How To Master a World-Class Prog Album (Plini - Impulse Voices)

[@frenchiesfrankieandhenry]

This Plini album is the best mix/master I've ever heard.

[@zakm0n]

The bar is so insanely high after this, musically and in the mix. More people need to hear this.

[@frenchiesfrankieandhenry]

@@zakm0n totally agree. I've been playing and making music for 20 years and this album is truly one of the best I've ever heard in that time.

[@DEM94]

Nolly's mixes and Simon's ones are ruling the game right now

[@fufc1231]

Album of the decade And im saying it before it even begun The mix/master shocked me cuz so much is going on and nothing feels out of place

[@woutex]

It sounds good on the first listen, but it's so brickwalled it gets tiring :(. I'm hoping the vinyl master will be more dynamic...

[@HeminaAu]

Simon's mix owns on this record too!

[@martinmorales3195]

"Created by people that actually work in the industry rather than just yell at a camera for a living" Ermin, my man, it's too early in the morning for this kind of savagery. Subscribed.

[@AJPMUSIC_OFFICIAL]

Who is catching this shade?

[@sonicroom755]

@@AJPMUSIC_OFFICIAL I think he is refering to Glenn Fricker...

[@xryanxrulezx]

@@sonicroom755 I thought Glenn was endorsing this plugin though?

[@JoaoVitor-nq1bu]

@@MustakimAlMahdi Pretty sure he is not talking about URM. I've seen him talking about Flatline with Joel Wanasek recently in a comment on Facebook and was on URM Academy's podcast very recently. Also, nobody on URM screams at the camera, they focus on good education.

[@hogblockula9335]

@@MustakimAlMahdi why would you think this was about URM

[@lennartgruenewald]

What the actual fuck! I'm so blown away by the skills needed for such a perfect master.

[@festeplatte4225]

Are you serious?

[@LZzoso96]

The mix/master on this album(and all of Plinis albums) is just incredible. The guitar tone on the first solo in "Ona/1154" is one of the best I've ever heard, I purchased the Neural DSP Plini Archetype after hearing it in hopes of achieving his tone. I've always been a purist when it comes to using "vintage" style gear and tube amps, but after discovering Plinis' music a couple months ago it's totally changed my perspective on gear and just playing guitar in general.

[@Neuri]

same

[@Jack-wd9go]

This is absolutely amazing! The world of mastering has been a mystery to me until I watched this. I knew it was important, but the difference between your before and after is just insane. I'll definitely be watching more videos and potentially your book and Flatline in the future.

[@bonbb3923]

thank you so much! because of you and because of Flatline I have a kick-ass master!

[@AndresS40]

Seeing how amazed you are by your own work besides the incredible plugin Flatline is, screams confidence in several levels. I'm amazed by your work. Great job man, I have learned a lot. Thanks for that.

[@mrjesseholt]

Great video! Looking forward to hear you go into detail about oversampling and why not using it for mastering is beneficial.

[@thomasdiviesti]

Great!

[@funkaforfan]

Hi Ermin. It has taken me about 20 times of watching this video to properly hear all the subtleties of your processing. Last night I understood "unifying the transients" and it was a magic moment for me. Thank you for posting such fantastic content. Mastering is truly an art.

[@MeTuLHeD]

I must say, you sold me on Ozone 7. 😊

[@SystematicProductions]

That's awesome. Ozone 7 is fantastic.

[@coaldoubt2879]

I have no idea what you're talking about but man, that sounds good :)

[@keymonkey7352]

Thank you Ermin for this one ! I’m currently mastering my own project and already re-mixed some group stems with flatline , sounds amazing ... while trying some limiters on the final master after Flatline I stopped to Ozone9 too , now you opened my mind , I have to give a try to Townhouse vs AlphaComp , referencing against your Plini master too! World is a small place

[@eliuvergonzalez1404]

Man i need you to make more videos, i really like your content 🤟🏼

[@robjames4569]

Absolutely Fantastic video!! Clearly, you are a Mastering Engineer who really knows his SH*T!! Just two quick questions. What exact version of Crave EQ were you running in that video, and would you be willing to share the Crave EQ Preset you created? The one called Ermz Mastering Starter.

[@SilentScreamsStudios]

Excellent video, thanks

[@LightsOfSkadi]

Great video as always!

