Mastering Like A Pro - R&B Trap Soul

Note: the song used for reference in this tutorial is Bryson Tiller's "Don't" (audio not present). If you'd like you can check it out and compare it to what we did here :)
Song: Moses Stone - "Motion"
/ mosesstonetv
🎛 Mixing Presets & DAW Templates
NEW Divine Mixing Vocal Chains Ultimate (StudioRack): bit.ly/vocal-c...
UPDATED Divine Mixing Vocal Chains SR (StudioRack): bit.ly/vocal-c...
UPDATED Divine Mastering Chains SR (StudioRack): bit.ly/masteri...
Divine Mixing Waves Template (Logic Pro X, Cubase & Pro Tools): bit.ly/waves-t...
Divine Mixing Vocal Chains - Logic Edition (Logic Pro X): bit.ly/vocal-c...
🎹 Synth Presets & Drum Samples:
8oh!8 Bass Presets for Serum - bit.ly/8oh8-pr...
Urban Dreamscapes for Serum - bit.ly/urbandr...
The Niche Kit (Creative Drum and Loop Kit) - bit.ly/nichekit
🎓 Video Training Courses:
NEW Divine Beat Mixing (Mixing & Mastering Course): bit.ly/divine-b...
Divine Mixing Session 1 (Mixing & Mastering Course): bit.ly/divinemi...
Divine Mixing Session 2 (Mixing & Mastering Video Course): bit.ly/divinemi...
Hip Hop Vocal Production (Lynda.com Course): bit.ly/hhvpcourse
🎶 My Favorite Music Distribution Service (use this link for a discounted membership): distrokid.com/...
*I have the Musician Plus plan
🔈 My Studio Gear
seandivine.com...
💬 Let's Connect
seandivine.com
Instagram: / seandivine
Disclosure: My videos contain affiliate links to products and services I use and recommend. I may receive a small commission on sales through these links, at no additional cost to you. I appreciate your support as this helps me continue to create content for the channel!

[@mikemathieson3700]

i love the way you present your tutotials your very easy to listen to and follow...huge respect and thanks.

[@SeanDivine]

thanks Mike, no problem!

[@SethVVM77]

So far, the only mastering tutorial that worked for me (hip hop, trap). The Pro-L did not do it for me, but the Waves L2 did wonders. My track sounds amazing. You are amazing for doing this, Sean. Thank you deeply.

[@SeanDivine]

no problem! Glad to hear it helped :)

[@yjxoxo]

That song sounds amazing, and I’m digging the tutorials and I fw the name Sean Divine lol, very unique.

[@SeanDivine]

Jon S 😊🙏

[@jeremyg2245]

Wow this video is literally a lifesaver, thanks so much! Also, dig your work!

[@SeanDivine]

thanks!

[@ISTHATTERRY]

PLEASE show us how you mixed this

[@SaahasSarithaBala]

Thanks a lot brother Sean!! This was really helpful!

[@SeanDivine]

no problem!

[@immortaltech2117]

Man respect !!!! ALL YOUR VIDEOS ARE AWESOME... REALLY THANK YOU FROM MY HEART!

[@SeanDivine]

sure thing :)

[@immortaltech2117]

:) Have you video how we can use noise gate bro?

[@SeanDivine]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pX-ze5V-icyEpac

[@disfigured75]

Man the GUI on the FabFilter looks amazing

[@Nox-Eldar]

So many helpful tutorials on the net, thanks for the tips :)

[@0ne0f0neMusic]

Thanks for your videos. I believe they will be helpful in taming the chaos in my sessions. Greatly appreciate the effort. Subbed

[@SeanDivine]

glad to hear it!

[@bozgun6187]

wow your very nice works respect

[@SeanDivine]

thanks

[@thesoundpainterbkny3465]

Thanks Bro! This was so helpful. Subscribed.

[@DylanBuckle]

Very useful Sean. Thank you so much.

[@mackensonpetit8155]

Thank you so much Sean. Blessings

[@TheHeelflipg]

love watching ya videos bro! thank you. learning so much and this is my second videos

[@willb3698]

RME. I love them.

