Roland RSM-90 Bedienungsanleitung PDF herunterladen (Seite 3)

Understanding the

Mastering Tool Kit

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n our last article on Understanding the

Mastering Tool Kit, we covered the func-

tion of each effect block in this incredible

algorithm. This time we’ll go over the way you

can use the Mastering Tool Kit (MTK) to make

your mixdown as punchy as possible.

In order to use the MTK, you must first call up

the algorithm using effect processor 1 or 3.

There are 19 Preset Mastering Tool Kit Patches

for you to choose from, P210-P228. Pick the

one that best describes the song you are

working on. If none really fit, go with

"P213:Pop Mix", then go to the Mastering

Room and insert the effect. As you record the

mix of 16 tracks to the Mastering Room, the

Mastering Tool Kit will be applied to the mix-

down as it’s recorded to Tracks 17 and 18. For

those with a VS-890, you will need to bounce

Tracks 1-6 to Tracks 7/8 and apply the

Mastering Tool Kit to those tracks. If you’re

using a VS-880EX, you’ll need to do an addi-

tional bounce to two free Virtual Tracks to add

the Mastering Tool Kit.

Using the Presets is a fast, easy way to get a

good sound, but for best results, you should do

a little tweaking of the MTK’s parameters. Refer

to the last issue of Track Notes or the manual to

get a description of each "block" in the MTK. A

good Preset to use as a basis for your custom

settings is "P210:Mixdown". Start by shutting off

all possible blocks in the effect, then start work-

ing with each block as the signal flows through

the effect. You can quickly shut off each block

by calling up the effect Patch, cursor right to

highlight each block, then turn the Time/Value

dial counter-clockwise.

After shutting off all the blocks, press EDIT

(F3). This should take you to the first block,

the EQ. At this point, you can put the "bump

and sizzle" into your track. Turn on the block

(you’ll find the switch at the top of the page)

and try boosting the Lows and Highs a bit.

Also try "dipping" the Lo-Mid a couple dB to

remove the "boxy" midrange sound. I usually

sweep the Lo-Mid frequency somewhere

between 500 and 800Hz to find the exact

point. Here’s a tip: if there is a frequency that

needs to be reduced, but you’re not sure

exactly where it is, try boosting the EQ band,

then sweeping the frequency. The frequency

that irritates you the most is probably the one

that needs to be eventually "dipped". Make

sure to use the Total Bypass button (F5) and

each block’s On/Off switch so you can com-

pare the unprocessed audio to the "mastered"

audio as you work. Don’t just assume, but

compare!

Using the F2 button, move to the next block,

which is the Bass Cut. You might not hear

what this is doing, but just turn it on and set it

for around 25Hz. This will eliminate any low

unheard frequencies that could muddy up

your final mix.

The next block is the Enhancer, and it’s really a

taste thing. Try it out on your song by turning it

on, dialing in some Sensitivity and sweeping

the Frequency. On this kind of effect, a little

goes a long way, so be conservative with the

Sensitivity and Mix Level settings—unless you’re

trying to make some new kind of sound.

The Input block in this Preset is pretty much

set except for the InputG (input gain) going

into the rest of the MTK. Adjust the input gain

so the level in the “FX In” meter is averaging

around "–4". You won’t hear any change in the

sound if you change the split points until you

engage the expander and/or compressor.

Moving down the MTK chain, we come to the

Expander. It will keep the intro and outro as

clean as possible by silencing anything below

the threshold. This effect also works great on

"open" sounding songs like ballads by increas-

ing the dynamic range of music, giving it more

punch. If you started with Preset P210, just

turning on the effect block is good enough. If

you hear the expander clipping the very begin-

ning of your song, slightly drop the threshold

for each band—starting with the highs—until

the clipping goes away.

Now we get to the heart

of the MTK, the multi-

band Compressor. If

you chose Preset P210,

just turn on the com-

pressor block and look

to the gain reduction

meters for each frequen-

cy band. The objective is

to have the gain reduc-

tion meters registering

on the peaks of each band, then return to "0"

at any other time. If they don’t, try adjusting

the threshold of each band until you get the

desired readings. You can also experiment

with threshold and ratio to obtain a certain

kind of compressed sound found in some

dance music,

or if you’re trying to go for that Phil Spector

"Wall of Sound." Remember that it’s easy to

squeeze all the life from your music with this

effect, so use it with caution and compare

your settings to the unprocessed signal as you

make your adjustments.

After we’ve treated each of the three bands,

we need to recombine them. This is the job of

the Mixer. You can think of this block as the

final 3-band EQ after compression. Use this to

compensate for any level reduction caused by

the compressor for each band.

If you’ve done any digital recording, you know

"0" means "0" and there is no going past it

without distortion. Lucky for you, the MTK has

a Limiter to catch any stray peaks. Turn it on,

and set the threshold for "0" so it will only

limit the signal if it hits close to "the top." Also,

drop the release all the way down to 50ms so

the limiter "lets go" as quickly as possible. The

default attack of 2ms should be fine.

The end of the road is near: the Output block.

Soft clip should be on to catch anything the

limiter could not control. If you’re burning a

CD or recording the output of your V-Studio to

a 16-bit DAT, set the dither to 16-bit. This will

keep your music smooth as it goes from music

to silence and help keep the low-level sections

of your song from getting "grainy." Use the

level control to give a final boost to the level if

needed. If all the other blocks are set correct-

ly, you shouldn’t need to do this, but you

never know.

See, mastering isn’t the

black magic you thought—

unless you’re using some-

thing other than a Roland

V-Studio!

Multi-Band Compressor

by Vince LaDuca

Part two in a two-part series

1 2 3 4

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