Bass Music Mastering Techniques

Putting the final touches on a mix, so it’s ready to be played in a DJ set or sent to a record label, can be a difficult process when you’re unsure of the standards you need to achieve. In this set of tutorials, Bass Music producer and Producertech tutor Seppa goes through the entire process of mastering one of his own tracks using the mastering bundle software from Plugin Boutique, so you can join a professional as he explains each of the stages involved and what you should be aiming for at every step.

After introducing the course and plugins, as well as providing some advice for how to prepare for and what to expect from the mastering process, Seppa dives straight into the mastering, with an initial focus on limiting with the Sonnox Limiter plugin. Limiting is done in reference to free metering software, with a guide to the kind of loudness and dynamic range you would be looking to achieve when producing heavy Bass Music. Once the limiting stage is better understood, Seppa moves onto frequency analysis, beginning with a guide to Subbass Doctor 808, explaining when and how to use it on a complete mixdown. This is followed by a lengthy exploration of the many features on Smart EQ3, to help ensure the spectrum is looking and sounding right, with both manual and AI approaches incorporated alongside one another. The next two lessons move onto compression, firstly providing an overview of the highly detailed Melda Modern Compressor and then looking at how to use it to add some more stability to the dynamics, whilst generally making the mix more cohesive. The course then ends with some additional tweaks to the mastering chain plugins and final thoughts and recommendations on how to further develop your mastering skills.

The course provides nearly 3 hours of tutorials, giving you a wealth of expert advice from one of the leading artists in Bass Music, to give you a solid understanding of mastering tracks with your plugins and get you ever closer to your goal of producing professional-sounding music.
 

Modules

Module 1 - Course Introduction 

Seppa begins the course with some advice for approaching track mastering, including considerations for creating a premaster and managing expectations of the mastered result.

• Lesson 1 - Course Overview - 3.10
• Lesson 2 - Premasters and Working from the Mix - 6.52
• Lesson 3 - Exporting a Good Premaster - 3.10
• Lesson 4 - Reasonable Expectations - 1.30

Module 2 - Software Overview, Metering and Premaster 

A run-through of the various plugins in the mastering bundle, as well as some tips for free metering software, followed by a preview and some analysis of the premaster.

• Lesson 1 - Bundle Overview - 4.20
• Lesson 2 - Metering - 13.50
• Lesson 3 - Listening to the Premaster - 3.58

Module 3 - Limiting, Sub Bass and EQ

Seppa uses the first three plugins to begin mastering the track, focussing initially on limiting with the Sonnox Limiter, before tending to the sub bass with Subbass Doctor 808 and then looking in detail at EQ considerations, with both manual and AI features within Smart EQ3.

• Lesson 1 - Limiting - 31.46
• Lesson 2 - Subbass Doctor 808 - 6.17
• Lesson 3 - Smart EQ3 - 41.33

Module 4 - Compression

A detailed look at compression during the mastering process, with an overview of the many controls available in MModern Compressor, before an example of how to use the plugin to improve the dynamics of the featured track.

• Lesson 1 - MModernCompressor Overview - 22.10
• Lesson 2 - Compressor Application - 22.16

Module 5 - Final Stages 

Seppa wraps up the course with a last look at the track and some tweaks of the different plugins in the mastering chain, before concluding with some final thoughts.

• Lesson 1 - Final Tweaks - 5.58
• Lesson 2 - Final Thoughts - 6.10

Features

• Nearly 3 hours of Streamed Tutorials
• Professional Mastering Tips
• Access 24/7/365

System Requirements

• An internet connection is required to stream the modules in this course.

Please Note: The modules included in this online guide can be streamed within the Courses section of your account area and are not available to download.