Helpful ReplyFriday's Tip of the Week #167: Behold! Dual Mono Becomes Stereo!

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Anderton
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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/03/25 04:03:54 (permalink)
dannyjmusic
Is it worth upgrading from Cakewalk version TH3 to the full version?



I don't have the full version, but maybe others can comment.

The first 3 books in "The Musician's Guide to Home Recording" series are available from Hal Leonard and http://www.reverb.com. Listen to my music on http://www.YouTube.com/thecraiganderton, and visit http://www.craiganderton.com. Thanks!
Anderton
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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/03/25 04:11:41 (permalink)
Week 138: WTF Craig...Harmonicas?
 
Back in the 60s, harmonicas were a big part of pop music. The Beatles, Rolling Stones, other English invasion bands, Led Zeppelin—as well as folkies like Bob Dylan—had harmonicas in their music.
 
But I liked the “blues harp” players. My band was often on the same bill as a lot of the blues guys like Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Muddy Waters, and others, so I got to hear blues harp at its best. Here’s a good example of “pure” blues harmonica, Sonny Boy Williamson doing “Keep It to Yourself”:
 

 
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band amped up the blues harp into a rock and roll instrument with its own amazing voice. Here’s a good example, Paul Butterfield doing “Born in Chicago” (with Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop on guitars).
 

 
I thought it was a great, low-down dirty, sensuous sound that made the pop music harmonica sound like water compared to Jack Daniels. I wanted to incorporate that sound into my music, but try as I might, I couldn’t. How did they do it?
 
Then I found the three keys to playing blues harp, and may I suggest if you don’t play blues harp, it’s a lot of fun. Besides it’s inexpensive, portable, and can add entirely different textures to your music—and as we’ll see, once you get SONAR involved you can really take off.
 
But first—if you don’t know about cross-harp playing, that knowledge is mandatory.
 
“CROSS-HARP” EXPLAINED
 
Harmonicas come in different keys, but if you want to sound like Junior Wells instead of Bob Dylan, choose the harmonica key that’s a fourth above the song key. For example if you’re playing guitar in the key of E, you want an A harmonica. This lets you pitch bend the reeds down when sucking to give that mighty blues tone, and they’ll end up in the right places for the key of E. Here’s a chart, and also, a PDF from Lee Oskar that goes into details about both major and minor harmonica tunings.
 
Next, remember that harmonicas require that you both blow and suck. Sucking is what pulls the notes down and gives that swampy, bluesy vibe. The more you play, the more flexible the reeds become so it’s easier to bend the notes (some players soak their harmonicas in beer because they claim it makes the reeds more flexible, but I think it’s just an excuse to drink the beer afterward).
 
Next you have to learn to breathe. There are a billion how to play harmonica videos on the web, but this one explains it all without a single word. Once you get past the shock of the first few seconds, pay attention…watch and learn. She nails it.
 
Beck Wenger “How to Play Harmonica (The Blues)”

 
ENTER THE SONAR
 
Okay…now you’re playing in the right key, bending notes, and starting to think that maybe this isn’t such a crazy idea for a tip after all. Time to boot up SONAR.
 
Start with a dynamic mic. I have a Shure SM58 with a foam wind screen, and hold the mic right up to the harmonica so my hands hold both the harmonica and the mic. The idea isn’t just to close-mic, but to smother the mic with the harmonica—my harmonica actually pushes into the foam wind screen.
 
And now, the secret ingredient: SONAR’s CA-X “Classic” amp, combined with some ProChannel EQ (Artist users can substitute appropriate settings from the Sonitus EQ). The Classic isn’t just the amp of choice because it has the right amount of overdrive and funk, but because of the spring reverb. A little spring helps give that vintage blues harp sound.
 
I’ve posted two audio examples on www.craiganderton.com (click on the Demos tab) with short, harmonica-specific excerpts from two songs I’ve done with blues harp. Following are their amp and EQ settings, so if you like the sound, just use these settings and you should be good to go. In both cases, the ProChannel is post-FX Rack.
 