[@galaxybeats1533]

Thanks my dude! Great tutorial!

[@Unknown-fd8kx]

Wow! subscribed myself to your channel to learn more from ya! Thanks

[@jpeezystudios]

Really enjoy your videos!

[@SeanDivine]

:)

[@Darksagan]

Excellent tutorial.

[@nigolt.4345]

Amazing mix. A+++ Video

[@mrmorpheus9707]

nice!!! i would luv to see how you mixed this!! GREAT JOB!!!!!

[@josuezacahua8331]

Thanks so much man, you really helped me a lot

[@SeanDivine]

:)

[@stevetaylor6488]

Thanks Sean - Complete masterclass ;)

[@sdash4757]

OMG THANKS SO SO MUCH THIS HELPED!!!

[@austenhartwell3945]

awesome video man thank you

[@iandavis6759]

great mix

[@dgenerationzx8084]

Man The Mix Is Just Too Good.Can you make a tutorial how to mix this song?It would be great..

[@paradisegreen7057]

Great job! Thank you.

[@KingAbbsRR]

Great tutorials like always man! How did you get the cool yellow "LED" like selection indicator on your tracks? I noticed in a couple of your videos both in the mixer and the edit window, it only appears on the selected tracks.

[@SeanDivine]

right click on the track / headers and select "show control surface bars"

[@norbi00001]

very nice

[@treztracks]

I just listen to the song motion on SoundCloud fire fire fire and I don't say fire that easy

[@bhostylebeats]

Your Mix sounds better then the B. tiller

[@kalemimak7]

B. Patterson yeahp,, true.

[@paradisegreen7057]

Your a really good instructor. Do you teach mixing and mastering classes?

[@reyxavie]

This is dope bro. props.

[@Sandman6616]

Thanks for the tutorial Dude.....I wanna inform you that there are annoying adverts on some of your videos thou in case you are not aware of it then Someone is advertising on your videos which is a bit annoying so check that out and make a Case...thanks a mill for this great tutorial.

[@SeanDivine]

no problem. KZbin decides what ads show up on the videos.

[@BMUSIK101]

Genius

[@Powhart]

WHAT A GREAT WORK!!! I need to know how You mix the song though

[@NightTone]

you Are the best !!!! thanks bro !!

[@Ojez]

thanks alot bro.. you've helped me alot

[@JayTheYTGuy]

Hello Sean Divine. I've seen this video probably 4-5 times now and never caught you didn't use compression! How come? Also, I find when I smash a mix the way you did with the limiter it sounds really harsh. I've used the L2 and L3 (I don't multiband with the L3 just limit). I guess that's what having a really good mix does! Moreover, is there any chance you could send me the wav of this track so I can practice on a great mix!? Keep doing what you do man! I notice you check your comments often and enjoy what you do.

[@SeanDivine]

I try to avoid compression in mastering if possible when the mix is done properly, otherwise it's very light mulitband and/or limiting. Limiting and higher levels overall will simply accentuate any issues in the mix. Thanks!

[@CHEVRONKINGZZ]

your very nice works respect tanks brow wow

[@alexanderita]

Thanks for these great videos!!! whats the name of the app you use for checking levels with a well mastered song?

[@alexanderita]

You were always saying "checking the rms level"... that app

[@SeanDivine]

it's the software for the rme ufx called total mix

[@JackSolarMusic]

thanks for the vid

[@SeanDivine]

sure thing :)

[@josephpaul8911]

Aaron Rogers is a mixing engineer?!? Hahaha

[@SeanDivine]

lol

[@terrinlevier5680]

Thanks..Learned a lot.

[@joshslavin5103]

Waves Vitamin is the only plugin here that I haven't tried. Stellar advice! Pro Q and Pro L are on almost everyone's go to list who is great at Mixing and/or mastering.

[@SeanDivine]

definitely recommend vitamin. I thought it looked like a gimmick when it came out but found out it's super useful

[@SkullzCM]

Dope!

