Hip Hop Mastering Prep Tips | Lu Diaz (Jay Z, Beyonce)

Even if you're not a mastering engineer-watch these top 10 tips on getting your mix ready for mastering, from multi-platinum producer Lu Diaz (Jay Z, DJ Khaled, Kodak Black). Check out the Waves Abbey Road TG Mastering plugin with Lu's personal presets: waves.com/TGMC
1:38 1. Check Peak Levels
2:58 2. 'Pre-Master' on the Master Bus
3:46 3. Listen on Different Speakers & Take Breaks
4:34 4. Analog Warmth & Tape Saturation
5:43 5. Mid/Side vs Stereo Processing
9:30 6. Shape Presence
11:04 7. Limiting
12:44 8. Spread Out the Energy
13:55 9. Loudness
14:55 10. Preview Mastering Levels
Plugins used by Lu Diaz in this video:
Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain: waves.com/tgmc
L2 Ultramaximizer: waves.com/l2
Music: "Feel It Babe" by Realzz Produced by The Track Burnaz
Get the latest updates from Lu Diaz:
Website: thebestmixengineer.com
KZbin: / ludiazmusic
Instagram: / iamludiaz
Twitter: / iamludiazfacebook: / iamludiaz

[@jackpatterson92]

This guy has such an intuitive knowledge of the software he’s using, always talking about how stuff ‘feels’. Love that.

[@Ajayjohnson264]

@Piddy Pay lmao art thou feeling it now Mr. Crabs

[@CJBeatzProductions]

Shoutout @LuDiaz for giving us all this sauce and knowledge!

[@GuseppeBilleci]

I want more Lu Diaz!!

[@zapantalambda]

12:25 i can really hear the big difference. Active was so much brighter and punchy. you have prolly heard this before but i genuinely Thank you uncle Lu Diaz for the wealth of information.

[@kmill101]

Love running across mix engineers that can actually describe the sound he’s looking for and what it takes to get it there. Everyone of his videos are great. Plus being able to brake down each plugin so everyone can understand its purpose.

[@deflekt]

your aproach to the concepts is very down to earth, so clear when you explain stuff, no need for too techincal stuff, awesome man!!! :)

[@freethinkers-inc.]

Lu you are such a great teacher. I can feel almost every word you describe. It's so crystal clear. Thanks for sharing and I will soon defenitely check out your master course. Thanks man.

[@MichaelHensen]

Not sure what anyone has said, but Lu is the man.. He's made tons of records..Nice work here!

[@EnricoDePaoli]

All very well said from a very clever thinking. Thank you Lu Diaz and Waves.

[@roho508]

I needed this! 💪🏽

[@sickbeatsproductions6664]

lu is the boss!!! Been a fan since the old dj khaled days!!!

[@patkelly3966]

LOL

[@crimsonaudio4207]

Louis, you always make it look easy. That's a powerful tool. 👌👌👌

[@dangelobenjamin]

What a great video. A goldmine of information! He talks very fluently and casually too, a good lecture.

[@fortheages1]

Mr. Diaz...you have enhanced my studio experience. Thank you Sir.

[@MikeSpexTV]

Loving these Lu videos!! Thnx Lu ! Thnx Waves!!

[@seasonsbeats5567]

Thank you for the tips and tricks Lu

[@mrmorpheus9707]

Best ive seen on this

[@koolbeatsrapinstrumental8850]

Thanx Waves. I'm a LICENSED user whom has learned a lot through your Rock. Pop, based Genre tutorials. I have noticed a lot more of an effort towards the Hip Hop Genre 🙏🏾🙏🏾👏🏾 I've been saying for quite some time that Waves should have some MORE Hip Hop based tutorials. Video's that are dedicated around the Hip Hop culture(Genre) & 808 bass wav samples. Whether it's a Waves Audio website, Pro Tools Expert, KZbin, etc. Hip Hop listeners love to use Waves Audio plugins, pianos & synths. It would only be cool to have some tutorials centered around Hip Hop. Hip Hop videos on EQ, Compression, etc through Waves product. Of course we have the GREAT Great Dave Pensado, now we have Lu Diaz. Thanx.

[@michaelblackbeats8217]

Thank you Mr. Lu Diaz! Thank you Waves Audio!

[@MrAxel1892]

For a Long Time I didn’t see a clear guy like him in this business. Not too much show, just straight work.

