Should I master a track with a low cut?

RowanH

RowanH

New member
Hi all,
I've read that you should put a high pass filter (or EQ??) when mastering to cut out very low frequencies. I have three questions:

1) Is the true?
2) What frequency should I cut the bass off at?
3) What would be the best VST plugin that can do reasonably precise low cuts/high passes without messing with the audio? Ableton Lives Auto-Filter rounds the cut too much.


Thanks!
 
I don't really master my tracks but I do put a Parametric EQ on my master. I roll off below 40.

I'm not saying that's the right way, I'm just saying that's how I do it.
 
its true...
i use waves equalizers they pretty good... it depends on yo mix how much u take out but most important are them super deep frequencies like 20 - 30 hz... some bass synthies are pushin these deep frequencies which **** up your mix coz they huge... n u dont even hear them... so take em out it wont hurt your mix...
 
You do what the mix asks you to do. If you don't know / can't hear what the mix is asking you to do, then... Well, I have no idea. This is one of the typical reasons why it's generally a bad idea to master your own mixes. Objectivity.


In any case, there is no "typical" rolloff or cutoff. Some mixes need a roll, some need a cut, some need an elliptic filter, some don't need any correction in the low end.


And the more typical question - If these are your own mixes, and they need corrective EQ in the low end, why wouldn't you revisit the mixes instead of trying to patch it later?
 
RowanH said:
Hi all,
I've read that you should put a high pass filter (or EQ??) when mastering to cut out very low frequencies. I have three questions:
Click to expand...
1) Is the true?


Nope.
You could put a HP filter over the track if it needs it.

2) What frequency should I cut the bass off at
As I'm sure you understand that would be different from mix to mix
You just have to use your ears and make it sound good.

3) What would be the best VST plugin that can do reasonably precise low cuts/high passes without messing with the audio? Ableton Lives Auto-Filter rounds the cut too much.

One that sounds good and there are plenty out there.
UAD-1 plugs are nice.


And forget about "objectivity" when it comes to music.
If you go to have it mastered by someone else, it's because you want their valued opinion. There's no such thing as objectivity involved in these processes. From conception to final product.

If you're not capable of getting the best possible results by doing it yourself, get someone else who can.
 
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I high pass filter individual tracks below 24 Hz. I used to do it at 40 Hz, but I noticed that I can hear down to 20 Hz on my headphones. I wanted to leave some of that deep bass.

Recently my mixes are sounding way too bass heavy, so I'm thinking about filtering at 40 Hz again.
 
It's important to understand that the intention of putting a supra-audio high-pass filter on a mix is not necessarily to make the mix 'less muddy' in the lows, as they are much higher than the so-called 'standard' 40 or 50 Hz quoted. It is to prevent damage to analogue equipment by distortion/harmonic overload.

In that vein it makes sense to apply the filter at source if possible, i.e. using the HPF filter switch on many budget to semi-pro mikes.

All of this is only really applicable if you are using older or cheaper analogue gear. It would make no odds if you did everything in your DAW, such as using entirely virtual instruments. And at such low freqencies it's hardly worth using such processor-hungry plugins (assuming they are host-based rather than DSP) as Waves to accomplish such a trivial task. Don't be such a gearhead and just use inbuilt EQ!

If you just want to 'de-muddy' your mix, do this with very judicious (band pass or low-cut) gain DROPS on individual tracks/instruments, not on master busses! Here, using good-quality EQ is justified. I love the Waves Q-series.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
straypixel said:
It's important to understand that the intention of putting a supra-audio high-pass filter on a mix is not necessarily to make the mix 'less muddy' in the lows, as they are much higher than the so-called 'standard' 40 or 50 Hz quoted. It is to prevent damage to analogue equipment by distortion/harmonic overload.

In that vein it makes sense to apply the filter at source if possible, i.e. using the HPF filter switch on many budget to semi-pro mikes.

All of this is only really applicable if you are using older or cheaper analogue gear. It would make no odds if you did everything in your DAW, such as using entirely virtual instruments. And at such low freqencies it's hardly worth using such processor-hungry plugins (assuming they are host-based rather than DSP) as Waves to accomplish such a trivial task. Don't be such a gearhead and just use inbuilt EQ!

If you just want to 'de-muddy' your mix, do this with very judicious (band pass or low-cut) gain DROPS on individual tracks/instruments, not on master busses! Here, using good-quality EQ is justified. I love the Waves Q-series.
Click to expand...

i know for vynil releases you need a roll of at 30-35hz, but for the rest it depends on what your music asks.
 
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