Unf*ck Your Master (Limiters Are KILLING Your Low End)

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

Stuck with your music career? Need PERSONALIZED help and development? Apply to our program… www.cosmicacademy.com

[@panorama_mastering]

Thanks for the shout-out! Power to the delta!

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

👊

[@Madkay]

Hello Sensei!

[@la24seven]

you both are ggreat

[@ilikeflxwers]

GOATS

[@slowlyaffection]

Thank you, Vin Diesel very useful

[@adrianthomas4927]

Indispensable channel. This channel helped me clear up long standing questions I've had and help me fix holes in my production game.

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

♥️👊 makes me extremely happy to hear this! Appreciate you always watching too!

[@Lance_G]

Big facts 🙌✨

[@wale.a]

Wow, this explains so much of what was happening in my final master.

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

Really happy this can help!! 👊❤️

[@DavronMananov]

Sick tip. Had a master finished today and I went back and applied this and it's much cleaner. Appreciate you!

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

Glad it helped! 👊♥️

[@northsidermusic]

This is some crucial advice for both experienced and new producers. It gets so frustrating when the limiter squashes a perfectly good low end. Thanks for this!

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

Glad it was helpful!👊♥️

[@AVT_Music]

This is massive! Thank you for this brotha!

[@In_love_with_music]

i learned this by myself while couldnt figure whats going on with my master, sometimes jsut balancing sub before limiter can affect louder master but now i can finaly see its true , thanks for clearing it for me

[@Millerboy]

Clipping almost always sounds best from a delta perspective, since it’s usually chopping off the least information as possible.

[@anteupbeats]

🧢

[@kandiiprod]

@@anteupbeats why cap? I agree clipping is awesome

[@TheOMGWTFBBQ777]

@@kandiiprod i tore my speaker with my own engineering lol

[@ov3rdrive966]

Thank you so much for the tips! Please do blink though, had to rewind a couple times because I was captivated by you staring into my soul 😂❤

[@Notacet]

IRC 4 modern actually works just as intended in this case. This is the description: ”the IRC IV algorithm limits frequency bands that contribute most to these peaks”. So it’s meant to specifically dip bass (and any other area) when it’s loud. Sometimes you want that, but it’s a good revelation that it can also ruin things!

[@hooligancowboy]

Great tip

[@jumalx10]

Thank you for keeping it short and not being annoying!

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

You’re welcome…but I can’t promise you I won’t be annoying in the future 😂 (based on what those around me, tell me everyday)

[@MsMay32]

Moose is TOO CUTE, thanks for all your amazing recs!

[@kwizo1]

Great advice; just subscribed!

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

Thanks for the sub! Happy it helps!

[@Liminal_Ascetic]

I thought I was going to be disappointed. One channel says you need this, the next the very opposite...🙄 But you explained it pretty well. Makes more sense than before I watched. 👍

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

Glad you liked it! 👊♥️

[@Zonakita91]

Good video always succes for you

[@JayTheYTGuy]

I really love how you show more of science that is applicable to every situation. There is never a mix where this method would not be of use and has nothing to do with tricks or style rather how to capture it These are the gems I really find myself seeking as I've already been mixing for years and learned most the tricks People say "use your ears" but this is the fundamentals of sound that gives a target to use them on One thing I love to do is get an EQ and do filters around 250-4.5k (400-4k is the common method) and then tweak things in that range. Nail that range and you often nail the mix Also, when carving pockets for instruments I often do it in mono to hear exactly what is fighting These are really life changing mixing skills you can use with ANY genre

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

Happy you enjoyed this one!! Appreciate you dropping the comment too 👊

[@paulrucker1889]

Great tip, I instantly subscribed to your channel. I'm a composer that often mixes/masters out of necessity, and tips like these help save a lot of time. Thanks!

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

Thank you!! Happy to have you part of our fam here ♥️👊

[@moxenrider]

Moose! I immediately subscribed

[@TracingFlares]

Man... this is worse than the 24 series.. you are a truly master in keeping viewer engaged. Best Channel😊

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

😂😂 that’s the ultimate compliment! Thank you 👊

[@JaKunaMusic]

The absolute goat! Also one thing that has helped me is trying different limiters from different brands! All of them adds a different character to your track!