[@joeyf808]

Thank you, Lu!

[@GenX_US_Marine]

I'm no mastering engineer or mix pro, but when I mix something I use the crappiest speakers/headphones that I can find. Once I'm done I'll hear on pro speakers and headphones to make any adjustments. I never ever pan my kicks, snares, or hi hat's. They are right down the middle of the record.

[@abbas1ne]

So glad to hear from this guy

[@mr.wolfbeats3883]

What a legend! 💎💎💎 Greetings from Brazil

[@gleamsatm]

Love the way this guy breaks everything down in an understandable manner. This really helped, I just brought the TG plug and I don't feel ass confused lol until I'm back in the studio and it takes off its panties for me 😩

[@johnmajorent]

lol what

[@onthegolabel]

@@johnmajorent lmao im thinking the same but exactly the point right...

[@afterouge8238]

THE DOCTOR in the game

[@JanooProductions]

this is amazing, legend!

[@robertkuhlman8811]

MR. DIAZ - Fantastic -.Thank You Sir!

[@futsalclubofnotredamefutsa7212]

Incredible video

[@RealMMLVR]

Thats knowledge!! Cheers bro

[@musicly1922]

Very imformative video!

[@evanflowforever6615]

You got the touch brother.

[@mrhingizmusic]

Came across your stuff on mixing 808s and kicks. That information is so powerful, tried it and it changed my perspective. All the way from Africa Zimbabwe.

[@tredworthtiger]

shout me g

[@tredworthtiger]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/oJ_EfHlpe8-pirM

[@stefanmijic9110]

I love him!

[@JulesO]

I love this guy.

[@closobeats8829]

A lot of you guys complain too much and spread too much negativity, just take the info and run with it.

[@VINISAMPLES]

Spread stereo images, not negativity

[@closobeats8829]

LeCroix lol exactly

[@djramonlanit]

Very interesting Masterclass!

[@KI2LA]

nice tipps and tricks... i'm an artist and audio engineer from germany myself... and those advices helpt me alot... thx!

[@KI2LA]

@第一BiG-STackz6 I'm using Cubase sorry

[@RONNYMORRISMUSIC]

What an amazing video I am truly impressed with what this tool can do.

[@robgracia509]

awesome thank you for sharing your info

[@OmoiSenpai]

Feels nice to hear these tips from the Older Champs! I know about this already, but it still feels nice to hear about it ya know! ^_^

[@duncansoundsstudios3645]

Justin Omoi yeah.Makes u realise u doing the right things

[@YXNGNESS]

I must agree bro

[@darkskinwhite]

yeah i really dont like tutorials from young dudes unless theyre established and have great work already. I wanna hear from the vets.

[@MacReviewzOnline]

he's not an older champ tho - he' s in current mixing generation, mixing current music. That's different from a younger guy 30 years old . who came up in 2000, and now cant do the new music.

[@PaulFisherMedia]

dang this is some GOOD CONTENT thanks

[@drakewatkins2624]

Good at what he does 👌 🔥

[@pixelpeitscher]

Thank You!

[@TheRealMarkpain]

Great Job

[@MikeHeebz]

The homie Lu coming thru! =)

[@absaloj]

LU DIAZ the goat 🐐 🔥🔥

[@Thespeedrap]

I wish this guy was my mentor

[@lucasbarrientes]

Solid info. Now to tweak some mixes.

[@Jordan-ht6oo]

thank you mr diaz

[@ranierahoro5398]

thanks for this VIDEO fire

[@fayso3566]

Amazing...

[@HappyMixingStudio]

Thank you Lu ~~~~

[@extremesoundempirerecords9564]

thank's man you are the best I enjoy all your tutorials in this channel they are a great help I would like to know if you can make a tutorial about mixing very wide sound, width and depth management thanks a lot

[@drfidybeatclassicaudioscho1291]

Sir thank you vary much you are the best

[@mickeymiguel2726]

Purely genius

[@bernieberroa]

WOOOOOOOOOW THANKS

[@jakerichter7762]

This mans brain is a goldmine!

[@chizachuku331]

thank you.

[@extremesoundempirerecords9564]

thanks again please also make a tutorial for mixing digital sounds in the box tips and tricks to deal with harshness, how to make very warm sounds

[@Charmcitybeats]

Major Keys 🔐

[@Lesimz]

Thanks 🙏🙏🙏

[@krisgotstuff1315]

I really appreciate videos like this. With that said..when doing comparison with effect bypassed and enabled..please PLEASE levelmatch. Everything sounds "better" when it's louder.

