How to Master in Logic Pro X.Dithering mastering logic pro x free

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Analyzer section in MultiMeter is a real time frequency analyzer, which shows you changes in frequency as they happen. There is no set goal for what this should look like across a mix; think about the different frequency settings on your car radio, iPod or in Spotify.

For example in our mix, Hz is coming through really strong. We might use an EQ to cut a little in this area. Loudness is a contentious topic in mastering, as it has been the subject of abuse for many years now.

Remember how the human ear identifies louder sounds as subjectively better? Well, mastering engineers or more accurately the record labels that hired them learned how to use this to their advantage by using a limiter to make finished tracks louder and louder.

This resulted in something called the Loudness War, which ended up sacrificing the beauty in music and its dynamic range in favour of overly compressed or squashed tracks that appeared louder. Loudness is still an issue in contemporary music, though it has been stamped down by new limitations enforced by streaming and broadcast companies. All the way, seeking to retain the nuance and dynamic range that makes music music. Tricky, huh?

We are going to do some more comparison to our reference tracks here; load the MultiMeter onto the Stereo Output, and listen to the loudest section of your reference tracks one by one.

Note down the value it will change over time so find an average value or note down a range e. Do this for all 3 reference tracks and compare the values, this will give you an indication as to how much squash or compression is acceptable for the genre you are working in, and what the loudness level of your master should look like.

For example, heavy rock tracks will typically feature a lot more compression and therefore be a lot louder , than say, a 20 minute free form jazz odyssey,. Phase shift is a natural by-product of EQ and is something you can get away with on individual tracks, but it can cause problems for the master. Not only does the Linear EQ look great in black, it has a higher resolution than the standard EQ, giving you the ability to make finer adjustments — important in mastering.

You should use the Linear EQ to make small adjustments based on your notes, but try not to boost or cut any more than 3dB. If you need to make more severe adjustments, you should consider going back to the mix. This is especially the case when the frequency you want to tame is quite dynamic. Only 75 emoji are allowed. Display as a link instead. Clear editor. Upload or insert images from URL. By mq93 , 11 hours ago in Logic Pro.

By joshj , 1 hour ago in Logic Pro. By Ananna , 2 hours ago in Logic Pro. Click here! Dithering Options. Share More sharing options Followers 1. Reply to this topic Start new topic. Recommended Posts. Gorwel Posted November 4, Posted November 4, I can see that this has been discussed on other threads but still a bit confused. Logic Pro X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options AFAIK there’s no interface with bit converters.

Or maybe there is already for a lot of money. Dithering in Logic is mainly when you go down to 16 bit. Yep, that’s right about the convertors! Thanks for reminding me. I don’t have anything in the red. I’m working at a reference of dB. You should pick something in the same style and genre as your music and, above all, that you like the sound of. This step is important and professional sound engineers do it all the time.

You can also take a moment to compare your reference with your own track, using tools such as the Multimeter to see how it performs on the technical side and to analyze the frequencies of each of the files. Once you have your track loaded up in Logic Pro, it is time to think about using a compressor to further control your dynamics and glue everything together. The Vintage VCA is an emulation of the famous Solid State Logic compressor present in the SSL Series channel strip, and it is famous for its ability to glue everything together and give your music extra analog mojo.

The standard Platinum Digital is an all-around workhorse, but if you feel like your track is sounding too digital or harsh , it may benefit from the subtle coloration of the Vintage VCA. The Threshold will define when your compressor will start working.

For example: at dB, it will only be engaged when your audio is above that level. Now it is time to set the Attack and the Release. For mastering purposes, try keeping the Attack anywhere from 30ms to ms depending on your song. Shorter settings will smack the transients harder but longer ones may give your mix a little extra impact.

The Release setting is gonna determine how early or late the compressor will stop working. Start with a setting of ms to ms and work your way up.

A great tip is to pay attention to kick and the snare when setting the release since they are the instruments that will impact the transients the most. It is worth noting that the most important thing when setting your master compressor is using your ears.

Here is a video from In The Mix to help you hear the subtle nuances of compression , both in mixing and mastering:. You can also use the Multipressor for even more control over your sound. The plugin allows you to use different settings of compression for different frequencies. The plugin is very simple to use. It is divided into four sections and you can tune the frequency using the main upper panel. Below that, you will see the same controls that you would find in a standard compressor.

