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Conor Dalton’s (Glowcast) guide to mastering: Parallel Compression

Conor Dalton’s (Glowcast) guide to mastering: Understanding dynamic range and compression

Conor Dalton (Glowcast) published in Future Music Magazine

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Conor Dalton

conordalton_mastering

Mastering and mixing music
+ Teaching workshops (Berklee/Abbey Road Inst)
Email: conor@glowcast.co.uk
Art: @conordalton_art
This was one most important lessons I ever learned This was one most important lessons I ever learned as a mastering engineer I’ve told this story many times and even now many years later it can often make me emotional when I think about it. Music has value Creative art has value If you don’t connect with a song, that’s fine. But that doesn’t mean that the song doesn’t have any value to someone else. There is no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ music. There is just personal preference: music you connect with and music that you don’t. If you are someone who tries to put other people down for their musical taste, or tries to declare some music to be “bad”, be careful, all you are doing is declaring to the world that you have no empathy for someone else’s passions and that you are ignorant to the value that someone else creates for their audience. The world needs more music, more art, more expression, more connection, more creativity, more ideas, The world has enough destruction, and anyone who creates something is making the world a better place, whether you connect with it or not is irrelevant: maybe you just weren’t the intended audience (and that’s fine, for someone else that might be the best song in the world). Music is time decorated with human soul. Music is a protest against death. Music is invisible magic. Working in music is a privilege, and as a mastering engineer you have to step lightly when you are working with people’s dreams especially because if you don’t remind yourself of this often then you can easily forget just how much impact a single song can have on the audience, whether that’s one person or one million people: it doesn’t matter. It has value. ——————————- I made a free document with 7000 words of advice for sound engineers, type MIX in the comments and I will dm it to you #mastering #masteringengineer #mixing #mixingengineer #soundengineer #audio #music #philosophy #art
Side chain sometimes really saves the day If you Side chain sometimes really saves the day If you need to make sure the kick dominates each time it strikes, then side chain can help, but make sure to use it sensibly with these three tips Otherwise it’s possible that you end up with a weak and frustrated low end of the bassline is constantly trying to avoid the kick You don’t want the bassline to suffer, so reduce the suffering by only cutting certain frequencies that the kick contains, and maybe even focusing it on the subs only, then fast attack and release makes sure the bassline comes back quickly once the kick is finished, and then finally make sure you listen for a noticeable improvement on the sound of the kick as a result of the side chain- if there isn’t a noticeable improvement then you don’t need it at all! I wrote a 7000 word mixing advice document, you can download it for free, the link is in my bio #mastering #mixing #soundengineering #audioengineering #soundengineer #audioengineer #musictips #musicproducer #musician #musicproduction #tips
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 subsineacademy 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Workshops coming up! 27th and 29th September I will be talking about mixing and mastering ideas, techniques and philosophies and showing some examples plus Q+A Ask subsineacademy for details or visit their website for tickets #mastering #audio #mixing #soundengineer #audioengineer #musicschool #musicstudio
Sidechaining the bass is a classic electronic musi Sidechaining the bass is a classic electronic music technique that has been tried and tested over many decades Think about why it’s used: to get the bass out of the way of the kick for a split second so that there is no conflict between kick and bass But think about this: if the kick and bass are in cooperation instead of conflict, then there might not be as much reason to use a side chain at all If the kick and bass are pushing and pulling the speakers forwards and backwards together, in tune, in phase, on time…. That’s power. There would be no need to duck the bass of its contributing to the power of the kick Try those three techniques before reaching for the side chain For more mixing tips, download my free 7000 word mixing guide (link is the top link in my bio) #mixing #mastering #audiotips #productiontips #musictips #mixingtips #mixingengineer #masteringengineer #audioengineer #musicians #music #audio #soundengineer #musicstudio #drums #bass
#Music #Dogs #Nature #Learning #summer #Music #Dogs #Nature #Learning #summer
Minimum phase or linear phase EQ? Neither are bet Minimum phase or linear phase EQ? Neither are better or worse in terms of quality They just have different strengths and weaknesses Usually a combination of both is the solution in mastering Download the free 7000 word audio mixing guide in the top link in my bio #mastering #mixing #audioengineer #mixingengineer #masteringengineer #soundengineer #eq #music #tips Workshop abbeyroadinstitute
Signal flow! - Fix major obvious frequency proble Signal flow! - Fix major obvious frequency problems - Hit the analog gear for overall vibe (optional) - Then enter into the digital domain and tighten everything up I usually load a template of plugins that are suitable for the genre. All of them in bypass with custom settings. I delete the ones I don’t need and work my way through the chain until I have a satisfying sound. This can often involve auditioning different compressors and limiters and picking the combination that works best for the song I always load a template as a starting point and have 100s of starting templates for various genres and sounds. Then I tweak until I get things locked exactly how I want them #mixingengineer #masteringengineer #mixing #mastering #audio #music #audioengineer #soundengineer #musicstudio Download my free 7000 word mixing guide for more tips (link in my bio) Workshop abbeyroadinstitute