[@bwherry]

Great stuff Ermz! 👍

[@danymalsound]

Amazing vid and knowledge bombs. Cheers, man!

[@nikolaudio]

Amazing bro, totally subscribed :D

[@Paronos]

3:11 mindblowin

[@TheSimpleCitizen]

2 things: That very very first prt of your intro music...the crash...startled the shit outta me as Im wearing headphones. Lol...wasnt even that loud but damn it made me skip a beat smh....lol anyway, the example track however...is so bad ass. Metal guitar chords with a sax for lead??? wtf? So sick... Ill have to find this artist for sure. Anyway, back to the tutorial/explaination video.

[@JslimSlaps]

great video

[@Beyond-Antares]

How is craveEQ different to ProQ3?

[@mrcadoy]

_cool_

[@johannsebastian6489]

I have a question, why do you turn down the output on Flatline and on the Ozone maximizer? Does it allow for greater dynamic range or is it something that is required for a master? I noticed a -16-ish dB reduction in the output of the Ozone Maximizer, which is why I'm asking. I'd like to know if there's any reason for doing that. Anyone in the comments got an answer?

[@karinacollins1192]

I have just finished mixing a prog rock track that has a lot of variation in instrumentation and levels throughout. Previously I have tried using multi band compression and adaptive limiter within Logic to master similar tracks. A friend of mine has managed quite a good attempt using Ozone mastering tools such that the levels have been increased satisfactorily without too much change to the original mix. However due to the wide range of levels in the original mix the stereo imaging has degraded a little here and there. The current mix has levels from -8db to -4db. In order to maintain the stereo imaging as faithfully as possible would it help to increase the levels of the mix by say 2db? With a long track like this with quiet and loud passages would you approach it by automating changes in the mastering parameters appropriately as the track progresses?

[@esahm373]

It seems inferior in fidelity to some of my clippers, but good marketing anyway!

[@drebrose1983]

fug yes

[@2cthetruth]

I swear....if you would have only made instead $12,000 sound; even $10,789 sound, I would have considered your product. Cheerio.

[@filipebeat]

i agree bout oversamplin, u can even see bad results on visual analyzers. idk why but it feels kinda fake to me.. maybe there r or there will b a real one one day (i dont even know what im talkin about anymo ahah) in my opinion dither makes d sound clearly worse.. i do errthang on 44.1 anyways so i dont use it either

[@sSebSLPlays]

I feel fucking deaf, I don't hear a thing different.....

[@diethylamid]

Nice rip off of attested FabFilter L2 UI; even color style. Thanks for "industry personnel" $130 three knobs (mastering) user-friendly streamlined clipper gift, but I'll stay with Weiss.

[@ZtlaMusic]

So can we get an actual AB with flatline vs the lawry gold or something like it? I keep hearing that flatline is the "10k sound" but I'd like to hear an actual comparison. Sounds great regardless!

[@deceiver444]

Maybe check this comparison of various clippers including flatline kzbin.info/www/bejne/bmWmoZihbMmln6s

[@jessepolowin2339]

whats going on at the end of papelillo? the tone and definition is absolutely ridiculous lol

[@frenchiesfrankieandhenry]

Seriously. Fucking clarity is unreal.

[@deceiver444]

Matching the volume of both the original mix and the mastered version would probably help compare them more objectively. Otherwise great and useful video.

[@LoerdNoerd]

This would be really useful, yes

[@BrunoOrtizMachado]

Considering that boosting the volume without compromising tone/dynamics is one of the benefits of a good limiter, the volume difference in the video looks like a feature, not a bug.

[@KEVBOYMUSIC]

@@BrunoOrtizMachado You can't properly compare two clips that are at different volumes. The human ear prefers the louder version.

[@XiyuYang]

Then what is the point of mastering, what is the point of this demo? You hear the effects of a mastering processor when it's used for, you know, mastering.

[@deceiver444]

@@XiyuYang the interesting thing here is not the volume achieved but how these tools sound after a certain amount of limiting. Hence my first comment.

[@Crowbar11115]

Always remember, you Mix for clarity and you Master for loudness. DO NOT Mix without leaving headroom.

[@KeepTheGates]

Fuddlore

[@kane6529]

i understand roughly 6% of what he's talking about lol

[@arrchow8312]

This channel is truly a goldmine. Really looking forward to more mastering content on here. Thank you so much for making these videos!

