Logic pro x mastering compressor free

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Compression has been an important part of the mastering process since the early lacquer-cutting days. Therefore, to get the best from its parameters, you should use it across the entire track.
 
 

Logic pro x mastering compressor free

 
What plugins do mastering engineers use? Here’s a few: EQ; Compression; Multiband Compression; DeEssers; Reverb; Stereo Wideners; Limiters. This. Once you have your track loaded up in Logic Pro, it is time to think about using a compressor to further control your dynamics and glue.

 

Logic pro x mastering compressor free.10 Best Free Mastering Software & VST Plugins 2022 – Create Professional Sounding Tracks

 

We can see, though, that the DC1A features controls for out, GR, input, output, deep, relaxed, dual mono, and negative. These are the shape shifters that will help you create different compression results. True to form, you can achieve everything from smooth, gentle leveling, to full on crunch, punch, and pump. It includes features like negative over compression, parallel New York style compression, options to compress left and right channels independently dual mono , peak and RMS compression relaxed , and a high pass filter to reduce bass overload deep.

And it just looks nice! The compression works great on guitars, bass, drums, and more. Download: Klanghelm. Anyway, MCompressor features an adjustable compression shape as well as up-sampling options for added clarity.

Controls include input, RMS, output, threshold, attack, ratio, release, sidechain compression, and controls for sidechain compression — high-pass and low-pass. Some producers have MCompressor as their favorite compressor, so that should give you a good sense of how good it is. Download: MeldaProduction. TDR Kotelnikov is a powerhouse wideband dynamics processor.

It can change the dynamic range in a major way without losing the original tone, timbre, and punch of any signal. That makes it great for stereo bus compression, in addition to a host of other applications, including mastering, of course. Its main controls include threshold, peak crest, soft knee, ratio, attack, release peak, release RMS, makeup, dry mix, out gain, Delta, and bypass.

It features a simple interface, mostly centered around the knobs, with a single accent color in this case, blue. Some users call it the most transparent mastering plugin available. Download: Tokyo Dawn Records. TDR Molotok is yet another Tokyo Dawn Records creation, and while it is closer to a transient processor, knowing the quality of products TDR creates, we thought it was worthy of inclusion.

Molotok is perfect for drums, vocals, guitar, bass, and more, whether you want to add some crispness and impact, or enrichment and enhancement to specific tracks. Its interface is a little different from the typical TDR plugins, but still intuitive and simply designed. Most producers seem to love this compressor, and it has a lot of controls that give you access to compression character you might not be able to achieve with other compressors.

That said, dialing in your ideal tone may take some time, so be patient with the process. MJUC jr. A deep, lively soundstage comes alive with the two gain stages and interstage transformer simulation. The three-position timing switch gives you control over the attack and release times, as well as the slew rate of the transformers and other timing settings influencing the generated harmonics or saturation.

Again, we dig the Klanghelm interface. Beautiful, realistic, simple. And it looks like it could be a real piece of hardware gear. Your main controls are compress, time constants fast, slow, auto , and make-up. As you can see, it is a simplistic compressor, but it is powerful. It will add some coloration to your tracks, but in this case, in a good way.

This VST features a classic peach colored interface. It has two sections, including compression with controls for attack, ratio, threshold, and makeup. Then, a master section with bypass, learn, in gain, and out gain. Download: FXpansion. Otherwise, you may never find a use for it. Its interface is basic. Download: XferRecords. Its key features include configurable control input and optional soft clip, as well as automatic gain make up, which helps you take control of your sounds faster.

The beauty of its interface leaves us speechless, as it looks more real than fake. Frontier is also quite easy to use. Threshold, release, control input, and output volume are your key controls. Play around with these, and you can quickly create stunning results.

