Mastering with Stock Plugins Only in Cakewalk by Bandlab

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In this video I show you mastering with stock plugins only, in Cakewalk by Bandlab!
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[@CreativeSauce]

TIME STAMPS 1) 0:48 Exporting 2) 6;59 Importing 3) 12:39 High Pass Filter 4) 16:26 Console Emulation 5) 20:09 Saturation 6) 21:53 Compression 7) 24:05 Final EQ 8) 28:34 Limiting 9) 32:37 Automation

[@marsgemini3346]

2) 06:59 Importing

[@danaschmidt9554]

Where can I get some of ur music???

[@NikkieJurnigan]

can you do Video How to Make Dance Remix

[@bazenykopecky6068]

You are 100% correct. As soon as I master without exporting the project to a separate wav, I always go back to the mix. It's a road to hell. It's never done. Never!

[@px7219]

Cool ill do it that way...i am going into the mastering process with the tracks peaking at around -6dbs but im wondering if you know what is a good dbs for when mastering is finished...online it says -1 dbs and other sites say -12 dbs

[@dcstar7994]

I came to your channel looking up Bandlab Cakewalk. Now I am watching every video. You are very informative. I have been learning so much. Thank you!

[@CreativeSauce]

Awesome:) Thank you si much :)

[@striverfor7628]

0:48 1:23 Reasons for exporting to a stereo wave file. The project is complex with many tracks and buses, whereas a stereo wave file is just one file with a handful of plugins. 2nd, have a separation of tasks - leave the mixing stage behind. 3rd is so you can deal with several songs at once - you can master them at the same time and give them continuity across them. 3:19 Have appropriate levels on the Master bus. Peak is between -3 and -6. 4:47 Options > Meters > Bus Meter Options > Peak + RMS, and select Hold Peaks too. 5:30 Export the song, note the sample rate and bit depth of song. Export > Audio > WAV (Waveform Audio File Format), set the sample rate and bit depth and save the file. 7:00 Create a new project. File > Import > Audio, import your file. 7:58 Topping and tailing. Trim it to get rid of any dead space. And do a fade-out if you want. 9:48 We need a reference track, a song that sounds similar to yours that you'd like your song to sound like. 10:25 Load in a file of the reference song like an MP3 of it. Insert Audio Track. File > Import > Audio. 11:26 Match the volumes of your track and the reference track with the fader. Match up areas of the songs, like the loudest part of each. 12:40 Thin out the ProChannel - remove couple of modules. 13:26 First we'll use the EQ module. Click HP to use a high pass filter. Cut down a lot of the low frequencies - low end rumble. It also gets rid of info we can't hear but the plugins can hear it, like dynamics plugins, they may engage the compressor when they hear it. 16:27 Console emulation to add colour ands character to the sound. On ProChannel, click + > Console Emulator Bus. 17:13 You can rearrange the order of the modules. 17:30 3 types of emulation, experiment to see which one you like. See how much drive you want to add. 18:26 To drive it harder, use FX Chain and put it above the console emulation module, and adjust the output gain. 19:21 You might have to add the FX Chain after it to get the level back down. 19:54 In mastering, the accumulative effect of lots of modules amounts to something by the end, as opposed to each individually. 20:10 + > Tube Saturation. He's also used Saturation Knob and Tape Emulator for saturation before. 21:05 Adds a little Input, counteract the loudness by reducing Output. 21:55 + > PC4K S-Type Bus Compressor. Put Threshold up to the max. Check out other vids on compression. 22:54 Listening to the loudest part of the song, trim 1 or 2db off it, with the Threshold knob, leaving room to later put the volume up a little. 24:06 Work-around to be able to use the ProChannel again. 24:39 Output > New Aux Track 25:21 Recap 26:20 Now to use EQ to add character wile listening to the reference track. Just look for broad things, where it's heavy and not. 27:11 Adding top shelf 27:49 Using the reference track as your guide, making broad sweeps. Match the character of the reference track. 28:35 Bring the average level of the song up without clipping using Limiting. 29:05 + > FX Chain. In FX Chain, Insert Audio FX > Cakewalk > Boost 11. 29:58 Boost the track while limiting 30:51 Another option. + > Style Dial FX > Max. Gradually increase the Max dial. 31:39 But pushing it up can make the song sound strange. 32:38 Automation is useful for dynamics. 33:33 You should use stock plugins to master. Everything in this video is useful for your mastering skills. 33:58 But note there's no stereo imaging plugin for creating extra width. There are free ones. 34:25 Mike's not a fan of the stock limiting plugins, there are better free ones. 34:45 You've made the song louder, but Streaming services have specific requirements and you shouldn't exceed them. Suggested is free metering software to measure LUFS. 35:51 For your learning, use all the plugins in this video.