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

👊❤️ 100%!! That's the best thing about A/B testing...you can hear how each limiter impacts the mix in different ways. I do love the ozone maximizer though 🥲 so good

[@brattfjell09]

wow!! this channel is getting better and better for every video i watch

[@mikelavish]

Bro just confirmed my suspicions about my mixes thank you 🙏

[@saricubra2867]

It helps the transient clarity as well, that mixing engineer is brillant.

[@Kidd.Nostalgia]

thanks you this helps a lot

[@frodrrr]

Thank you! These videos and this channel has clearly explained a lot of mysteries I have been puzzled and troubled with for years! Keep up the great work! You have surely helped make my journey a whole lot more fun and with more confidence! 🙏

[@Mike-vr7mb]

Goodman the production quality is top notch!

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

Thank you!!! 👊♥️

[@dougr5187]

Excellent tutorial and tips, thank you. Quick question: around 4:50 (when talking about different limiter settings and LUFS values), are you correct to say that those IRC 3 Balanced, Crisp and Clear algorithms had "higher LUFS values" than that IRC 4 Modern algorithm (which "had a lower LUFS measurement")? At the risk of making myself look foolish here, is the reverse not true: they all showed negative LUFS values and so did the IRC 4 Modern, which was closest to zero, not have the higher LUFS value (as it had the least negative value)? Cheers.

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

you're welcome! yes, I did say it backwards in terms of the "higher and lower" part because we're talking negatives. A recording f*ck up haha. However, the info in regards to the different modes and which handled the low end better/worse...that's still correct. The modern one for example was audibly louder and had a HIGHER 😛 lufs level. You'd ideally want to pursue the algorithms that are resulting in quieter low end rumble in the delta

[@dougr5187]

@@TheCosmicAcademy Cheers - everything else in your video made perfect sense and was very useful. Thanks :)

[@levy_music_ofc]

solid material, cant wait to put this to use!

[@IcemanTheDj]

Great video. I use IRC 3 clipping with fastest setting since it came out. I find it to be the best for 99%.

[@rainyyy___]

СПАСИБО ОГРОМНОЕ АВТОРУ ЗА ВИДЕО!!! Отдельно благодарен, что вы разобрали каждый алгоритм лимитирования в озоне 11😊

[@hillsnectar4927]

This is pure gold... thanks for this ❤❤❤

[@lucjanchrustek7774]

this is a game changer for me. I struggled with that for years !!!

[@Lance_G]

This channel is saving my life right now ❤️🙏

[@LohPro]

I come here for Moose & stay for the mix tips LOL jokes aside, the LPF trick is kinda similar to LPF'ing the kick & bass momentarily to see how well they are balanced in the mix (level & EQ wise). so much in a mix it seems, revolves around whether the low-end is setup properly... its so delicate. lots of work to get it good, but so easy to destroy it. this tip should prevent that. appreciate it sir!

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

Hahahaha one day this channel will just be 100% moose doin things...no music production. We're slowly getting there 🫎 Yeah you're spot on! This is a great addition to that workflow. Thats what I love about this...its a nice final check for all the low end balance work that goes into the mix!!

[@Skanoh]

This is an amazing trick! Thank you for sharing it :)

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

♥️👊 Hope it can make an immediate impact in your mix…no pun intended 😏

[@washierlosalter]

Yeah, I often use the "Hard Rock transient" (or similar) setting in Pro-L on HipHop. And it works pretty well

[@Gedagnors]

Wow, thank you so much!!!!!

[@martinlarrivee5081]

Very interesting, thank you for this

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

You’re welcome!! 👊

[@SoundAloneband]

These videos are great. I personally try to never use a limiter on my mix. That's what mastering folks do. Clipping on purpose also is a good effect. Like drums etc. hard clipping as they say. But limiting on a mix buss I think is over rated. If you want more volume then gain stage better or use saturation (Oxford inflator comes to mind) but don't over do it either.

