How to Master a Song in Reason (2019 Mastering Update)

Download a free mastering cheat sheet here: www.stockmusic...
🔥 Get Reason: bit.ly/TryReason (affiliate link)
Learn how to make professional sounding recordings in Propellerheads Reason with these mastering tips! What is mastering? Mastering is everything you need to do to finalize a song - not just making it loud, but making sure it starts and ends at the right spot, sounds similar to other songs on the album, and also fine-tuning the mix.
I like to master with a mixture of plugins by Waves and iZotope.
I can't recommend iZotope Ozone enough for mastering, and would recommend everyone buy it (bit.ly/Ozone9)
Turning on a few great plugins will help you get the most convincing result. So here's my process for how to master a song in Reason:
1. Trim the track start and end
2. Take out peaks/resonances with EQ
3. Multiband Compression
4. Then Waves SSL Bus Compressor for some light compression
5. Then some coloring with a tape plugin
6. Then I add some coloring EQ, modeled on the MAAG
7. Then I add an Ozone limiter to boost the volume
Note: Some of the Links in this video are affiliate links.
--Social-
Facebook: / stockmusicmusician
Web: www.stockmusicmusician.com
Web: www.reasonguide.com
-Software-
Samples from LoopCloud:
Mastering with Ozone 9: bit.ly/Ozone9
Producing In Reason 11: bit.ly/GetReas...
-Hardware-
Audio Interface - UR28M: amzn.to/2rQpDuR
PreAmp - Warm Audio ToneBeast: amzn.to/35ctcKh
Compressor - Warm Audio WA76: amzn.to/2q7O3j3
EQ - Warm Audio EQP-WA: amzn.to/2rJ2iem
Microphone - Samson Go: amzn.to/2CNCOPl
-Studio Stuff-
Cable Organizers: amzn.to/2Ksciz4
DI Box: amzn.to/2QmKBeS
Headphones: amzn.to/2XrTZ2A
-Books-
The Beatles Complete Scores: amzn.to/2NPR4NM
Fretboard Logic: amzn.to/2NSn7wJ
Standing In The Shadows of Motown: amzn.to/37dvevu
The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook: amzn.to/2qlDMj7

[@789utopian]

I've checked out all sorts of video's on KZbin about mastering, this one says it all, thanks!

[@StockMusicMusician]

Thanks Rod!

[@japetussvenk6554]

Perhaps too many external plugins used here. It might be useful to know know what could be done just using Reason's own resources.

[@StockMusicMusician]

I tried to mention where you can substitute: with subtractive EQ, Tape Saturation (audiomatic), and by constructing a multi-band compressor in Reason (the patches are included with Reason). Then iZotope has a free imaging plugin that's a lot better than Reason's. When it comes to volume limiting, though, there's not a stock Reason plug in that will do the job as well as what iZotope has created. In terms of workflow, just getting a full version of Ozone is easiest. But it can be more affordable just to buy the limiter and then add your own plugins before it like I show here.

[@japetussvenk6554]

@@StockMusicMusician Fair enough. I'll watch it more closely.

[@loucollinsZEN]

Just signed up. You have helped me a lot already and these tutorials are awesome. (update) now i'm into the courses i have realised how much i been doing wrong. If you want to get good with this powerful daw which is so much fun then Evan is the perfect instructor.

[@jasonbynoebynoetex1772]

Myself have been told not to use this daw/reason but now finding me feet with mastering , power sound quality just using equipment supplied within the program and attention to detail equing can work for you. Great videos all the same.

[@StockMusicMusician]

Great to hear Jason - it can do a lot, but certainly is showing its age!

[@Claire_Southernbelle]

Oh man, I thought you were abandoning Reason. Really needed this - THANK YOU!

[@StockMusicMusician]

You’re welcome! I didn’t abandon Reason, I just use it a lot less these days cause of the workflow; but I still really enjoy it

[@SirMatthewT]

The timing for this couldn't have been better! Thanks for sharing so much valuable information. I appreciate you!

[@StockMusicMusician]

Happy to help!

[@ms.jujubeatzproduction]

Very helpful! Thanks for the look over your shoulder.

[@StockMusicMusician]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Bloodhound_Dogg]

How do you upload your expported song to an audio track??

[@StockMusicMusician]

Ryan, Exported songs are audio tracks. You can chose whether they come out as MP3s or Wavs.

