Mastering Presets
System Presets > Mastering provides ten effect chains for finished stereo mixes (2mix). Each chain automatically adjusts tonal balance, compresses dynamics, and limits peaks while audio plays or a file is processed. They are starting points for different styles, not automatic matching to a specified LUFS loudness.
Choose a preset
| Preset | Intended result |
|---|---|
| Acoustic | Gentle tonal correction and compression for acoustic instruments and vocals. |
| Classical | Light tonal correction and peak control, retaining large differences between quiet and loud passages. |
| EDM | Firm bass control, slight transient shaping, and strong limiting for electronic dance mixes. |
| Hip-Hop | Controlled bass with extra emphasis on kick attacks and light saturation. |
| J-Pop Dense | Deliberately very compressed sound: strong five-band compression, reduced attacks, saturation, and heavy limiting. |
| Jazz | Light compression and peak control for acoustic jazz. |
| Metal | Firm compression and dynamic upper-mid/treble cuts for dense guitars and cymbals. |
| Pop | Moderate compression with dynamic control of prominent upper mids and treble. |
| R&B and Soul | Gentle saturation and slower compression for vocal-led mixes. |
| Rock | Compression with slight attack emphasis and dynamic control of guitar presence. |
Process a finished mix
- Start with a stereo mix without clipping. As a starting point, use a mix whose loudest peaks are around -6 to -3 dBFS. These presets do not first normalize the input; quieter mixes receive less compression, and louder mixes receive more.
- Clear the current Effect Pipeline, then add one preset from System Presets > Mastering. System presets insert effects into the pipeline, so adding several stacks their processing.
- Preview the loudest passage and a quieter passage. The first Volume effect is the input trim: raise it for more compression, or lower it if the whole chain sounds too compressed. Compare at a similar listening volume.
- Choose WAV or FLAC and the output sample rate and quality under Settings > Config > Offline file output. Drop the original mix into the file-processing area below Effect Pipeline to save a processed copy.
Tonal Balance EQ uses a 10-second averaging time and adapts as the music progresses; it does not analyze the whole file in advance. The beginning and later passages can therefore receive different corrections. Acoustic and Jazz use the broad All target, while Hip-Hop uses Electronic and R&B and Soul use Pop. Reduce Amount or Range if the tonal correction changes the mix too much.
Every chain ends with Brickwall Limiter, set to 4× oversampling, 5 ms lookahead, and a -1 dB margin with a 0 dB threshold. Its Input Gain determines how strongly the final peaks are limited. Lower it if drums lose impact or loud passages distort. Leave the limiter last, and check the exported file if you need a particular loudness or true-peak specification; these presets do not guarantee either.
J-Pop Dense intentionally sacrifices transient detail and dynamic range for density. It uses 5:1 compression in all five bands, 10 dB of band makeup gain, and 14 dB of limiter input gain. Start with Pop when you want more dynamics. Avoid applying Dense to a mix that has already been heavily limited unless further compression is your intention.
See EQ effects, dynamics effects, and saturation effects for the individual controls.