There are several powerful mastering tools available you can use to finalise your masters, of which we have gathered in this article for you to check out. Below are several top mastering products for 2020 we suggest if you are in the market for some new mastering tools. Check out our reviews, tips and tutorials produced by The Production Expert Team and our industry partners below.
All-in-one Mastering Suites
Applications that combine all the processes necessary for mastering have become very popular over the last decade. Such suites make it possible for users to shape the tone of their material with EQ, glue the dynamics with compression, adjust the stereo image, check against reference tracks, meter and, most importantly, set loudness. The following products are great examples of all-in-one mastering suites. If you are serious about mastering the following should be on your radar:
iZotope has launched Ozone 9, which brings their AI Rebalance tech from RX, New Low End Focus, improved Match EQ and more. In this article, we have all the info on Ozone 9, an exclusive demo video which shows that the new features can do and the first in-depth review. Check it out.
In this free video tutorial, brought to you with the support of Waves, we show around Waves’s new Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain plug-in in a mastering application.
In this free video tutorial, brought to you with the support of Plugin Alliance, Pro Tools Expert team member Julian Rodgers demonstrates how quick the new bx_masterdesk plug-in is and how quick it is to use.
T-Racks 5 is the latest version of IK Multimedia's popular plug-in suite. It features a wealth of great sounding EQs, dynamics and effects. The latest version of T-Racks 5 debuted a new standalone mastering application along with four new modules. We take a look at Master Match, which automatically matches the sound of the songs you are mastering with up to three source tracks used as reference tracks, it's very good.
Meters For Mastering
Without proper metering, your mastering process will be as tricky as trying to hit a moving target in the dark. Meters help us deliver our content to specific loudness targets. If you don’t use meters or indeed use them correctly, you run a risk of your masters sounding too compressed, which can destroy the vibe of your music. Below are several powerful meters you should consider using the next time you master any project:
In this video review Pro Tools Expert team member Dan Cooper takes a look at a very clever metering plug-in called LEVELS by Mastering The Mix.
In this premium video tutorial our resident loudness guru Mike Thornton takes us through how to use the two TC Electronic radar loudness metering plug-ins, the LM2n stereo plug-in and the LM6 multi-channel loudness metering plug-in.
In this free video tutorial, with the support of our friends at Nugen Audio, learn from our own loudness guru Mike Thornton how to use loudness differential monitoring using colour bands in the VisLM loudness meter to keep within loudness targets.
In this free video tutorial, with the support of our friends at Nugen Audio, Production Expert team member Peter Barter demonstrates how to use the MasterCheck Pro plug-in to quickly A/B loudness and dynamics levels between your own tracks and trusted reference sources.
We all know that using reference tracks is a good idea but many of us still don't always do it. New from Plugin Alliance, Metric AB from ADPTR is a comprehensive solution for referencing mixes and masters. Check out our free, extended tutorial.
Compressor Plug-ins Great For Gluing The Sound Of Masters
Compression plays a big part in the job of mastering. Small amounts that rein in the dynamics is often referred to as applying “glue” to the mix. This glue helps to solidify the sound of a track and can provide a pleasant vibe, adding interest while working at gently keeping rogue peaks in check. There are many great compressor plug-ins on the market today you can use for mastering, below are a select few we love and suggest you try for yourself.
In this video review Pro Tools Expert team member Dan Cooper takes a look a the FabFilter Pro-C 2 compressor plug-in
In this video review Dan takes a look at the new Drawmer S73 Intelligent Mastering Processor plug-in by Softube.
Hear how it performs on a small selection of tracks and to find out why Dan has awarded it with a Pro Tools Expert Editors Choice Award.
In this free video Barry Grint shares a refreshingly frank discussion of mastering, what it is and what it can and can’t achieve. Interviewed by film composer Guy Mitchelmore this discussion of what’s actually important in mastering has genuine perspective.
If you are one of those people who thinks that modern mastering has been plagued by a push to make the loudest tracks, then this article puts your arguments into context. It’s surprising how wrong our assumptions can be.
