How to Master the Multiband Compressor

You might have noticed more mastering posts than usual last week.

hope you got a kick out of it too.

But the reason I focused more on mastering than usual is because my buddy Ian Shepherd just came out with an amazing ebook about Multiband Compression in Mastering.

It’s called, simply enough, “Mastering with Multiband Compression.”

You might know Ian from his blog, Production Advice. There he gives away boatloads of great content on how to make your music sound better. He’s been a mastering engineer for over 15 years now, running his studio, Mastering Media alongside his blog.

Not everyone can go to a professional mastering engineer every time they need to master a song. That’s why he created his ebook and video: to teach you how to master your own stuff on your own dime.

The thing about multiband compression is that in the unskilled hands it can really suck the life out of your music. But if you learn how to use it correctly you can create dynamic an punchy records.

Not Just for Beginners

Man, I really learned a lot from his video. Reading an ebook can be extremely informative, but seeing his methods in action is such a great way to learn.

I have to admit, I had never really given the multiband compressor a chance. Sure, I knew how it worked but it always seemed too complicated to be worth the effort. I always thought you had to tweak so many parameters to make it do the right things.

I was so wrong it’s ridiculous.  Ian makes it so so simple to use that I’m kind of embarrassed to admit not having used it for all these years.

Basically, if you’ve ever been confused about any aspect of the multiband compressor, his ebook answers all of your questions.

I really recommend the video. It was eye-opening to watch him work. After watching his video and reading his book, I approach the multiband compressor in a completely different way.

Check out Ian’s blog for more information about his product. 

Image by: paul (dex)

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