Blue - Post 3

FINISH

The track came together really well. Because I wanted to preserve alot of dynamic range, the mastering process was simplified. 

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As with all music I create, I set my true peak ceiling to -1 with the aim of preventing inter-sample peaks distorting the music when/if it's ever subject to data compression. -1 is a guide line we have been taught and is a good rule of thumb to follow. I've read a few articles online about digital-to-analogue-conversion (DAC) and have found the same results. Mastering is still pretty new to me, but all of this information that I'm taught/discovering is helping me build a bigger picture of how to go about being a "Mastering Engineer".

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I reference my music against as many monitors as I can. For "Blue" most of the changes that happen between monitors is in the low end definition. The track heavily relies on the effects the low end has on the emotive values of the music. So, my master channel contained Ozone 7 with a dynamic EQ that I could tinker with as I changed monitors, trying to find a compromise. I feel I found that compromise: It sounds great in the SSL rooms, it sounds great in the TLA room and I can hear everything on my laptop speakers. It works for me. 

The master track also contains a mid-side exciter. I put some high-mid harmonic distortion on the side channels to bring a little sparkle/definition out. The bass sits very comfortably in the middle and I wanted to empathise some of the more delicate parts in the wings. 

My final bounce is a -15LUFS, 24bit/44.1 WAV file