Mastering Assistant Isn't What You Think (Logic Pro 10.8)

[@AbhayRohanSabharwalProduction]

I recently used this master assistant it was good, here is a solution on the limiter, just open the adaptive limiter before the master, then set it and then open master assistant it fully works!

[@sangstersounds]

Nice idea! I will give that a go!

[@Studio_4to1]

100% on point. The Assistant is an end chain option that goes hand in hand with all the other stock Mastering plugins

[@harrystclare6404]

I use the assistant for the EQ curves only. Every other parameter is disabled. From there, i apply compression, limiting, etc after the assistant. People expect so much. Its a free update. Make do. Take the meat and leave the bones. Find a solution to your problem.

[@sangstersounds]

Agreed! Thanks for sharing!

[@jonvincentmusic]

This plugin is not meant for you. For bands and artists who want to make quick and dirty demos of their contemporary-styled music to fundamentally market themselves via whatever platform, this is basically what they've been asking for.

[@Bittamin]

I’m essentially using it as a brick wall limiter and turning the EQ off 😅 for some reason logics adaptive limiter lets clippings through in me

[@maybient]

I like the mastering assistant a lot. It's so well designed and, therefore, simple to use. And, at least for me, it delivers better results than other mastering plugins that I've dabbled with. I would not change a thing.

[@sangstersounds]

Glad you are liking it! Maybe they could have more indepth version in the future for curmudgeons like me and still keep this streamlined version as well.

[@BlackCatBonz]

The simplicity is for people that want to make music but have no clue about the technical side of things. This is something that Apple is great at: Creating a tool that a beginner can use and get a good result that can also be implemented and tweaked by expert users in a way that a beginner wouldn't understand.

[@sangstersounds]

Agreed! I just think with a few more options it would be even more helpful for teaching beginners the basics of mastering.

[@leolovetoparty]

I can see this as a potentially useful tool for improving the mix. A well mixed track should not require major adjustments at the mastering stage.

[@TheStevep52]

I’m very new to Logic Pro coming from years with Pro Tools and I’m still in a steep learning curve. I looked briefly at this plugin but didn’t really understand some of it or how to use it. Thank you for being brutally honest in your assessment of this plugin. It helps me to understand how it can be used in the most effective way given it’s limitations.

[@sangstersounds]

You are welcome!

[@Bittamin]

2:24 the reason they have this target loudness is exactly because your track will sound the “best” on their platform 😂 even though somebody in PR clearly wrote that extra last two sentences

[@tam_ryan1036]

Absolutely agree. Particularly that the plug-in should be available on other busses. I send everything a mix bus before it hits the stereo out. Main reason being I use reference material a lot which I definitely doesn’t want to be remastered! If I could put the mastering plug-in on my mix bus instead I could send my reference direct to the stereo out as usual for a/b checks. At the moment, however good the mastering plugin may or may not be, it’s pretty useless in many of my mixes.

[@sangstersounds]

Yup! I do the exact same thing

[@ghost-user559]

All you have to do is turn off the blue power button on any plugin and then you can a/b. Just have the assistant window open and cycle it on and off while you go.

[@TenebrisAnimarumDominium]

It doesn't have to be the last plugin on the stereo bus. I find myself using it all the time but I'm putting a final gain utility plugin and the Multimeter right at the end

[@sangstersounds]

Very true. I might have misspoke on this in the video. It does have to be on the stereo out but it can be any place in the plugin chain on that track

[@saulpatrick]

mastering assistant took my result track from a 4 to a 6, i was able to reach a 8 after placing after it a EQ, adaptive limiter e check again for LUFs (target around 11)

[@gr4ndv1ll3]

Great video. At 3:38, you say that one shouldn't target -14 LUFS. I'm part of the demographic you mention at 3:55 so, is your recommendation to let the Mastering Assistant just do its analysis, and then for the user to simply adjust the "loudness" parameter to their own taste afterward? If I do that for each song of an album individually, do I end up with a cohesive album overall without later bringing each bounce into a super session to "master" again? Genuinely seeking guidance here, thanks!