[@trayden6352]

man!, your content is sooooooooo helpful!

[@justinbraveheart26]

I use the free beat slammer vst to make my master richer and then use masterplan 1.5 to fynalyse my master. But my main secret weapon for both creating and mastering my track is by using a wearable subwoofer called 'subpac'. It doesn't create sound but vibrations on your back. It will let you feel the bass and low end you can't feel with a normal subwoofer in a room. This device never lies. It's the best secret weapon for dance music.

[@mattymenck]

Excellent video, thanks for that ! Btw. what's the song or mix at the end (05:54) ? Good stuff..

[@DaveChips]

5:10 threw me off guard... As -20 LUFS is actually louder then -30 LUFS... And that extra 10LUFS comes from distortion of IRC4, as our ears perceive higher spectrum frequencies as louder. So in short IRC4 was both louder to the ear md had higher measurement. But it squashed the signal more (to the point of distortion) ...Nevermind, was just quick on the trigger, someone pointed it out already in prev comments 😅

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

Yup hahaha 😂 slip up on my part!! You think I would’ve realized after the hours of editting this too!!

[@DaveChips]

@@TheCosmicAcademy It's tottaly cool it happens, I was also quick on the trigger, noticed that someone mentioned it a bit too late 😅 I blame late midnight hours for that xD

[@cydbass1]

What???? This is mind blowing!!!

[@MR_Cellarpop]

Thanks. Best/Mathias

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

👊♥️

[@DonClassico]

You my friend are a genius

[@11Stormtrooper]

Me guessing the correct presets before seperating the low end got me feeling like 😎

[@8notes_]

Best title in the world!😂😂😂😂

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

Hahahaha 👊

[@blvkqmusicgroup]

Interesting video… 5:09, did you mean higher?

[@cometogether420]

Modern mode in Ozone is the one that sounds the best.

[@djlokho]

great advice thanks!

[@sha3439]

Thank u man, ive been struggling too mich with thia issue.

[@diegosarraf6590]

thanks for the tip! wow! could you pleaseeee do a video about phase shifitng in EQ !!!!?!!

[@rynabuns]

Dan Worrall has a wonderful video about that if you can't wait :)

[@Retro-zn2jt]

so the more bass and kick we hear in the delta, the more they're crushed and the worse they are managed by the limiter? but if the lufs level is low, maybe that's what we want, if we want our track to sound loud ?

[@maxmackenzie3357]

Do soft clippers crush the low end that way the limiter does?

[@seansalo5117]

Yeah, as he mentioned in the first half of the video, the reason the low end is going to be affected my the master limiter is because the low end is typically the loudest part of the mix, so that's the part that's going to trigger the limiter. So, hard or soft clipping doesn't really affect this.

[@ThomasMune]

Sick video

[@cashmasters99]

I'm confused at 4:57 I get that those were the better responses for the low end for your track, but how are those higher LUFS values? IRC 4 had the higher value than any of them. Wouldn't the goal then be lower values?

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

I misspoke in the video!! I said it backwards. The audio was correct but my mouth was wrong haha

[@Icythot-m6i]

why do these videos always have car commercial music in the background? lol

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

Because who doesnttttt love a good ol car commercial?!? Pay homage to the greatness

[@DrLamalama]

"I would recommend using a good pair for headphones or speakers here"" My laptop in the following minute: 🦗

[@kingaya.3124]

This Help[ed a Lot, thank you very much

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

You're welcome! 👊♥️

[@d.m.ebeats9013]

Mixing is all about learning how frequencies sum up,how to tame dynamic range to gain more RMS or Lufs,with proper techniques like eq,saturation,compression,clipping,even limiting,once this is things are mastered you will never have a particular frequency issue.Something I learned from Baphometrix KZbin channel,he teaches mixing like no other.🙌🙌🙌🙌

[@eccentricworx]

That's why modern Limiters have an adjustable Adaptive Feature. Newfangled Elevate (26 Bands!!) , Sonible Smart Limit, Slate FGX2 are the best on the Market right now imo. Forget Izotope & FF L2. They are not that bad, but also not very good. 😉

[@JorgenTiigisoon]

Doesn't having low end in the delta signal just mean that it is being compressed, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, isn't it? Id even say that if the low end is very dynamic it can sound thin, compared to the rest of the mix. Still a good thing to keep this effect on low end in mind when mastering though so good video

[@crippleETG]

Am I missing something here? How is -19 LUFs lower than -30 LUFs? They are negative numbers... -30 is producing less "loudness". Is that desirable for the limiter?