[@festeplatte4225]

Goldmine for the vendors when naive idiots believe any kind of snake oil voodoo... What's wrong with the peoples today?....

[@MOMetalProductions]

Hey Ermin! The plugin sounds so good, preserves the transients of the snare and punch of the kick so well! One question regarding mastering for streaming: Do you find it necessary to add a true peak limiter with the ceiling set to -1 db after Flatline in addition to lowering the output gain one db? Or is it no problem to upload to streaming services as long as the TP is below 0 db?

[@GeorgeBarnettMusic]

Also interested in this ^^

[@tearperth]

Use a loudness analyser. The db limiter doesn't tell you the actual volume or loudness of a track.

[@MOMetalProductions]

@@tearperth Thanks man, I already know that. My question was regarding how much the intersample peaks matter, not the overall loudness :)

[@ItsABOUTflamTIME]

You can look at his masters to find out. I was gonna buy a sikth song on bandcamp and check for you, but I have no way to pay GBP...

[@ToniMazzotti]

With no match level in the video, is no point of reference for good comparison.

[@viccucciamusic]

What you said about “having to respect it” is exactly the point 99% of people want to overlook, and just hope for that “one magical solution” without putting in effort and time to cover the basics. Top notch stuff man 🤘 - Vic

[@charlesrocks]

I went from wanting my mixes to be loud to wanting my mixes to be balanced. That flatline tool is really great.

[@blacksaonamusic]

Would be awesome if you showed your settings in the Saturn. Im a little bit afraid of adding extra saturation in the master, i rather prefer clipping it or leaving the saturation for the mixing.

[@blacksaonamusic]

Other thing, why not using Oversampling on the Flatline? I dont see any use good to the artifacts created by it, but i guess it depends on the samplerate you working your session (i guess its 44.1khz) Awesome video!

[@filipebeat]

12:05 ahah dats not what masterin can do, dats what 10+ dbs can lmaoooooooo dam man (but i just did a proppa test n its (mastered one) really soundin betta though!)

[@arsafes]

Aaah such a classy Glenn Fricker diss at 12:33 :D

[@74Bagas]

ahahhaha , makes the video even better

[@BrandonHartOfficial]

I absolutely love Flatline. But I think what makes this video so compelling is your genuine excitement when mastering - it's clear to me that you love what you do. You can see your enjoyment while going through this track and your various means of processing. Thanks again for an outstanding, world-class plug-in. Definitely in my top 5 plug-ins of all time.

[@ertugrullgul]

10:03 can you explain why you don't use oversampling and why you think it's overstated?

[@melatiro5]

Yeah I would like to know more about that, I am self taught, but from what Dan Worrall has taught me there is no downside nor artifacts when using oversampling

[@imnotjacob.]

@@melatiro5 The new update has 128x oversampling.

[@ЦыхраЦыхра]

This is JUST A CLIPPER which you can do in any waveshaper plugin, for example in Melda MWaveShape (in which I made a preset which NULLS with Sonnox Inflator. I'm not joking. NULLS). Just a clipper with good visual feedback.

[@F1r3Foxxxy]

i zvuchit huzhe chem original esli na eti 9.6dB konechnyi resultat tishe sdelat)

[@wakeforldmusic]

There is a free vst that is similar to this, GClip, but any clipper would do the same Job

[@jurv7626]

The limiter 6's two last modules is literally the same thing lmao

[@lukebogartmix]

Thanks Ermin! This was actually fantastic to see, in the modern world of music production there definitely is a massive focus on mixing and songwriting, and I think mastering doesn't quite have the same explanation and accessibility as the others. So seeing someone in the modern scene produce informative content and real-world exemplification of mastering a track ITB with easily accessible plugins is incredibly helpful and refreshing to see. Keep at it, I greatly appreciate it, and I'm sure my masters (and my mixes) will be greatly improved ditching my current basic master bus with the infamous Pro-L!

[@antonyshokurov6854]

G-clip do same things for free ...

[@jurv7626]

Same with limiter 6

[@caseylockwood5512]

@@SickAzzTonez Because hard clipping is just that. It literally just chops off anything that goes over. Hard clipped. It will be the exact same in any clipping plugin set to max because yes, hard clipping is simple, its the same thing no matter what plugin it is. Where the differences actually lie is how these different clipping VSTs handle SOFT CLIPPING, in other words, how they hand not simply hacking off the waveform, but trimming it according to whatever algorithm they are using. A lot of that is just about personal taste.

