Waves Multiband Compressor Mastering

[Aron Eugine]

EqualiserThe term mastering equaliser gets thrown around a lot, but what you really need is any equaliser that gives you a good number of bands, say 4 or more, and it would need to allow you to make less than 1dB gain adjustments.

With the main limiter, you could go multiband, that might help you get a dB or two, but you also run the risk of over doing it too. If you fond yourself needing more than 1-2 dB of limiting to achieve loudness then the problem lies in the mix again.

I recommend starting with the Abbey Road TG Mastering chain if you want to keep all the processing under one plugin.

You can actually try the demo which is 7 days fully operational and see how this sounds in your sessions.

Multiband compressor plug-ins are great for tools for enhancing or glueing mixes together. These types of plug-ins enable users to compress and shape dynamics of more than one frequency band hence the term multiband. Conventional compressors generally process audio dynamics across the entire frequency range, multiband compressor plug-ins are more of a precision tool enabling users to compress user specified bands within the frequency spectrum.

Typical applications for multband compressors plug-ins are in mix bus and mastering stages when dynamics often need either a broad-brush or surgical approach to get mixes sounding polished fast. There are several third party multiband compressor plug-ins available, in this article, I highlight some my favourite multiband compressor plug-ins below, starting in no particular order:

The Waves Linear Phase Multiband Compressor (named LinMB for short) has been around for a number of years and is, in my opinion, a classic Waves plug-in. Watch the free tutorial below to hear how LinMB glues a mix together and to see why I consider this to be a powerful dynamics tool for mix bus and mastering applications. If used gently the results of the LinMB plug-in are very transparent. The controls are effortless and extremely easy to set. An automatic makeup gain feature enables users to dial in the right amount of multiband compression without the ear being misled by level differences.

Blue Cat's MB-5 Dynamix is so much more than just a multiband compressor plug-in, it's a fully featured multiband dynamics processor plug-in that also includes limiter, gate, expander and waveshaper processors that can either be used together or in different bands. The GUI is well designed with plenty of visual feedback that shows exactly what's going on in each dynamic processor.

If Blue Cat's MB-5 Dynamix plug-in takes your fancy then take a look at Blue Cat's MB-7 as this plug-in enables users to also mix in a similar multiband workflow but instead of having built-in processor units users can stack up custom third party plug-in chains (VST and AU plug-ins) to process multibands in Pro Tools. Watch our review below.

Multiband processors are at the heart of many iZotope plug-ins such as Ozone, Trash and Neutron. The multiband compressor in Neutron though, it's a different animal featuring two types of compressor behaviours described by iZotope as Clean Modern or Colourful Vintage. The multiband compressor modules in Neutron can be used with the smart Track Assist feature that listens to audio offering mixing start points.

A separate multiband compressor component plug-in is also available called Neutron Compressor - available as part of Neutron Advanced. What I like most about the Neutron multiband compressor plug-in is the mix blend control on each band, great for dialling back in some unprocessed audio for nice transparent glue like results. Sadly this multiband compressor only offers three bands, truth be told though, three bands are often enough.

In 2016 Softube released two multiband compressor plug-ins bearing the Drawmer name. The S73 was the first out of the two to be released and was loosely based on the Drawmer 1973 hardware. Softube describes the S73 as an intelligent mastering processor that makes using multiband compression quick and easy. The S73 features a selection of carefully tuned presets, select a sound that works and blend it in. Watch our review to hear how the S73 performs on several mastering examples.

Soon after the release of S73 Softube unsurprisingly released the full Drawmer 1973 plug-in emulation of the 1973 hardware. The 1973 felt like a completely different product to the S73 as it seemed to cater more to the hardware purist or Drawmer fanboy. Both products are well worth checking out though. If you like multiband compression but don't like getting bogged down in the complexities of multiband compression then try the S73, for everything else the Drawmer 1973 will not disappoint

FabFilter plug-ins are tools for the modern producer. What makes the Pro-MB multiband compressor plug-in unique is that users can add up to six bands of compression and Pro-MB doesn't split the frequency spectrum up with crossovers like other multiband compressor plug-ins - in short, Pro-MB feels much more like an EQ in use which in turn makes Pro-MB a very intuitive way of working with multiband compression. Pro-MB is very similar to FabFilter's amazing EQ plug-in Pro-Q2 as both these plug-ins, in my opinion, are feature rich and are very much swiss army knives of their plug-in categories.

