rd party VU meter on the effects chain. As I expected, GarageBand's track meters are off by about -1.4db, so when you see a track going into the red... it's not really clipping. The master volume indicator is off by even more - about -2.8db. (More on this in a second) To make the meters useful, I've taken to adding Gain set to -1.4db to the bottom of the effects chain for each track, and I can then adjust the volume up to the point that I see the first indication of red (or lower, of course, as required for the mix). Once you turn the Gain off (which, of course, you should since it's just there to make the meters read accurately), the track will go into the red, but if you export the track and look at it in any other audio application you'll see that it does not go beyond 0db. Okay, so why are the meters off? I think this is Apple condescending to what they believe to be the ignorance of home market. Managing gain can be really tricky, so by bringing the "into the red" threshold down for each track and the master volume it kind of tricks users into not pushing their mixes too hard - especially where you have lots of tracks playing simultaneously. Moreover... the master volume slider has absolutely no effect on export if auto normalize is turned off (unless set to negative infinity). But there is a kind of placebo effect of the meters on users when setting track volumes. So, if the meter is off by -2.8db, it makes users more sensitive to setting individual track volumes, which (unless auto normalize is off) is far more important to export. Ever notice the lack of precision in the master volume slider? You'd think that this would be fairly finely tuned as an essential input variable to exporting. But... no, it really jumps around. I'm pretty sure that with GB 10.x, Apple's emphasis shifted to exporting with auto normalize on, which - from Apple's perspective - solved the avalanche of user complaints with earlier releases that "my song isn't loud enough". As such, they also changed the behavior of the meters to psychologically train users to record at lower volumes. Anyhow, some thoughts!

[@edwinsolano5408]

just used your preset to master and edm song i made, so much gain and clarity !!!!! thank you

[@sgwink]

I need step by step stuff like this THANKS SO MUCH - I do a lot of mic amps/cabs and I fight the distant sound of them when heavy distortion is there. I want to simply bring them from ok to killer without mashing the levels.. Any help? Part two - is I want to bring my final products volume up. I feel they sag. Suggestion in the combo of levels with master, EQ and track?

[@OrthodoxEvans]

Great job explaining the mastering process

[@88Doug]

Thanks! I use Garage band for all of my audio. Great tutorial!

[@garudasomanna]

Hi Lewin, greetings from India. I have followed this Mastering technique you have described in this video. The problem is this: the Master sounds extremely good and loud [with the knobs turned up to around 45%] when heard through headphones or external monitors via the Focusrite interface. But, when I hear through my iMac's system speakers, the loudness is greatly reduced. I have to put the computer's speakers turned on to full volume for a like loudness heard vie the interface. The exported file too sounds low. Where am I going wrong? Can you please enlighten me? [I have turned off auto normalise while exporting]. Waiting for illumination. Regards. Dr. Somanna

[@chrsphrlee]

Thank you! I'm making daily songs and now my own beats using only garage band. I haven't even thought about mastering. I'm really excited to see the results after some practice. Subscribed, liked, notifications on. Thanks again.

[@MagneticPool24]

Holy crap this is the instruction I've been looking for for 5 years. Amazing video and education. I'm recording my 4th album and now I want to remix my entire catalog. Ugh.

[@GaragebandandBeyond]

chad ponie Chad, I’m so glad that you got something out of this video! There’s actually an updated version of it for 2018… I obviously need to make another one someday. But I would definitely recommend checking out the new one. If you go to the channel page and type in “GarageBand mastering 2018, you should find it.

[@MagneticPool24]

@@GaragebandandBeyond I definitely will! Just watched your drum instruction, mind blown. I had no idea thats how a drum track can be created.

[@sametmutevelli]

Thank you for all tutorials you published here, been really helpful for beginners like me.

[@Edshouseofhorror]

I've been doing more DIY recording and producing for my own stuff and this video is so helpful!!

[@jsneidhart]

Great discussion about mastering. Would love for you to step through mastering with the Slate plug-ins.

[@JonathanHuntStudio]

Great mastering intro! Gives your mixes a brilliant place to start from - which I found really useful. Thanks!

