Mastering Studio Tour (Hardware, Workflow, Plugins etc.)

In this mastering studio tour from Air Studios, mastering engineer Cicely Balston will guide you through her equipment, workflow, software, plugins and vinyl mastering!
Cicely Balston: www.airstudios.com/cicely-bal...
Instagram: @cicelybalston
Cicely's top 5 plug-ins: "I stress that they don’t work on everything! So they are the Maag EQ4, Oxford Limiter, Fabfilter L2, Brainworx Townhouse Compressor, and Leapwing Stage One - I wouldn’t recommend having only those ones, as none of them are very neutral but they all make ‘colorful’ additions to the standard ones most DAWs come with."
Cover picture by Charlotte Ellis: www.charlotteellisphoto.com/
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:37 Mastering hardware
03:51 How I Collaborate With Other Musicians
05:05 Mastering Workflow
05:35 Mastering Software (And More Workflow)
07:42 Mastering Room & Active Listening Tools
09:11 Mastering plugins
10:49 Should You Use Instant Mastering Websites & Plugins?
Get a discount on your first DistroKid subscription: distrokid.com/vip/LNA
➢ Other Videos Part of this Mastering series:
1. Answering Your Most Asked Questions About Mastering: • Mastering Explained: W...
2. Mastering Studio Tour: • Mastering Studio Tour ...
3. Mastering In Ableton Live For Ultimate Beginners: • Mastering In 5 Steps •...
4. Advanced Mastering Chain In Ableton Live: • Master Chain To Save Y...
LEARN MORE:
➢ All About Ableton Live Series: • All About Ableton Live
➢ Music Production Tips and Tricks: • Music Production Trick...
➢ Writing Drums For Non-Drummers Course: • Course: Writing Drums ...
➢ Mixing course for beginners: • Mixing Course For Begi...
➢ SkillShare Ableton Live Course: skl.sh/2RJj1Z5
This video is edited by Iiris Mäki ❤️
CONNECT WITH ME:
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➢ Twitter: @LNADoesAudio
➢ www.lnamusic.com
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➢ Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/5T9ES...
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➢ Live Performances & Music Videos On KZbin: • Music
➢ LNA Does Streaming Stuff - Channel: / @lnadoesstreamingstuff...
➢ Join the LNA mailing list and become part of the family: www.lnamusic.com/contact
MY TOP 10 PLUGINS:
➢ linktr.ee/LNAPlugins
MUSIC GEAR/INSTRUMENTS:
My favourite instrument and music/film making gear recommendations: thmn.to/thocf/1l86mtzj95
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small commission. It does not change the price in any way, however it enables me making more content without having to do as many sponsored videos. I am not paid or asked to use these links.

[@LNADoesAudioStuff]

Did you watch already the first video of this series? It's epic. Honestly EPIC. All the mastering knowledge is in this vid: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGKnZpegqJKjr7M ➢ Listen to my music on Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/5T9EShAVtAyzeI1n6SQL83?si=s-o-4IrnT6efFXZfMPk-6Q ➢Check out my music videos & live performances: kzbin.info/aero/PL9oiyAGA6zOTDFFyyL5uZNXuU3DI91nnn ➢ Join my Patreon fam: www.patreon.com/LNADoesAudioStuff ➢ Get Free (or cheap) Samples, Production Guides, Templates and Presets here: www.lnamusic.com/shop ➢ PayPal Me: www.paypal.com/paypalme/lnamusic ➢ Insta: @lnadoesaudiostuff ➢ FB & TikTok: @lnadoesaudiostuff ➢ Twitter: @LNADoesAudio ➢ www.lnamusic.com Love ya ❤

[@TheSakuraGumiLTD]

The clocking is super important, it’s not just making sure it’s the same sample rate it’s that all are doing it at the exact same timing… it greatly improves clarity to simple all for the same and it improves again how well the cooking does that in the first place and why there are different price ranges for clocking

[@brumd]

Thank you so much. This is the video about the actual process of mastering that I needed to see. It's so much clearer now. So many processes that are easy to forget they need to be done.

[@LNADoesAudioStuff]

So glad it was helpfull!!! ☺️

[@Songwriterbehindthecurtain]

@@LNADoesAudioStuff your song structure KZbin video was very helpful too.

[@djterhinator]

So interesting to peek into a real studio. Thank you again, both of you! 🙏👍

[@LNADoesAudioStuff]

👀

[@curtismech]

Great tour! Thanks so much!

[@LNADoesAudioStuff]

Happy you liked it!

[@catfaceCS]

so glad to see your subscriber count grow. i remember from the low 100s. really happy for you, keep going!

[@LNADoesAudioStuff]

Thanks ☺️

[@Van_Verder]

Awesome interview & walk through 👏🏽

[@LNADoesAudioStuff]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@akumusik3582]

Gratitude & Appreciation💯

[@peteycomplex7422]

very cool episode

[@davidreynolds6718]

This was helpful. Thanks!