[@sangstersounds]

Yes I would definitely recommend setting the loudness parameter to taste for each song. But you've hit on a big issue with mastering assistant; the inability to put it on individual tracks. For an album mastering project I would do just that bring the mix of every song into a new session and then master them all in relation to each other. Unfortunatley this is not possible with the current version of mastering assistant. I suppose you could bounce each one in the session and run new analysis for each song but that seems like a big headache. I would focus on learning to use the limiter and the eq plugins to do your mastering and at best use mastering assistant as a guide to making your eq decisions if you need it. Hope that helps!

[@gr4ndv1ll3]

@@sangstersounds Thank you for the thoughtful response. The Band Guide channel demonstrated a similar workflow to what you've described (watch?v=a5RpmNiVkmg) but, shoot, what a drag! I think we're all necessarily in a constant state of learning in this field but, for me, proper mastering skill is still years and years away. One day... Thanks again for clarifying and for sharing not only your ideas, but all of the wonderful videos.

[@Yoshi-Veg]

​@@gr4ndv1ll3hey man, I wouldn't sweat it starting out. #1 you shouldn't be releasing albums if you're new, it's all about singles until you build a fan base. Successful albums all have a lot of money behind them both in engineering and promotion. #2 you can turn those singles into an album but mastering consistency and volume levels being perfect isn't going to matter unless you're selling physical records. Streaming services are going to line that up as long as you get it close. Average listener (which Should be your target audience) isn't listening for perfection in every aspect. Hone your mixing skills, use the AI tool until you're ready to learn the proper process or have the funds to pay for proper engineers on the projects. Good luck.

[@JimGramze]

I've gotten fantastic results with this new Mastering assistant. I have a couple goto mastering plugins (Ozone 11 and God Particle) and I try them all before tweaking either within or after they do what they do. Of course I also can just do it with various plugins from scratch. My main gripe is that I don't like to use the Stereo Out for my mastering work but rather have my own master 2-bus which then outputs to the Stereo Out. Mastering assistant can't go anywhere but the Stereo Out and this is frustrating! I also agree with not having any sort of meter on the limiter to know exactly at what point limiting starts and then by how much. But sometimes I get best results from this Mastering assistant. The AI EQ curve looks all the world like a match EQ to an "ideally" mastered EQ.

[@sangstersounds]

Thanks for the insights! And glad to hear you have been getting good results. I totally agree about it being stuck to the stereo out... very annoying.

[@Bunbunfunfun]

You are defeating the purpose by using an additional bus for the mastering plugins. Its in the name mastering. It should be aplied to the " master " channel. The approach you are using is a mix approach. Mastering is and shouod be a completely different process.

[@toddcollins6746]

Good points. I do like it as a starting point to then do some additional manipulation.

[@ronallen2458]

I agree with most of your points, but I have different issues. I think it’s perfect for giving a mix to a band for feedback. -14 is fine for that. My biggest issue with the assistant is that I cannot turn off the limiter and use my own. I would love a modular design so that I can control each aspect of the mastering and maybe get some insight into what I can change at the mix level for a more effective master and also turn off the elements that I don’t want. It’s a little bit too far to the simple side. I switched from the GUI view to the controls view, hoping there were more controls. There were less. Weird.

[@sangstersounds]

Agree I would love a modular design as well!

[@stru9286]

Still missing Dynamic EQ 🤷🏼‍♂️ … 25 years ago I discovered my first multi-band compressor and it changed my whole outlook on mastering. When Dynamic EQ’s appeared it had the same quantum leap effect on my mastering chain … so, come on Apple, let’s see a native solution 😉

[@sangstersounds]

Dynamic EQ was a massive game changer for me as well. Rarely do I mix or master a song without it these days

[@rossdonald594]

Thanks for your presentation Chris. I've done some comparisons with iZotope OZONE and have been pleasantly surprised by the processing of Logic Mastering, which to my ears appears more subtle, and certainly less heavy-handed. I'm looking forward to its refining over the next year.