Upwards expansion is a great tool to increase dyna Upwards expansion is a great tool to increase dynamic range, but remember: it could be simpler to just undo some of the compression rather than add more processing to undo what was already done A combination of compression and expansion can be useful in certain situations such as using an expander on the high end to add in some explosive click on the transients, while compressing the rest of the song to thicken up the crest factor We have downwards compression (turns down loud events), upwards compression (turns up quiet events), downwards expansion (turns down quiet events such as a de-noiser) and upwards expansion (turns up loud events such as a transient shaper) It is also possible to use upwards expansion after clipping and limiting to add a bit of life back into something that lacks expressiveness due to strong transient control #mixing #mixingengineer #mastering #masteringengineer #audioengineer #soundengineer #music #tips #techniques Workshop abbeyroadinstitute
1) Stabilize the high mid range 2) Emphasize the h 1) Stabilize the high mid range 2) Emphasize the high mid range This is a classic psychoacoustic trick to make your song feel massive, present and exciting If this 1-6k range is where the ear is most sensitive, then getting this range right is the key to a loud and powerful mix, exploiting the natural sensitivity of the ear here You could do this with dynamic eq, multiband, resonance control with eq, maybe a de-esser, and then afterwards using eq to compensate for what you reduced Try it out and see if it works for you If you want more mixing and mastering tips then type MIX in the comments and I will send you my free 7000+ word mixing guide in your dms —————— #mixing #mastering #audioengineer #soundengineer #musicstudio #masteringstudio #tips #audioengineering Recorded at mihollywood
Want more high end? Have you tried resonance contr Want more high end? Have you tried resonance control in the low mid range before you go for a boost of the high frequencies? Sometimes fixing problems leaves space for other areas of the song to shine naturally rather than through enhancing and boosting In this example Im not suggesting that you cut with such extreme settings and keep this processing, but just to audition this to cut highlight the issue, that if the low mid range is out of control then the other frequency ranges suffer, and so fixing issues gently and subtly will help the song “breathe” Balance comes naturally after control or problem areas leaving you with a signal that feels open and spacious and ready for enhancing #masteringengineer #mastering #mixingengineer #soundengineer #audioengineer #musicstudio #music #mixing #tips #eq #fabfilter Recorded at abbeyroadinstitute
Big fan of the TDR plugins over here, they have a Big fan of the TDR plugins over here, they have a bunch of free tools that are world class, and a bunch of affordable tools that are even more specialized Affordable, quality, excellent design and above all: useful A new favourite of mine is the TDR arbiter A smooth and clean problem solver that I often use to control high end sharpness due to its unique feature of adding harmonics into the signal once the “cleanup” has taken place Don’t forget you can find all my favourite plugins in the mixing document that I wrote, the link is in my bio #mastering #mixing #masteringengineer #soundengineer #audioengineer #musicstudio #music #mixing #tips #techniques #abbeyroad Recorded at abbeyroadinstitute London
• kobosil sunrise in the iconic desert 🏜️ m • kobosil sunrise in the iconic desert 🏜️ monegrosfestival This track was mastered by me, always great to see its effect on a large crowd like this! #kobosil #anthem #musicproducer #masteringengineer #audioengineer #soundengineer
This is the order of my processors when I am doing This is the order of my processors when I am doing audio mastering for music This of course can change depending on the needs of the song, the tools can be simple or complex, there can be minimum processing or a lot of processing But the philosophy is usually quite similar: -correct -control -colour Get the frequencies out of the way that are not satisfying Pull the dynamics together in a way that helps the song feel powerful Then add flavour afterwards if needed Then finalize The tools will change, the settings will change, the decision will change based on the needs of the song, but the strategy and overall philosophy will stay quite similar #masteringengineer #mastering #audioengineer #soundengineer #musicproducer #musicproducers #musicmakers #musician #mixingengineer #audiomastering #masteringstudio #musicproductiontips #ableton #cubase #protools #musicmaker
Here are some general ideas about processing vocal Here are some general ideas about processing vocals in a mixdown, Of course this isn’t a strategy that applies to every song, as every vocal will need to be treated uniquely with tools that compliment it specifically, but perhaps it’s a good starting point that you can try some of these ideas and see if they work. We have a relationship with the human voice even while we are still in the womb, this is the ‘instrument’ that we have the most connection to, and so vocal processing requires some sensitivity and careful processing Common problems on the voice are -too large a dynamic range so that shouts can be obnoxious and whispers can be lost in the noise of the song -sibilance -inconsistent levels from section to section -lack of “power” -too boomy -sharp resonances that feel stressful and tiring -dry sound from not having a suitable reverb to put the vocalist in a space #vocals #vocalproduction #singersongwriters #singers #vocalproducer #femalevocals #malevocals #musicproduction #musicproducer #musicproducers #audioengineer #soundengineer #mixing #mixingengineer #mastering #masteringengineer #musician #music
Should you apply Corrective eq before or after sat Should you apply Corrective eq before or after saturation in your mixdown or mastering signal flow order? First you should do the corrective eq to get rid of undesirable frequencies, before you do anything that adds harmonics (such as saturation, tape, colourful processing) This way you are only adding personality and colour to frequencies that you deem “desirable” The best bit? YOU get to choose what you find desirable and undesirable in the sound, it’s up to you. The order of your signal flow is very important #musicproduction #musicproducers #musicproducer #musicproductiontips #tips #techniques #mixing #mixingengineer #musician #audioengineer #soundengineer #masteringengineer #audiomastering #soundengineering #audioengineering
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natemixing Nathaniel W. @natemixing ·
9 Sep

