Mastering is essentially quality control.

The mix is done and it’s very close to your reference on your systems, but you feel there is more you can get out of it.

By hearing your mix with a fresh ear, in my acoustically treated room, listening through my ATC monitors, i can immediately hear if your mix is too bright, dull, lacks punch or could be a little bit louder.

With my analog hardware and my digital tools in the box, i make sure your master stands out in any playlist or on any playback device and everything is good to go!

Do you want to get better mixes while spending less time on them?

The way i do that is by using this very mixingtemplate for Protools that i crafted to perfection over the past 10 years.

You now have the same routing structure, parallel processing chains and effects as i do when i start working on a mix.

Enjoy mixing!

P.s. The template is free for Virtual Internship members on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@thomasvopstal/join

Are you happy with the balance and effects of your mix, but do you just want to take it to the next level sonically? Then stem mastering might be the next step for you!

Other than with a normal master, a selection of stems from your mix are used to finalize your record.

With the use of analog and digital tools, i check for any imperfections you might have missed during mixing. At the same time i make sure the track has the proper loudness for streaming and gets a little extra body, punch and analog mojo that takes it to the next level.

In the analog domain i usually use the following gear:

• SSL 4000 for saturation, eq, compression and its summing

• Avalon VT747 for smooth compression and its fantastic EQ

• Tegeler Creme RC for SSL style compression and Pultec style EQ

• Cranborne Carnaby for Harmonic EQ

• Stam 609+ Diode Bridge Compressor

• Tegeler VTC to smooth out harsher vocals

• Neve 1073 for depth, warmth and bite

I'll listen to your mix in the studio and provide you with detailed feedback via email.

Here’s an example of what that feedback could look like:

Hi Thomas,

Thanks for booking a mix feedback.

I have listened to your mix a couple of times in different listening environments and here’s my feedback:

First of all, i like the song, the production is solid, the hook is catchy and there’s an interesting variety in the instruments while not stuffing the track with unnecessary stuff.

Housekeeping:

something that stood out to me immediately is the click on 03.36, easy fix tho! If you need any help on how to fix that, let me know!

Drums and Bass:

Overall i think the mix is getting along nicely and it works for the song, but i feel you can still lift it to a next level. The main thing that is missing for me, is power in the drums. They still feel a little bit tame and could be a bit more in your face. They could add a nice punch to the song and really lock in the groove with the bass.

I’d suggest looking at parallel compression and saturation. stuff i like to use is the distressor or the 1176 on parallel compression and for parallel saturation on of the units below: 

• blackbox 

• culture vulture 

• decapitator 

• Devil Loc

Also, 1 or 2 db of buscompression with an ssl or shadow hills comp might help lock in that groove more. I usually dial this in at a ratio of 4:1, an attack of 10 or 30 milliseconds, depending on what works best in that particular song and the fastest or second fastest release time.

You also might find that dipping the 150hz area a little bit in the bass helps make things feel deeper and accentuate the low end and mids of the bass more.

Once you’ve treated the drums and bass, i think the hook will hit more and really pop like it should. 

Synths:

Synth wise i think they’re mixed in good, but they don’t pop yet, which is a shame, a little saturation could help a lot here. I like using the decapitator or blackbox. you could also use a compressor with little to no gain reduction to color them a little.

The mono compatibility of the synths is not amazing, so watch out for stereo width tools like the S1 imager, they might sound amazing in stereo, but make the synth disappear in mono. saturation could also be your friend here, you could try the blackbox M/S if you have it and just saturate the sides a bit to make them pop out.

Vocals:

I think the vocal fx are really cool, i like the build up to hook 2 and the slap delay that lives more on the left. This gives the vocal and mix a wider feel.

I do feel the vocal reverb could have a bit more of it’s own space and character, it feels too tucked in for me right now. something i like to do is dial in my predelay with an Echoboy by Soundtoys to sync it to the tempo, but mostly to easily flip through the saturation styles.

Also, i feel the vocal is a little too low in level when you come out of the hook on 01:24. Would be great to not lose too much energy there.

The last thing i feel is that the vocals could have a bit more presence and be focused more towards articulation, they feel a bit to smoothed out to me right now. i’d suggest slowing down the attack and make the release of your compressor a little faster. also, you can try saturation to add some presence in the high mids.

That’s about it for feedback from me, i hope everything makes sense!

In case it doesn’t, or if you have any other questions, please let me know and i’ll gladly help you out!

Thomas

Need me to look at your project so we can discuss how you can improve on your recording and mixing skills?

With the one on one session, we can do just that! through a videocall and screensharing we can dive into your projects and see what you can improve with your own tools!

Duration: 1 hour