Mastering Guide for Streaming: Balancing Equalisation and More(Letto 99 volte)
Mastering for Streaming Platforms: Balanced EQ and More
The equalization (EQ) is a fundamental phase of mastering, which allows you to correct tonal problems, enhance the frequency balance, and prepare the mix for subsequent dynamic processing. This process does more than simply "improve the sound," but is an essential technical tool for ensuring that the final product is coherent, musical, and translatable to any listening system.
In mastering, the order of operations is crucial: Equalization almost always precedes compression, since intervening on the frequencies before dealing with the dynamics ensures a more controlled and effective result.
Why EQ is Crucial in Mastering
Equalization in mastering responds to the following three fundamental needs.
Tonal Correction
It helps eliminate resonances, annoying frequencies, or inhomogeneities. These problems are often caused by the acoustics of the mixing room or the non-linearity of the monitors used, but sometimes also by hasty or poorly informed decisions by the engineer.
An adequate correction allows you to “clean up” the mix from the aforementioned frequencies and compensate for the deficiencies.
Tonal Emphasis
It allows you to enhance the tonal characteristics of a song, emphasizing key frequencies that improve the overall perception.
For example:
- Greater presence in the mid and mid-high frequencies (400-3000 Hz) to improve the intelligibility of solo sources
- Better definition in the highs, wide band, to increase the brightness without creating harshness.
- Improved bass definition, broadband, to increase depth without creating boxy mid-bass or problematic bloating in the deeper bass.
Preparation for Dynamic Treatment
A well-balanced tonal base prevents problematic frequencies from over-activating compressors or limiters. This allows for more natural, effective, and less invasive compression, giving the engineer a more relaxed approach.
Why Equalize Before Compressing
EQ almost always precedes dynamic processing for three key reasons.
Removing Unwanted Frequencies
Problematic frequencies or frequency bands, besides creating discomfort especially when listening at high volumes, can overload the compressors leading to unwanted results.
Rolling them off before compressing helps maintain a cleaner, tighter sound.
Controlled Emphasis
Deficient frequency bands should be boosted before compression to ensure a more even balance of the audible spectrum.
Efficiency of Dynamic Treatment
A tonally well-balanced audio signal allows the compressor to work more transparently, without emphasizing unwanted elements.
Equalization Techniques in Mastering
Corrective Equalization
Use bell filters with Q tight to reduce problem resonances or frequencies without affecting surrounding areas of the spectrum.
General Tone Equalization
It uses bell filters with Q wider To alter the overall balance of the mix. It's ideal for boosting or attenuating groups of frequencies without creating noticeable imbalances.
Shelving Equalization
It uses shelving filters to evenly handle the entire low-frequency range (typically below 100 Hz) or high-frequency range (typically above 5 or 10 kHz), making the sound more open, airy, and bright.
High-Pass and Low-Pass Filters
Applying a high-pass filter above 20 kHz helps reduce aliasing and other artifacts.
A low-pass filter below 20 Hz (or even higher, if the harmonic content of the song is not affected) is useful for eliminating unnecessary subsonic frequencies.
Practical Considerations on Equalization
Moderation in Interventions
EQ during mastering requires very precise interventions but only a few dB.
Drastic changes are only permissible on very unbalanced mixes; in these cases, however, it is often preferable to revise the mix.
Critical Listening
Testing the master on different playback systems (monitors, headphones, consumer speakers) ensures that the changes are consistent across different contexts. However, the final judgment must be based on listening on a perfectly linear system.
Using Measuring Tools
Spectrum analyzers and loudness meters help identify problem frequencies and objectively balance the signal.
Increased bass perception
In less purist musical genres, such as pop, where the bass has an important strategic function (think of hip-hop, for example), instead of overloading the master, it may be advisable to create high harmonics that, due to their harmonic composition, psycho-acoustically suggest to the ear the presence of lower frequencies (otherwise little or not at all audible in phones and other small devices).
To achieve the above, you can use specific plugins, or do the following:
- duplicate the bass, kick and any other instruments with a significant range below 80 Hz
- convert the track contents to the next octave higher
- with a LPF filter (with medium decay curve, for example: 12 db oct) limit all the higher harmonics of the new track, preserving full audibility at the fundamental frequency (which is one octave above that of the original track, obviously)
- mix the new track into the original in the desired proportion (do listening tests both on studio monitors and with a smartphone)
- act on the LPF filter above to adjust the general timbre, modifying the cut-off frequency and the slope as desired, until obtaining the most satisfying timbre
- possibly equalize and then compress the generated track or the ensemble of the two tracks together (original and generated combined in one group) to obtain the best timbre and perception in each listening device
Advanced EQ Tips for Mastering
Spectrum Balance
In modern genres (pop, rock, EDM), the entire audible spectrum (20 Hz–20 kHz) should be represented with a linear curve slightly inclined towards the high frequencies. The frequency drops off gradually below 60 Hz and above 14 kHz.
Interventions on Acoustic Genres
For more subtle genres (e.g., chamber music, acoustic jazz), the spectrum may be limited between 80 Hz and 10 kHz. Do not accentuate unnecessary or devoid of musical content bands.
Bandwidth Peak Management
In the presence of peaks (e.g. around 12-15 kHz or 80-120 Hz), distributing content across adjacent bands can avoid perceived imbalances.
High-Cut Filter:
Always apply a filter above 20 kHz to limit aliasing, which is useful for ensuring flawless playback.
Stages of Conscious Mastering
Precise Mix
Exporting tonally balanced mixes reduces the need for drastic interventions during the mastering phase and produces better results.
It is recommended that you export your mixes, ready for mastering, at a sample rate exactly double that of your project mix.
Consistency between Songs
In an album, align songs on a new session to evenly balance their volume, tonal color, and subsequently, dynamics.
Mastering Chain
Equalization is the first ring, followed by compression to achieve dynamic coherence and even tonality.
Conclusion
EQ in mastering is a crucial technical and creative step. A measured approach ensures a balanced, dynamic end result that translates to any platform and device. A well-executed mastering preserves the integrity of the original mix while improving the overall sound quality.
Dynamics in mastering
See also this other blog article
Mastering for Streaming Platforms: Normalization, LUFS, and Loudness
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