POWAIR from SoundRadix is a very cool plug-in. However being a SoundRadix plug-in it does things differently. Because of this it can be confusing. If you are yet to try POWAIR and are wondering what the fuss is about watch the new introduction video from SoundRadix with Dan Worrall.
H-Comp combines modelled transformers, tubes, and transistors, together with the power and precision that only a plug-in can provide. H-Comp is a compressor with spades of attitude and grit. It can be used as subtly or aggressively as you want. The release sync mode and punch dial make H-Comp unique providing a vast pallet of dynamic styles that are effortless to set.
The word “glue” is used so much when talking about this design and while I like this compressor, I do wonder whether describing it as “magic” might be raising expectations a little too much? What is all the fuss about and will people be more concerned about the correct spelling of buss/bus than the compressor itself...?
Tone Shaping EQ Plug-ins Great For Mastering
What would mastering be like without an EQ? Your masters would sound almost identical to the mix without at least some small degree of tone-shaping. Often mastering engineers use EQ to help one track sound closer in tone, style and presentation to other tracks in a playlist. Other engineers like using EQ to add sheen or weight to mixes that sound thin or gutless. Whatever your reasons for using EQ in a mastering application, we can all agree that without EQ mastering would be a pointless exercise. Below are several EQ suggestions we love using when we master our material.
Although most DAWs have their own way of bypassing chains of audio plugins for decision-making, none do what is really needed for meaningful choices: loudness and delay-compensated monitoring. We check out one tool that can do it all…
Successful masters come from successful mixes. Here we talk about some of the artistic considerations as well as the more practical things to have in order before that hard-won mix goes to Mastering.
In this free video Barry Grint shares a refreshingly frank discussion of mastering, what it is and what it can and can’t achieve. Interviewed by film composer Guy Mitchelmore this discussion of what’s actually important in mastering has genuine perspective.
If you are one of those people who thinks that modern mastering has been plagued by a push to make the loudest tracks, then this article puts your arguments into context. It’s surprising how wrong our assumptions can be.
In this four part free video tutorial series we show you a selection of plug-ins that you can use to quickly sweeten the sound of your sub mixes and masters. Sweetening is often the spit and polish many of us reach for in a mix when the finish line is in sight. Check out these tutorials to discover four plug-ins that you can use to get your mixes sounding even better very quickly.
In this free video tutorial Dan Cooper shows you a mastering EQ plug-in he’s really enthusiastic about. It’s utterly transparent and always manages to add that sheen to music through its simple to set EQ controls and the resulting masters don’t sound overly harsh or overdone.
In this exclusive first look video we show you a selection of new features in FabFilter Pro-Q 3 including dynamic EQ, brick wall filter slopes, per band m/s, invert gain, tilt slope, Q-gain interaction and the new analyzer which displays the full EQ spectrum from other Pro-Q 3 instances in your sessions.
Some EQ designs are better regarded in some applications over others because of the way they feel in use and this is, at least in part due to the Q/gain dependency of the equaliser's design.In this free video tutorial, Pro Tools Expert team member Julian Rodgers investigates the differences between the four EQ types available in the native version of the Sonnox Oxford EQ.
Dynamics Plug-ins That Make Your Mixes Sound Louder
There are times when a Mix just needs a little help to sound louder than it already does away from the pressures of meeting strict delivery loudness specs such as when clients or collaborators simply need a quick delivery of a rough mix for pitching to potential publishers. The following three plug-ins are great at making a mix sound much louder and dense with ease:
In this exclusive Production Expert Video Review we take a look at Zynaptiq's new mixing and mastering processing plug-in INTENSITY and decide if it's any good.
With ever greater engineer awareness around the virtues of keeping things quieter, many could be forgiven for thinking that the race to the top is no longer a problem. Here, UK mastering engineer, and founder of Production Advice, Ian Shepherd, highlights why the industry might not quite be out of the red just yet.
Successful masters come from successful mixes. Here we talk about some of the artistic considerations as well as the more practical things to have in order before that hard-won mix goes to Mastering.
As a bit of fun on the team we’ve challenged one another to this; you get to keep all the plugins supplied with you DAW but then you only get to keep one more plugin. Julian Rodgers makes his choice.