The Precision Multiband plug-in for the UAD-2 platform is a great bread and butter dynamics tools that not only compresses but also expands and gates. Like Waves LinMB, this plug-in has also been around for a few years so compared to more modern alternatives this feels quite traditional - which isn't a bad thing let me tell you. Using multiband compression can sometimes be a challenge for beginners but a good way of developing a multiband compression workflow is to use straight forward tradional plug-ins such as The Precision Multiband.

The Avid Pro Multiband Compressor plug-in is one I have yet to try, however, both Russ and Julian use it in their workflows. Check both their tutorial videos out below showing how to use the Avid Pro Multiband. Out of all the multiband compressors in this list, the Avid Pro Multiband is the only multiband plug-in supported for AAX HDX.

In this video, Julian also takes a look at Pro Multiband Dynamics. A complex plug in that needs to be treated with respect as it can do great harm as well as great good in a mix. Julian demonstrates the features of this plug-in on an individual vocal track as well as on the mix buss.

How We Create Free Content

We strive for openness and transparency with our readers regarding the content we present. Upholding ethical standards, we diligently adhere to the guidelines set forth by the ASA/CAP, aiming to safeguard the interests of both our audience and the brands we collaborate with. A portion of our content is commissioned by these partners, enabling us to offer our readers valuable insights and information free of charge. We are supported by a network of industry partners whose generosity makes this possible. Additionally, some of the links on our site are affiliate-based, meaning we may earn a small commission from purchases made through them. For further clarification on these practices, please refer to our Editorial & Review Policy.

I was always hoping for a plugin like this to show up. Yet I was also doubtful of whether the sound characteristics of a vinyl record could be replicated in a plugin. So I was both curious and skeptical when trying the Waves Abbey Road Vinyl for the first time.

If you are looking for a master bus compressor that gives you thickness, movement, and character, you could do a lot worse than the Waves H-Comp Hybrid Compressor. Year in and year out, the Waves H-Series plugins have been among my favorites.

The L3-16 is a 16 band peak limiter and a paragraphic linear phase mastering EQ. It is the cleanest of the Waves limiters and offers the most control. You can also get some pretty interesting characters out of it by exploring the Release Character menu and the priority controls.

Beyond simple widening or narrowing of the stereo image, S1 can, for example, fix asymmetrical mixes. You can re-balance the left and right components without affecting the position of the center image. Alternatively, the center image could be shifted left or right without affecting the sides.

I am a heavy user of transient shaping plugins. I own a whole bunch of them. They all tend to work a little bit differently. Thus where one plugin excels on one type of material, another performs better with something else.

Many times I end up trying a few different plugins and then choosing the one that works the best in the given situation. More often than not though, I end up with Trans-X. Quite often I already know from the material that Trans-X will work best. Generally, I find it works the best when I need to get something sounding super snappy and punchy.

While many dynamics processors detect when the level goes over a certain reference level, the Trans-X detects when gain rises faster than a certain velocity reference. This means the signal can be low at times and higher at other times, and the transients will still be detected and re-shaped consistently.

I was a heavy user of L2 10-15 years back. However limiter technology has come a long long way since then. I think there are many better options out there now for mastering than what Waves currently have to offer.

The thing with L2 is that it is not very transparent. I still like to use it on individual channels sometimes (where the sound it adds can be a good thing). But on the master I usually want a limiter that keeps the material as intact as possible.

The Stimming video in the OP talked specifically about a master-bus processor for gigs. Mastering your tracks for commercial release in the studio may use the same tools (IE Finalizer), but the process is completely different.

If a track, or even a set require 3 separate bands of compression just to control bass, it might be a good indication that the mix/eq or compression of the kick and bass tracks need revision before applying a mastering unit that affects the entire mix.

3a8082e126