[@LNADoesAudioStuff]

Glad it was helpful!

[@LYREMusicGroup]

This is so cool!

[@LNADoesAudioStuff]

Thanks Alina ☺️

[@dylanhughes4548]

After watching a billion videos with male mastering engineers its so nice and refreshing to see this video. Totally different vibe as well - very cool.

[@LNADoesAudioStuff]

Glad you liked it!

[@bleikrsound6127]

I still use the same banks of eq, compressors, etc. that I used on our The Nightshade Project (shoegaze genera) recordings in the 1990s, before there was a screen in the studio. The earliest days, mastering was done by re-running a recording through a single bank several times to get the layering of eq and compression they wanted. Obviously it didn’t take long for them to figure out how to use as few passes as possible running through multi-banks.

[@richardharmon9596]

Awesome gear

[@NoQualmsTheArtist]

Maselec MEA2 & Elysia Alpha, that's the dream 🤤 Edit: spoke too soon, it's a Sontec 🤣

[@jamelabanderson4474]

Great advice @ 9:40 . Would like to see more interviews with Cicely.

[@LNADoesAudioStuff]

She is awesome! I agree!

[@Songwriterbehindthecurtain]

Intro - from the word “Introduction”, this part comes at the beginning of the song. It is usually an . It also gives the listener a hint of what genre the song is and what expression it may give. An intro, when compared to the plot of a story, is the opening or the “Once upon a time” part of the song. Your honest opinion for song structure is to make story and create your own arrangement and your track is to make story and flows nicely from start to end. The Outro is how the songwriter wants to finish the journey with the listener. It may be a big, final chord that leaves the listener a little breathless, wanting to stand and applaud. Or, it may be a smooth chord that rings out. It may be a repeating phrase that gradually fades away. The choice will again depend on the context, then genre and the feeling in the song.

[@santoshgujar5237]

Thank you, Liina, 😇

[@santoshgujar5237]

😇

[@foruncolo74]

You should do another video with some tip and tricks about mastering for vinyl, which is quite different from mastering for cd or web, there's eq on both low and high frequencies. I know that people at home are probably not so much interested about this topic but since there's a laquer cut in there this could be interesting anyway and you don't find so much videos about it around, especially videos nside a mastering studio :)

[@LNADoesAudioStuff]

True it’s super interesting and I would love to see how the whole process is done! 🙌

[@coreycrowell1071]

I can tell the room is treated very well because I hear no reverb at all in this video

[@sekritskworl-sekrit_studios]

Which model is the clock?

[@CapitolCeeJay]

No audio interface? No AD/DA?

[@dizmix]

She should have mastered this EP

[@SHIFTnopistons]

Terms and conditions of this mastering studio--- 7.2.1 notwithstanding any other provision contained within this Agreement all Master Recordings and/or Ancillary Materials shall be held by the Company at the Client’s sole risk; --this is after you pay and get your masters. Any thoughts on this clause?

[@Bronwyn031]

I learned DAW on Magix's Samplitude before switching to Ableton Live. It is so good to see someone still rep'n Samplitude. But I wonder why she cuts vinyl still? Vinyl is like a dead medium nowadays. Even DJs are moving away from it for digital turntables.

[@LNADoesAudioStuff]

There are still lots of artist wanting to cut vinyls out of their music. It’s more of an collector thing. My husband for example collects vinyl and we listen to them time to time ☺️

[@d4rksoci3ty]

Vinyls have become a bit of trend and fashionable again.

[@Songwriterbehindthecurtain]

Your song structure aka arrangement KZbin video was very helpful to me LNA. And it sure does make perfect 🤩 😍 👍 sense to me. But I sure did add some things to your song structure in the comments down below 👇 hopefully 🙏 you will check it out when you have time to do it or so.

[@ElectroHouseProducer]

😀

[@LNADoesAudioStuff]

😃😃

[@lundsweden]

It seems simple. Playing a violin seems simple too! 😅

[@LNADoesAudioStuff]

😂 career in music seems simple as well!

[@lundsweden]

@@LNADoesAudioStuff Money for nothin and your cheques for free!

[@MrMerab]

S U P E R .......

[@Songwriterbehindthecurtain]

I kai know what you meant instead of words one is verse 1.

[@michaelsstatement]

Interesting...a mastering room without bass traps or any treatement.

[@LNADoesAudioStuff]

It was fully treated, structurally build-in to the room.

[@michaelsstatement]

@@LNADoesAudioStuff thanks! 😁👌

[@WildernessMusic_GentleSerene]

No tripod for the camera, not watching your video. Makes me physically ill to watch.

[@gregbradshaw7220]

What is your accent, Dutch English

[@LNADoesAudioStuff]

Nope :D

[@superiorjamtracks2189]

Never saw a mastering room with no acoustic treatment whatsoever. You can't possibly hear what you're doing in there.

[@LNADoesAudioStuff]

it is acoustically treated

[@louderthangod]

I bet they’re soft walls with in treatment behind the green fabric walls.