 
“I’ll Take You Higher” is from my upcoming project “Simplicity.” This has some drive to give more of the Paul Butterfield harmonica sound. The ProChannel drops the mids a bit except for a slight boost so the sound cuts more.
 

 
“Our Independence Day” is also from “Simplicity” and showcases blues harmonica in more of a rock context; the main difference is piling on the amount of drive. This gives a kinda nasty midrange, so the ProChannel cuts the mids and highs. The Sonitus is the last effect in the FX Rack. It tames a little residual harshness in the context of a mix.
 
I know this is a bit of a departure from the usual tips, but the one on mastering workflow went over well so what the heck…let’s try something different. Besides, whenever I play anything with a harmonica for people, the reaction is always something along the lines of “Hey, it’s a harmonica! Cool!” So now you have the power to blow and suck…use it only for good.
 

The first 3 books in "The Musician's Guide to Home Recording" series are available from Hal Leonard and http://www.reverb.com. Listen to my music on http://www.YouTube.com/thecraiganderton, and visit http://www.craiganderton.com. Thanks!
Sanderxpander
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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/03/25 11:05:13 (permalink)
I absolutely love that tip! Thanks, Craig!
rwheeler
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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/03/25 11:15:24 (permalink)
",,,A harmonica. This lets you pitch bend the reeds down when sucking to give that mighty blues tone, and they’ll end up in the right places for the key of E. Here’s a chart."
 
Chart currently missing at this end, but not a major problem. Good info on a often forgotten instrument, and great tip.

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Zargg
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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/03/25 11:33:49 (permalink)
Thanks for another cool tip Craig.
I have had a couple of blues harmonicas for years, so now might be the time to start learning / using them 
All the best.

Ken Nilsen
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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/03/25 12:29:13 (permalink)
Cool, Ill have to dig out my old harps, if their not too rusty. LOL.
 
Any reason not to put the Amp preset in the ProChannel FX Chain, rather than the track FX Bin as I think its showing? 
 
 

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Anderton
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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/03/25 14:18:25 (permalink)
rwheeler
",,,A harmonica. This lets you pitch bend the reeds down when sucking to give that mighty blues tone, and they’ll end up in the right places for the key of E. Here’s a chart."



The chart is back, and I added another link that you'll probably find helpful.

The first 3 books in "The Musician's Guide to Home Recording" series are available from Hal Leonard and http://www.reverb.com. Listen to my music on http://www.YouTube.com/thecraiganderton, and visit http://www.craiganderton.com. Thanks!
Anderton
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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/03/25 14:20:40 (permalink)
JohnEgan
Any reason not to put the Amp preset in the ProChannel FX Chain, rather than the track FX Bin as I think its showing? 
 



Yes, there's an extremely crucial, important reason...I like to put amps in the FX Rack . Seriously, it doesn't matter but do make sure that the amp goes first in the ProChannel because the current setups have them post-amp.

The first 3 books in "The Musician's Guide to Home Recording" series are available from Hal Leonard and http://www.reverb.com. Listen to my music on http://www.YouTube.com/thecraiganderton, and visit http://www.craiganderton.com. Thanks!
Sixfinger
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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/03/25 17:34:09 (permalink)
My theory on the theory is that the One chord in the blues is a Dominant 7 chord. So for example a blues in the key of G is based on that G7 chord, which is the 5th chord in the key of C. So cross to C. We don't need a chart. :)
 

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Anderton
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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/03/25 17:40:58 (permalink)
Sixfinger
My theory on the theory is that the One chord in the blues is a Dominant 7 chord. So for example a blues in the key of G is based on that G7 chord, which is the 5th chord in the key of C. So cross to C. We don't need a chart. :)

 
For what I'm talking about, not really...as long as you remember to choose the blues harp that's a fourth above the song key. But check out that Lee Oskar PDF, it opened my eyes to there being more to the story than just that.
 