[@danielschroder6678]

Absolutely genious. Alas, too much on the Flatline for me. Kick sounds too mushed and one-dimensional in the final mix, which was neither the fault of EQ nor of Ozone -- we hear that from most modern metal mixes. If you do not push Flatline as hard, maybe 2dB less, you recover most of what you wanted to capture in terms of glueing together the whole picture, but without the kick (especially its lowend) to bloat as much. But that's really just criticism on the top percent... I couldn't have done it better from scratch for sure!

[@martti7363]

I don't know what kind of system you're using to listen to the album on, but I heavily disagree with your comments about the kick. If you're using a amp/dac setup, or proper monitors, you can feel the oomph that's added when he boots up the plugin. I suspect your setup is missing necessary low-end to feel that.

[@danielschroder6678]

@@martti7363 Oh, I think you misunderstood me -- I thought the kick was beging too bloaty and in-you-face, not too recessed! :) I can assure you that my setup (LG V30 --> Aether R) is absolutely capable oft rendering lowend truthfully. ;)

[@martti7363]

@@danielschroder6678 My bad, I see what you're saying!

[@danarchism-dissident]

I rather enjoyed the push the low end saw with Flatline. It made the piece more dynamic overall to me. Perhaps that is the sound in his head he referred to earlier in the video, no?

[@danielschroder6678]

@@danarchism-dissident Sure, he likes the sound as he did it, else he would had done it differently. ;) Also, I am not sure if in the case he WOULD have stopped 2dB earlier, you would have defended the threshold in the same way? See, of course Flatline does a good job and he did, too -- I was just criticising the extend. I think it was not the perfect amount of compression. Somebody else might think differently, and he clearly does (else he would have chosen another threshold). So I do not really understand what you wanted to say...?

[@Mickosis]

Been waiting for this before I even try out the plugin! Thank you for this!

[@matt_nyc_audioengineer]

Ozone 9, that's Ozone 9 lol.

[@danydaib12]

In the few videos of yours I've seen, the tracks you talk about are some of my favourites. I have very little understanding of the details your talking about but it is utterly fascinating to see the tracks grow and come to life through your mastering. Thanks for you amazing work !

[@wheresallthezombies]

I hate how the focus of the mix is on the drums lol

[@DareToShine]

Man really brings a whole new life to the high end. Beautiful

[@festeplatte4225]

Are you serious?

[@Riffa22]

Got the trial, played with it for twenty minutes, bought it. Fantastic plugin and will definitely be using it for a lot of my projects for the foreseeable future. Although, my god man, does Mick Gordon's MG DOOM preset really need to be there, I nearly had a heart attack when flicking through haha

[@Joseandresyanes]

the first thing I said while listening to this album was "damn that mix is incredible" glad I found this video

[@adriandonal]

I love Flatline for Trap/Pop mastering. For me, best sounding clipper, love it's character

[@festeplatte4225]

Are you serious?

[@tranhuy587]

stupid question,seems like i cant buy this ivory 2 EQ anymore,it s upgrade to 5 and that s look much difference compare to 2 version....

[@mattjns]

Love this album, love it. But that solo at the end of Pan is too low.

[@filipebeat]

ahah oh! so d rFactor man likes music too.. ahah best thangs in life right? cheers FL Studio n Assetto Corsa still d bests eva though X D haHAhaHA

[@snakenewton]

OK so I've worked in Audio all my life; its a really refreshing change to see this sort of video on line. No plug does it all. It's great to see this chain being explained like this. I am one of those people who have known the technique of analogue clipping and have used it for many years. I'm really excited to try this plugin and hope it lives up to it's potential. Not least because the ONLY bit of analogue hardware I have not been able to shed is the expensive ADA that I am forced to carry around the world with me! Here's hoping! either way well done on this honest tutorial. I loved its honesty and frank warning that if your aren't quite 'there' yet this isn't the plugin for you. The analogue clip technique only works, as you say, if you understand and respect it.

[@woutex]

Is it really that good? When I look at the actual wav file it’s completely brickwalled most of the time :( Is this really necessary, since not much headroom is left?

[@marcusuussalu3016]

Thank you and love your videos! Everything is clear kust have one question if you are willing to share. When you filter the sides only, are you using linear phase eq or is that not of importance? Thx in advance! Br

[@GaryMcNeill]

You mastered plini's record and you have 8k subs.... you need 8 million!