Just as with the compressor, you should use the equalizer very subtly when mastering. The Channel EQ is parametric and more surgical. It will give you more control over your frequencies. This is where we work to minimise that variable.

Earlier, I shared this article on how to set up your monitoring level. Now that you are close to the goal, any issues with regard to dynamics and EQ will start to make themselves apparent. Now you can work your way back into the chain, tackling these specific issues.

Use the tools at your disposal to solve the problems. If there are no problems, have the courage to believe that and move onto the final step. This is where you actually create the master files. Simply use the Bounce command in Logic Pro X and select the appropriate formats for where you want to submit your music.

Tip: Dither your master. Any dither is better than truncation distortion! Unlock a bundle of free resources to help you create and release your music. Music Production. Many get lost though. Perhaps you can relate!

 
 

Dithering mastering logic pro x free.

 

We are going to do some more comparison to our reference tracks here; load the MultiMeter onto the Stereo Output, and listen to the loudest section of your reference tracks one by one. Note down the value it will change over time so find an average value or note down a range e. Do this for all 3 reference tracks and compare the values, this will give you an indication as to how much squash or compression is acceptable for the genre you are working in, and what the loudness level of your master should look like.

For example, heavy rock tracks will typically feature a lot more compression and therefore be a lot louder , than say, a 20 minute free form jazz odyssey,. Phase shift is a natural by-product of EQ and is something you can get away with on individual tracks, but it can cause problems for the master. Not only does the Linear EQ look great in black, it has a higher resolution than the standard EQ, giving you the ability to make finer adjustments — important in mastering.

You should use the Linear EQ to make small adjustments based on your notes, but try not to boost or cut any more than 3dB. If you need to make more severe adjustments, you should consider going back to the mix. This is especially the case when the frequency you want to tame is quite dynamic.

For example, certain notes on a bass guitar might create unwanted boosts in the low end, but only when that note is played. If you are finding the mix has too much dynamic range, that is, certain sections are much louder or softer than others, you may wish to apply a little compression to the track.

Of course, let your ears be the judge here, but these are some pretty universal guidelines for using compression in mastering. Applying compression to the mix can help tighten up the dynamics of your track, allowing you to employ more limiting to bring up the loudness in your mix. Multi band compressors are exactly what they sound like, compressors that operate in several bands, split across the frequency spectrum. Whilst traditional compressors apply compressors across the entire frequency range, multi band compressors allow you to isolate particular areas of the range that are particularly dynamic.

For example, you might have an overly dynamic mid-range, where guitars, vocals, and keys are all fighting for the same space, and as they come together, they make the mid-range honky, nasal, and fatiguing.

The Multipressor has 4 bands, which you can tweak as desired by dragging the lines that designate the band boundaries.

This is because we have an overly dynamic low end, where certain bass notes, when combined with the kick drum, are pushing through louder than others. As with a regular compressor, you have access to controls such as ratio, threshold, attack and release, to fine-tune the compression to your needs.

You also have the ability to solo or bypass a band, so you can hear it in isolation and listen to the applied compression. Then master the wav mix in a brand new session another day with fresh ears. Give your brain time to forget about it for a bit! Just make sure there is an appropriate amount of dynamics in the music.

Calibrate Your Mastering Level This bit is huge. Gain Stage Your Reference Track s Now that you have set up your monitoring level , you may also choose to use a reference track in the mastering session.

There is only one tip you need to know about using reference tracks… Turn them down or up to your mastering level! That way, there is no loudness bias between your master and the reference track. Set The Ceiling As you probably know, a limiter is very much a usual suspect in your mastering chain.

Find Loudness This where we start to work backwards, at least as far as the order of plugins in your chain is concerned. Problem Solving Now that you are close to the goal, any issues with regard to dynamics and EQ will start to make themselves apparent. Happy mastering! Unlock Your Sound Ltd uses cookies to improve the experience and the content of this website. Functional cookies Functional cookies Always active The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.

The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user. I wouldn’t get too caught up in technicalities as the slightest issues in mixing WAY outweighs any differences in dithering options. Chances are you may have plugins in that mix that aren’t running at full quality that could be causing greater differences to the ultimate quality of the mix you send, so when looking at such fine margins your time is better spent elsewhere on more significant elements IMO.

So, with that in mind, It’s just too much of a rabbits hole to fall down for it to make any worthwhile time investment in. And you’d have to have a super perfect mix or hitting wide dynamics for it to have a real world effect. By the time it goes through mastering and compressed on to the final media, really, it’s just trivial. So my advice – just send what they request. In terms of outboard, i would also prefer to bounce them into stems before exporting also. Gives you more control on the final mix and ability to recall without setting the hardware up again.