[@antimissilemissile]

i swear you're gonna be the reason i'm famous. back to square one wish me luck

[@GaragebandandBeyond]

+AntiMissileMissile remember me when you are! Good luck!

[@antimissilemissile]

GaragebandandBeyond question .. you said make sure there are no EQ's or compressors in the master track before you convert to mp3 to master. can i still use compression & limiters on the mix ? i think i used too much compression because my vocals came out very low compared to the instrumental

[@peekpen]

Maybe _because_ there's limits inherent with Garage Band (albeit GB10) that we _can_ master a pro mix. Just like the Auratones relationship to Abbey Road Hi-Fi speakers. Two extremes that make you use your "eyes and ears". Kudos on the tutorial.

[@BTUNEB3]

WOW!!!!!! I love what I heard, great mixing job. You actually got great broadcast quality from garageband with that plugin.Great job.

[@serkanyldz4207]

Thank you very much Lewin. I learned a lot from these tutorials. Please do an acoustic guitar track EQing and mastering tutorial. I am having trouble getting my acoustic guitar tracks to sound natural and ambient. Great channel, great videos, thanks.

[@ewfunnell]

I second the acoustic guitar EQing video, please! Great video here, as always.

[@davidowner9556]

I keep watching your videos, and I'm learning! they're a great help thanks for taking the time and keep up the good work.

[@chaza.2891]

thank you so much... I am living the dream. Just recorded my first garageband song and I just did my first master

[@nekroreaper6348]

Thank god garage band and LPX are the same cause this actually helped. some things i knew but others tips helped. Thanks!

[@danielandrew2232]

In the previous mastering video you did from 2015, you used 2 compressors in the master channel one with platinum analog tape and the other was a default I believe. In this you used one compressor the platinum, which you said is optional. So im just curious which way is better to go and why you slimmed the master plugins down now compared to 2015? Is 1 compressor cleaner or easier to use than 2 or is it unnecessary to use 2 or is it just for getting a different sound? Sorry this is so long i'm just getting into mastering, both of your videos have been incredible, so thank you so much!

[@BradCarlMusic]

So I have a question/clarification about what you are talking about around 13:00 - it's okay to be in the red while working with your master track and finalizing the song......just don't let it be in the red when exporting the song to begin the mastering process. Is that what you're saying?

[@stephenshehan]

Thanks for the information. It is really easy to follow and very easy to apply to good effect.

[@bigmoneyent101]

Nah this was exactly what I needed cause I had a good mix but the level was low and I didn’t know y until I exported the mp3 file and did this step by step helped wayyyyy to much

[@liizen7683]

Dude! You just saved me like 50 bucks on my music! I can do it myself now!!! Yay! Thanks! Now I can keep learning this stuff.

[@yeoldfart8762]

Thanks again so much for these videos. I really like knowing how to do the export. That way I can do the track edits/mixing and then export. Then I can go back to that mix and experiment more. Then export that as export B. Then I can compare the results after mastering each versions.

[@everythingNotHere]

You helped improve 100%. Thank you so much for taking time to just tell simply a process for a master. Subbed, liked, watched again, and oh what the hell, again... awesome!

[@dougmilton5729]

Appreciate the video mate. Have just finished mastering the new album, sounds pretty damn good, mastering has polished it nicely Thank you

[@EmmanuelLKD]

This is all wonderful information about mastering in Garageband! Thank you, this is much needed! Also I'm just wondering, do you recommend exporting the mix out from GB and then mastering it? Or can you still have the mix with all of the tracks still present in the original project and then show the master track to master the whole original project without exporting the mix? I have been doing the second option for a while, and I am not sure if it's any different than exporting and then mastering.

[@GaragebandandBeyond]

I recently made a video about that! Check the channel page, you'll find it.

[@JJoshua_V]

Hi Lewin!. Thanks for sharing bro. Quick question. Is it advisable to export the mixed down audio first then Import it back for mastering?. or you can do the same thing right after finishing the mix and just inserting the presets on your master hub.

