# Multiband compressor settings advice for mastering orchestral/soundtrack music



## alligatorlizard (Aug 14, 2010)

Hi,

I'm currently trying to get my head around the whole mastering process, not an aspect of music production I've spent much time on until now. After many useful suggestions in another post, and a whole load of reseach and trying out demos, I've invested in Ozone 4. As warned in many places, the presets are not really to be trusted (eg the "symphonic mix" setting has downward expanders which completely ruin any low dynamics fade ins/outs) - but in terms of the quality and versatility of the various modules I'm very impressed so far.

So my question is, would anyone care to share any general guidelines (or links with any guidelines) for setting up a multiband compressor for mastering orchestral soundtrack type tracks, especially ones of a more bombastic nature. eg, at roughly what frequencies would you set the bands, would you typically apply more gain to the middle band, a higher compression ratio to the bass band etc etc? Not after anyone's secrets here, but any tips to get me started on the multiband compression settings much appreciated!

Also, if there are any other Ozone 4 users out there, what do you make of the "symphonic mix" preset? It's the only preset that seems vaguely suitable for soundtrack stuff, and having tweaked it quite a bit (got rid of the downward expanders on the compression curves and reduced gain on the mid slightly, changed maximiser to intelligent 2, changed mode of harmonic exciters to mid side and put the emphasis on the side) it seems to be delivering good results.


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## germancomponist (Aug 14, 2010)

Multiband Compression is a wide field, especially when mastering orchestral music. 

For sure, a multiband compressor can make the sound on a master track much better, but it depends on your music and also mostly on your arrangement. There is no generally tip, I think. Experiment! o-[][]-o


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## Frederick Russ (Aug 14, 2010)

If you do use multiband compression, great care needs to be applied. You want to preserve your transients and a heavy handed approach will essentially eliminate them. It is far too easy to get squashed, lifeless mixes as a result of trying to win the loudness wars. This is doubly true for orchestral mixes because the inherent instrumentation has so many dynamic shadings and subtleties. Band mixes are a bit of a different story but even there its possible to squash the living daylights out of it to where there are next to zero perceived dynamics - just a wall of sound flat across the surface where the valleys are little to no different than the peaks.

To add insult to injury, many just starting out with mastering tools do make the mistake of arbitrarily slapping a peak limiter on top - not as a way to stop overages but to drive it in an effort to increase volume further. Peak limiting when carelessly applied basically lops off the transients - basically flattens them mashing them to the ceiling. You can see what its doing to your sound by taking a look at the resulting wave or aiff file in an audio editor. 

If the intent is to master and mix your own music, take the steps needed to learn from the best to achieve the best result. Owning mastering gear is only the first step really - knowing what to do with it (and what not to do) is essential. This information is readily available online. There are a few great resources as well as courses you can take to get better at it.


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## ceemusic (Aug 14, 2010)

Are you trying to make a 'loud' master or just tame problems in the low end?
I'd try to fix it in the mix first.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Aug 14, 2010)

The real answer is that there are no starting points for multiband compression (or really for any compression). You can't use presets the way you can for a reverb.

I think of it as corrective, subtractive EQ that kicks in automatically when needed - as opposed to a regular compressor, which smooths out the overall sound and adds density (if you set it right).


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## kdm (Aug 14, 2010)

Pretty much just reiterating what Nick said - if you feel you really need MB compression, start with gentle settings on every band - have a very good idea what you are trying to do. Don't just drop in a MBC as a default mastering tool. Every mastering engineer I've talked to/worked with uses it mainly to fix problems, or at most, smooth out unruly frequency ranges where EQ simply falls short - but never as "icing on the cake" so to speak.

If light, low compression settings don't give you what you want, bypass it and go back to the basic mix/arrangement and see what needs tweaking there - perhaps EQ on a section will do more for the mix than a MB comp.