Download: D16 Group Audio Software. This free package includes seven synthesizers, nine sampled instruments, two effects, Komplete Kontrol, Kontakt 6 Player, and Reaktor 6 Player. It should be noted, of course, that this bundle is intended to be used together, inside the provided software. Compare your song to your reference and check for any frequencies that would benefit from an extra boost. A slight boost at around 8kHz using a high-shelf setting should add a little bit of brightness to your master; As well as one using a low-shelf at kHz for bringing attention to your bass sound.

Saturation is an optional step that can give your sound extra perceived loudness and analog mojo by distorting the sound very subtly. There are a few ways you can do this inside Logic. These are modeled after real analog units. There is also a feature in the Tape Delay plugin that will work. Under the Character section, note the Clip Threshold knob. Dial it back very carefully to add some tape saturation to your sound, but keep it to a minimum. You may also download the free Saturation Knob plugin by Softube.

This type of plugin can be used to enhance the overall stereo image of your audio. You should go about stereo-widening very carefully as, if used incorrectly, it could throw your mix all over the place and make your bass sound weak , as well as cause phase issues.

If you still decide to use it, just as with most things in mastering, keep it to a minimum. Load the Stereo Spread plugin and set your Lower Freq. Keep the Lower Int. Set the stage to 4 or 5. Finally, a limiter will catch the loudest transients in your song while increasing its loudness to standard levels. Limiting is somewhat similar to compressing, but in a much more aggressive way: these plugins will squash any sound that exceeds the threshold , enabling you to have more perceived loudness without clipping.

There are two plugins for this job inside Logic: the Limiter and the Adaptive. With the first one, you will have to dial the release by yourself, as opposed to with the latter, which will automatically adapt the value based on your audio signal.

Both can do a pretty good job but the Adaptive one will sound more natural on most applications so we recommend going with it.

After you load the Limiter plugin into your project, insert the Loudness Meter afterward so you can see your audio volume in Lufs. Basically speaking, it is the kind of metering used by streaming services and audio platforms to standardize levels.

What each platform does is automatically turn down the gain of any song that is louder than a certain value , so as to create a better experience for the listener. This value will vary depending on the service.

Spotify , for example, normalizes everything to Lufs. The first thing to do after you load the plugin is to set the Out Ceiling value to -1dB. This is a safety measure to ensure better playback of your song through different systems without clipping. Now, put the Loudness Meter side-to-side with your Limiter window and adjust the Gain knob until your audio is at to Lufs.

What dithering does is apply low-level noise to your sound, avoiding any data or quality loss. This is a tip that will also apply for mixing.

Be sure to bounce different versions of your track and test how they sound across different listening systems. For example headphones , earbuds , small speakers , and the car stereo. One of the major goals in mastering and mixing is to make sure your track sounds good across a wide variety of equipment and environments. Sure, it is impossible to achieve a perfect result, but if you feel like your master is not sounding as impactful in your car stereo as it is in the studio , take a moment to adjust your parameters until you find a common ground.

Even though Logic Pro will offer you a complete set of plugins , you can find some great additional free ones to aid you both in the production process and to take your masters to the next level. Here is our selection:. Channel-strip plugin with built-in equalizer, compressor, tape saturation, and limiter sections. An all-in-one solution. A simple monitor speaker simulation tool. Great especially for those mastering with headphones. Isol8 gives you a wide range of monitoring options.

You can, for example, solo or mute a group of frequencies or see how your songs are sounding in mono. These were our tips on how to master in Logic Pro X. Since each track is a different case, producers should train their ears and skills extensively to achieve a professional final result on their masters: it is all about how many hours you put into the practice.

Soundtrap by Spotify, is hands down the best online daw with built in autotune. Sign up for free, and make music faster. What is Logic Pro X? Typical Mastering Chain in Logic. Tape Delay — The Character section can add tape saturation to your sound.

 
 

Logic pro x mastering compressor free

 
 

Some people try to reintroduce this warmth by adding saturation at the mixing or mastering stage. IVGI reacts dynamically to the input signal and can produce subtle saturation when applied to a master signal. It can also be used to distort tracks.