[@mikeyj6300]

I thought I was already subscribed but wasn't. So, I subscribed and wanted to say thank you soo much and I loved the video

[@juanphilly8529]

11 thumbs down 🤔..? A year later this video is definitely relevant... 11 people never learned the fundamentals of mixing and mastering 🤦🏽‍♂️

[@talmichles3260]

Great tutorial! Very helpful. Thanks Mike!

[@Fretboard_Chaos_Productions]

Once again, a great video Mike. Definitely got to learn and pickup some some great advice and tips. Thanks

[@KaraHathcockMusic]

Exactly, I am notoriously going back and remixing them

[@AbhisekChakravorty]

HI Mike, this is Abhisek from India , I am also one of your subscribers , I really thank you for all the great videos , very useful , and also let me tell you, you are an amazing presenter and a speaker , I like the intonations in your voice and also your voice modulation and articulation, which really breaks the monotony , you have a great presence , does not feel that I am learnng somethng virtually , Thank you for the great tutorials if you ever come to India please let me know , and you are the first person I am going to meet if ever I visit Australia ,

[@johncostopoulos7741]

Another great and informative (useful) tutorial! Profuse thanks!

[@friggsymusic]

Back watching this tutorial again - thanks Mike, this is really helpful

[@THEYCALLMESiR]

Honestly, Mike, this may be the most valuable video you've released. Super cool!

[@coreywilliams4932]

Great video! Well put together, clear and concise, with actual tutorials and showing! A+++ Keep up the great videos!

[@percasynth]

This video changed so much for me. Thank you. I've been with cakewalk since the beginning. It's amazing to have access to tutorials and information of this level. Cheers

[@kenb6870]

I have been learning Ableton, but I also have cakewalk, and I found this helpful. Thank you, Mike!

[@firstnamesurname6550]

Using the sonitus eq as the high pass filter could allow to use the pro-eq in the track without using the aux.

[@tommark8932]

Thankyou so much for that ! Very informative and honest in your reasoning ! I agree with most of the things you are saying. Thanks again from a big fan in Canada !

[@upstairzstudio8480]

Thanks Mike , I was doing mistakes but now you corrected them for me.. Cheers ⚘⚘

[@pubmgr]

Really well done! Lots of info and a crisp delivery! I've been noodling with Cakewalk for a long time; nice to see someone working in the app who's taking it to another level (no pun intended LOL).

[@brianharred8361]

YAYYYY Mike! You sure helped again brother, Thank You!!!

[@ToysThatBiteRockBand]

Mike. Thus was a really useful video. I've kind of got into the limiting thang around streaming so really cool you mentioned it. Just to say before lockdown, here in the UK, I knew nothing about any of the processes and plugin use. Through this period, about 3 months, I have been following your videos and what I have learned and the difference it has made is invaluable. We are writing and recording ARRANGEMENT songs at the moment, tricky but doable, and I'm using all the techniques and tips you have given us.. MASSIVE MASSIVE thank you from Metal Gods!!!!

[@brownsnakestudios277]

Great Mike, good technique!

[@bogbrush99]

Great informative guidance, will try it all out. Have mastered many times but basically just guessed at how to do it! Cheers Creative Sauce.

[@jimfogle184]

Another interesting video. I have not used an Aux track before so it was great to see one way it can be used.

[@dmp1193]

Great vid Mike, thanks for the advice

[@damianmorfin1506]

Thank u soooo much !!!! I learned everything I needed to know and more🙏 You are the man 🙌

[@JimmyFlame]

I appreciate the tutorial! Def giving your method a try as it makes a lot of logical sense to me. My style is a bit different but now your tutorial has me questioning it a bit! We'll see. Thanks again for another great tutorial!

[@general-affinitymark4187]

love your videos by the way they have helped me loads

[@curtismitchell538]

You hit on one of my problems: the eternal tweaking of my projects! Good advice to export the mix and then master the stereo mix!

[@paulbush8881]

Thanks Mike another really helpfull video ,well explanied

[@jackdrost7291]

Tremendously helpful, thank you!