You really have to watch the cross-bands as that's where you can get into trouble with over- or under-accentuated frequencies that can wreck the mix, image, etc. Use a high quality MB comp. Anything that just comes with your DAW is more likely do more harm than good unless you really, and I mean REALLY know it inside and out.


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## alligatorlizard (Aug 16, 2010)

Thanks for the advice, this is all very useful in helping me figure out how to approach the whole process. 

As for what my intentions are when mastering, I'm not really looking to _fix _anything in the mix - I haven't bothered with mastering for years, so I'm used to getting things sounding right instrument by instrument. I'm just looking to increase loudness a bit (I'm currently setting the maximiser threshold at -2 or at most -3 db - this gives very subtle a effect, but at the same time does seem give the tracks more "power"), and also give it a certain sheen that mastered tracks seem to have (a bit of harmonic excitiation for example or subtle EQ). Even after using Ozone for a short time, and A/B ing a few mixes with/without, I can't see myself going back to not mastering tracks. 

I guess I was after some sort of guidelines - like you have EQ charts telling you the important frequencies on certain instruments - but if such general guidelines don't exist, I can stop worrying that I'm not following procedure, and start deciding what sounds _good_ or not. It's good to know i can leave off things like compression out of the chain altogether if they're not strictly needed. 

By the way, I've just bought that Bob Katz book that is always mentioned, and just flicking through that I can see there's no quick fix! :wink:


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## ceemusic (Aug 16, 2010)

alligatorlizard @ Mon Aug 16 said:


> I guess I was after some sort of guidelines - like you have EQ charts telling you the important frequencies on certain instruments - but if such general guidelines don't exist, I can stop worrying that I'm not following procedure, and start deciding what sounds _good_ or not. It's good to know i can leave off things like compression out of the chain altogether if they're not strictly needed.
> 
> By the way, I've just bought that Bob Katz book that is always mentioned, and just flicking through that I can see there's no quick fix! :wink:



Getting this book & using your ears will help you more than using any plug-in.

Good luck!


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## germancomponist (Aug 16, 2010)

alligatorlizard @ Mon Aug 16 said:


> Thanks for the advice, this is all very useful in helping me figure out how to approach the whole process.
> 
> As for what my intentions are when mastering, I'm not really looking to _fix _anything in the mix - I haven't bothered with mastering for years, so I'm used to getting things sounding right instrument by instrument. I'm just looking to increase loudness a bit (I'm currently setting the maximiser threshold at -2 or at most -3 db - this gives very subtle a effect, but at the same time does seem give the tracks more "power"), and also give it a certain sheen that mastered tracks seem to have (a bit of harmonic excitiation for example or subtle EQ). Even after using Ozone for a short time, and A/B ing a few mixes with/without, I can't see myself going back to not mastering tracks.
> 
> ...



Reading the book from Bob is one of the best things you can do.... . o/~ 

Beside this, can you perhaps post a link to an example from your work where you have not used a multiband compressor or another mastering plug?


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## alligatorlizard (Aug 22, 2010)

Yep, Bob's book is proving a good read, perfect for filling the five minute project loading times I'm suffering since starting to use Hollywood Strings and their monstrous patches!

I've also come across this sound on sound article, which seems to have some good beginners tips: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan01/a ... vanced.asp

Experimenting with some mixes, the approach of setting a low threshold (-30 or -40db) with a very gentle ratio (eg 1.2:1) seems to very subtly but nicely narrow the dynamic range. Is this the sort of thing I want to be doing if I'm after increasing the overall perceived volume? 

Not that this is usualy the type of music I usually do, but after getting a mix sounding what I thought was pretty loud, I compared it to a few tracks from "two steps from hell" - had to instantly reach for the monitor control to lower the levels, how much compression and maximisation must they use?? 

As for uploading unmastered tracks, no problem, is there a best way of doing this - eg what's the easiest way for peopò	"   âsG	"   âsH	"   âsI	"   âsJ	"


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