Finalising a track in logic, the master channel strip

[Dubsta]

What do you add to the finished track in logic, forget about finalising for mastering ie, no comp / limiters on main out.... I mean, say you want to get your track sounding as nice as possible so its playable in sets/radio ect.....

Tracks are generally quieter then a mastered one so im guesing adding some sort of gain to the master? compression? limiter?

general tips please on polishing so its at a good enough quality to play out to test etc.

****** Also, hear a lot of people bounce the track down and reload it back into logic, or bounce down the tracks into audio then back into logic.... Sorry im new to logic, i mainly use midi, even my samples that are audio i convert to midi, just find it easier to work with.

 

[Fluff]

I'm no mastering expert but try an EQ followed by a compressor(or two) and limiter. I normally bung on the multimeter, a spectrum analyser and an oscilloscope to analyse the final output.

Roll off the very low bass and any gentle EQ tweaks with the EQ.
One compressor set to very low ratio and low threshold to 'glue' the mix together and then a second compressor set with a medium attack and higher ratio & threshold to controls dynamics.
Finally a limiter to bring up the overall level and limit any excessive peaks.

Don't try pushing the amount of compression and limiting too far until you get a feel for the effect on the music.

Hopefully somebody more knowledgable will be along to give advice.

 

[groelle]

^^^ sound advice. apart from a minor thing or two.

i usually just use one comp to control the dynamics and bring everything up a bit and then put a limiter on with like -3db reduction.

that way my mixes are usually a bit quieter than profesionally mastered ones but are still compressed enough to be played on radio/stage and not sound bad in comparison (just use your mixer to even out the loudness when in the mix).

generally speaking, get your mixdowns good and you wont need a whole lot on the master (ie an eq, imo do that IN THE MIX and dont fuck with one on the master channel, i mean, its YOUR project, so why eq the master?!?)

that counts for stereo-width aswell. a mastering engineer only has your .wav - so he cant go to individual channels and adjust that there. you can tho, so DO IT and dont wait for the mastering process to magically bring your track to life.