2. The chain and the limiter

In mastering, each plugin affects the whole song, so the changes are small. A short chain forces you to know what each thing is for. If a step doesn’t clearly improve something, it goes.

Corrective EQremoves what's excess

→

Compressionvery gentle

→

Tonal EQagainst the reference

→

Saturationoptional

→

Limiteralways last

Corrective EQ

It cleans before compressing, so the compressor doesn’t react to what you’re going to remove.

Compression

Tonal EQ

It’s the overall balance adjustment, comparing with the reference at the same volume. With wide shelves of ±1 dB on the lows (below 100 Hz) and highs (above 10 kHz).

Try in the player how much the sound changes with very small moves. Getting your ear used to 1 dB is part of learning to master.

Playground · 3-band equalizer

▶ Play

No EQWith EQ

↺ Reseti

• •▶ Play — plays the audio in a loop.
• •No EQ / With EQ — switch between the sound with and without the EQ to compare, at the same volume. The segment with the lit border is the one you're hearing (the classic studio “A/B” comparison).
• •↺ Reset — returns the controls to 0.

🔊

🎧 Audio to processiChoose which sound goes through the effect:

• •🎸 Bass — a synthesized riff with dynamics: ideal for hearing compression.
• •📢 Pink noise — an even sound across the whole spectrum: ideal for “seeing” the EQ.
• •🎵 Load your audio — your own file (MP3, WAV, OGG, FLAC, M4A…); it's processed locally in your browser and isn't uploaded anywhere.

🎸 Bass📢 Pink noise🎵 Load your audio

Each control changes one zone of the sound. Move it and listen (and watch the spectrum above move):

LOWS

FrequencyiSets how high the low shelf reaches.

• •Higher (≈200 Hz) — also includes the low mids in the adjustment.
• •Lower (≈50 Hz) — affects only the sub lows.

FREQUENCY chooses WHERE it acts; GAIN, how much.100 HzGainiRaises or lowers the lows below the Frequency you chose.

• •↑ Raise (≈80–120 Hz) — more body and weight.
• •↑ Raise (≈40–60 Hz) — sub and rumble; too much muddies and covers the kick/bass.
• •↓ Lower — cleans up rumble and mud, clears up the sound.

On metal rhythm guitar it's worth lowering it a bit to leave room for the bass.0 dB

MIDS

FrequencyiChooses the center of the bell to boost or cut.

• •200–500 Hz — body and warmth (too much sounds “boxy”).
• •800 Hz–1.5 kHz — nasal / “honky”.
• •2–5 kHz — presence and attack (makes something “come forward”).

Together with the Q it defines how wide the affected zone is.1.0k HzGaini

• •↑ Raise 3–5 kHz — more presence and definition.
• •↑ Raise 300–600 Hz — more body, but it muddies.
• •↓ Lower — removes nasality or a “boxy” sound.

It's the band where instruments fight the most: adjust it thinking about the whole.0 dBQ (width)iHow wide or narrow the bell is.

• •High Q (narrow) — affects few frequencies: ideal for CUTTING a specific problem (surgical).
• •Low Q (wide) — affects a large range: more musical for BOOSTING.

With a lot of Gain, a narrow Q sounds more aggressive.1.0

HIGHS

FrequencyiSets where in the highs the “air” begins.

• •8–12 kHz — air and openness.
• •5–7 kHz — edge and presence (too much is harsh).

With GAIN you decide how much of that zone you add.6.0k HzGainiRaises or lowers the highs above the Frequency you chose.

• •↑ Raise (≈8–12 kHz) — air, brightness and clarity; too much is harsh/sibilant.
• •↑ Raise (≈5–7 kHz) — presence and edge.
• •↓ Lower — darkens and smooths (useful if it got strident).

Raising the highs also brings out background noise, breaths and “ss” sounds.0 dB

An easy experiment: choose 📢 Pink noise, lower the LOWS Gain (it clears up) and raise the MIDS gain at 3–5 kHz (it gets more present). Switch the EQ on and off to compare with and without.

Saturation, optional

A touch of saturation before the limiter can add density and leave it less work. If you can hear the distortion, it’s too much. You can do a complete master without this.

The limiter

Common mistakes

What NOT to chase yet

Quick path: chain

Expected result