[@martinlewis2143]

Fantastic! Thank you so much! 🎸

[@tonyzaya2768]

Simply you are very helpful❤👌🙂

[@general-affinitymark4187]

yes completely agreed with you about tweaking tracks. i'm always doing it in fact i haven't finished a track yet🤔 i'm never happy and the day day the track always seems to sound worse for some reason.

[@johnlannikk2701]

Thanks Mike. I've just come back to Cakewalk and I'm loving it. I'm also using Reaper which I've been using for years and have great respect for it, but Cakewalk seems to have such an amazing amount of controls to enhance things more intuitively. I still cant believe this software is free. I shal be checking out your links too from this vid. Thanks

[@pjdahmen]

Awesome tutorial

[@Yahoomediaclub]

Great and well explained session in mastering once again. Thanks 🎸🎧⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Be great to download a pdf showing your process.🤞

[@AlienMarteens]

You bet, Mike, I got a whole LP sitting in my hard drive for more than a decade ;) Though, your videos tremendously help to get me in the right direction : a release this very year (or so I hope ;) ).

[@fanthomas57pb]

I love your videos mate.

[@brianoswald2892]

very useful. I have never mastered a stereo wav file. Now i know what i have been doing wrong. Thank you.

[@rasheemthebestfirstone3274]

Read my mind, thanks for the great videos 💯👏

[@CreativeSauce]

You got it!

[@danaschmidt9554]

Mike you're great bro....I've learned much from you

[@charliegomabay6171]

I almost views all of ur cakewalk tutorial. It helps me a lot

[@corruptedfiles1989]

I had so much fun doing a practice master whilst following along to this video. I am an ... ( Average-perhaps decent) metal guitarist that hasnt really played seriously for about 10 years and my knowledge of recording using a DAW is next to none as back when I played, I was using Roland, boss and zoom home recording units.. Although I'm sure my master tonight is far from perfect, I had a lot of fun following along and can hear some real Improvements to the song... Cheers :)

[@flo1creative854]

I have an Adaptive Limiter in my version of cakewalk. I like your workflow!

[@nebukenazar]

We're so lucky to meet you in KZbin garbage. Thanks man, you are the best!!!

[@newell2339]

Outstanding tutorial. This is what I've been doing for some time but have started to change my workflow slightly. Basically forego the initial export of the song and use the effects chains you mention and place them in the master track along with automation to get to the same place. So my project is essentially mastered on my first export. Have not researched with lossless WAV format if one can do an unlimited number of exports and imports without actually losing some fidelity. I would guess based on the name it's no, but I'm just not giving it a chance with my workflow and I'm sure the paranoia dates back to the days of analog equipment. A few things are not quite as easy with my newer workflow than the method used in your video; specifically, working with the trimming and fade options at the beginning and end of the songs. Thanks again Mike for producing these extremely well done, professional tutorials!

[@dBMusicRemade]

This was invaluable. Thanks so much :-)

[@denglee1060]

I learn alot of your tutorial.

[@konstantin_morev]

I'm Consta and I hope you well! :) Thank you for this really helpful video. I'm really agree about limiting. For acoustic things it can do more harm than good.

[@rawnificent]

GREAT VIDEO

[@jaizernadal]

Just switched to cakewalk from ableton. Been a bit of a learning curve and your videos have been ultra helpful. Much appreciated!

[@CreatedCreator7]

may i ask why?

[@ACaruso]

you are THE best!

[@StvzNuts]

Great video Mike, I've picked up a lot from your Cakewalk series. Btw, maybe there wasn't when you made this video, but there is a stereo imaging plug-in.

[@sitgesstudio]

Magisterial!!

[@jackbagbaga291]

Thanks Mike!

[@PremJHans]

Thanks Mike 🤘

[@BarmyFP3]

Thanks for the really useful advice. Maybe we can automate the limiter for the loudest section to preserve dynamics in quiter sections?

[@kahuna20001]

Hi Mike. Great video. It helped me with my approach to metering. Was kind of wondering why you didn't mention the Adaptive Limiter. Perhaps that isn't included with CBB. I think I got that plugin with the previous Sonar paid version. I use it a lot. It has a nice GUI and shows LUFS as well. A while ago I picked up Ozone Imager 2 as a freebie which I like.

[@liamdonohoe8546]

Literally read my mind for what I needed thanks so much Mike!

[@CreativeSauce]

Its true, I have mind reading abilities - but they dont work on women!

[@liamdonohoe8546]

😂😂

[@michaelkatgerman168]

Thanx fore the Free VST and info :)

[@paulhaullussy8662]

I think the standard EQ is great, so I use it all the time in the channels. So, except for the EQ, I don't use stock plugins often. For the rest, I am so very happy with T-Racks, I use that.