[@Bloodhound_Dogg]

No I figured it out. I guess you didn’t understand the question - you go to file and click “Import Track” then Click the track you want uploaded

[@snoozyloco3371]

i dont get the chain of reason.. if i am using the master bus compressor on the mixer will that then go into the master section which goes to the master fader on the mixer? on a reason video it said you could push it into the red a little bit.. so if i pushed it into the red would that make the hard work in ozone be erelevent? whats final the master bus or the master chain or the mixer fader? its so confusing

[@StockMusicMusician]

Great question. My understanding is that the order is Bus Compressor -> Master Fader -> Master section. So the fader comes before the ozone work (if you are inserting Ozone in to the "master" section in the rack).

[@jdecember2195]

Thanks so much for this!!!!

[@StockMusicMusician]

You're so welcome!

[@ballasdj9137]

Would you provide your reason 11 mastering template's screenshot Thanks

[@jerrycarnes9487]

My songs in reason always have a crunch to em. Might need ozone. Seems like every synth sounds like an 8 bit video game.

[@StockMusicMusician]

It sounds like you might be clipping your output bus. Adding a limiter, like Ozone, will really help.

[@jerrycarnes9487]

@@StockMusicMusician i drop gain stage to -10db for each track and that seems to help a little. I have followed tutorial videos on how to mimick certain professional sounding synths. I think that's the main thing I'm getting at. When you initialize a patch from scratch you can change the sound to almost anything. Using the stock patches won't give you the professional sounds like avicci or martin garrix.

[@gnuttz1972]

Interesting video. Can i use the same approach to electronic music mastering - liquid dnb for example? thanks! oh and could you do a mastering video just using Ozone?

[@StockMusicMusician]

Yes you can!

[@jerrycarnes9487]

Making beats for dnb is definitely a challenge. I struggle with drumrolls as it is on 134 bpm. The problem with reason is that every synth at factory settings sounds like a video game. It's hard to create a professional sound. May have to get ozone afterall. I even gain stage to -10 decibals on each track and the mastering with stock reason tools has no noticeable side effect.

[@djvinger]

I've tried some of the techniqes that you explain here and managed to get the loudness to 14LUFS, but still my sound is softer than other songs on spotify. What can i do to increase the loudness, or are others using a different value then the spotify standard

[@StockMusicMusician]

Hi Rinaldo, you'll probably need to buy some speciality plugins to get as loud as you'd like. Especially a soft clipper. If you want to see me master in Reason using some fancier plugins, I've put together a free workshop here: www.stockmusicmusician.com/pl/2147499277

[@jaimerocha9570]

Question. Is it possible to mastered a wav file that varies in tempo in Reason? Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks

[@StockMusicMusician]

Mastering shouldn’t be affected by tempo changes. Just drop the wav file into Reason and go. Just make sure that Reason isn’t time stretching the wav to the tempo. I believe it’s off y default

[@stephentrott]

You should rename this 'mastering in reason with external plug ins'. Could be any DAW.

[@StockMusicMusician]

I think the fact that you should drop it into the master section of the rack and turn bypass off still makes it relevant.

[@stephentrott]

@@StockMusicMusician you mean 'open the plug ins and turn them on'? Yeah, pretty sure that's also an 'any DAW' type thing.

[@knowledgeispower9241]

Each time i import a song onto reason it adjust to reason tempo how do stop that from happening?

[@StockMusicMusician]

You should just reset Reason to the correct tempo. You'll want it to match what the song originally was.

[@sierra6music]

Open a empty reason file. Set the tempo. And thennnn drop the audio

[@L3V1A7H0N]

You can disable time stretching for individual clips. I think you right click on them.

[@gainesdominique]

I love your work here. Thanks.

[@StockMusicMusician]

Thanks Dominique!

[@brownboy0004]

Thank you for the information

[@pictureone]

Great vid, wish it didn't involve so many expensive plugins!

[@StockMusicMusician]

I know, right?

[@djkikonobeat3721]

👌

[@burtturdison4445]

FYI: Fabfilter is a 640€ plugin and Ozone is 240€. Gonna be honest, together with Reason that sums up to well over 1000€. That's without the time it takes to actually use them. You're better off sending them to a mixing engineer on Fiverr and pay them the money.

[@StockMusicMusician]

If you want the fab filter suite maybe, but you can pick up the key bits. And Ozone is often on sale for around $120. If you’re making serious about producing from home, you’ll save money in the long run and get better results.

[@breakboy7514]

Great!

[@Bloodhound_Dogg]

Man you would have been better off getting a messy song then mastering it in front of us showing what mastering really does. I use reason but I don’t use it to master

[@StockMusicMusician]

That’s a great suggestion for a future video!