[@AustinPetilo]

At -19luf you are cutting more low end at your main low end signal while the -30lufs is cutting less. Delta makes it so you can hear what you are cutting and basically inverseing the levels if that makes sense.

[@GizzyDillespee]

I never thought about listening to the delta of just the low end (with heavy low end music), and keeping track of lufs. While trying different limiter options. Also, I think I need a Limiter that has more options🤣

[@anteupbeats]

when I have more low end energy with a limiter than a soft clipper.

[@robbeaertscomposer]

Does this also apply to metal music?

[@eosharmony]

Sorry i didnt get it right, the EQ focusing on bass goes right after OR before the limiter?????????????????????????????????

[@TraxtasyMedia]

I never put a limitier on the master, I use a compressor just to have more headroom. Attack n Release times are attenuated to balanced times.

[@VIIOmusic]

What 😂 even saturators works better than compressors does. I hardly ever compress my master since it just messes everything up 😅

[@TraxtasyMedia]

@@VIIOmusic you can use saturators, but here's the thing: if you dial in too much, it messes with your tonal balance. Saturation on a master is pretty difficult, because Saturation shall normally be applied to one element at a time not your whole song, that's why there are busses ;) That's like adding more unnecessary gear cogs to your car engine, that already has got a working cog mechanism

[@rachidow2125]

@@VIIOmusic I use a saturator, but also 2 glue compressors (on the beginning and on the end of the chain) and I couldnt even imagine mastering withouth them lol. Off course, to much `Wet` percentage on your compressors, will messes things up.

[@barendstapelberg1582]

Do you put the low pass before or after the limiter when cycling through the settings?

[@bobbyb6412]

but isn't this why a pro would compression (with a sidechain) instead of a limiter on the master and why you should only really clip 1or 2db max after you have a balanced master?

[@everydayqwer]

Nice title

[@YogevMontekyo]

get your mix right before sending into master bus

[@PauLtus_B]

…and don't push it like crazy. I ĵust don't have this problem because I'm not trying to win the loudness war.

[@campar1043]

I use standard clip on hard clip setting just a touch before I go into the fab filter pro L2

[@dylanlundgren]

Yeah I use it on soft clip and just turn it up until I see some hints of red happening

[@appuser]

The thing that I don't like about these limiter plugins is they are a black box. I'd rather know exactly what they are doing (and be able to tweak it). I prefer to visually see this stuff in an oscilloscope or similar over A-B testing, and many limiting/masterbench type suites don't even have a way to solo the clipped part of the audio anyway. So what is it that's _actually_ killing the low end? Is it that the limiter is overworking and we need to do some more aggressive waveshaping/clipping to smooth out the transients without losing punch?

[@mttlsa686]