[@sangstersounds]

You're welcome! Glad you are getting on well with it.

[@waedi73]

Great video and I agree, I anyway don't switch that ON, putting Ozone in.

[@sangstersounds]

Thanks! I'm Ozone all the way as well!

[@HasseC]

Agree! Thanx for the great stuff you're putting up!

[@sangstersounds]

Thanks!! You are welcome.

[@milesholt3655]

would you suggest implementing another dynamics plugin after the fact or before? wish there was some way to cut out the dynamics like in ozone, since I can't even tell what its doing. It sounds better than a rough ozone assistant preset I think, but definitely hard to tweak aside from the EQ.

[@sangstersounds]

I would be wary of using any plugins before or after personally. If you wanted to try I would go with another limiter after and just don't push the dynamics knob too much in mastering assistant

[@just1ces0n]

@@sangstersounds the limiter after the fact would be to get that loudness back, correct?

[@drewschempf944]

What about mixing into it or should it just be used on individual songs?

[@sangstersounds]

Because it analyzes your mix to determine the settings I wouldn’t advise mixing into it. It is really designed to be put on the full song at the end of mixing.

[@planetmullins]

Hey Chris thanks for letting us know. No way to meter the gain reduction? Glad I didn't update yet. Great channel btw.

[@sangstersounds]

Thanks so much!

[@expatguitarist]

What did you think about the "excite" button? It sounds good when you first put it on but after playing with a session for a few days I stopped using the excite button. My session sounded better without it.

[@sangstersounds]

Honestly I'm not sure. I didn't include it in the video because I didn't feel like I had listened to it on enough songs to properly evaluate that feature. It supposedly adds saturation to the upper mids but to me it sounded a little brittle on the mixes I tested it on. Probably a very song dependent feature

[@gianni1646]

I’m an avid Logic user too. I’m happily stuck with version 7.9.6 on an Intel iMac. What plugin or series of plugins would I use to master my mixes Chris? It seems to me that Apple is trying to make professional apps like Logic and Photoshop easier to use for those less skilled and just want to “get something out there”. And that’s okay! So, I don’t think you were ranting. You were speaking to us who are looking to produce more professional masters by honing our skills. Gianni❤

[@sangstersounds]

Thanks for your comment! I use iZotope Ozone for mastering and I highly recommend it. If you want to use stock plugins I would suggest the phase linear eq and adaptive limiter instead of mastering assistant

[@gianni1646]

@@sangstersounds Hi Chris! I also have Ozone 11 Advanced. Bought it. Don’t know how to use it. I’d like to learn it. Could you please do an in depth (each module) video? 🤟🏼 Gianni❤️

[@vewilli]

Thanx so much. What you say counts for me. But as I always master with CloudBounce (didn‘t use Logic‘s mastering plugin so far) to - 14 LUFS, because I heard that Spotify wants the wav-file with -14 LUFS, I‘m quite uncertain now how to master the next song! I don‘t think I can do a better job than CloudBounce!

[@sangstersounds]

If you are happy with the results you are getting that is great! But I will say, it is not that Spotify "wants" a -14LUFS file it is simply that they will playback all songs at -14LUFS. So really you should master your song to the level at which it sounds best and know that Spotify will play it back at the same level as all other songs on the platform.

[@vewilli]

@@sangstersounds This was an interesting answer which tells me that I needn’t master the song-files to 14 LUFS because of Spotify, but 12 or even 10 would be ok and the platforms straighten them out for their needs? A big THANK YOU! 💪🏻👏🏻👍🏻🙏🏻

[@sangstersounds]

Yes that is absolutely correct and exactly what I do for mastering. I try to be above that -14 integrated value but then always keep the level appropriate for the song.