[@rekaman_di_kantor]

Thanks mate! really help me so much. I will look on another video that you made before

[@NormanErik]

Thanks for a great video. I have a question though. When exporting before reimporting, should normalize be turned on in the export settings? Or is that something you do in the final export? Also I am currently editing a filmed musical. I have on-stage dialogue and audience sound one track (not ideal maybe but because of time I have to go with that). I need to increase the volume there. Then I need to, in garageband, add the music performances on other tracks, before exporting one sound file into Premiere Elements where I am editing the video. Should I export every single song (whole song in one track unfortunately) individually without normalize before reimporting to GB? Also can I use any audio editing tools on the individual tracks before doing this?

[@Cybersib]

This is helpful, but I have a problem. I have some meters popping into the red. I want to try and bring everything down to stay in the yellow as you have specified. However, I have done extensive automation on the vocal track and other tracks. I do not know how to lower the track volume and keep the automation. This is something I would have done in Pro-Tools by bussing it to another track to "pull down" the volume whilst keeping the automation. Also, I would (and could) group numerous faders into a subgroup to bring down everything (keeping the automation on each fader). This technique bringing down the level across the entire song (keeping it out of the red). In GarageBand, it appears I must do this one fader at a time, which of course completely wrecks my mix and is ridiculously labor intensive. Then in the unfortunate event of working through the mix, and bringing the levels down to manageable levels... but then experiencing one area at the very end of the song where I again hit the red... I am forced to start the entire process over from the start losing the entire mix I have been working on (ouch). Seems there should be some sort of command that lowers all faders by a specific dB, but I do not see this as a possibility in the current version. Is there anyway you can think of doing this besides exporting one track out at a time, bringing it back in and lowering the level, or scrapping the automation completely? If not, I think this may be another reason for me to upgrade to Logic Pro X.

[@countrygeorge8673]

Thank you! I have listened to all of your mastering videos and taken it all on board. The only thing I didn't get was the "going into the red" on mastering. I always did that and it sounded great. Thanks for clearing this up!! PS I am old enough to remember tape which did NOT like going into the red :)

[@bruhdamartinasty3636]

This was great. YOU are great. I'm gonna check out the updated one now. BTW, why export as AIFF. Not WAV? Thanks!

[@ModeMusicSoul]

wow, this really helped me make my song sound SO MUCH better, thank you

[@shnugel]

question regarding the no eq and no compression before export. clear on the no eq. on the master track when you open the edit tab and see the dials, the compression is one click to the right of the arrow. Do you mean turn this back to " '0' which would be in the center where the arrow is? it appears to be a factory setting. wish i could screen shot it, but you may get what I am asking..

[@Sciontut]

Would this work as a pre master before uploading to Pro Tools or to transfer for a Engineer to do his thing and process and print a final mastered cut? or would the eq and compression be too much?

[@TheDreMacShow]

Dude you just saved my life and money on mastering my album!!! Thank you so much!!!!

[@sleehsherry]

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I am learning so much from your videos!

[@GaragebandandBeyond]

Sherry, you are very welcome! I am glad you like the channel!

[@bonitasavage6723]

Awesome Instructions, user-friendly

[@ClaudeLavender]

Can I run a fatso outboard compressor into my apogee duet and GarageBand 09?? I ran my apogee outs into the compressor and back out in my apogee in then enable multi track recording - play my finished aif file in the timeline and push record on a dedicated FATSO track... I’m getting a feedback loop ? Is GarageBand 09 not fit to run analogue gear?! I’m worried it’s failed me noooooo

[@FrancisMaxino]

Is it really such a good idea to be 'living in the red' like that and is it truly necessary to bounce the entire mix back into Garageband if your levels and overall sound are already really good ? Surely if you recompress the stereo mix-down into the red, the entire result will be clipping and the top of the amplitude peaks will be truncated and horribly clipped ? I do a lot of mix-downs with Garageband and usually use the master track at the multi-track mixing down stage and apply minimal EQ and/or compression/limiting or overall post FX then and there.

