mastering

What type of audio formats are supported by Soundcloud music streaming service?

What's the underlying reason music sounds different when uploaded to Soundcloud online music streaming platform?

The technique of mixing kick and bass is often a common struggle that beginners are prone to deal with on a constant basis. This is mainly because noobs fail to understand that for particular genres of music the listener is not used to hearing so much bass in the song. Instead, they do the...

In music production software, dBFS (i.e., decibels relative to full scale or full code) and dBTP (i.e., decibels relative to true peak) are both units of audio measurements used in the digital domain but the two aren't quite interchangeable. dBTP is essentially a way to gauge extra volume above...

To understand what is meant by the terms 2-pole filter and 4-pole filter, you first need to know that the word "pole" in the context of filters refers to a 6 dB per octave roll-off. Well, a 2-pole filter = 12 dB/octave slope, and that's because 6 dB x 2 = 12 dB. Furthermore, a 4-pole filter =...

For the most part, there's no difference between audio software plug-ins referred to as maximizers and those marketed as brickwall mastering plug-ins. The contrast is that some developers simply decide to name their digital audio processors as maximizers whilst some may settle for the term...

Digital audio software linear-phase equalizers do not alter the phase of the input signal. And in contrast to linear-phase equalizers you've minimum-phase parametric EQs that act by introducing phase shift whilst processing. What's important to remember here is that if you need an ultra-clean...

In audio mastering, brickwall limiting is the final signal processing before releasing a song. Every brickwall limiter or maximizer will in most cases basic controls such as threshold, ceiling, and release time. It's not uncommon for some brickwall limiters to have extra controls such as attack...

Yes, you can use both Image-Line Maximus and Fruity Limiter software audio plug-in at the same time for your audio mastering needs. This is what you would refer to as your mastering chain where the signal goes from IL Fruity Limiter to Maximus or vice-versa. If you like to keep things simple...

The simplest way to fade out your beat (an instrumental) or a song in Image-Line's FL Studio DAW is to automate the master fader's volume level. However, for the most part, it's not a good idea to create automation clips using the master channel's slider knob because this can result in hard...

The term "lookahead" in the context of dynamic signal processor effects refers to how an audio software plugin will delay the signal e.g., 0.1 to 1 ms or more, for the sake of implementing the process of analyzing the incoming audio material. And once a brickwall limiter analyzes the input...

Audio aliasing is a digital signal processing term that refers to how high frequencies (or harmonics) above the Nyquist limit are thrown back into your human hearing audible range (i.e., 20 to 20 kilohertz), particularly when using some of your favorite non-linear audio software plugins such as...

Oversampling is a technique of digital signal processing that helps audio software plug-ins to minimize the level of artifacts often caused by aliasing distortion. The process of oversampling is done through means of sampling audio material greater than its Nyquist rate. For example, if you...

The process of normalizing audio isn't the same as using a brickwall limiter on the master bus. In fact, when you normalize audio this will make the loudest part of the audio material as loud as it can be without going over 0 dBFS. And as for the quieter parts of the same audio file, they will...

The simple answer is no. This is because one of the rules of thumb in audio mastering is you should do no harm since reverberation has an overwhelming potential to make your music muddy and ruin a sound engineer's mix. Best believe they won't ever work with you again. Experimenting with reverb...

The Fairchild 670 compressor is a well-known vintage stereo limiter that was released way back in the 1950s by Fairchild Recording Equipment Corporation. This audio compressor's attack and release times are controlled by the switch labeled "time-constant" and the settings are as follows...

The average RMS level for mastered commercial Hip Hop/Rap songs varies around the range of -7 dB and -9 dB RMS. However, it may be much better to reference loudness using LUFS instead of RMS. Either way, it's not uncommon for some tracks to have an average RMS reading of -6 dB RMS or sometimes...

Image-Line's FL Studio (digital audio workstation) has this feature called smart disable for all plug-ins, which without a doubt is preddy much useful. What it does is reduce CPU overload in FL Studio by turning off idle VST instrument or sound effect plug-ins after 4 seconds of inactivity...

The purpose of creating a buss or a group channel is to make use of a single fader channel that has other multiple mixer tracks routed to it. And in this FL Studio tutorial, I will show you how you can get around this music production technique. Step 1: let's rename and color code FL Studio's...

The amount of RAM ("random-access memory") you need for your machine depends on what type of record producer you are. If you mostly make music using virtual synthesizers then you don't necessarily need to spend your budget on more primary memory without primarily addressing the need for speed...