Sometimes, the best thing you can do for your music is to step away.

Fresh ears are different. Pause, refresh, return.

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conordalton_gc conor dalton @conordalton_gc ·
18 Jan 2023

I wrote 7000+ words of audio mixing advice, featuring knowledge from my 15 years as a mastering engineer (Credits: Daft Punk, Jeff Mills)

Available to read for free here (updated: January 2023)

https://glowcast.bit.ai/docs/view/8JCC7m6kqVyYbfgx

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conordalton_gc conor dalton @conordalton_gc ·
28 Jun

Understanding customers intentions in audio mastering

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conordalton_gc conor dalton @conordalton_gc ·
27 Jun

Clippers before limiters

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conordalton_gc conor dalton @conordalton_gc ·
18 Jun

Mastering music, setting intentions @berkleevalencia

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conordalton_gc conor dalton @conordalton_gc ·
9 May

New track from Swoose on Saoirse’s label, credits: mastering

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conordalton_gc conor dalton @conordalton_gc ·
9 May

New from @mkobosil, mastering by me

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songcamp_ Songcamp @songcamp_ ·
8 May

Tomorrow, we're excited to introduce you to 3 new things...

1 → A new song 'Amber / Elouise'
2 → A new Songcamp Alumni collection
3 → A custom mint frontend for music on Zora

We are building a music-first Zora client, and it begins here.

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mrmarstoday mrmarstoday @mrmarstoday ·
8 Apr

new genre amorphous two-pack from me and @willsnotebooks dropped just in time to soundtrack your eclipse...

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conordalton_gc conor dalton @conordalton_gc ·
7 Apr

Back at @berkleevalencia this summer with my annual workshop there, mastering the music of their talented students, always a pleasure to visit!

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