amiller, it sounds like you're just getting your feet wet with mastering. If that's the case then Ozone may be your best bet - it's specifically targeted for users who want good results but don't quite know what they're doing yet. That describes most of us here!

The LP-64 is a Linear Phase processor and should have less coloration than the Sonitus, and therefore to me is more useful for mastering purposes. However I don't find the Sonitus to have all that much color to begin with. Either way, the linear phase characteristics of the LP-64 should make its employment less noticeable when used judiciously on a master mix.

While true that Multiband compressors are often used to fix a mix where things could perhaps be corrected prior to mastering, IMO they have their legitimate uses in both mastering and even in the mix process. Now you're likely not going to use a MB compressor on an individual track but they can be quite useful on groups of tracks or buses (drums, keys, etc).

MB compressors can sometimes do wonders on things like drum buses or full range loops with inherent problems or unwanted characteristics. In a way, you can use the MB comp as a kind of dynamic EQ processor. Basically you can shape the overall tone of a bus (or mix) but in a way rather different than using a traditional EQ in that its effects can be tailored to respond to only certain kinds and level of input - in the same way a compressor in general can be tailored to respond to input.

Anyway, I'd say play around with it. Obviously if you are "stuck" with something delivered that doesn't sound quite right to you  - but also if you are having trouble getting a group of instruments to have the tonal "shape" you want.

As was mentioned, don't track with a linear phase plugin enabled because they introduce lots of latency, but in the purely mixing or mastering phase they are perfectly usable.

Regarding Boost 11, and limiters in general: IMO they should be used very judiciously and sparingly. My own rule of thumb is that if I'm having to shave off more than, say,  3db of the louder peaks to get the desired volume level, then I need to go back to the mix itself (if possible) and work on basic EQ and compression elements. Limiters are a dangerous thing. Like salt in cooking  - they can seem great at first, but are liable to squeeze all the dynamics out of a mix and make the whole thing fatiguing to listen to.

But a little limiting never hurt anyone IMHO and is often necessary to get the desired loudness of an overall mix (and sometimes of a particular bus). Good thing is that the less the limiter has to work, the less any ill effects it has on the sound will be heard and/or noticed.

As I sometimes say, "Make music, not sausages".

The moral of the story is that if you take the time to really learn to mix the rest is gravy, especially if you learn how to arrange and get the right sounds.

bitflipper


amiller, it sounds like you're just getting your feet wet with mastering. If that's the case then Ozone may be your best bet - it's specifically targeted for users who want good results but don't quite know what they're doing yet. That describes most of us here!

I have Ozone and it scares the hell out of me.  groove3.com has a new 3 1\2 hour tutorial on Ozone that I might pickup.
 
Brandon, you sound hungry with all this talk of cooking with salt and sausages. Damn, now I'M hungry...

Brandon Ryan [Cakewalk
]

The LP-64 is a Linear Phase processor and should have less coloration than the Sonitus, and therefore to me is more useful for mastering purposes. However I don't find the Sonitus to have all that much color to begin with. Either way, the linear phase characteristics of the LP-64 should make its employment less noticeable when used judiciously on a master mix.

Except for the pre-ringing induced by the linear phase filters (It smears transients) . Anyway, I think that you will find that most mastering engineers use neither multi-band compression nor linear phase EQs or linear phase based processing. Well... except in marketing brochures intended to sell stuff...

UnderTow

Arranging is definitely important as well. Good arrangements often need less hoop-jumping when it comes to certain aspects of mixing (EQ and compression). But this of course depends greatly on the kind of music being mixed and/or mastered and perhaps more importantly, what the person using the MB compressor has the ability to actually go back and change. A mastering engineer will often not have access to the original mix and sometimes the mix engineer won't have access to all the original, individual  tracks nor permission to alter the arrangement in any way.

10Ten


The moral of the story is that if you take the time to really learn to mix the rest is gravy, especially if you learn how to arrange and get the right sounds.

All of my learning is steadily gravitating to The Mix.

giankap

amiller


Very helpful info guys.  What do you use, when mastering, to pump up the volume?

Definately L2 or L3 form waves.

L3 is just horrid and tends to destroy mixes. The L2 is OK but has long been surpassed by much better an/or cheaper competitors like Voxengo Elephant 3, iZotope Ozone's limiter, PSP Xenon, FabFilter L-Pro, Sonnox Limiter, etc etc

Or, you could just clip your converters.

UnderTow

UnderTow

Brandon Ryan [Cakewalk
]

The LP-64 is a Linear Phase processor and should have less coloration than the Sonitus, and therefore to me is more useful for mastering purposes. However I don't find the Sonitus to have all that much color to begin with. Either way, the linear phase characteristics of the LP-64 should make its employment less noticeable when used judiciously on a master mix.

Except for the pre-ringing induced by the linear phase filters (It smears transients) . Anyway, I think that you will find that most mastering engineers use neither multi-band compression nor linear phase EQs or linear phase based processing. Well... except in marketing brochures intended to sell stuff...

UnderTow

I think it all depends. I know for a fact that some do, at least on some occasions use linear phase plugins and are at times forced to use MB compression on a, shall we say,  less than perfect mix . What the ratio of those that do and don't is probably hard to quantify.

Others don't use plugins at all and have a very serious, very particular chain of analog gear that they likely couldn't be separated from and do their work happily or effectively.

I think the best mastering engineers have a very specific set of tools for specific jobs and a more oft-used set of tools for the rest of the time.

And then it gets all gray when you start talking about people doing their own mastering etc.

UnderTow

giankap

amiller


Very helpful info guys.  What do you use, when mastering, to pump up the volume?

Definately L2 or L3 form waves.

L3 is just horrid and tends to destroy mixes. The L2 is OK but has long been surpassed by much better an/or cheaper competitors like Voxengo Elephant 3, iZotope Ozone's limiter, PSP Xenon, FabFilter L-Pro, Sonnox Limiter, etc etc

Or, you could just clip your converters.

UnderTow

Personally I don't like the L2 any more than the L3 and would agree that it has been surpassed in recent years by other products like the ones you've named. But I have never actually owned the L3, so maybe I'd like it less if I did.