This is also giving me ideas about how to use the MIDI Transpose Plug-in to do the equivalent of "blues harp" playing by constraining to keyboard scales. 

The first 3 books in "The Musician's Guide to Home Recording" series are available from Hal Leonard and http://www.reverb.com. Listen to my music on http://www.YouTube.com/thecraiganderton, and visit http://www.craiganderton.com. Thanks!
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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/03/25 17:57:10 (permalink)
One thing I find with blues harp is that guitar amps are often much too bright and have too much gain. Rolling the treble and some mid off can go a long way to getting a sound that doesn't scream. Interesting that your eq curves boost the top end a bit, I usually find things go the other way though maybe that's because I use a real amp. A tightly cupped mic can really overdrive an amp and lose all dynamics as a result.
 
Tremolo harmonicas are even worse if the mic is close to them, they're much better not used with a cupped mic.
 
My personal preference is to do what the "second" Sonny Boy Williamson is doing in the video - use a vocal mic and move on and off the mic but essentially playing as I would acoustically. That way I can get more tonal variety and the cupped wah effects are the same as they are acoustically, for cupped mic work they kind of work the other way round which gets confusing.
 
I just wish I could play like Williamson - or work an audience like he could. Even on old black and white TV footage he's really gripping to watch.

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Sixfinger
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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/03/25 17:58:36 (permalink)
Ok, yes that's a fabulous chart!

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Anderton
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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/03/25 21:00:56 (permalink)
tlw
One thing I find with blues harp is that guitar amps are often much too bright and have too much gain. Rolling the treble and some mid off can go a long way to getting a sound that doesn't scream. Interesting that your eq curves boost the top end a bit, I usually find things go the other way though maybe that's because I use a real amp. A tightly cupped mic can really overdrive an amp and lose all dynamics as a result.



Thank you for contributing your expertise, it's appreciated. FWIW in the top screen shot, there is a little bit of high end but that's because the amp Drive is low, and the Bright switch is off. With low Drive, you don't have the gain and brightness issues you mention. As a result, the harmonica needed a little top boost to a) compensate for the upper mids being reduced, and b) cut through the track a bit better.
 
However, the second screen shot is exactly as you describe - a high gain amp setting. That's why the ProChannel does a radical drop in the highs and reduces the "harshness" around 2 - 3 kHz. So your observations correlate with mine, even though I'm using a sim.

The first 3 books in "The Musician's Guide to Home Recording" series are available from Hal Leonard and http://www.reverb.com. Listen to my music on http://www.YouTube.com/thecraiganderton, and visit http://www.craiganderton.com. Thanks!
tlw
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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/03/26 02:05:41 (permalink)
Yep, keeping an eye on the amp gain is a big part of it. I've tried quite a few amp sims with harmonica and about the best I've found so far is the Amplitube Princeton reverb with the incoming signal well below where would be optimal for guitar. It's not a bad sound at all.

Low gain helps to keep the feedback under control as well :-)

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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/03/28 23:49:09 (permalink)
Anderton
Week 138: WTF Craig...Harmonicas?
 
Back in the 60s, harmonicas were a big part of pop music. The Beatles, Rolling Stones, other English invasion bands, Led Zeppelin—as well as folkies like Bob Dylan—had harmonicas in their music.
 
But I liked the “blues harp” players. My band was often on the same bill as a lot of the blues guys like Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Muddy Waters, and others, so I got to hear blues harp at its best. Here’s a good example of “pure” blues harmonica, Sonny Boy Williamson doing “Keep It to Yourself”:
 

 
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band amped up the blues harp into a rock and roll instrument with its own amazing voice. Here’s a good example, Paul Butterfield doing “Born in Chicago” (with Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop on guitars).
 

 
I thought it was a great, low-down dirty, sensuous sound that made the pop music harmonica sound like water compared to Jack Daniels. I wanted to incorporate that sound into my music, but try as I might, I couldn’t. How did they do it?
 