[@DjoProducer]

I try it and it’s not a big deal to start the mastering Assistent after an rough mix oder a composing stage, just as orientation and time safer. As Audi Engineer I prefer my own way over the a.i

[@sangstersounds]

Definitely could see that as a use case. But I agree I much prefer my own mastering workflow!

[@AliBabaFlyHigh]

You’re absolutely correct, I hope Apple hears you & those upgrades would really take mastering assistant & logic X to a crazy competitive level 🤞🏼.

[@sangstersounds]

Thanks! Me too!

[@Hammerman48]

It’s a great tool for getting your mix to a point where you can play with the settings after using it.

[@sangstersounds]

I'm glad you are liking it! I just wish it had more settings to play with haha

[@g_smasha]

THIS VIDEO IS AMAZING! SUPER UNDERRATED! THANK YOU FOR HELPING!!

[@sangstersounds]

Thanks so much!!

[@markgalasso245]

I was searching around online trying to find out if there was some hidden way to access the limiting going on with Mastering Assistant and your video confirmed for me that there are no limiter controls to be had? (just ridiculous). The plugin sounds good, but Apple really needs to open it up and give us some detailed pro controls on the entire output section as you suggest and I agree with everything else you are saying about the myriad of shortcomings with the plugin. Hopefully Apple will do something about it. ~Thanks

[@sangstersounds]

Yeah sadly there are no manual limiter controls. I would be much more likely to recommend or possibly use mastering assistant if it had even basic manual limiter controls.

[@dylanpaterson7612]

-14 lufs is actually a masterstroke by Apple, how will MOST people be playing reference tracks? Spotify. The most important thing with using reference tracks is to get it the same volume so you can compare correctly. Although I agree that it's not necessarily the end goal. It's a perfect starting point. And that's the point in the whole plugin

[@sangstersounds]

Definitely agree about the importance of gain matching for refs!! I didn’t necessarily look at that as the idea behind the -14 default level in mastering assistant but that’s a really interesting idea. Thanks for point that out!

[@foljs5858]

"I understand that they want to simplify the controls to make them easier to use" No, you don't seem to understand. You seem to criticize this as if it's intended as a manual mastering tool. "Why not keep the scale of the tool relative to the actual LUFS increase or decrease" because the relationship is not constant, the increase or decrease corresponding to +1.0 in the knob can be different LUFS increases depending on other parameters chosen and the material, in an "adaptive"way (-14 isn't fixed, and will be even more dynamic as the AI improves in future versions).

[@sangstersounds]

Thanks for your feedback! I simply wish that Mastering Assistant had more manual controls. I think that would not only make for a better plugin but would help people learn the tools of mastering. As for my complaint about the loudness knob. I could have explained that better. I really just wish it was a more traditional threshold/ceiling setup - that's what I meant by relative to the LUFS change. But I totally could have explained that better.

[@rcraigbateman]

maybe it’s just an assistant to show you a few flavors of the final output.. (what could be…

[@sangstersounds]

Definitely agree. I think that is the best use for it right now@@rcraigbateman

[@echomusicswe]

I totally agree with all said!!!!!!! Big Up!!!

[@sangstersounds]

Thanks so much!

[@brettsteelhammer]

This is great insight and very helpful thank you!

[@sangstersounds]

Thanks buddy!

[@GetSongsDone]

same strategy that Ozone began implementing awhile ago. they'll give us a little more in the next version, but mainly independent artists will suffer.

[@sangstersounds]

Yeah thats the main reason why I have yet to upgrade beyond Ozone 9

[@andrew6889-p5c]

Yeah, I agree with all this. I’m very inexperienced with mixing and mastering - mainly just want to make songs at home for fun. So I am ok with something being simple, but this seems like an unsatisfying approach. And is it just me, or why can’t I fully see what it’s actually doing to the song? When I read about it I thought you’d load a bunch of plug-ins (eq, adaptive limiter, multi band compressor) and it would use AI to make a suggestion for how they should be set. Then I could see what it did and adjust from there (and/or learn). I also wish I could be far more specific about what kind of song/sound I a going for. The 4 characters for all kinds of music seems way way too limited.