[@joshgatesmusic78]

Hey lewin thanks for all of the great videos! As far as mastering goes which plug in is essential for getting the volume up to professional level? My recordings always sound much more quiet than anything on itunes or CD. Any help would be appreciated, Thanks again for the videos!

[@tommy2z2z]

THANKS FOR MAKING THIS! FINALLY SOME ANSWERS TO MY QUESTIONS!

[@simonarruda9857]

Love the video. Do you have tips for solo classical guitar mastering?

[@jbeatsonthetrack6044]

love this!!! THANK YOU!!! I am getting to submit my tracks to a label and this is definitely helping me out...

[@grahamandkatiestewart8647]

thanks for this amazing video, so helpful. when you export do you choose itunes highest quality (256 kBit/s) or do you choose uncompressed since the song is still going to be mastered with compression afterwards? thanks again!

[@mark_handle]

I wish you had more information on the difference between sound setup for individual tracks/instruments and for the whole song. For example, I tried using the EQ on the bass track alone but found it difficult to make those changes not affect the other tracks. Separating track/master controls has been hard. I also wish you had explained why you export the song out of GB first as some other kind of "item" before doing mastering.

[@GaragebandandBeyond]

+Mark Mark I think you mean "mixing" when you say "sound set up for individual tracks" I have an entire series on mixing. All of your answers are waiting in that series!

[@mark_handle]

Yes, and they are quite old and don't use GB V10 so after viewing one of them for a few minutes I see that while the concepts are valid, the "how-to" part mostly won't work anymore.

[@benlonergan4196]

Nice video! When your done mastering each of these songs how to you export them? Because they are all just individual tracks in the file...

[@GaragebandandBeyond]

If you "solo" the individual track, it will be the only thing that get's exported.

[@diamondlovemusic1961]

Hi Lewin, I am a big fan. Your tutorial have made a big different in my work. I have tried your suggested plugins. Being curious, why not I tried those present in the master track before I exported my song to a AIF file. I do see a different in the music wave. It is a bit fuller, compared to mastering it after exporting it. In your professional opinion, why should we do the mastering presets after exporting, not before?

[@prophesiedgnar5809]

The platinum compressor is in compressor not multi If I'm not mistaken

[@michaeltangen]

This has been a game-changer for me. Thank you for sharing this! One question though - why bother exporting the project and then re-importing the exported (uncompressed) file when you could just proceed to mastering right within the project file? It would be helpful to understand the reasons behind that choice instead of flippantly saying "just do this, trust me." There are a few of us out there that need to know the reasoning behind a method or choice. Thank you again for this super helpful information!

[@GaragebandandBeyond]

You should go to my channel page and just do a search for “mastering” I have made a bunch of videos and one explaining exactly what you are asking about. Visually inspecting the wave form can be very useful for many reasons. Especially if you are making a full album.

[@michaeltangen]

@@GaragebandandBeyond Will do - thank you again for the super helpful video!

[@pageluvva]

I appreciate your videos so much. Thanks from Montréal

[@GaragebandandBeyond]

You are so welcome!! I am glad that you like the videos. Make sure and watch the BRAND new series on mixing and mastering!!

[@akidnamecj8325]

Will this work if I import stems from other DAW like Ableton or Fruity Loops on to Garageband?

[@GaragebandandBeyond]

+CJ yes

[@overconda]

Wonderful tutorial.

[@GaragebandandBeyond]

Thank you!

[@pageluvva]

3 questions for you if I can (pleeeeease help). When your project is finished being recorded and ready to export to the desktop (to be brought back for the mastering), how much importance, if any, does the Volume control on the very top right have to do with it? Do I adjust that before exporting? Do I EVER adjust that? I am running Garageband of a few years ago and mine does not have the "multipressor". It just says "compressor" like the other one. Do I need to upgrade the GB? If so to what version do you recommend? And 3, looking at your levels on the both the mastered and non-mastered versions and they are both way high. Mine always come out about only 2/3 of that. Why is that? Sorry for all the questions but you are an amazing teacher and have helped me so much and I respect the hell out of ya. Any help would be much appreciated. Cheers from Montreal.

