Mastering
Master your song and land on the target
Mastering makes a finished mix ready to release: a little tone, a little glue, and a limiter that brings it up to the right loudness. Streaming services turn loud songs down anyway, so the goal isn't the loudest number. It's a master that sounds good at the level people will hear it. Polish does the whole chain with one Loud knob and shows you what each platform will do to your song.
How to master a song in your DAW
- Finish the mix first and leave some headroom: peaks around -6 dB give the limiter room to work. Take any limiter off the mix bus.
- Put the mastering plugin last on the master bus and pick your target (Spotify and YouTube normalize to about -14 LUFS, Apple Music to about -16).
- Shape only what the song needs: a small EQ move, 1 to 2 dB of glue compression, and mono bass if the low end feels unsteady.
- Play the loudest part and raise the level into the limiter until the integrated loudness meter hits your target. Keep true peak at -1 dB. (In Polish: turn Loud or press Hit target.)
- Compare with the original at the same loudness. If it only sounded better while louder, back off. Then check it next to a song you like.
Watch it explained: How much headroom should a mix have? Avoid clipping
What you get with Polish
- Six modules in a fixed mastering order: Tone, Glue, Width, Warmth, Clip, Limit, each with its own on/off
- True-peak limiter with lookahead and three styles: Clean, Punchy and Loud
- Loudness meters to the broadcast standard: integrated, short-term, momentary, range and true peak
- Targets for Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Deezer, loud and club masters, with what each platform will do to your song
- Hit target: Polish listens and sets Loud so your song lands on the target
- Compare at equal loudness, and Preview at the platform's level
- Glue on the whole mix or in three bands, mono bass, oversampled warmth and clipper
- 17 presets for rap, trap, pop, R&B, electronic and common fixes, plus A/B and undo
Questions
How loud should I master for Spotify?
Spotify normalizes to about -14 LUFS, so a louder master gets turned down. Many rap, pop and club masters still sit louder, around -9, because of the sound they want. Pick by how it sounds: a master at -9 only plays at the same level as one at -14, with less punch if it's squashed.
What is true peak, and why -1 dB?
True peak is the level between the digital samples, which can go over 0 dB after the song is converted to MP3 or AAC and cause distortion. A ceiling of -1 dB true peak leaves room for that. Polish's limiter watches true peak and never goes over its ceiling.
Can I master my own song without an engineer?
Yes, and for most releases it works well if the mix is good. Most problems people try to fix in mastering come from the mix, so go back and fix them there. An engineer's fresh ears are still worth it for your most important songs.
Should the limiter go on the mix bus while I mix?
Mix without it, or at least bounce the mix without it before mastering. If you like hearing it loud while you mix, use it only as a preview and leave headroom in the bounce.
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