In this free tutorial, brought to you with the support of Waves, you will learn how to use Waves Infected Mushroom Pusher to shape the tone and attitude of a mix at the mastering stage.
Multiband Processing With A Twist
Multiband compression is also a popular mastering tool. It is an advanced type of compressor which splits the frequency spectrum into several independent bands with adjustable crossovers for setting a band's range and width. Each band typically has dedicated compression settings for threshold, ratio and time constants. You can have more control over your dynamics using multiband processes, meaning you can dial in an aggressive amount of compression on the low end of a master while gently processing the airy top end.
Check our article below which suggests several powerful multiband compressors and a number of plug-ins that provide very different styles of processing designed around the concept of splitting up bands that you may also find useful in mastering:
When we say multiband, most of us think of compression but there are other uses splitting the frequency spectrum and processing the parts separately can be put to. We investigate.
Outboard Processors For True Analog Mastering Vibe
Studio outboard gear is often a key component in getting masters to sound and feel purposeful. Below are two examples of great-sounding EQ outboard units that you can use to add interest and colour to mixes quickly.
In this video we get up close and personal with an outboard EQ that Dan feels has no equal. It represents exceptional value for money, sounds beautiful on just about anything you throw through it and can be tested in your studio with no commitment to buy. For £1,500 this could very well be Dan’s outboard EQ bargain of the century. Do you agree?
I was very excited to find out about the new SSL Stereo Analogue Colour processor, The Fusion and I was even more excited when the good people at SSL called me to say they were sending me one. In this article we are going to show you what the Fusion can do enabling you to see the unit, find out more about it and then hear it in the best way possible.
Limiters Great For Mastering
Limiters reduce peaks in audio waveforms preventing them from passing the digital ceiling. The results of limiting reduce the dynamic range of a mix thus increasing perceived loudness but if too much limiting is applied punch and detail can become lost. Below are several examples of limiter plug-ins that work very well in a broad range of mastering applications and genres of music:
The new Softube MM-1 plug-in is based on the Weiss DS1-MK3, a very popular digital dynamics unit that can be found in many mastering studios across the world
The MM-1 plug-in is a "slimmed down" version of the original DS1-MK3 hardware that Softube claims features exactly the same algorithms from within the original hardware.
In this review, Production Expert takes a look at some of the new features and improvements in Pro-L 2. In this video, we test some of the new limited styles, the new 1:1 output feature and more. We use Pro-L 2 to apply limiting to the master track of a song using the new LUFS loudness meters.
Pro Tools Expert team member Peter Barter takes a look at v2 of the Oxford Limiter from Sonnox. After running through the GUI and some of its new features you can also hear some examples of how loud this updated classic and very musical sounding plug-in can take your tracks.
In this video review Pro Tools Expert team member Dan Cooper takes a look at The Wall, a new brick wall limiter plug-in by Boz Digital Labs.
In this video Dan reviews and tests IK Multimedia's new Stealth Limiter from their T Rack CS collection. Hear for yourself how it performs as Dan tests its abilities in increasing the level on 4 different songs.
Mastering Tutorials
Having all the tools at your disposal to master a track is one thing, knowing how and when to use them is something else entirely. Below are several tutorials on mastering produced by The Production Expert Team and our partners that aim to help you understand how to get the most from this vital stage of audio production and to help you feel more confident in your abilities when mastering.
Our friends at iZotope have produced a useful, comprehensive tutorial about how to master for streaming platforms. Whether or not you own iZotope’s mastering plugins such as Ozone, RX and Insight, there’s some great advice to be found here.
No matter what genre you're mixing, you've probably encountered an unruly low end that can mess up the whole mix. In this free video tutorial, Geoff Manchester walks you through some techniques to help you manage low end in a mix.
Paul Drew shows how to get a polished mix in Studio One using Presonus Plugins and effects.
In the first video in our Mastering In Studio One series, session guitar player and producer Paul Drew of Studio One Expert shows how to get a polished mix in Studio One using Slate FGX.
Dan Cooper is a London based Multi-Instrumentalist, Arranger, Music Producer and Mixer who is also a graduate from The BRIT School Of Performing Arts. He has worked with countless musicians and songwriters across London and Kent from his studio at the end of his garden.