Then I found the three keys to playing blues harp, and may I suggest if you don’t play blues harp, it’s a lot of fun. Besides it’s inexpensive, portable, and can add entirely different textures to your music—and as we’ll see, once you get SONAR involved you can really take off.
 
But first—if you don’t know about cross-harp playing, that knowledge is mandatory.
 
“CROSS-HARP” EXPLAINED
 
Harmonicas come in different keys, but if you want to sound like Junior Wells instead of Bob Dylan, choose the harmonica key that’s a fourth above the song key. For example if you’re playing guitar in the key of E, you want an A harmonica. This lets you pitch bend the reeds down when sucking to give that mighty blues tone, and they’ll end up in the right places for the key of E. Here’s a chart, and also, a PDF from Lee Oskar that goes into details about both major and minor harmonica tunings.
 
Next, remember that harmonicas require that you both blow and suck. Sucking is what pulls the notes down and gives that swampy, bluesy vibe. The more you play, the more flexible the reeds become so it’s easier to bend the notes (some players soak their harmonicas in beer because they claim it makes the reeds more flexible, but I think it’s just an excuse to drink the beer afterward).
 
Next you have to learn to breathe. There are a billion how to play harmonica videos on the web, but this one explains it all without a single word. Once you get past the shock of the first few seconds, pay attention…watch and learn. She nails it.
 
Beck Wenger “How to Play Harmonica (The Blues)”

 
ENTER THE SONAR
 
Okay…now you’re playing in the right key, bending notes, and starting to think that maybe this isn’t such a crazy idea for a tip after all. Time to boot up SONAR.
 
Start with a dynamic mic. I have a Shure SM58 with a foam wind screen, and hold the mic right up to the harmonica so my hands hold both the harmonica and the mic. The idea isn’t just to close-mic, but to smother the mic with the harmonica—my harmonica actually pushes into the foam wind screen.
 
And now, the secret ingredient: SONAR’s CA-X “Classic” amp, combined with some ProChannel EQ (Artist users can substitute appropriate settings from the Sonitus EQ). The Classic isn’t just the amp of choice because it has the right amount of overdrive and funk, but because of the spring reverb. A little spring helps give that vintage blues harp sound.
 
I’ve posted two audio examples on www.craiganderton.com (click on the Demos tab) with short, harmonica-specific excerpts from two songs I’ve done with blues harp. Following are their amp and EQ settings, so if you like the sound, just use these settings and you should be good to go. In both cases, the ProChannel is post-FX Rack.
 

 
“I’ll Take You Higher” is from my upcoming project “Simplicity.” This has some drive to give more of the Paul Butterfield harmonica sound. The ProChannel drops the mids a bit except for a slight boost so the sound cuts more.
 

 
“Our Independence Day” is also from “Simplicity” and showcases blues harmonica in more of a rock context; the main difference is piling on the amount of drive. This gives a kinda nasty midrange, so the ProChannel cuts the mids and highs. The Sonitus is the last effect in the FX Rack. It tames a little residual harshness in the context of a mix.
 
I know this is a bit of a departure from the usual tips, but the one on mastering workflow went over well so what the heck…let’s try something different. Besides, whenever I play anything with a harmonica for people, the reaction is always something along the lines of “Hey, it’s a harmonica! Cool!” So now you have the power to blow and suck…use it only for good.
 


This is the best tip you have ever done. I really love your tips but here I learned something. 

Best
John
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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/03/29 00:30:49 (permalink)
Anderton
And now, the secret ingredient: SONAR’s CA-X “Classic” amp, combined with some ProChannel EQ (Artist users can substitute appropriate settings from the Sonitus EQ). The Classic isn’t just the amp of choice because it has the right amount of overdrive and funk, but because of the spring reverb. A little spring helps give that vintage blues harp sound.
 

 
Where is this amp? I have Platinum with everything installed, and I have never seen or of this one before! I scoured the plug in manager lists and it isn't installed. 
 
