📑 Sections (5)

Quick guide: master the song

From the mix WAV to the file you publish: Project page, a short chain, LUFS, comparison and export in Studio One.

Mastering takes the finished mix and gets it ready to publish, with small changes over the whole song. Do it on a different day from the mix, with fresh ears: it’s the simplest way to hear it with some distance.

1. Export the mix

  • Format: 24-bit WAV (or 32-bit float), at the session’s sample rate (48 kHz).
  • Peaks: around −6 dBFS, never at 0.
  • Master bus limiter: off. Gentle glue compression can stay.
  • Start and end: a bit of silence before and the full tail after.
  • Clear name: for example Song_Mix_v3_48k24.wav. Keep the session as it is.

2. The session in Studio One

Studio One has a dedicated page, Project:

  1. Create a project and add the mix WAV.
  2. Put the mastering chain on that track’s inserts.
  3. On the meters, choose the EBU R128 scale to see loudness in LUFS.
  4. Have the same reference from the mix on hand.

Choose a comfortable listening volume and don’t change it during the session.

3. The chain

A few plugins, in this order. If a step doesn’t clearly improve something, it goes.

Master inserts
Corrective EQPro EQ
Compressionvery gentle
Tonal EQagainst the reference
Limiteralways last
  1. Corrective EQ with the Pro EQstock: gentle high-pass at 25–30 Hz and narrow cuts of 1 to 2 dB on resonances.
  2. Compression with the Compressorstock: ratio 1.5:1 to 2:1, attack of 30 ms or more, release in tempo, 1 to 2 dB of reduction.
  3. Tonal EQ with the Pro EQ: wide shelves of ±1 dB on the lows (below 100 Hz) and highs (above 10 kHz).
  4. Limiter with the Limiterstock: ceiling for −1 dBTP, and lower the threshold until you reach the target loudness.

Saturation, optional: between the tonal EQ and the limiter, a touch with the Console Shaperstock. If you can hear the distortion, it’s too much.

🔴 Set this NOW· in mastering

If the limiter works more than 3 or 4 dB on the peaks, it starts crushing the kick and snare. It's the point where a master gets ruined. Better to lower the target or go back to the mix.

4. How loud

LUFS measure perceived volume and dBTP, the real peak. They’re different things.

To start, aim for about −10 LUFS with a ceiling at −1 dBTP. It works as a single version for everything: on Spotify and YouTube it comes down a bit without losing anything, and on Bandcamp or CD it sounds competitive.

  • Competitive rock and metal: −10 to −8 LUFS. Louder than −7, only if your reference justifies it.
  • Dynamics first: −14 to −12 LUFS.
  • Spotify and YouTube normalize to −14 LUFS, and Apple Music to −16. If it’s louder, they turn it down.
  • Bandcamp, SoundCloud and CD don’t normalize: it plays as is.

These platform values can change: check them before publishing. Since they normalize, mastering very loud doesn’t make you sound louder, only less dynamic.

5. Compare and decide

The most common mistake is believing it improved because it’s louder.

  • Before and after: match the master’s volume to the mix’s, alternate with the bypass and remove that gain before exporting. If it doesn’t sound better, simplify.
  • Against the reference: lows, brightness, width and the punch of the kick and snare, at the same volume.
  • On other systems: headphones, monitors, phone and car.
  • In mono: the vocal, kick, snare and bass don’t lose body.
  • The loudest and quietest parts: the loud part is where the limiter works hardest.

6. Export

  • Distributor for streaming: 24-bit WAV, at 48 or 44.1 kHz depending on what they ask for. No dither.
  • CD: 16-bit, 44.1 kHz WAV, with dither.
  • Sharing and social media: 320 kbps MP3.
  • Personal archive: 24-bit WAV at the session’s sample rate.

Dither is a minimal noise that prevents distortion when reducing resolution. It goes once, at the end, and only when going to 16 bits. Before exporting, trim the initial silence and make a short fade-out at the end of the tail.

If it’s an EP or an album: load all the songs into the same project and listen to them in a row. None should jump out or drop off, even if they don’t have the exact same LUFS.

Checklist

Before publishing

  1. Mix as a 24-bit WAV, with peaks near −6 dBFS and no limiter.
  2. Master done on another day, with rested ears.
  3. Short chain: corrective EQ, compression, tonal EQ and limiter.
  4. No EQ adjustment greater than 2 dB.
  5. Ceiling at −1 dBTP and no more than 3 or 4 dB of limiter reduction.
  6. Around −10 LUFS to start.
  7. Compared with the mix and with the reference, at the same volume.
  8. Listened to in mono, on headphones, monitors, phone and car.
  9. Final file listened to in full, outside Studio One.

Expected result

Expected result

A file ready to upload, which sounds like your mix but more finished and comparable with your reference, with no loss of punch. If you got here, you finished the song. Whatever you still want to improve is for the next one. To understand each step, continue with LUFS and true peak. For metadata and publishing, there’s the distribution stage.