[@themince4077]

Thank you for the video! I wanted to bring up a confusion i had about RMS, I took one of my mastered beats and compared it to someone else's mastered beat. Mine was"louder" by the RMS numbers but the other beat was by far more punchy and just overall more impactful. I know you rely on RMS a lot, so i was wondering if RMS isn't always right?? Or is there a way to manipulate the loudness without increasing RMS values?

[@SeanDivine]

Hey Nick, there is a big difference between actual loudness and perceived loudness. So while your mix may have higher RMS numbers the other mix may have more impactful transients, more width, better balance, etc. which will make it have a higher perceived loudness.

[@themince4077]

interesting, thanks for immediate response. Mixing/mastering is quite the quandary

[@iamvalsky]

First great video and nice track. Second I want to ask you, will you proceed the same way if your mix is based on already mixed and mastered instrumental ?

[@SeanDivine]

Hey HB, if the instrumental is already mixed and mastered you need to be very careful with the limiting process. Chances are the beat is already limited so you don't want to crush the transients. In that case, I would only use a limiter on the vocals if needed.

[@iamvalsky]

Thank you very much for the answer bro!

[@cmirormuzik8562]

OMFG!!!! Bro this is how i want my shit to sound before i bring it to my engineer. I am an ableton live user but DAWS dont make the song BANG its the producer behind the tracks. I am a drummer by trade i put the sticks up and started using drum machines keys etc... right now i am all about Trap South and Trap RnB and hip hop. My next BIG investment is Mixing plugins to get that pre radio quality so when i play it to people they will make that sour lemonhead look on there face bro. Im undecided its either UAD or Waves.

[@KuDdYMuDdY]

C'miror muzik If you can afford UAD. If you cannot or dont want to be dependent, grab izotope or waves plugins when they're on sale 🙈

[@Indiegoldbeats]

Clean

[@Alezcollection]

What is a good alternative to Vitamin? I have the older Mercury bundle, which is basically all Waves plugins but it doesn't have the more recent ones like H-Reverb and Vitamin and such, so what's another Waves plugin that would work just as well as Vitamin because I might already have that alternative...?

[@Alezcollection]

Jk nvm, I have Ozone 7 Imager so we good. Thank you for showing how to use more than one imaging plugin!

[@SeanDivine]

yes, Ozone Imager is great!

[@SamgProd]

i like the drums, especially the kick , how do u process to get it bright and punchy like this... thanks

[@Janomix]

Very good tutorial, but the other song have more presence and maybe hi transients, more transparent and more spatial, how to get this? in the mixing process or with another plugins in the master stage? Thanks a lot for your knowledge!

[@SeanDivine]

I think it's more to do with the way it's mixed. The kick and snare are very upfront. There is also not much going on in the production which plays a part in the transparency.

[@Janomix]

Thanks Sean! yeah, a lot of modern music, specially electronic from hip-hop to EDM have the kick, bass line and snare in very upfront with a lot of power, that I can't reach simply with EQ and maximizers. Have you some tips to gets this? I appreciate all your tips, thanks again!

[@kittytokat1383]

Bless UUp thx..added some mojo to my mix an master

[@Avatar7x7]

@Sean Divine First question... Are you using a mic pre before your audio interface for vocals? If so which mic pre?Which audio interface are you using because your stuff sounds killer ? What did you do to get your lead and background vocals to pop like that ?

[@SeanDivine]

thanks! I'm currently using the aphex channel as my pre and the rme ufx for the interface. Moses has good mic technique which helps a lot... beyond that, it's in the mix! :)

[@FTHVSNTV]

Do you have a tutorial on mastering within the same session you just finished a mix in? If not can you possibly create one? Love the work thnx!

[@SeanDivine]

will see what I can do!

[@FTHVSNTV]

Sean Divine We appreciate you man thnx!

[@AmrutKatigar]

thanks sean that helped, can you make a video, why mastering is done by different person, why cant same person do the mastering who done the music ready from scratch?