[@joegrint6280]

Thanks Mike - another very interesting video - particularly the bit at the end where you explain the shortcomings of the on board modules and suggest alternatives. Not got round to the mastering stage on anything yet but this along with some of your other videos will be great reference material if I ever get that far!

[@davmar9923]

Even though I export the Cakewalk mix to stereo and then import it into Sound Forge for mastering, a review of the mastering steps is still useful. Your tutorial also helped me to understand how to control various aspects of the ProChannel GUI that I previously didn't know about. My preference is not to have audio begin at the start of a track but to have about 0.5 - 1.0 second of silence at the beginning and then do a fade in over that period. I am also a fan of maximizers/exciters. I have the BBE Sonic Maximizer plugin, as well as other BBE plugins like the Loudness Maximizer, that I like a lot. The one final step I always use that wasn't mentioned is to normalize the audio (I normalize to -0.5 dB to be on the safe side) so that the maximum digital resolution is reached. BTW, I've noticed that when multiple tracks clip and the meters lock the red indicator that it is necessary to go into Options and use the Reset Meters button twice to clear all of them, just one clear doesn't work.

[@williampalminteri1727]

Dav, You're so right about 'maximizing the digital domain. FYI, 1 bit = 6 dB, so 16 bits = 96 dB dynamic range. Lower levels mean fewer bits, higher noise floor.

[@reevant2215]

Yet another good session. I personally don’t use Cakewalk for my “mastering” but in the days when I did I used the Concrete Limiter (not free but fits in the Pro Channel.) what I didn’t get was the Aux channel (the order). It seems the output was put to the Master track. I would have thought actually using the track as a normal track applying the Pro Channel “mastering” on the track then sending the track to the Master. Then the final EQ on the Master. My thoughts, Tony. Anyway we’ll done again. Thanks Mike.

[@CreativeSauce]

Hey Tony. I’m glad you raised this. I could use the second eq in the master, or indeed do it all in the master. This all works if it’s a single song, but I think I got into this habit as I would sometimes master several songs in the same project.

[@ElCondorSessions]

Mr Mike, may I suggest that the VX64 Vocal Strip is an excellent master plugin... especially the stereo doubler function in addition to the saturation, EQ and compression... thx for the inspiration...

[@simonpeterjoimil1573]

Great topic! Very helpfull🍻 I would like to request a video of how you mix vocal in sonar(how you eq,reverb etc)(use stock plugins)(and maybe any external plugins you recommend if the stock is inadequate )🙏🏻🙏🏻 And also,do you prefer mix or place the vocal ‘in front’ of the music,or not so ‘in front’ but blend with the music? Would like to hear your thoughts on this🙏🏻🍻 Cheers from Borneo🍻 (I’m using sonar x3 producer haha)

[@LIVING_PR00F]

Yes thats definetly the Major Problem i have in the Mix and Master Process!

[@muneerlibya462]

Thanks Mike. You are amazing and I appreciate the knowledge you provide to us. But I am a principle and I would like to know what are the necessary steps for the master and mix. Thanks for your cooperation

[@joshonemoore]

thanks

[@ehsanfarahmand7002]

Tnx

[@Darro2017]

Hi Mike I noticed that there is an hidden plugin in Cackewalk called channel tools or something like that. It might be also interesting.

[@edgarkoskee1156]

As always in your videos I do learn a lot. I'm just finalizing a recording -some choir tracks still to take in order to make chorus "fatter"-. I hope I remember all your recommendations while mixing and mastering. ==> an old sock as me does not have such a good memory :-) More I hope you wount "destroy me" in your comments to my work when finalized. (I know by heart you will not, coz you're a very fair one) See you in your next video. Thanks Mike

[@music_creator_capable]

Good day!

[@miztizmusicstd13]

Best..!!

[@bobkatbob]

Thanks Mike great video and mastering information! I noticed your master fader level was set below "(0").I never change my master level from zero,was there a reason for this.

[@sphinxxxmusik]

Great tutorial as uaual Mike, is it possible to explain how to setup Momentum Sampler VST in Cakewalk so each output can be routed to its own track .... i've been trying a lot of methods but nothing worked ...

[@bevo65]

Practical and friendly! While so many videos omit or complicate key items, Mike systematically demystifies the process. One question: I see that you used an aux track instead of a bus. I assume either one works equally well, but did you have a reason to choose one over the other?

