Part 1: SSL Bus Compressor

A bus compressor is the first thing that sits on my stereo bus, and is often enabled even while I mix my tracks. The primary function of the bus compressor is to catch sonic peaks, and ‘glue’ the mix together, so to speak. Because of this, we don’t want our settings to be too aggressive, and we definitely don’t want any “pumping” audio artefacts.

Native Instruments Solid Bus Comp

Generally, a slow attack (10–30ms), a relatively low ratio (1:3–4) and no more than 4dB of gain reduction is a good starting point. It’s also a good idea to use the input trim knob to get your mix to sit around -12dB, just to ensure that you have enough headroom for the rest of the master chain. I use Native Instruments’ Solid Bus Comp and highly recommend it, but I have used Waves’ SSL Comp in the past and it works well too.

Part 2: Equaliser

I never used to put equalisers in my master bus, but have increasingly been using it. The purpose of having an EQ on the master bus is not to boost or cut frequencies drastically (unless you’re going for a specific effect), but to gently emphasise particular frequencies and bring the listener’s attention to the right elements in the mix.

Native Instruments Passive EQ

Some EQs will work better on the master bus than others. I mainly use the Native Instruments’ Passive EQ (modelled after a Manley Massive Passive EQ) and generally emphasise some of the sparkly high frequencies (>2KHz) while gently cutting out a bit of mud around the low-mids (200–300Hz).

Part 3: Dynamic EQ / Multiband Compression

While dynamic EQ and multiband compression are different things, I’ve found they’re often used for the same purpose. I’m no expert at multiband compression, but with the right settings, they give you an incredibly precise way to control the dynamics of a mix by frequency.

Toneboosters FlX

I use Toneboosters FlX, and it gets the job done really well. I generally set a bit of compression in the low end (<250Hz) so that any excessive bass in the mix is automatically compressed by the dynamic EQ, without affecting the dynamics of the remaining frequencies.

Part 4: Tape Emulation

I like to always use some sort of tape emulator on my master bus. I find that it adds a nice analogue warmth to any mix. I also often introduce a bit of tape hiss into my recordings, as well as varying degrees of W&F and asperity (you can Google these terms).

Toneboosters ReelBus

I’ve been using ToneBoosters’ ReelBus plugin for a while now, and it blows everything out of the water for me. Jeroen is a super nice guy who is really responsive with customer support, not that I’ve had any problems with this product.

Part 5: Brickwall Limiter

The aim of a brickwall limiter is to maximise the volume of a mix without introducing any clipping. Technically speaking, a brick wall limiter is just a compressor with a 1:∞ ratio. Generally, my process with brick wall limiters is quite simple; I’ll just increase the input gain until I have about 4–5dB of gain reduction on the meter. Any more than that, and you’re starting to kill the dynamics of your song, so don’t go crazy here.

Toneboosters Barricade

I use ToneBoosters’ Barricade limiter because to my ears it is the most transparent brick wall limiter I’ve ever used. I tried a lot of other limiters, but this one really showed no artefacts, even when pumped up to silly amounts.