If a mastering engineer doesn’t know how to deal with a 32bit FP file, well than that will be your problem right there. If he’s a decent mastering engineer it won’t be an issue and he will probably even prefer it. If you do come to dithering yourself, take a bit of time to audition Logic’s several options to find what you think might be the best.

Try jacking up the volume playing some of the ultra quiet areas, like the reverb tail at the end of a song and see if you can tell the difference. I think that’s where it would be most noticeable. It might be hard to tell a difference though. You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Paste as plain text instead. Only 75 emoji are allowed. Display as a link instead. Clear editor. Upload or insert images from URL. By mq93 , 11 hours ago in Logic Pro. By joshj , 1 hour ago in Logic Pro. By Ananna , 2 hours ago in Logic Pro. Click here! There are tons of great videos and tutorials on the internet, as well as courses, but it may be difficult to know where to start. Here are a few important points to learn about to help you master the subject:. We strongly recommend that you take a look at our Basic Mixing Techniques video as well.

Tip: For tips on how to improve your workflow and get results faster, consider checking our Logic Pro X Shortcuts guide. There are a few things you should note when you bounce your mixdown for the mastering process. The first is the amount of headroom that is present in your mix, that is, at what level it is peaking.

You can easily notice this by looking at your master channel dB meter. We advise you to have your track peaking at about dB to -8dB. If your mix is too above or below that range, you can simply insert the gain plugin on your master channel and trim it. The next step is choosing the right audio format. Now that you have your file bounced and ready , take a minute to search for one or two reference songs. You should pick something in the same style and genre as your music and, above all, that you like the sound of.

This step is important and professional sound engineers do it all the time. You can also take a moment to compare your reference with your own track, using tools such as the Multimeter to see how it performs on the technical side and to analyze the frequencies of each of the files.

Once you have your track loaded up in Logic Pro, it is time to think about using a compressor to further control your dynamics and glue everything together. The Vintage VCA is an emulation of the famous Solid State Logic compressor present in the SSL Series channel strip, and it is famous for its ability to glue everything together and give your music extra analog mojo. The standard Platinum Digital is an all-around workhorse, but if you feel like your track is sounding too digital or harsh , it may benefit from the subtle coloration of the Vintage VCA.

The Threshold will define when your compressor will start working. For example: at dB, it will only be engaged when your audio is above that level. Now it is time to set the Attack and the Release. For mastering purposes, try keeping the Attack anywhere from 30ms to ms depending on your song. Shorter settings will smack the transients harder but longer ones may give your mix a little extra impact. The Release setting is gonna determine how early or late the compressor will stop working.

Start with a setting of ms to ms and work your way up.

 

.Dithering mastering logic pro x free

 

Here are a few important points to learn about to help you master the subject:. We strongly recommend that you take a look at our Basic Mixing Techniques video as well. Tip: For tips on how to improve your workflow and get results faster, consider checking our Logic Pro X Shortcuts guide. There are a few things you should note when you bounce your mixdown for the mastering process.

The first is the amount of headroom that is present in your mix, that is, at what level it is peaking. You can easily notice this by looking at your master channel dB meter. We advise you to have your track peaking at about dB to -8dB. If your mix is too above or below that range, you can simply insert the gain plugin on your master channel and trim it.

The next step is choosing the right audio format. Now that you have your file bounced and ready , take a minute to search for one or two reference songs. You should pick something in the same style and genre as your music and, above all, that you like the sound of. This step is important and professional sound engineers do it all the time. You can also take a moment to compare your reference with your own track, using tools such as the Multimeter to see how it performs on the technical side and to analyze the frequencies of each of the files.

Once you have your track loaded up in Logic Pro, it is time to think about using a compressor to further control your dynamics and glue everything together. The Vintage VCA is an emulation of the famous Solid State Logic compressor present in the SSL Series channel strip, and it is famous for its ability to glue everything together and give your music extra analog mojo.

The standard Platinum Digital is an all-around workhorse, but if you feel like your track is sounding too digital or harsh , it may benefit from the subtle coloration of the Vintage VCA. The Threshold will define when your compressor will start working. For example: at dB, it will only be engaged when your audio is above that level.