[@SeanDivine]

there's no reason why the same person can't do the master... generally it happens this way because the mastering engineer is specialized to do this single task. The big name mastering guys usually have access to expensive speakers and hardware to test the master on.

[@mikamikmusic821]

Hi Sean! I was wondering, what software do you use for recording your sound/screen recordings? I'd like to make some tuts myself!

[@Lovette_]

When you record vocals do you think it's better to double your recordings?

[@SeanDivine]

It depends on the vocalist and style of the song. It does make it easier to get a nice, full sound. For most of the songs I work on, I like to have doubles. I may layer them in very low or may decide not to use them but it's nice to have them available.

[@_JohnnySav]

Great job as always. Did you do a video on mixing his Vox? If so I'd like to see the chain you used!

[@SeanDivine]

I'll have something for you on this soon!

[@Pi2Music]

Great video man. Question, what if you were having phase issues, what would be some things you would do to get the mono sounding somewhat close to the stereo? I'm having a lil trouble with vocals and instruments dropping out.

[@SeanDivine]

look into ms processing (mid-side)

[@Pi2Music]

Word brother! Thanks for the help

[@evenwins]

yo sean, quick question. I recently purchased everything for a in home studio and i am in the process of learning how to mix vocals to make them sound good. I use a mic thru a interface and im just wondering when i mix and level out the sounds of the vocal tracks is it better to switch to the external monitors or stay using the headphones?

[@SeanDivine]

I would say mix on whatever speakers work best for you and that you're most comfortable with. I personally don't like to mix on headphones but I use them as a reference often.

[@Dasrecord]

listened to this video with my eyes closed and good headphones. throughout the session, when you A/B with your reference track... there's a really nice psychoacoustic smack to the snare in your reference track that's just super disrespectful...perhaps it's just a discrepancy in perceived loudness? or maybe the bryson tiller's team is doing something creative with their specific choice of limiting settings? could be just a dithering/codec artifact i'm hearing? ... i'm also considering the fact that the reference track is significant'y more sparse in it's instrumentation so maybe there's a magic that occurs when you keep the mix super stripped down... any thoughts?

[@SeanDivine]

I would agree it's a lot to do with the arrangement - that beat is extremely sparse and the snare is SUPER loud :)

[@evenwins]

also, did this guy record the original tracks at a in home or professional settings?

[@HitMenProductionGroup]

Hey Sean, are you mastering your tracks in the same session that the beat is made in or do you bounce all files out, mix, render and bounce in a new session?

[@SeanDivine]

It depends. I will usually do the master in the same session as the mix as long as I'm not running out of CPU and ram w/ larger sessions.

[@HitMenProductionGroup]

Facts! Thanks Sean!

[@veneyofficial2372]

When you make your beats do you usually bounce your mixes out into a blank project and then master them that way? Just curious

[@SeanDivine]

hey, no I do all the mixing in the beat sessions. I don't really do any "mastering" on the beats, just some brick wall limiting to bring them to commercial levels.

[@iamderekortiz]

Hey Sean, do you think you can do a video on how you get your beats loud and able to compete with other producers? It's something I really struggle with. When I compared my beats to other producers they are just really low.

[@arthurbatsell2360]

Im really feeling the way that mix sounds thats were i want to have my mix sitting before mastering. I see you use Logic Pro, I am using live 9.5, but i am thinking about buying logic Pro. My flow is that i will do my recordning in Live or Logic then pre mix everything in studio one. Do you have any suggestions what mixing plugins tio use for Trap / Trap RnB

[@Real_conscious]

I wanna buy this song but cant find it anywhere.

[@victor42580]

Try to reach maximum loudness in order to compete in playlists is useless, now that streaming services set their loudness playback levels between tracks.

[@SeanDivine]

definitely not useless considering a large portion of listeners are not on said streaming services (spotify, apple music, pandora, etc.) Even in the case of those with normalization, they all have different standards. You're better off to submit a final version at the target loudness and have it turned down, rather than have a master that won't compete consistently

[@victor42580]

Sean Divine Indeed, not all media players include loudness compensation, but more and more do. Moreover, loudness war leads to less dynamic music, painful and hear damaging sounds and lack of attention from listeners.

