They understand that even a slight change can have a big impact on the resulting audio. Professional mastering engineers rarely cut or boost any frequency area by more than 1.5 dB. If you turn down the lows, it will sound as if you’ve turned up the mids and highs conversely, if you reduce just the highs, the mix can appear to have more low end. In fact, if your goal is to increase one particular frequency area, it can often be more effective to instead cut (attenuate) the frequencies around, under, or above that band. That way, you can hear the results in context.Ī reduction in the energy of a frequency band – that is, subtractive equalization – is generally more pleasing to the ear than a boost. However, because every process interacts with every other one (and because each tends to color the signal somewhat), it’s a good idea to have all the plugins you plan to use inserted and active while tweaking the EQ. ( Limiter plugins like the Waves L2 or 元 are basically employed to add overall loudness and so are almost always at the end of the chain.) While there are no hard and fast rules, if you’re mastering “in the box” (that is, inside your DAW), an EQ plugin generally is used early in the chain, before or after any compressors. Most mastering sessions require the use of not just one, but a chain of plugins (and/or, in some cases, analog signal processors). In addition, most EQ plugins are parametric, meaning that they also provide a width, or “Q” control to narrow or widen the frequency area being affected.Shelving bands will offer a slope control, allowing you to adjust the gradient (gentle or steep) at which the gain rolls off. The highest and lowest bands can also usually be used for shelving that is, they can roll off frequencies above or below, in which case they act as a low-pass or high-pass filter, respectively.Within each band, you can adjust the gain in order to boost or cut the selected frequency area. A number of bands will be provided, each of which can be set to a different frequency.You’ll find pretty much the same controls in every EQ plugin: Always invest in the most sonically neutral speakers you can afford and be sure to install at least some basic acoustic treatments (such as bass traps, diffusors, etc.) in your room. Conversely, if your listening space has prominent room “nodes” (that is, resonant low-end frequencies that often occur in untreated rooms), you will roll off bass to compensate, which will make your master notably thin and lacking in punch. If your speakers are bass-light, you will naturally tend to boost low frequencies, which will make the final product boomy when listening on other systems. Trying to master while listening through inaccurate speakers in a room that is not acoustically treated is like attempting to paint a picture while wearing dark sunglasses covered with grime and smudges. Use an Accurate Monitoring System in an Acoustically Tuned Room Let’s look at top ten tips for applying equalization during mastering:ġ. EQ can also be used to correct problems like overly loud frequencies that pop out and overwhelm the rest of the mix. Equalization is one of the primary weapons in the mastering arsenal, where it is used to add warmth, “air,” and tonal balance. In practice, effective mastering is all about skill, experience, and having the right tools at hand. Mastering is the final stage any piece of music passes through before being released via streaming or physical media – the last chance to add professional polish to a recording and make it appealing to the listening public. In this article, we’ll look at the top ten tips for applying equalization during mastering – the final stage music passes through before being released to the world.
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