I just developed a careful and almost maniacal way of mixing that I don't even need mastering many times (which is more a "finalization" and a loudness increase than an actual mastering, which is the process to uniform the various tracks of an album or a compilation). I put an utility device (Ableton live user here) setting the gain at + 6 on the master bus first, then I mix peaking even at +3dbf on the master bus, mainly paying attention to not get distortion on the low frequencies when it peaks at +3 (so carefully sculpting kick and bass and making them perfectly balanced and unmasked). When the mix is done, before the utility gain at +6, I put 1 eq with some subtle cuts where its needed + 2 Pro C2 in series both with 4x oversampling but with different behaviors, to tame all the exceeding peaks and bring them under 0 dbfs + another eq to rebalance everything if something get out of place after compression and/or to give some color accordingly with my tastes. At the end, after the +6 gain, I put a Pro L2 with transparent algorithm, attack 0, release by ear, no channel linking, no true peak, 16x oversampling and ceiling at -0.2. If needed, I use to slightly clip the utility gain to go into the limiter instead of using the input gain of the limiter (I don't know why, but the result is different and it keeps the transients more intact than increasing the input of the limiter). At this point, I have a final mix which sounds like it was already finalized and exactly how it should sound in my mind, and it happened that when I asked someone else to do the mastering they just ruined everything (for my perception of how it should sound). So I get to the conclusion that not every song necessarily needs to be "mastered" if it sounds already as it should sound to you (and depending on the genre obviously). Even if it's -10LUFS it sounds full and DYNAMIC, not squashed to death, like you can't even listen to it at full volume because everything becomes TOTAL CRAP. If, eventually, for whatever reason, i decide to let someone else to do the "mastering" process, I just delete everything on the master bus and bounce the mix as it is (so it will peaks around -4dbfs more or less) but working this way I already know the real loudness potential of the track so I know how much the mastering engineer can push it without losing the carefully crafted balance of the mix that. If I just want to add "analog flavor" to the processed "finalized" mix, I just bounce it at - 3db and I just let the mastering engineer do his job, tastefully "coloring" the sound.

[@DeathWishBoi666]

Limiters aint killing your lowend if u know how to use ur shit. I tend to get a denser more punchy lowend by utilizing some saturation Eqing and limiting the lowend itself and compressing it with the rest (depending on the incoming signal and the allaround style anyway) and I usually have a more bass heavy mix.. Well also depends on the limiter anyway

[@zackorr421]

Mooooooose!!!!❤❤❤

[@PolymerJones]

Something I’m about to try : hooking my MacBook up to my car stereo via HDMI and mixing in my car Lol!

[@HollerAtcherBoi]

HDMI? How?

[@PolymerJones]

@@HollerAtcherBoi my car system has HDMI input , I can do audio out of my MacBook into my car system

[@M.V.I.D]

Pro Tips!!

[@erkamau9629]

Sidechain filter and clipper before limiter should be enough

[@VissionBass]

Simply use a clipper and then you can put a limiter.

[@prodbyskogs4435]

Only Fruity soft clipper on the master >>

[@Thermolizer]

What are you listening for when playing the delta?

[@HeyItsUSM4N]

Ok you got me curious!

[@brixtonbassmafia8595]

Gain stage, balance and use clipping and saturation on each channel and buss while mixing. 3db limiting is way too much for a single limiter, that’s why you’re loosing the life of the mix.

[@hazedtape]

the lower the freq the more energy it takes.... so yeah, subs take damage

[@PeterBedel-iq9dh]

Can I send my tracks to moose for reference?

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

I just asked him...he said "I'll do it for 8,000 treats and an hour of butt-scratches. Final offer, take it or leave it." I know the ask is a lot. He'll be awaiting your decision...

[@cheapshotfishing9239]

Are there reliable configurations that almost any drum/synth/bass/etc will fit into? Or do most producers kinda go through this process tuning and selecting plugins for each individual instrument as they go? Ive been doing the latter for a long while, looking to streamline the process by finding a reliable initial configuration in which i can get straight to making music a little quicker

[@wereallthinkingit9389]

Mastering to 0db? 🤔

[@lalocura1828]

Typically I click the Delta button or the headphones button on the fab pro l and I wanna hear the whole mix and when I do I know I got it right

[@arnoldwatkins7655]

was the lowpass put before the limiter or after the limiter

[@AshSparrow010]

before

[@yepyepmusic]

Use soft clipper instead of limiter.

[@miksumasterjbl8899]

Sub frequency? JBL Partybox 310: Not a problem. No subwoofer needed.

[@yoelwww]

Why don’t you just send the low end to a diff limiter than the rest of mix, much easier.

[@Brutuscomedy]

Or maybe just clip a real AD converter (or at least incorporate that stage to minimize limiting)

[@rumarey2]

How did they use to mix Donna Summer songs with amazing dynamic range

[@TheCosmicAcademy]

It’s 2024…lol things have changed. You don’t have to like it haha but it is what it is