[@CreativeSauce]

Hey Bevo, you are correct, either works just as well, no real reason :)

[@nealclark]

Great video Mike. Shame that KZbin Ads changes are interrupting the flow so often. If they gave additional revenue to the creators It would be acceptable but it isn't helping to hold the audience attention and keep the interest. Keep up the great work though. The more content we see for Cakewalk the better it will be.

[@KenAvila]

Thanks for the tutorial. I only have one question. Does the order of prochannel modules affect the mastering? Thanks

[@cemiquest7718]

Great video mike. Is there another link for the LoudMax plugin it doesnt work when I try to download it.

[@Tom-Studios]

Good song

[@blackiewheeler4706]

Mike, do you use any type of stereo widening plugin on your final mixes and do you use a multi band EQ other than what comes with Cakewalk. Thanks !

[@lucodin5205]

Hello , thank you for it's great tutorials. on CbB, I learn a lot from you. I have a quick question: when I install free imager I am told that the code is not good .. do you know why? thanks in advance .

[@gtrain6780]

Hey Mike. Thanks for another really helpful and clearly presented tutorial. I’m really inspired by your videos. Question - You mentioned getting a similar sound across multiple songs, such as on an EP. How would you do this? Do you load all the waveforms in one project one after the other and master as one big file or still create multiple sessions/projects? A tutorial on this would be great. Thanks again 😁

[@CreativeSauce]

Heya. I'll make a vid on this. But essentially, I load each song on it's own track, and apply the effects to it. Then, it's also possible that you can apply effects to the master bus. I dont often do that, but some ppl do.

[@gtrain6780]

thanks Mike. You are a Legend , Sir👍

[@distantsunrising]

Working

[@HeroMike17]

Hey Mike, have you ever tried to send the original track to the Masterbus and to mix it with an copy of the original which was turned in its phase? Overlapping these two lets you hear what the plugins have removed from the original - just the correlating frequencies will be eliminated.

[@krazypen8016]

Thriller

[@daveeverton8089]

Hi mike i was just wondering what would be the best way to be implementing one shot samples hi hats so can be processed with effects many thx.

[@saxophonesunsetsmedia]

Quick question for you Mike as well as other posters. Working on an exercise where I am using reverb on a drums track. I need to add reverb as an insert effect but I do not see wet/dry percentage controls to adjust. I only see wet/dry as DB in both Sonitus and Breverb. Where the ___ is the percentage control in Cakewalk for wet/dry inserts? Thanks for the excellent toots! I'm finally getting comfy with Cakewalk but have growing pains.

[@crunch6161]

Hi Mike, great tutorial! I find when using limiters sometimes you get a more natural result if you put several in series and only boost small amounts on each until the desired level is reached. Have you tried that?

[@johnlannikk2701]

Thanks, I'll have to try that one!

[@PeterDaltrey]

Excellent tutorial, of course... Learnt a lot for this important final stage. Sadly hearing loss and tinnitus means those subtle module changes are beyond me. Tell everyone: protect your ears, especially on stage and when using headphones. Otherwise, like me, you will pay the price one day...

[@skymaster1a]

Hi Mike, I noticed that you didn't bounce to tracks before exporting. Not saying this is correct but this was someting I picked up along the way. I didn't know you could export the whole project and it would save it as a single wave. Is there a difference or benefit

[@Gerardvanmeel]

Hi Mike, what if you began with the first eq as an fx in the track for the hp?

[@mimojapan]

A quick note on exporting: I had cases where this process seemed stuck or at least veeery slow (1h for a 3 minutes song). Couldn't pin it down yet BUT I noticed that defragging the HD in question seemed to have helped. For now, I'm always exporting to an SSD temp folder, which so far did work around such problems.

[@nealclark]

To avoid issues like this I always move the project I am working on, and all it's associated audio files, to an SSD. Makes exporting a lot speedier when reading in those big audio files.

[@albertcoder]

Hello! I play a guitar solo over a backing track I created on an arranger keyboard, so nothing fancy going on, just doing it for fun. I would like to make the result sound louder. What would be a quick and easy way to achieve it? I guess using boost11 or max plugin would be enough. Maybe I can add that EQ to remove very low bass. Do I need to add compression?

[@danishbeats3942]

Hello sir can I ask you what a good level of Aux for mixing in cakewalk by bandlab

[@matterece3164]

Hi Mike! What do you think of free online mastering services such as the one by Bandlab?

[@jamesedwards4220]

Way to advanced for me