[@sangstersounds]

Totally agree! It would be awesome if it broke everything out into the separate plugins or at least integrated the information better

[@richarddunnsongs343]

I tried mastering a track ,and then tried mastering the master, I wondered if it would do nothing, as it was already mastered, and supposedly perfect but no , it did it all again

[@sangstersounds]

It will apply processing to your track no matter what. I do not believe there is a "perfect" master you could feed it and not get any changes.

[@von_Apa]

Thanks for a great and informative video. i’m a musician short with tech knowledge but I believe Izotope have the best tools to get some serious results when mixning and mastering. Maybe you could make a video on how to work with Izotope?

[@sangstersounds]

You are welcome! Yes that is a great idea. IZotope Ozone is my main tool for mastering

[@wonki1957]

just updated after whatching your video! now a lot of my plugins when you open them show ⍰ when it comes to selecting presets etc. any idea what to do there?

[@sangstersounds]

What OS do you have? Some new features are only available on newer Macs with Apple Silicon. If they are older 3rd party plugins that are giving you issues and you do have a newer mac try running Logic with Rosetta enabled (right click on the application - get info - check the box next to Rosetta)

[@wonki1957]

@@sangstersounds thanks for your answer mate! I run the latest version of ventura. It happens for instance with sylenth1, even tho i have the latest version installed, a bit odd the whole thing.

[@sangstersounds]

@@wonki1957 No problem! Yeah I would try opening Logic with Rosetta. If not maybe do a clean install of Sylenth and see if that helps

[@errmable]

I too have gotten fantastic results with this new Mastering assistant but I don't want AI to do everything for me?? We have to remember it's called "Mastering Assistant" for a reason. Like everything else in life, what you put in is what you get out!

[@sangstersounds]

Glad you have been getting good results! And I agree completely!

[@jimpurcell]

Very helpful, thanks.

[@sangstersounds]

You are very welcome!

[@robletcher2131]

Agreed!!! 💯 nice video thanks 🙏🏼

[@sangstersounds]

Thanks!!

[@MrRamonRueda]

I’m really enjoying Mastering Assistant the way it is. And I know that I could do it my own way. But, why risk it? 😊

[@sangstersounds]

Glad you are enjoying it! As long as you are getting the results you want that is all that matters!

[@artprojectsnz]

Lots of good points….maybe print stems and use M Assist on them and then build a new project? It’s a work around BUT may be useful…..anyway overall it’s a great new tool and when sending mixes off to be listened to and referenced I find it most useful…nothing will ever compete with some Iron + excellent ears and monitors! JPMusic

[@sangstersounds]

Thats an interesting idea! I think I'll stick with my "manual" mastering workflow for now. AI might get me in the future though!

[@davidcottrell1308]

Good points!

[@sangstersounds]

Thanks!

[@tomlewis4748]

My first impression was that anything MA can do, you could already do using nothing more than the plug-ins that Logic already has, assuming you employ them properly. As failed presidential candidate Walter Mondale used to say, 'Where's the beef?' There appears to be no beef in MA. IOW, it brings absolutely nothing new to the table. All it is, is a skin overlayed over tech already there in Logic. It probably was developed entirely from existing stock plug-in code. And what you seem to be saying is the controls on MA are even more rudimentary, meaning you can do LESS with MA than you can with the built-in plug-ins. And you can swap any of those out with 3rd-party plug-ins you might prefer. So what's the point? To gaslight the naive? To make users think they have some new killer tech (which they already have)? There is Nothing. New. Here. there is no There. There. It's all snake oil, and it can actually get in the way of learning how to master. Possibly the dumbest thing Logic ever did. Well, maybe the second or third dumbest. I'm probably sounding like a broken record when I say what I always say, which is 'This is not a shortcut. In art, there are no shortcuts. There never have been and there never will be.' Forget shortcuts. The only way to success is by doing the due diligence of being willing to do the hard work it takes to get there. MA is not a tool that helps. It only gets in the way. It's nothing more than a 'toy plug-in', like the toy cars we all had at age 4. Users should do themselves a favor and outgrow this (which can be done in under 5 minutes). On to the rubbish heap with it. It does nothing but confuse the issue. But then Apple has always had the arrogant attitude 'don't worry your pretty little head about it', as if knowing less is better than knowing more.

