Threshold, ratio, attack, release and makeup gain — what each control does to the sound, a method that works from the gain-reduction meter, and starting points for vocals, drums, bass and guitar.
Mastering is the last stage before release — the pass that makes a track hold up on phone speakers and festival systems alike, and sit consistently beside the other songs on a record. Here is what it changes and what it can’t.
Master your own track at home — how much headroom to leave, the gain, EQ, compression, limiting and metering chain in order, how to use reference tracks properly, and the mix problems you should send back rather than master around.
How a frustration with mastering became LANDR, the Montreal company whose motto is ‘We work for musicians’ — and why its FX Suite plugins have three knobs each. With Daniel Rowland and Anthony Albanese.