In What Order Do You Have Your Mastering Chain?

[@Oihenart1]

Now this is true mastering

[@bonafrato]

Thanks for that insight. Happy to see that tape emulation go away. Answered all my questions for the mastering chain order.

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

The tape emulation is good, but I'm not keen on it for mastering. I always found I was bypassing it 9 out of 10 times. And the songs it worked great on were more dynamic. I like to only have essential tools in my chain that work with everything.

[@aschmitz93]

Going back in the box, do you put another safety limiter after the LAAL? Or ist there no need to?

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

Yes. I like to Fabfilter L2 in a unique way after the LAAL. The LAAL will take care of 99% of limiting. L2 is just catching certain peaks very subtlety.

[@aschmitz93]

thanks! @@AudioAnimalsStudio

[@willcarter1210]

@@AudioAnimalsStudio L2 is mastering. Got it.

[@troyrose6102]

cool vid i just got a burl B2 but was wondering where you set the headroom and just how hard you like to hit them?

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

I like to have -18db on both. Out at around -5db to -3db and back in at around -3db. I'm not a fan of clipping the converters. It can sound cool. I just find it is hit and miss. This all very much depends on the song and what is in your chain though. The above is what works best for me.

[@troyrose6102]

@@AudioAnimalsStudio thanks totally know what you mean clipping is definitely not always the answer but when it is it is. Thats about where I had ended up as well setting wise. Keep up the good work.

[@KROWNCHAKRATV]

Would ya take a look at those work horses behind him!! Can we take the time to appreciate the investments this guy made to make greater music

[@jfrancis2649]

great video, is there somewhere I can hear some of the songs you mastered?

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

You can listen to some of our previous work here www.audioanimals.co.uk/previous-work

[@Rhuggins]

What are your thoughts on the Curve Bender? I’m kind of surprised that you dont have a “character” eq like that…although Gyrator is surely characterful

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

You know what, I've never been a fan of too much character in an EQ for mastering. I've always found you can move too far from the sound the client is happy with. I prefer to add character in the saturation stage I talked about. Curve benders are great. I wouldn't say no to one.

[@Rhuggins]

@@AudioAnimalsStudio interesting. Its a dream EQ for me. I have heard that the IGS IQ inductor equalizer has a similar character but much more subtle depending on how much gain is applied. Maybe that would be a good direction to go for mastering specifically, in my case. Or just get an outboard saturator. Have the freqtube but would like something with more analog inputs because a secondary conversion stage seems unnecessary

[@TeeDubz]

Hi, when you say "Hardwired" in the chain. Do you mean literally XLR out of one box straight into the next XLR in?

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

Basically no patchbay or routing matrix like the SPL hermes etc.

[@TeeDubz]

Cool, so daisy chain from one box to the next? Thanks

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@@TeeDubz yes

[@dlichtenberg]

Fascinating video

[@CT-ho6si]

Any plans for replacing the Roger Mayer? They make an actual rack unit as well of that 456... I don't know if it adds noise or not, haven't tried it.

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

I have the new Neve master bus transformer coming tomorrow which I'm going to review and 99% sure it's going to replace the Portico 2. The Roger mayers is a brilliant tool but after the honeymoon phase I found I could achieve a better tone with the blackbox HG2. I would guess the Neve MBT is going to some of what the Roger mayer can do.

[@CT-ho6si]

@@AudioAnimalsStudio Sweet! I'd be keen to see your review of that MBT. Super Silk!

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@@CT-ho6si not just silk it's super silk. I love how they've split silk blue and red into independent controls. I always hated having to choose between them.

[@CT-ho6si]

@@AudioAnimalsStudio I was thinking the exact same thing. Why do I always have to choose one or the other? =)

[@danielkisel5661]

​@AudioAnimalsStudio have you also tried Neve Portico 542 tape emulation it has silk circuit on it too, could it be better than Roger Mayer?

[@TicscoCampbell]

And Do the Evelope have to go on every track, and I Use the plugin...So how do we compensate when the evelop make voulme come up and the plugin dont have a Voulme Adjust Im a New user to it

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

You can gain stage with the plugin before and after. The volume should come up too much but if it does you can reduce the input gain on the plugin afterwards or reduce the output gain on the plugin before.