Thanks!
CB
 
EDIT: never mind, found it, it is an FX chain.
BTW, Why are these managed via the file menu and not a context menu?

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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/03/30 00:32:57 (permalink) ☄ Helpfulby pentimentosound 2017/03/31 00:30:27
https://youtu.be/xFqN8H88O64
 
I made a video about how you might add eq and normalize prior to exporting for mp3 and how you can add an image to the mp3 so a picture shows up when you play it.

StudioCat > I use Windows 10 and Sonar Platinum. I have a touch screen.
I make some videos. This one shows how to do a physical loopback on the RME UCX to get many more equalizer nodes.
Anderton
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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/03/30 00:47:07 (permalink)
gswitz
https://youtu.be/xFqN8H88O64
 
I made a video about how you might add eq and normalize prior to exporting for mp3 and how you can add an image to the mp3 so a picture shows up when you play it.



Hey, that's cool! Thanks. Does this mean I'm excused from doing a tip this week? 

The first 3 books in "The Musician's Guide to Home Recording" series are available from Hal Leonard and http://www.reverb.com. Listen to my music on http://www.YouTube.com/thecraiganderton, and visit http://www.craiganderton.com. Thanks!
gswitz
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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/03/30 02:08:47 (permalink)
I'm sure you can take off any week you like.
 
We're all grateful for what you do. :-)

StudioCat > I use Windows 10 and Sonar Platinum. I have a touch screen.
I make some videos. This one shows how to do a physical loopback on the RME UCX to get many more equalizer nodes.
gswitz
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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/03/30 02:15:21 (permalink)
http://stabilitynetwork.blob.core.windows.net/g-tunes/20170326_StPauls.html
 
This is a link to the MP3s if anyone wants to listen directly.

StudioCat > I use Windows 10 and Sonar Platinum. I have a touch screen.
I make some videos. This one shows how to do a physical loopback on the RME UCX to get many more equalizer nodes.
Anderton
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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/03/30 20:04:05 (permalink) ☄ Helpfulby EyjolfurG 2017/04/01 08:45:28
John
 
This is the best tip you have ever done. I really love your tips but here I learned something. 



Hi John - could you elaborate on why you feel this is the best tip I've ever done? I'd be happy to incorporate more of what made it seem that way in future tips if I know what aspect made it stand out. 

The first 3 books in "The Musician's Guide to Home Recording" series are available from Hal Leonard and http://www.reverb.com. Listen to my music on http://www.YouTube.com/thecraiganderton, and visit http://www.craiganderton.com. Thanks!
Anderton
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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/03/31 22:50:20 (permalink)
Week 139: The Reason Why You Don’t Want to Compress the Master Bus
 

 
The above is what you want to master...if you start with the below waveform, EQ will act very differently.
 
If you’re into mastering as part of the mixing process, then this tip doesn’t apply to you. But if like me
you treat mixing and mastering as separate processes (see Tip of the Week #135, “An Efficient Workflow for Pre-Masters”), this tip is important.
 
When it comes to dynamics, I’m not just talking about brickwall limiting; a lot of folks think “well I’ll add just a little ‘glue’ to the master bus so the tracks sit together better” but I even recommend against that. Here’s why.
 
For me, mastering is primarily about EQ and to a much lesser extent, dynamics. However EQ before dynamics or EQ afterward produces very different results. A good example is wanting to bring up a kick drum in an EDM song during the mastering process. If you insert EQ after limiting, the kick will sound big but the extra level is now above the limiting threshold. This restricts the amount of available headroom, so now you have to lower the overall level, or add a second stage of limiting to try and regain the additional level.
 
If the EQ is before limiting, then you’re “pushing” the kick into the limiter. While this doesn’t produce as much actual level as EQ after limiting, it gives the psycho-acoustic impact of more level because the kick “pushes” the rest of the audio out of the way to make room for the kick. The music sounds like it’s straining a little more, and has an added feeling of power.
 