Now it is time to set the Attack and the Release. For mastering purposes, try keeping the Attack anywhere from 30ms to ms depending on your song.

Shorter settings will smack the transients harder but longer ones may give your mix a little extra impact. The Release setting is gonna determine how early or late the compressor will stop working.

Start with a setting of ms to ms and work your way up. A great tip is to pay attention to kick and the snare when setting the release since they are the instruments that will impact the transients the most. It is worth noting that the most important thing when setting your master compressor is using your ears.

Here is a video from In The Mix to help you hear the subtle nuances of compression , both in mixing and mastering:. You can also use the Multipressor for even more control over your sound. The plugin allows you to use different settings of compression for different frequencies. The plugin is very simple to use. It is divided into four sections and you can tune the frequency using the main upper panel.

Below that, you will see the same controls that you would find in a standard compressor. Just as with the compressor, you should use the equalizer very subtly when mastering.

Does you final mix have anywhere near that kind of dynamic range? Most likely not. I wouldn’t get too caught up in technicalities as the slightest issues in mixing WAY outweighs any differences in dithering options. Chances are you may have plugins in that mix that aren’t running at full quality that could be causing greater differences to the ultimate quality of the mix you send, so when looking at such fine margins your time is better spent elsewhere on more significant elements IMO.

So, with that in mind, It’s just too much of a rabbits hole to fall down for it to make any worthwhile time investment in. And you’d have to have a super perfect mix or hitting wide dynamics for it to have a real world effect. By the time it goes through mastering and compressed on to the final media, really, it’s just trivial.

So my advice – just send what they request. In terms of outboard, i would also prefer to bounce them into stems before exporting also. Gives you more control on the final mix and ability to recall without setting the hardware up again. If a mastering engineer doesn’t know how to deal with a 32bit FP file, well than that will be your problem right there. If he’s a decent mastering engineer it won’t be an issue and he will probably even prefer it.

If you do come to dithering yourself, take a bit of time to audition Logic’s several options to find what you think might be the best. Try jacking up the volume playing some of the ultra quiet areas, like the reverb tail at the end of a song and see if you can tell the difference. I think that’s where it would be most noticeable. It might be hard to tell a difference though. You can post now and register later.

If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Paste as plain text instead. Only 75 emoji are allowed. Display as a link instead. Clear editor. Upload or insert images from URL. By mq93 , 11 hours ago in Logic Pro. By joshj , 1 hour ago in Logic Pro. By Ananna , 2 hours ago in Logic Pro. Click here!

Dithering Options. Share More sharing options Followers 1. Reply to this topic Start new topic. Recommended Posts. Gorwel Posted November 4, This article should help you get going, so you can confidently make great sounding masters for your music. There are many articles and cheat sheets out there that tell you things in absolutes like needing 6 dB of headroom and such. You might even to choose to take up to a week between mixing and mastering the same song, without once listening to the mix in between.

Your call. With regard to peak headroom, here is an article I wrote about it. If you would like a general guideline, around 14 dB of difference between peak and RMS in the loudest moments in the mix is a good place to start.

Measuring EQ, dynamics, and loudness are not things you can rely solely on meters for. However, they can and will work as a supplement to your hearing, but nothing more than that. Now that you have set up your monitoring level , you may also choose to use a reference track in the mastering session.

Do this by ear and make adjustments along the way so that comparisons are always fair. Remember, a slight difference in loudness also equates to a difference in how we perceive dynamics and frequency balance EQ.

This means that if necessary, we can make it louder without clipping. This is the true purpose of a peak limiter. Load it as the final plugin in your chain and set the ceiling to This where we start to work backwards, at least as far as the order of plugins in your chain is concerned.

Before, I mentioned how playback volume has a huge bearing on how we perceive frequency balance and dynamics. This is where we work to minimise that variable. Earlier, I shared this article on how to set up your monitoring level. Now that you are close to the goal, any issues with regard to dynamics and EQ will start to make themselves apparent.

 
 

Post navigation.Dithering mastering logic pro x free

 
 

By Gorwel , November 4, in Logic Pro. I’m just starting to mix ‘in the box’ although I’m bouncing in real time as I have outboard inserted on some tracks. Not sure if this has different implications for dithering than online bouncing as, obviously, the outboard will be generating its own noise.