[@SeanDivine]

agreed, I don't like the idea of the "loudness wars", especially not to the detriment of dynamics. That said, having the master at a level that competes is necessary in most cases for commercial releases. The listener should hear the song in the best light possible - loud does not mean better but it can be perceived in a negative way if your mix is much quieter than all the rest. Thanks for your input!

[@DaltonRimmerGTO]

My ozone won't open in logic makes me authorize it but works stand alone. Would I be able to achieve the same goal by leaving limiting out but doing all the same and then just doing the ozone limiting in the stand alone app ?

[@zcarsen]

great video but i struggle with vocals sitting above the instruments is there a set db for vocal to start off with and start bring the instruments under the vocals

[@SeanDivine]

no specific level, it's more of a feeling. try using references of your favorite songs to get a feel for the levels and how the vocal and instrumentation complement each other

[@CARSONACE]

How much headroom should I leave? I dropped all the levels so that the master output Db comes to be around -16 with beat and vocals all together. Is lower db better for when you're mastering it all back with the plugins?

[@jarelebonds1059]

Hey Sean, how can I get my 808s to sound exactly like the ones on this track? Can you do a tutorial? They sound really dope man! They definitely have that drake/future 808 vibe

[@SeanDivine]

I didn't produce this track

[@bathefaith]

is the reference track through your daw? how? Im using maschine.

[@KidIll]

Do you use compression on your master chain? I use the SSL Buss Compressor but it squashes my mix sometimes

[@SeanDivine]

very rarely and usually it's multi band compression only on certain frequency bands. the ssl comp can be dangerous on the stereo bus, it will squash transients in a hurry if you're not careful

[@momoflows1923]

Seeing that you didnt use a MB compressor, how did u manage to tame the dynamics in the mixing session.

[@SeanDivine]

the beat was a two track if I remember correctly, so for that I just used some EQ and also a touch of SSL bus compression. The vocals, it's a combination of compression, EQ and balancing the layers properly. I also use volume / frequency automation fairly often to keep things balanced.

[@momoflows1923]

Sean Divine oh thank you for your reply. definitely subscribing.

[@kashbandi7461]

I been looking for this song forever. where can I download it? shit slap

[@SeanDivine]

soundcloud.com/a-r-t-s-k-y/sets/soon-youll-understand

[@kashbandi7461]

when I click it says 'we can't find this playlist'

[@SeanDivine]

soundcloud.com/artskyagency/5-motion

[@DroidKatlego]

Do rich the kid is auto tune on FL studio please

[@chrisjoshua5463]

hey sean what's up? how you been, i have one of the best questions,before mastering how do you bounce the track as aif or mp3? also sample rate and resolution ?

[@SeanDivine]

Before mastering? As high quality as possible, usually 48K or 44K 24 bit WAV

[@chrisjoshua5463]

Sean Divine what I mean by before mastering is,I notice that song,was mixed right? So when you bounced it what did you bounce it as.. That's what I meant

[@SeanDivine]

I mixed the song as well and bounce at 44K 24 bit for mastering

[@darknightfawkes1028]

I’m trying to push my limiters pretty well, and sometimes with tracks where the drums have a bus distortion put on them, I’m getting about -3 to -4 db reduction, but when the snare hits with the bass playing under it it messes the sound up and the quality and transients is fucked up. Why is that ?

[@mattsodope]

Get outta here Kong god damn it

[@MrCoby303]

hey i was wondering how to get two mono tracks grouped together like that

[@SeanDivine]

It's the way the tracks were recorded - they are dual mono

[@YoDeNN]

How much you charge to master one beat for me, Sean?

[@urealiknow6060]

hey man...noticed everyone says 16 bit for dithering at mastering...why did you use 24 bits in this one..? also noticed no compression at all used in this one..