The Controlled Randomness feature introduces drift and variance, and lets you alter the frequency dependency of the saturation with the response control.

Download at klanghelm. Limiting generally comes at the end of your mastering chain and is the last stage in processing a track. There are five modules: an RMS compressor, peak limiter, high-frequency limiter, clipper and a true peak limiter.

Brickwall and soft limiting are supported and use different timing settings depending on the effect you want. Download at vladgsound. Xfer Records, the brainchild of deadmau5 and Steve Duda, has a selection of plug-ins that have become favourites for many producers in a range of genres. This is likely due to the effect it has on higher frequencies, brightening the overall sound of a track. It features upward compression and downward compression, with a depth control knob to adjust the amount of applied compression.

Give IVGI a try! Download: Klanghelm. Mastering software varies from analyzers to de-essers. But what are the key effects used at mastering stage? Which ones should you make sure you have access to? Here are some of the most used effects at the mastering stage this is not a comprehensive list.

Chances are you will be doing a lot of touchup work — notching out the frequencies that are a little much, and maybe bringing out the frequencies that need some extra help. Compression is another obvious choice at the mastering phase. But again, what matters most is in how you use it. You will often see them using compression because of the unique character it provides to a track, or maybe to smooth out some of the transients. The limiter. This is a crucial piece of kit for getting the levels and loudness right.

That said, this is not the only way to use a limiter. De-essers often come before compression in the signal chain and are generally used to treat unruly frequencies and of course, sibilance. In many mixes, highs are often boosted on vocals, and percussion tends to have naturally occurring brashness. A de-esser is great for addressing issues with specific tracks. Just like how NSs allow engineers to hear their mixes on a consumer-grade system, the HPL2 Processor exposes flaws in a mix or master that you may not hear if solely using headphones.

By prioritizing the mid-range, and altering some of the phase relationships, this plugin recreates the signal to sound more open — in turn changing a forward and punchy headphone mix into a somewhat washed out and distant sound. When using this plugin the only parameter you can control is the output. Typically, using this plugin decreases the overall volume by 3 to 6dB , so you will probably be using this to offset some of that attenuation.

It imparts clean compression on a signal and uses input dependent attack and release settings to create a loud and clear mix. The link button enables inter-sample peaking detention, also know as true-peak detection. This ensures that no peaking is occurring between samples.

The link function allows both faders to be controlled simultaneously, which is a great method to use when you want clean and transparent compression on an individual instrument or vocal. Unlike other limiters, there is no expansion or variable compression settings, nor is there any analog emulation via harmonic generation. The dpMeter4, although not the most aesthetically pleasing, accurately displays multiple metrics regarding the loudness and peaks of your signal.

Additionally, it allows you to set the measurements for various broadcast standards. It shows the true peak and max peak of your signal, as well as inform you if any distortion of clipping occurs. A peak meter in dBFS is shown on the right side of the plugin for your stereo output as well as two additional stereo outputs should your choose to set up the monitoring in this way.

You can also easily access the manual by clicking the DP button. Resizing the plugin is as easy as dragging the window from a marker in the lower right-hand corner. Each of these plugins represents a free version of another, certainly more expensive version. Have you used any of these plugins before? Top 10 Free Mastering Plugins.

Free plugins often perform the same functions as costly ones. Get a Free Mastered Sample. MSED is a powerful Mid-side processor. In includes a correlation and balance meter. What is Stereo Imaging? The ISOL8 allows you to solo various bands of your master. At the top you can alter the bandwidth of 5 bands.

The monitor section allows you to quickly switch between left, right, mid, and side. BL Waves offers a unique take on the frequency analyzer. You can change the angle of the graphic by clicking and dragging the display.

Three window sizes, 3 modes, and 3 variable display settings allow you to customize your display. At the bottom, you can switch between multiple model types and amplify or attenuate low order or high order harmonics.

The Frontier is a powerful limiter.