Signal path

A mastering chain with one job per stage

Mastering is a sequence of small, reversible decisions. Correct first, colour second, control dynamics third, set the ceiling last. Every stage should have a bypass comparison you can win at matched loudness, and none of them should be doing two jobs at once.

  • Band Practice
  • Mastering Tape Suite
  • Summation
  • Finish Him
  • End Times
The order

Step by step

Change the order if the material asks for it. The reasons are in each step.

  1. 1. Correct the balance

    Use Band Practice for broad, mix-wide correction. Keep the moves gentle and check them on more than one system; a narrow cut that fixes one room is usually a monitoring problem, not a master problem.

  2. 2. Add one colour stage

    Mastering Tape Suite combines tape colour with transport and head-response controls. Summation offers three summing circuits. Valence adds valve colour, with a Focus selector for its additional parallel return. Compare these as colour choices and keep the stage that serves the record.

  3. 3. Control dynamics

    Finish Him is a true-peak limiter with four engines and a dBTP ceiling. End Times is a multiband adaptive limiter for material that needs band-specific control. Use the simplest one that solves the problem.

  4. 4. Check the ceiling and the codec

    Set the true-peak ceiling with headroom for lossy encoding, then listen to a encoded copy at the same loudness. If the top end or the stereo image changes character, reduce the limiting or the colour stage rather than adding another processor.

Listening check

Compare the master with the mix at matched loudness, then compare a lossy encode with the master. The master should sound like a louder, slightly more finished version of the mix, not a different record.

In this guide

The plug-ins named above

Open a product page for the full controls, formats and installers.

  • Band Practice, the plug-in's interface

    Band Practice

    Price: Free

    A 24-band EQ with ten filter shapes and three phase modes.

    Equalization

    Windows VST3 · Mac VST3 / AU

  • Mastering Tape Suite, the plug-in's interface

    Mastering Tape Suite

    Price: $29.99$59.99 from 9 Nov

    Add tape colour and shape the dynamics of a mix or bus.

    Tape

    Windows VST3 · Mac VST3 / AU

  • Summation, the plug-in's interface

    Summation

    Price: $24.99$49.99 from 9 Nov

    Console saturation: US Discrete, British Class-A and British Console engines.

    Saturation

    Windows VST3 · Mac VST3 / AU

  • Finish Him, the plug-in's interface

    Finish Him

    Price: $39.99$79.99 from 9 Nov

    Choose Transparent, Punch, Dense or Safe limiting.

    Limiter

    Windows VST3 · Mac VST3 / AU

  • End Times, the plug-in's interface

    End Times

    Price: $29.99$59.99 from 9 Nov

    A loudness chain: clipping, spectral limiting and a true-peak ceiling in one.

    Limiter

    Windows VST3 · Mac VST3 / AU

FAQ

Questions about this chain

What order should mastering plug-ins go in?
Correction, then colour, then dynamics, then ceiling. There are exceptions, but this order keeps each decision audible and reversible. If a later stage changes what an earlier stage did, go back and reconsider the earlier move.
Do I need both a tape emulation and a summing plug-in?
Not usually. Both add colour, and stacking them can make the low end muddy before the limiter arrives. Try one at a time at matched loudness and keep the one that serves the record.
How much headroom should I leave for streaming?
Leave enough that the true-peak ceiling is not being approached on every hit, and check a lossy encode before delivery. The exact number depends on the platform and the material; the listening test matters more than a single target.
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