[@flyingisland7583]

Kris Got Stuff Totally wrong! I’m watching the video on my iPhone speakers and I can hear everything. Anyway this song sounds trashy in my opinion, I don’t care if you a legendary sound engineer: This loudness war plus a lot of synthetic instruments= heavy ugly distortions! His ears might be damaged with the time for using this song as an example... Or... THIS VIDEO IS JUST A WAVES AUDIO COMMERCIAL. He tooks the money 💰

[@hoaxuk1]

@@flyingisland7583 Not the point he was making. He was merely stating you can trick yourself into believing something sounds better than it is due to the level being louder than the previous, level matching allows you to hear what the limiter/compressor is doing to the sound without being tricked by our brains, from there you can turn it back up.

[@flyingisland7583]

kit dalton You miss the point too... I use bypass button everyday. The first comment was about the fact that he don’t heard the sound of the Solo fonction. Or now that I think... What’s the hell do you need to match the level when you bypass a compressor who be supposed to play on the dynamics ? People need to get their mixing right before the mastering... Leave some head room and never touch it. Next you do the master. I guess you know all that.

[@hoaxuk1]

@@flyingisland7583 lol what? Read above for the answer as to why you need to level match

[@thierry.lavallee]

Well... I end up NOT appreciating videos that don't do their level match. It is too easy to sell a better sound when the levels are boosted. This defeats the whole purpose, and is for me, false publicity right off the bat.

[@asaiya705]

Gold!!!! Anouther one!!. Always appreciate this. Mr. DIAZ mixing knowledge has helped me progress so far as an engineer and producer!! Respect!!

[@MexiMex13]

Nice video

[@gdrecordz]

Thx a lot

[@Yo-Bruh]

Thanks waves and the one and only lu Diaz 😉😉

[@bstez43]

@LuDiaz how do you keep the final mix from clipping when you print with the L2 bypassed? do you just bring the group levels down like you demonstrated early in this video?

[@RinoTirri]

Cool video

[@djkoz1]

Lu your the man! Gonna save up to get the TG.

[@getabetterproduction8001]

yezzzzzzzz

[@dafingaz]

🙌🏾

[@KtraaOfficial]

Have hem do more videos please 🙏

[@calv1846]

do not forget to get a coffee, essential

[@Corey-gb1rx]

wait does he print it with the TG limiter on cuz i love that things sound

[@farsafarsante2482]

Hello! I wanna say this as many others Wave's tutorials is great! I've got a question, thought: whats UK and American Standard for tape recording? I've trying to find information about it in the internet with no success. If anyone can clear that out for me, would be very gratefull. Greetings from ARGENTINA!

[@Jordan-ht6oo]

its just more darker or brighter tones to the mix, the UK tend to have a more darker tones to there songs while american music tend to have more of a brighter mordern tone to their music

[@cccccccmc]

that song is hard

[@SocietateaAscendenta]

I am never gonna become a good mixing engineer. I tend to always make changes, then come back to older settings, then feeling that the mix sounds to "affected" and harsh, then fatiguing my ears even more, wanting to get the best sound now, not tomorrow, then tomorrow I gave up on the mix. Mixing needs so much patience and reasonable thinking. Perfection does not exist, in the form we like to think of it. A perfect mix is when you have self-control and can say: "Okay, the house is ready, NOW I am going to go in and live inside of it for the years to come, construction and facade is READY. Finished. Over". And when you learn to say OVER, this is it, I love it today, tomorrow, next years to come, EVEN if my future mixes will sound different, cause you will be using more complex techniques, hardware/software, BUT you have to make a good mix that when you listen to it, you say: "Simpler than now, but sounds good, I like it", the same way you like listening to old vinyls and although they sound so different in comparison with the music today, you still say: "Damn, that sounds so smooth and nice".

[@dopelbangersentertainment.2557]

Perfection does not exist, but there are perfect greatest hits, because is not only about the mixing, is about the combination of the recordings, mixing, mastering and structure of the song, what it makes it perfect. So don't give up because we all have different learning techniques and different times. You could take maybe a decade to be like this guy, but this guy took 30 years to be a pro. Nowdays we have this videos, and all kinds of tools to be like him.

