Music Mastering Software
- The Plug-In Space -

Music mastering software programs, in most cases, are designed to run in a host editor, and are generally referred to as 3rd party plug-ins.

Hosts such as Steinberg's Wavelab provide some of their own audio mastering software within their programs. But because plug-in designers focus directly on a specific processes, they're of higher quality.

Some of the primary companies putting out this type of software include:

• PSP (Professional Sound Products)
• Universal Audio (also known as UAD)
• Waves
• Voxengo
• Harbal which is actually a stand alone program due to its complexity.
• iZotope
• T-RackS 3
• Roger Nichols Digital

Many more companies are creating very unique software for mastering with increasing frequency. This puts a lot of power into the hands and ears of mastering engineers and end users.

• equalization (eq)
• compression
• limiting

• expansion (upward and downward)
• stereo imaging
• tape simulation
• tube saturation
• specialized enhancement processes (Bob Katz' K-Stereo; Waves' Center; and so on)

One of the most important audio mastering procedures, dithering to 16 bits, is necessary whether you want a Master CD; or mp3 files for your web site.

Not all companies offer the same set of plug-ins. And, you won't necessarily need to use each and every type of process. Each have their own individual way of addressing music (or audio) mastering.

Roger Nichols Digital once had a really innovative and unique compressor in their D4 plug-in.

Many of the plug-ins can perform double-duty and be used on individual tracks in a mix. But in the case of something like iZotope's Ozone plug-in, which is a dedicated mastering “suite”, it would be overkill.

With people like Bob Katz and Steven Slate designing dedicated, specialized mastering plug-ins, we're on solid ground now, and in the future, with music mastering software!

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