[@sangstersounds]

This comment is art. Well said!

[@djerikfox]

..totally right!

[@AaronMatthews71]

Have you let Apple know about this? they always take feed back pretty well

[@sangstersounds]

I left Tim Cook a voicemail but he hasn't called me back...

[@_dannyoliver4934]

My mastering assistant just isn’t it’s being displayed no matter what I do. Can you help???

[@sangstersounds]

Very strange. Can you just take the plugin off or is it stuck on permanently?

[@_dannyoliver4934]

@@sangstersounds it’s just not there. I’ve updated my Mac and it’s still not being displayed

[@sangstersounds]

@@_dannyoliver4934 sorry for the misunderstanding! Are you running Logic Pro 10.8 on at least mac OS Ventura 13.5?

[@_dannyoliver4934]

@@sangstersounds everything is up to date. I think my Ventura is 14

[@ZippedAuto]

its a bit disappointing that if you'd like to use all the "Character" features in the mastering assistant you'll need the Apple silicon

[@sangstersounds]

I agree. Its also annoying it dosent work if you are running rosetta on an Apple silicon machine

[@ZippedAuto]

@@sangstersounds that is very poor. My imac is only 2yrs old and has 64G ram. I struggle to believe my mac can't cope with the software. If this is how Logic will be operating I'll be changing the software I use.

[@FranklynMonk]

What I find especially confusing by this is both Apple Music and Apple Podcasts is -16 LUFS as their baseline loudness level

[@sangstersounds]

Great point!! I didn't even think of this! Everything else uses -14 haha

[@Bunbunfunfun]

Thats where mastering knowledge comes in. Apple music uses a proprietory file compression algorythm. Its does add some colorization and other digital artifacts. So their LUFs is set accordingly. The value depending on the platform slides a little.

[@Rio-uv1gs]

Some of the features of Master assistant only work if you have Apple Silicon.

[@sangstersounds]

Very true! I should have mentioned this in the video!

[@iNtRoVeRsIoNaLiSm]

hey, did you live in augusta georgia at one time as a kid? if so, was your dad named joe? I think we were neighbors lol, if not then my bad. my name is Duke, i had the 4 wheelers.

[@sangstersounds]

No, not me sorry!

[@vadimmartynyuk]

Perfect 👍🏻 This is how KZbin videos should be

[@sangstersounds]

Thanks so much!!

[@RichardPaynter-j2r]

I think you miss the point of this plug-in - clearly you know a great deal about mastering, so why would you use it; you could probably do a better job yourself. However, for someone like me who is more a musician than an engineer, it gives me a cheap way of my mix sound way better than I could accomplish on my own. It's 'good enough' out of the box and that suits me fine. Sure, if my music was commercial rather than for just my own satisfaction, then presumably an expert would go in with all their bespoke plug-ins and do a more refined job, but for getting me 95% of the way there just by adding the mastering assistant, it does the job.

[@sangstersounds]

That is a great point. This plugin was not designed for me at all. But I do think with some tweaks it could be a better tool for non pros as well. If it gave a little more useful feedback and control I think it could be a great learning tool in addition to a set it and forget it option. Thanks for your feedback, I appreciate you checking out the video.

[@g_smasha]

Tag Apple and all of their alternative accounts. We need to get this fixed 🤧

[@1048Records]

Just use the assistant after applying the mastering chain you use.

[@carlix8035]

Almost sounds like Logic is becoming a jack of all trades and a master of none.

