When your mixdown is perfect you usually don’t need much processing on the master. However, there are some effects that can help to “glue” all individual tracks together and give you track that final touch. My general recommendation: less is more! If you’re making big changes on your master channel you should probably go back to the mixing stage! This is what the macros from my Ableton mastering rack do: Bass Mono sets a crossover frequency. Everything below will be mono (50 – 200 Hz). Glue decreases the threshold of Ableton’s Glue Compressor (0 – -30 dB). Shine is a high-shelf filter you can use to boost the side signal (0 – 6 dB). Freq controls the high-shelf filter’s frequency (4 – 22 kHz). Clean Up reduces low midrange frequencies (0 – -5dB). Focus adjusts the exact frequency for “Clean Up” (200 – 500 Hz). Gain increases the input gain of Ableton’s limiter (-24 – 24 dB). Release adjusts the release time of Ableton’s Limiter (0.01ms – 3s). I’d highly recommend to pick another limiter like the one from Ozone 9 if you really want to achieve a professional master. However, if you just want to render a quick demo or a rough mix Ableton’s Limiter will probably be good enough.
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When your mixdown is perfect you usually don’t need much processing on the master. However, there are some effects that can help to “glue” all individual tracks together and give you track that final touch. My general recommendation: less is more! If you’re making big changes on your master channel you should probably go back to the mixing stage! This is what the macros from my Ableton mastering rack do: Bass Mono sets a crossover frequency. Everything below will be mono (50 – 200 Hz). Glue decreases the threshold of Ableton’s Glue Compressor (0 – -30 dB). Shine is a high-shelf filter you can use to boost the side signal (0 – 6 dB). Freq controls the high-shelf filter’s frequency (4 – 22 kHz). Clean Up reduces low midrange frequencies (0 – -5dB). Focus adjusts the exact frequency for “Clean Up” (200 – 500 Hz). Gain increases the input gain of Ableton’s limiter (-24 – 24 dB). Release adjusts the release time of Ableton’s Limiter (0.01ms – 3s). I’d highly recommend to pick another limiter like the one from Ozone 9 if you really want to achieve a professional master. However, if you just want to render a quick demo or a rough mix Ableton’s Limiter will probably be good enough.