[@TicscoCampbell]

Thanks Alot Im Doulble check again i could made error @@AudioAnimalsStudio

[@TicscoCampbell]

Im Having a issue with it with a 808 with out a kick. I would love to see hopw you handle more rap things in future

[@dna598]

Flippin ek bruv!

[@TicscoCampbell]

An I wrong If I Use the Nvelope and I have my Voulme already up ?

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

Nor sure what you mean?

[@wooxstar]

You're going to replace the MBP for the new MBT👀

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

Yes. It arrives tomorrow. I'll be shooting a review video and confirmation if it is going to replace it.

[@mixedbyedd]

@@AudioAnimalsStudio 🔥🔥

[@anaisvania]

i will be waiting for your review and compare of the units.....@@AudioAnimalsStudio

[@tomburden]

Why don't you like 500 series modules in the mastering chain?

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

500 series are known to have less headroom. A 19 inch rack version will utilise its own power. There's not a whole lot in it. Given the choice, I would always go 19 inch over 500 series for mastering.

[@turtlefeet7722]

It’s the same just smaller format. I have been told and watched numerous reviews .

[@owlmuso]

I love it when you share what you use, and how, where and why. Fascinating stuff, thanks Paul. One thing I will say though, is that with this number of units at your disposal one needs deep mastery of each piece of equipment. In the hands of someone less experienced it could be easy for the engineer to lose control of the overall sound because there are so many options.

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

Yes 100% think of like this. Most people day 1 of using a setup like this would try to turn every knob and use every aspect of every unit. I use a small portion of each unit to achieve what I need to achieve. Some EQs for instance the PQ has an amazing low end so that EQ is used to focus on the low end. The Kush has an amazing high end which is why they sit together. Every unit has a purpose in the chain and understanding what that unit does best comes over time.

[@owlmuso]

@@AudioAnimalsStudio I think the last sentence sums it up: "Every unit has a purpose in the chain and understanding what that unit does best comes over time." i 100% agree. i also think don't under estimate how long it takes to train your ear to be able to make those kinds of decisions. In my experience its taken me years to be able to hear what compression does, hear eq, frequencies, phasing, aliasing etc etc And I think training your ears is as important to using each piece of equipment as your experience with the piece itself. And this is where the we make the mistake of thinking that the equipment makes the sound good, rather than the experience and skill of the engineer, using the high quality gear, that makes the sound good.

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@@owlmuso Great point, after time you start to see sound. When I hear sound I see colours and shapes. Not necessarily waveforms but more tapping into a new sense. I image it's how blind people see. I will often close my eyes to find the music. This is why I love mixing in Dolby Atmos so much. You aren't just creating a mix of music, you are creating an environment. We're getting deep now.

[@owlmuso]

​ @AudioAnimalsStudio Interesting. i heard about how some people see colours when listening to music. I am sure there is a name for it, and it must be fascinating. But I think part of the journey for a sound engineer is to allow your unique way of processing sound to show itself to yourself, and then to claim it and use it in your work, especially in guiding your decision-making. For me I "feel" sound in my stomach and heart - there is a gamut of "gut" feelings I get as I work on processing the sound. These feelings are not related to the emotion expressed in the song, but to the qualities of the sound itself. I have learned to not only use my ears but also "listen" with my body. This happens even with headphones on. Say for instance I am equing a sound, I will also close my eyes (ignore the visual feedback) and if my body sends a message of "I like" while I am working the dials then I know I am on the right path. But its taken me years to recognise this as a gift, and then use it. And thats on top that having to learn all the technical stuff as well. I have heard some stereo binaural Dolby mixes and I have to say I like a lot. I can't wait to get the full experience and I can totally understand how satisfying it must be for you. We getting VERY deep.... haha

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@owlmuso that's really interesting. I can't say I've experienced that myself. So it just goes to show every engineer will develop their own additional sense over time that works for them. Another one I get when working on hardware is when I turn a knob I can feel the sound. Similar to yours. But more like I can feel bast the knob and into the unit. I guess it's just different ways of your brain processing the information. I may have to do a video on this. I'd be interested to know if others have this, let's call it superpower.

[@Ray_Wood_1984]

🙇‍♂️💓🍀🎶 🤘😃