I assume that, for mastering, bouncing to bit is best? Is that right? If so, no need to worry about dithering I guess. If the mastering person can’t accept bit files, is it good practice to dither down to 24? I read on one post that the algorithms in Logic were really for bit dithering. Remember that your interface is using bit fixed on the output and input converter. So when you use outboard gear, that’s what you get. Still seems to make sense to retain bit if possible? The Logic mixer is bit float.

People like that because you can have things in the red in the mixer and not distort. But I don’t know about certain 3rd party plugins like Waves who mimic the hardware versions if the input of the plugin is suitable for slamming it with loudness. I’m really just asking about retaining maximum resolution in the bounced file and, particularly, whether it’s considered good practice to dither down to 24 bit.

My new Logic Pro Book is out! You’d be wasting 1. Even 24 bits is more than what you need to keep a full resolution audio file. Short of giving you a whole course on digital audio, the best example I can give you is:. Not sure that analogy works because bit processing allows for greater precision?

It’s clearly rounded to get to Whether or not rounding errors are relevant is what’s contentious? No analogy is perfect, but the idea here is that while the bit processing is useful for processing mathematical calculations , it’s not useful for digital audio file delivery. Remember that 24 bits yields dB of dynamic range.

Does you final mix have anywhere near that kind of dynamic range? Most likely not. I wouldn’t get too caught up in technicalities as the slightest issues in mixing WAY outweighs any differences in dithering options. Chances are you may have plugins in that mix that aren’t running at full quality that could be causing greater differences to the ultimate quality of the mix you send, so when looking at such fine margins your time is better spent elsewhere on more significant elements IMO.

So, with that in mind, It’s just too much of a rabbits hole to fall down for it to make any worthwhile time investment in. And you’d have to have a super perfect mix or hitting wide dynamics for it to have a real world effect. By the time it goes through mastering and compressed on to the final media, really, it’s just trivial. So my advice – just send what they request. In terms of outboard, i would also prefer to bounce them into stems before exporting also.

Gives you more control on the final mix and ability to recall without setting the hardware up again. If a mastering engineer doesn’t know how to deal with a 32bit FP file, well than that will be your problem right there. If he’s a decent mastering engineer it won’t be an issue and he will probably even prefer it. If you do come to dithering yourself, take a bit of time to audition Logic’s several options to find what you think might be the best. Try jacking up the volume playing some of the ultra quiet areas, like the reverb tail at the end of a song and see if you can tell the difference.

I think that’s where it would be most noticeable. It might be hard to tell a difference though. You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Paste as plain text instead. Only 75 emoji are allowed. Display as a link instead.

Clear editor. Upload or insert images from URL. By mq93 , 11 hours ago in Logic Pro. By joshj , 1 hour ago in Logic Pro.

By Ananna , 2 hours ago in Logic Pro. Click here! Dithering Options. Share More sharing options Followers 1. Reply to this topic Start new topic. Recommended Posts. Gorwel Posted November 4, Posted November 4, I can see that this has been discussed on other threads but still a bit confused. Logic Pro X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options AFAIK there’s no interface with bit converters.

Or maybe there is already for a lot of money. Dithering in Logic is mainly when you go down to 16 bit. Yep, that’s right about the convertors! Thanks for reminding me. I don’t have anything in the red. I’m working at a reference of dB. Gorwel Posted November 5, Posted November 5, Hopefully, the mastering will be OK with David Nahmani Posted November 6, Posted November 6, Don’t dither if you’re going to send your file for mastering. Sending an undithered 24 bit file is perfectly acceptable, a 32 bit floating point file is most likely overkill.

Gorwel Posted November 6, You’re welcome. And BTW these are all questions you should ask your mastering engineer directly as well to hear his opinion.

I’ve just done that too. Also, I’ve just realised that Logic allows adding dither whilst copying files. So, it’s no great job to bounce at 32 and then make copies at 24? I need to type more clearly! What I meant was: 1. Make a bit copy of the resulting file with or without dither offline. Does that make sense? Why the 2 step process? Bounce to 24 bit in real time and skip the bouncing to 32 bit floating point.

To retain the 32? Though I can see that you think that this is ‘overkill’. It seems odd to reduce resolution unnecessarily if processing is happening at 32?

I’m essentially picking up on the useful discussion here, wondering if anyone had further thoughts a few months later. As David stated previously, key is what your mastering engineer wants.

Posted November 10, Join the conversation You can post now and register later. Reply to this topic Insert image from URL. Go to topic listing. Recent Topics Third party software to create Logic Sampler programs? Input latency By joshj , 1 hour ago in Logic Pro.