[@dazscrivo]

Excellent mate been watching few of your videos lately.

[@davidowner9556]

Really helpful info, keep it coming thanks

[@tarotokuyucusu]

Dear Sir, I already updates garageband and right now Im unhappy. I coudnt find Vocal effects and Vocals-Gospel Choir. Could you please help me how could I find this or how could I download the old version of garageband. I looking forward your answer. thank you and hve a nice day from Turkey.

[@saby7]

You can still find those presets. Pick the track you want to modify, then go to library in the lower left corner, click 'voice', then click 'legacy'..(this is your old GB library), click 'garageband', then click 'vocals' and there go got it..all your old gb library right there

[@tarotokuyucusu]

you're my hero . thank you so much.have a nice day 😌🙏🏻🌸🙋🏻

[@696zappa]

I cant find multipressor? Is it missing from the current garageaband?

[@davidkermusic]

Thanks for this. I found it helpful and practical.

[@G1manime]

Thank you. It's still a bit confusing but I have points to focus and work on. Question: So you were saying, at the beginning, that we have to export and import it back in before mastering?

[@maxcorrea9334]

Thanks, really useful video

[@boblatzer]

Good video well presented. Good job. Thanks.

[@MichaelHernandezi]

From where do i download the preset?

[@COORSFAN420aight]

You Rock Lewin. Now if I could get you to respond about mixing and mastering a song of mine, the world would be right! :)

[@khanart8309]

Bro thanks for the videos but the big problem is theres no Lewin GB mastering compressor and I have the most recentt GarageBand, what do you suggest is there another variation we could use

[@siacko]

Great video, thanks! One question, the .AIFF should be 16 or 24? And, does this make a difference?

[@gcastroism]

Just work in 24...it is better...the only down is bigger file so who cares, it is better sound

[@billkelly1197]

Lewin once again feel like a dummy, but I stumbled on your video showing how to fix the "clipping" on the intro of my song. Now I can't find it! Can you help?

[@lisca.2000]

so I should eq every track in the mix and then eq the whole thing in the master?

[@gcastroism]

do you compress each individual instrument prior to exporting?

[@GaragebandandBeyond]

+G Castro yes, of course!

[@tyriq2324]

i got my songs at least 3x louder thanks man!

[@shahedulhuda8816]

Do you mix and master garageband recordings. How do I get in touch with you. You are just superb. I am in Toronto GTA.

[@GaragebandandBeyond]

Yes I do! [e-mail]

[@WiteBizkit]

Sounds beautiful until I add the limiter then it starts acting very strange, pulsing like crazy and tone is completely different... any reason for this?

[@nfacebabii1721]

This was a wonderful video! I learned a lot thank you very much.

[@shnugel]

Hi, Thanks for your very informative video. Can you help with this question …When exporting audio from GarageBand to Pro Tools, Logic or any other program… if all the tracks have been mixed volume wise, when you export each individual track, do you need to do anything with the volume setting, i.e. bring all the individual tracks to 3/4 volume, without clipping of course, or do you leave it as it's mixed with the other tracks?

[@GaragebandandBeyond]

+Edward Dowrick I need a little bit more information. For what purpose would you be exporting individual tracks from a song?

[@shnugel]

recording of song is good. song levels and mix is good. song being submitted to another DAW, either ProTools or Logic, for more advanced eq and mastering, beyond my current level. They will also be adding it to other songs that are not from me. My mac is a 2009 macbook pro... even though I have the garageband 10, it is missing some plugins, i guess, due to its age, i.e. some of the plugins you mention like multipressor, compressor, directional mixer, channel eq are not accessible in my garageband...

[@GaragebandandBeyond]

+Edward Dowrick you should watch the video that I made a few weeks ago about "sharing your project across all DAW's". That will answer your question. You don't want to be exporting those files, you want to get to the "stem files". In that video I tell you how to.

[@shnugel]

thanks for taking the time to help me out.

[@GaragebandandBeyond]

+Edward Dowrick you're very welcome!

[@jessedanger8788]

Would you recommend these settings for a punk/hardcore kind of sound?