Mastering in the Box with Ian Vargo
Ian Vargo teaches you how to get great sounding mastering results at home using exclusively plugins in the box. Includes workshops and walkthroughs as well as the song files for practice.
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Learn How to Get Great Sounding Mastering Results In Your Home Studio — 100% In The Box
In this 6+ hour course, Ian Vargo teaches you how to get great sounding mastering results at home using exclusively plugins in the box. Includes thirteen topic-specific workshops and 15 different genre walkthroughs, plus all the song files so you can practice along with the course.
- What is mastering and the roles of a modern mastering engineer
- Mastering walkthroughs in 10+ genres using only plugins
- The role of loudness and dynamics in modern mastering
- Essential types of plugins and processing for mastering in the box
- The best types of EQ for additive vs subtractive processing
- How to use additive EQ to increase energy, clarity and low end
- How to use subtractive EQ to clean up and enhance the sound
- How to add energy to the bass and kick drum in a stereo mix
- How mid-side processing can be extremely useful for mastering
- When to use tape saturation or compression instead of EQ
- When it's a great idea to use EQ before compression
- Overview of client interaction, file distribution and more
- Learn the ideal compression ratios for a mastering context
- The basics of multiband compression and when it’s most helpful
- Tips for using exciters, enhancers and saturation in mastering
- Fun and obscure tricks for coloring a sound using tape emulation
Learn techniques for using EQ to fix harshness, rumble, and other mix issues — or to enhance, brighten and embellish.
Learn the functions and characteristics of various plugins that are particularly valuable for an in the box mastering chain.
Demonstrations using stock plugins as well as the same processing on more sonically colored analog emulations.
How to use saturation and why saturation or compression can sometimes be a better choice than EQ for manipulating tone.
Learn about different types of dynamics processing plus the characteristics of various higher-end compression plugins.
Tutorial Overview
Learn the basics of mastering
Ian covers essentials like EQ, compression, limiting and more. Whether you're an aspiring mastering engineer or just looking to level up your mixes, this course teaches you how to get there.
Watch the genre walkthroughs
Watch and learn how Ian improves the sound of eight different songs. He takes you through the choices he's made and what to watch out for when practicing along with the included songs.
Practice alongside the course
All eight of the songs Ian uses as source material for the genre walkthroughs are included in your download folder so you can practice alongside the tutorial or anytime after watching it.