Another consideration works in reverse. If a master needs to be brighter, I tend to add that after limiting. Brightness can lead to ear fatigue, so compression after EQ can bring up the brightness to an unnatural degree. But also note that boosting treble frequencies, unlike boosting a kick drum, doesn’t add a lot of energy to the master. So to maintain headroom, you may need to reduce the overall level by only a fraction of a dB or so.
 
The bottom line is the same recommendation I made in the tip for Week 135: Create pre-masters with headroom and no compression in the master bus, then apply the needed processing to master the song while keeping in mind the above considerations.

The first 3 books in "The Musician's Guide to Home Recording" series are available from Hal Leonard and http://www.reverb.com. Listen to my music on http://www.YouTube.com/thecraiganderton, and visit http://www.craiganderton.com. Thanks!
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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/04/01 01:28:35 (permalink)
XLNT Craig, Thank You

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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/04/01 11:51:54 (permalink)
Hmm. This is pretty contentious. I very rarely have anything on the master bus myself, but it's more a question of what school of thought you're in than of any "right" way to do things.
 
I'd disagree that using compression while mixing equates to mastering while mixing. At least, not necessarily. Mix bus compression can still be an up-stream pre-master step.

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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/04/01 12:45:16 (permalink)
I'll put a compressor on the master while mixing, set very gently just to glue everything together, not to raise the level.
 
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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/04/01 14:30:17 (permalink)
John T
Hmm. This is pretty contentious. I very rarely have anything on the master bus myself, but it's more a question of what school of thought you're in than of any "right" way to do things.
 
I'd disagree that using compression while mixing equates to mastering while mixing. At least, not necessarily. Mix bus compression can still be an up-stream pre-master step.



Yes, it can be. But anyone who does that needs to be aware of the implications if you decide you want to add EQ. Remember, I said this tip is for those who treat mixing and mastering as separate processes. If you do, why would you want to lock yourself into something during the mixing process that can limit your options while mastering?
 

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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/04/01 14:46:20 (permalink) ☄ Helpfulby FCCfirstclass 2017/04/22 12:26:43
dcumpian
I'll put a compressor on the master while mixing, set very gently just to glue everything together, not to raise the level.
 
Dan



Again, that's fine as long as you're aware that while mastering, if you want to add EQ, you can add EQ only to the compressed sound...which means the EQ will be more apparent on lower-level signals than it would be otherwise. If that's what you want, that's fine. But if that's not what you want, then your only option is to do another mix without compression, then add EQ > compression. So it makes more sense to me just to leave all that off of the mix, and then you can do whatever you want while mastering.
 
Maybe I'm just old school because I've mastered so many tracks, but to me the purpose of a mix is to get the optimum balance among instruments. Mastering is about processing designed to sweeten the overall mix. I guess the way I look at it is that mixes aren't supposed to sound "good," they're supposed to sound "right." Then mastering transforms that which sounds "right" into something that sounds awesomely great.
 
Also sometimes I do EQ before and after compression. I just finished mastering an album where some songs had spots where I needed to drop the lower mids a bit. Doing so post-compressor would have created more of a "hole" in the sound, whereas doing it before compression let the compressor interact more with the dynamics in the area with the reduced response. If compression had been "baked" into the audio, I wouldn't have been able to achieve the effect I wanted. Ditto for those songs where I boosted treble before compression, although in the instances where I boosted treble after compression (i.e., the more "powerful" songs), it wouldn't have mattered that the audio was already compressed.

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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/04/01 16:57:50 (permalink) ☄ Helpfulby FCCfirstclass 2017/04/22 12:26:40
I do a little limiting on the master buss. I don't do much compression at all on the master buss or EQ. You have given us something to think about. 

Best
John
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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/04/01 17:14:59 (permalink)
always a limiter on the master, not for extra loudness, just to protect the speakers!

just a sec

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Re: SONAR X August: 31 Days of Tips 2017/04/01 17:30:44 (permalink)
^^ I do this
Only as protection.
All the best.

Ken Nilsen
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