[@sangstersounds]

I hope not! Logic is still incredible at so many things and I hope this AI do everything for you approach is not a sign of things to come but merely apple trying something different to help newer producers/engineers.

[@carlix8035]

Yeah it is a good daw but…. Personally I prefer using Ableton when making my own stuff so maybe I’m a bit bias. I think a comparison video to ozone 11 would be a good idea.

[@sangstersounds]

@@carlix8035 yeah that’s a great idea! I will try and do that. Cheers

[@Fiveash-Art]

Maybe they'll listen to you. 👍🏻

[@sangstersounds]

I'm not holding my breath...

[@Fiveash-Art]

@@sangstersounds They need to upgrade some of the amp sims .. I can't believe that still hasn't happened considering what some of the software developers have been making lately. ... Anyway .. Keep that criticism flowing .. you never know.

[@sangstersounds]

@@Fiveash-Art For real though. With all the great amp sims out now, Logics feel dated at best. Will do!

[@Fiveash-Art]

@@sangstersounds They're not bad for clean and crunchy type stuff... but for 'high gain' .. no way. I bought one of those Neural DSP plug-ins and they're miles better. All Logic needs to do is improve one high gain style amp , maybe add a couple of pedals or something and they would vastly improve their amp sim suite.

[@sangstersounds]

@@Fiveash-Art Yeah for sure the hi gain stuff sounds super thin. I've been interested in the Neural DSP stuff, seems like they are the new standard bearer. I need to check it out!

[@dopocc]

Just use your usual "mastering" chain before the Ai Assistant

[@T-BOUNCING]

I DO HIGH END / ULTRA HIGH RESOLUTION AUDIO MASTERING!! CAN I MASTER A SONG FOR YOU SIR..

[@jamesnyers1721]

I say it is a wonderful tool. The genius in it is the simplicity. No gain reduction meter? You HAVE TO USE YOUR EARS. Which is a GOOD thing. Great training for you. By the way when applying the mastering assistant it INSTANTLY makes it sound good on every system. On your phone, in the car, on my TV speakers. Not professional, but you can easily release your mixes on Apple Music by mastering with it. The biggest strength of it is probably the EQ curve that it applies to you mix.

[@sangstersounds]

Glad you are enjoying it! If you are getting the results you want, rock on!

[@DekkardBryon]

It's probably because Spotify is -14 LUFs

[@sangstersounds]

That is definitely what they are going for, but I just don't like mastering to hit numbers. Each song requires its own "correct" overall LUFS value IMO

[@DekkardBryon]

@@sangstersounds That's totally understandable although all the platforms were in agreement that the race to 0 db causes problems across different devices and genres. We've faced similar changes before. Think about filtering out bass for vinyl pressing. We've had a free-for-all on loudness for years and it's only really benefitted pop/rock, practically every other genre needs more timbre and dynamics for true representation doesn't it? In short, I wouldn't disagree with you on this but I would add context is everything.

[@kiillabytez]

Imagine if Apple made Logic for PC too!!! I guess they have to sell their overpriced/underpowered systems somehow, right?

[@sangstersounds]

The ecosystem rules us all!

[@spiral-m]

the M1 series is at a fair price now I would say, especially second hand which I got (max 16") . 0 fan noise, fast video renders, most things very smooth.

[@Bunbunfunfun]

Mastering plugins should not be used on individual tracks ever, thats the general rule coming from imdustry mastering ngineers.They are a mastering plugin not a mix plugin . Though this plugin is good its best to soend some cash and get a real mastering engineer to master your finished product for all platforms.

[@OXSY-UK]

If you want more control than do your own master chain. Looks like you don’t understand what this AI tool is doing.

[@deep2mixer]

Dude.. use your ears.. lol

[@Bunbunfunfun]

Nitpicking galore. There is no gain reduction meter becuase if you understand what the meters are telling you its a moot point. 14 LUFs is right in the range for most streaming platforms. Guess what kids you still need to use your most important tools, your ears.