Vinyl Mastering

Some believe that you need to create two separate masters for vinyl and digital release . This isn't necessary if you avoid excessive loudness through hyper-compression or excessive brilliance in the highs, as is common today. The track would sound wonderful on a vinyl record, and there would be no need to create two different masters for your music. However, in today's digital age, this practice is often followed.

Therefore, it usually makes sense to create an additional master for vinyl (vinyl mastering) because it is often not as sharp in the highs, and several other crucial factors, such as stereo width, dynamics, and loudness, significantly influence where the track sits best on the record. In our mastering tips, there are some things to consider when online mastering for a vinyl record to achieve a good sound for your music.

The mono-compatibility is particularly important when it comes to vinyl. Loud sounds with strong attack times can be problematic, and if exaggerated, they can cause the needle to skip. On the other hand, strings and pad sounds should receive less emphasis in the vinyl master. The goal is to have a strong mono center, starting at around 300 Hz and below. This doesn't mean that everything must be in mono, but rather, more attention should be paid to this aspect because excessive stereo width can lead to a high stylus excursion. This not only affects the cutting level but also the groove space usage.

In vinyl mastering, it's essential to remove or reduce stereo information in the bass region to achieve a rich and central low-end sound and avoid needle skipping on the record. Since the track should breathe, compression should be used carefully. The goal is to gently attenuate only the peaks with a low threshold value, rather than turning the entire song into a dynamic uniformity.

A track intended for vinyl release should maintain a certain level of dynamics to sound good and clean on a record. The approach may vary depending on the genre and the song itself. It's important to avoid processors that add overtones, such as an exciter, which can make the record sound "shrill" When it comes to vinyl mastering, special attention should be paid to high frequencies (S-sounds). If no precautions are taken, they can become either "muddy" or too "sharp". These considerations arise due to the nature of vinyl production.

EQ'ING IN THE VINYL MASTER

In EQ'ing, I apply a low-cut filter at around 40Hz to minimize any potential rumble on the record. A high-cut filter is used to limit the upper frequencies. For vinyl mastering, 17kHz is a good starting point because a record may not faithfully reproduce frequencies beyond that range. Experiment with different filter slopes to achieve a very gentle roll-off With a gentle roll-off (e.g., 6 dB or a maximum of 12 dB/octave slope), you can set your high-cut EQ for vinyl mastering at 15 kHz.

In the case of "Half-Speed Vinyl Mastering" using the lacquer cutting process , it's even possible to reproduce a frequency response up to 25kHz. This is because it operates at 16 2/3RPM instead of the standard XNUMX XNUMX/XNUMX RPM. The advantage of this approach is that it significantly improves the precision of transferring all information during vinyl mastering. As a result, you have fewer distortions , better transient response, and benefit from greater dynamic range.

S-SOUNDS

As mentioned earlier, S-sounds can make a record sound "shrill". To avoid this, I'll describe two approaches:

1. Using the bandpass filter of a de-esser, we search for the "sharp" frequency, which can range between 3-10 kHz (depending on the song). Afterward, you carefully adjust the de-esser. This should be done with sensitivity to avoid attenuating too much of the specific frequency. It always depends on the song, so it's difficult to provide exact values. This is a technique  used not only in vinyl masteringbut can be particularly important here to ensure a clean sound on the record. For the pros: Adjust the octave above the centre frequency accordingly. 
2. A  alternative approach is to use an EQ. With the EQ, we also search for the specific frequency and make a narrow cut (high Q-value) of -1 to 5 dB. This will affect the entire track's tonal colour, which can be intentional. There is NO one perfect solution.

MID-SIDE EQ'ING

Stereo information  in the bass region is not only removed for vinyl mastering, but it's essentialto prevent needle skipping. It sounds better overall when the bass is more central. To achieve this, you can use a high-pass filter to remove low frequencies from the side signal. This can theoretically be accomplished with any audio processor that has a mono bass control .

Brilliance , in our context, refers to the addition of high frequencies in the range of approximately 6-20 kHz, a process that is relevant in vinyl mastering. It's crucial to avoid large level jumps and extreme energy weighting in the upper kHz range in the mix because, due to the manufacturing process, cutting, and the nature of vinyl, this can lead to the pressing plant rejecting the production. Even worse, it can cause the record or the needle on the record to start skipping, and your music won't sound good. This can be mitigated by aiming for lower overall loudness levels - , typically between -12 and -20 LUFS (but please don't hold us to these exact values). Of course, you can press "loud" songs on vinyl, but this often involves compromises in terms of resolution, groove space usage, and cutting level.