[@JoeJoeezyOficial]

Whats up! Im from Angola, please talk about cutting all frequencies after 16khz in the mastering and which plugins should I use!?! I think this is one of the secrets that is never revealed. Thanks!

[@zapantalambda]

following*

[@dayosonictv]

i wish i know what to look at when it comes to avoid peaking before sending it to mastering , is it the one on the left of the hot one on the right in this video?

[@sajid4242]

This featured song is nowhere on the internet, can you guys share the link ?

[@KonDaDerGraue]

So do you print it out with the 'Abbey Road TG Mastering' plugin on it? Or you bypass that and print it out and send that to the Mastering Engineer?

[@belkacemaitsiamer9432]

he send the session with the plugin, not just a track

[@Traidmarc]

Thank you for a great tutorial. Quick question. You mentioned something about loudness which is of course the biggest challenge of all. How do you achieve this on the final master without clipping? Also I noticed during your mastering session the ARTG mastering it was showing a peak/over signal. Is this something that should be ignored or not? I have found that when I try to keep everything green and free of the over signal, the final master is very quiet. So I tend to ignore the red signal and master with my ears and then use a limiter to bring it to 0db in the final export. Is that the right way to do it or is there a better way? My songs end up being too quiet if I overly cubase rules and keep everything green lit and free of peaking. Any advise you can give or anyone here, it will be greatly appreciated as I’ve struggled with this issue for years.

[@emericas9]

Traidmarc U gotta master buss compressor? If you do, u want to have that on while ur mixing but MAKE SURE THE GAIN REDUCTION DOESNT GO BEYOND -3!!!! When I start my mix, I build from the center meaning vox, bass, and kick normally. I then build around that! As far as individual track volume, u don’t want those clipping. Mastering like making spaghetti lol Ur going to get loudness/forward in small incremental adjustments. Say u put a tape emulator on for saturation, eq, mid side processing, and say a console emulator right before ur limiter. U cook the the noodles and meat separate and then combine the sauce and let simmer all together lmao proaudiofiles.com has some great mastering videos too

[@Traidmarc]

Shawn Frey thank you so much for your detailed reply. Although it took a while lol it’s all good because you must be very busy. But I really to appreciate your reply and help with this. I have withdrawn my previous comment as a result hahaha let’s be friends. You’re a legend and I have so much respect and love for you and the work you do 👍🏾

[@papahuge]

Guy knows his stuff.

[@kingech_B15]

The only dude showing off for the trappers

[@tacb...0]

cray

[@ben81]

❤

[@alwayslearning8118]

👍

[@DJLanta]

Can we buy your mastering presets for this?

[@focaalexandr7536]

Now community need some mastering tips

[@kingprince2742]

Yes Lu... Your Version Please!!!!

[@awedee.0]

anybody knows where the video where the waves engineer used 2 limiters???

[@MixedByS]

Full vocal break down is needed

[@IAmJaydeseKing]

Where can I find this song ?

[@kevind2409]

his approach is so fucking solid. I alos LOVE how this plugin is designed for making small tweaks here and there to a BIG affect!

[@ShvdeBlvckProduce]

Subtítulos en español por fa...

[@buckyfrass317]

God bless those help people Not killing people

[@borisdouon2589]

which daw he is using ?

[@Shawneverette]

Thank you for sharing all you knowledge. I was lost when you spoke of the levels to send to the mastering engineer. I did not know where your master channel was? What were you referring to as a good level? Before you begin a mix are the individual tracks each around -18bdfs? Where should the master bus be at (dbfs) when finishing a mix? What metering do you use in Protools? Thanks for any info you can share.

[@prototype8137]

Master bus isusually the far right and its labelled. He also said that a good level is essentially when you leave about 20% and not shootong into the red/yellow.

[@jesse4238]

How hard is it to make up gain? If you truly care to make before/after comparison then its necessity

[@dopesensi]

Is anything beating L2 out there yet?

[@Marc_Dub7]

I see a lot of people like Fabfilters pro L2

[@gusdee4844]

@@Marc_Dub7 yeah I like pro L alot. The L1 L2 and L3 seem so compressed to me. U cant push it LOUUDDD without it sounding like its pumping or ruining the quality. I just got it so maybe im doing something wrong but with fabfilter I never have these problems.

[@dopesensi]

Think I'll give the fabfliter a try . Thanks for the tip.

[@ericvalverderosado2046]

Come on, there must be something for Metal!