[@SeanDivine]

some distribution services accept 24 bit, so I'd rather deliver at the highest possible quality... I'm not a big fan of compression in mastering, as most of the heavy lifting will be done in the mix if done properly. Then very light bus comp / limiting will do the job!

[@urealiknow6060]

@@SeanDivine thanks for your reply, your truly a great soul and music engineer, very light bus comp/ like with a c4 would you say? or do you still use the ssl comp technique..?

[@si6fi5]

I notice u apply the affects to the steroe out rather than. directly to the track. does it make a difference which one u apply it to. does it work differently or the same?

[@SeanDivine]

if you're only processing one audio track, then technically it doesn't matter but it's safer to just master on the stereo bus

[@si6fi5]

Sean Divine gotcha. thanks a lot man. I've been thinking about going to audio school like full sail or sae Miami but sheesh the price of school is a lot I'm very thankful for u man much respect

[@SupernovaSun77]

What is the name of the plugin you used for checking levels please?

[@SeanDivine]

It's not a plugin, it's the routing software for the audio interface. Rme UFX

[@SupernovaSun77]

Sean Divine thanks for responding! That's a nice system. Makes me a bit jealous I have the apollo 8. Wish that feature was on mine too. Lovely mix fam.

[@DirtyFB1]

Linear phase eq option would be more apropriate when making a master.

[@DirtyFB1]

In q2 that is :)

[@JYUkulele]

is there a certain way to bounce songs for soundcloud? i noticed that some of my tracks lose quality when i upload them to SC :(

[@SeanDivine]

Not that I'm aware of... sc encoding does tend to lessen the quality, especially in the sub and highest frequencies

[@Prince.Mykal.Vision]

Upload a lossless version of your songs to soundcloud, meaning a 16 or 24 bit mastered WAV file of your song. People don't realize if you upload an mp3 sound cloud is just going to convert it a second time, which is why you get the noticable degration

[@DaltonRimmerGTO]

So you leave the master output blank when mixing ?

[@SeanDivine]

generally, yes. I may put a brickwall limiter on it just to prevent clipping.

[@alexanderdraco2155]

no compression? how is that possible?

[@SeanDivine]

contrary to common belief... if you balance the mix correctly, you won't need much (if any) compression in mastering beyond master limiting :)

[@JanBaars]

22:43 woops lil mistake there. You have to put the level meter AFTER the limiter.

[@SeanDivine]

yes, generally you would... I was metering with Ozone but just quickly showing the level meter in Logic :)

[@JanBaars]

your videos are awesome, though!

[@jessiespan6015]

aye bro I'm a rap artist I'm trying see how much u charge for mastering? get at me asap

[@amilshah6823]

If you were to add a SSL Bus compressor, where in the chain would you recommend putting it?

[@SeanDivine]

it depends on how you're using it, but typically I would have it as the first plugin in the chain

[@amilshah6823]

Sean Divine I saw that in the video you had explaining the SSL bus comp that you had it after the Puigtech and right before the limiter. In this video for this song, if you were to use it would you have it as the first plugin or right before the limiter and after Vitamin?

[@SeanDivine]

I don't use the SSL bus comp for the master bus often, usually more for parallel processing. That said, I would recommend putting it after EQ (deductive) and before the stereo imager / limiter

[@Youngkingyoungsoul]

how do you get your track into the stereo left right format?

[@SeanDivine]

it's a stereo WAV file

[@thejimmyrayvon]

Anyone know a good alternative to FabFilter? something I could substitute with him waves or izoptope or stock plugins?

[@thejimmyrayvon]

Brotha lee T.v i do

[@juancarballo8964]

what would be a stock plug in close to the Puig tech

[@SeanDivine]

if you have logic, the vintage tube EQ is similar

[@meyerfishman6779]

I was going to ask about ozone until you mentioned that haha

[@meyerfishman6779]

As a substitute for vitamin as it was not on my radar

[@meyerfishman6779]

Also when would you use an exciter when mastering?

[@SeanDivine]

depends on the song but I might use an exciter if I want to give the highs / mids just a touch of extra shine

[@504mike]

do you design?