[@vr360bln]

great plugin! but the gate you are using on your VO is clicking :-)

[@vilgaxrecords]

Best thing is saw on internet today

[@festeplatte4225]

Are you serious?

[@CristiDumitrescu]

I’ve downloaded the trial version and i must say that i’m blown away by the result! For sure i’ll buy it. Thanks :)

[@markg2861]

Simon is so awesome

[@triplebeam23]

Looks like something from fabfilter

[@samuelzanini5902]

"Hey Legends"

[@vadmid]

увеличил громкость и всё?! это мастеринг?! ЛОЛ

[@junkawakami3193]

drifting away from rF2, Automobilista, and AC Competizione to develop a plugin that can match mastering setup that costs 100 times more? i would like to sign up, but my wallet says no lmao p.s. love your work both in sim racing and audio production

[@felipousismix]

Smashing the master with 6 dB of GR?

[@davidbaadermixing]

Really enjoying your content, cool to see that you also work with cubase! :)

[@adamburger858]

Good video brotha- That master really is bangin' man, This whole album is one of favs, if not "the" favorite? - It's a joy to listen to music that is recorded and mastered well! -Thumbs brotha!

[@allanmarcusguitar]

Awesome as always

[@torbicomihya]

Ma brate dragi... Ermine ubio si posao! Instant subscribe!

[@kylecalandrelle7209]

Sounds awesome. Makes me wanna get it real bad. Lol. Looking forward to more content.🤘

[@PereRevert]

Fantastic video and marvelous song... the GUI seems to close to the Fabilter Pro L... Ermin, how do you compare the Pro L vs the Flatline ? Any significant considerations ? Thanks. Keep up the good work man.

[@misterniceshoes2888]

Apparently Ermin hates Pro-L2 but nicked the GUI for his own plug anyways 😆

[@CoinsBand]

Haha dude. I follow your simracing content, and I just happen to be youtubing Plini, and I'm a simracing audio engineer in melbourne.

[@CoinsBand]

also, amazing master, man. So good.

[@TheChrisPCritter]

Ermz! Nicely done man! Awesome to see how far you've come since the old Sneap Forums days!

[@Pronoya]

I was waiting for the Flatline tutorial, thank you!

[@LeadGuitarWorkshop]

This was great! Thank you for sharing

[@festeplatte4225]

What was great? The snake oil voodoo?

[@LeadGuitarWorkshop]

@@festeplatte4225 ehhh...snake oil voodoo? Not sure what you are talking about. It was a great video, I enjoyed it.

[@alyctro8158]

Video starts at 8:20

[@user-hg3lz8kw2e]

With the plugin Flatline being used for Impulse Voices, I am interested in how you mastered Handmade Cities. Was the plugin used there as well, and if not, how did you approach it there? I really like the upfront presence of the new album, but at the same time the more "mellow" mix of Handmade Cities is what makes it so melancolic sounding, if that's the right word. So I am curious what was different in the mastering process between the two albums!

[@SystematicProductions]

I used converter clipping on 'Handmade' in order to achieve a similar effect, albeit in the hardware realm. It wasn't as clean as Flatline, which you can hear in the resulting sound of the album!

[@user-hg3lz8kw2e]

@@SystematicProductions Thank you very much, I didn't expect your response at all! That makes things clearer for me now, both are great albums with a unique sound!

[@scottydogg278]

Great insight into your mastering process (and of course, Flatline looks and sounds fantastic)! Also, interested in who you're talking about that doesn't work in the industry and shouts at a camera? :P

[@danarchism-dissident]

"Crom's Balls" for $1000, Alex.

[@kylegrossi8175]

Great video. Would love to see some more music related content.

[@mattdotson7328]

you da man Ermin!

[@decendguitars]

Nice. Sounds amazing

[@gabopenav]

Buying this right now!

[@74Bagas]

i mean , this is the best

[@albertogarayofficial]

Awesome!

[@janisjostmanis6074]

awesome!

[@74Bagas]

i spot Glen at the end , hahaha

[@angelopearce2420]

Was really awesome to hear you talk about mastering.

[@JayKayProductions]

Darn diddly damn. I though my spending for November was over... And then Ermin pops up and sells me stuff. Goddamn.... XD