Master Match info

[jimmyjames75]

Hi there, I have T-Racks 5 deluxe version. The Master Match EQ, it has a built in limiter. I know it doesnt have any adjustments for the limiter, but is there a way to turn just the limiter OFF?
If I turn the volume part to zero, will that turn the limiter off and give me just the EQ of it?

Also, I had tracked a bass player. He was playing electric bass with a pick. In the bridge, he used just his fingers. He was unhappy with the tone change in that section. He wanted the tone to be closer to the rest of the song he did with a pick.
So I exported the bass track without the bridge. I loaded it into master match. I then applied the bass eq to the bridge eq. He was blown AWAY! It has the same sonic character as the rest of the song.

So one I figured out I could use Master Match for other things, I did. My question is: when I copy the eq of a single track, so sometimes it gets very little EQ and doesnt do much when applied to the track. Sometimes this trick works sometimes not.
When I am using it on a single track, do I need to really give it a lot of GAIN? My sessions are gain staged ag -18 rms. Does Master Match need more than that?

[carlaz]

I think that if you just pull the "Level Matching" fader in Master Match all the way down, then it won't do any volume change on your track. (It would be nice if there were a switch that would let you just leave "Level Matching" off by default.) Not sure if that helps at all!

[jimmyjames75]

I think that if you just pull the "Level Matching" fader in Master Match all the way down, then it won't do any volume change on your track. (It would be nice if there were a switch that would let you just leave "Level Matching" off by default.) Not sure if that helps at all!

It does some. I cant get to my computer and plugins for a few days. So I am thinking about what I need to do. It would be nice to know what happens when we pull the volume match to zero.

If pulling it to zero, turns the brick wall off, that would be great! Any time I have used it, the built in Brick Wall Limiter was always on, and set to -0.3.

[carlaz]

I sometimes put Master Match right before Stealth Limiter when I'm checking the balance and so forth. Similar idea, so I really don't want Master Match cranking up the gain going into the limiter. Pulling down the level matching on Master Match at least helps (though I also usually go back and drop Master Match from my stereo-bus chain once I've tweaked EQ elsewhere in the mix).

[jimmyjames75]

I sometimes put Master Match right before Stealth Limiter when I'm checking the balance and so forth. Similar idea, so I really don't want Master Match cranking up the gain going into the limiter. Pulling down the level matching on Master Match at least helps (though I also usually go back and drop Master Match from my stereo-bus chain once I've tweaked EQ elsewhere in the mix).

So what you are saying is this, if I am following you correct. You use Master Match to get the sonic sound you are looking for. Then you use your own eq and limiter to get that sound. Is this right?

Also, when you turn your volume match all the way down on master match, have you noticed if it turns off the limiter?

[carlaz]

I sometimes put Master Match right before Stealth Limiter when I'm checking the balance and so forth. Similar idea, so I really don't want Master Match cranking up the gain going into the limiter. Pulling down the level matching on Master Match at least helps (though I also usually go back and drop Master Match from my stereo-bus chain once I've tweaked EQ elsewhere in the mix).

So what you are saying is this, if I am following you correct. You use Master Match to get the sonic sound you are looking for. Then you use your own eq and limiter to get that sound. Is this right?

Yeah -- or, as best as I can, anyway. Master Match gives me an extra idea about where my frequency balance is in comparison to one or more of my reference targets. So, if I check against some references, and find that I've got (for exmple) more 350 hz than expect (or whatever) in my stereo mix, I might go back to my buses and instruments and see if there's something with more energy in that range than I need.

Also, when you turn your volume match all the way down on master match, have you noticed if it turns off the limiter?

That I'm less sure about. I hadn't really thought about how Master Match did its level matching. Does it have a limiter built into it? The TRackS 5 manual only says (p. 134):

• LEVEL MATCHING: is the percentage go matching RMS level resulted from the analisis. It goes from no matching at 0% to full match at 100%.

OK, the language is a little funky there, but in any case I've simply assumed that if I drag the "Level Matching" fader all the way down (i.e. to 0%), that means there no level matching going on. It certainly doesn't seem to me like it's being limited. But I don't know how the plugin really works "under the hood", of course.

[jimmyjames75]

Good info bro, thanks. And yes, Master Match has a built in limiter for sure. It is set to -0.3. Folks use to use -0.2 as the standard. But I have been using -0.3 for mp3s for a few years now. It ik improves the sound quality. I would use -0.2 for wave files.

So I figure there must be a reason why they set it to -0.3. I know some top engineers are using -0.3 now as well. Maybe that is the new standard for wave file as well.

I don't remember where I was told this, but a T-Racks rep told me the limiter is the reason they reccomend using Master Match last in the chain. This way you get the sonic character you are looking for and the volume level.
They said if you use Master Match, they don't recommend using a limiter

[Peter_IK]

It is recommended to be placed last in the chain for those reasons and in the standalone T-RackS (or within the Suite plugin) you'll find it fixed at the end of the chain. Which is on purpose

Though you can have flexibility using the single plugin to do things that might be considered technically "wrong" because we all know that some great sonic results have been achieved by using gear in very specifically incorrect ways. We've had some fabulous audio results from misuse and abuse of gear too, but virtual versions don't always make that sort of thing easy to achieve For example Bruce Botnick (known for his work with The Doors) created this "Farkle" technology/procedure while recording Van Dyke Parks which I believe basically used analog tape folded/fanned and actual masking tape plus creative routing through the Sunset Sound echo chambers... Seems like a wild time back then!

Speaking of Bruce Botnick, we'll be talking to him at Sunset Sound next week so I hope we'll see some video or at least get some transcripts of that discussion as he is an incredible mind in the audio world. He's already a fan of T-RackS Sunset Sound Studio Reverb and we'll pick his brain further about the plugin and his experience at Sunset Sound and the great acts he's recorded.

[jimmyjames75]

It is recommended to be placed last in the chain for those reasons and in the standalone T-RackS (or within the Suite plugin) you'll find it fixed at the end of the chain. Which is on purpose

Though you can have flexibility using the single plugin to do things that might be considered technically "wrong" because we all know that some great sonic results have been achieved by using gear in very specifically incorrect ways. We've had some fabulous audio results from misuse and abuse of gear too, but virtual versions don't always make that sort of thing easy to achieve For example Bruce Botnick (known for his work with The Doors) created this "Farkle" technology/procedure while recording Van Dyke Parks which I believe basically used analog tape folded/fanned and actual masking tape plus creative routing through the Sunset Sound echo chambers... Seems like a wild time back then!

Speaking of Bruce Botnick, we'll be talking to him at Sunset Sound next week so I hope we'll see some video or at least get some transcripts of that discussion as he is an incredible mind in the audio world. He's already a fan of T-RackS Sunset Sound Studio Reverb and we'll pick his brain further about the plugin and his experience at Sunset Sound and the great acts he's recorded.

The Doors were my first favorite band of all time. I was in 7th grade and heard the Doors. My mind was blown. I am a massive Robbie Kreager fan. And Bruce Botnick is a genius.

About the master match. If we turn the level matching down to zero, will it turn the limiter off?

[Peter_IK]

Technically yes, as it seems to control the RMS matching levels. From the manual:

LEVEL MATCHING: is the percentage go matching RMS level resulted from the analysis. It goes from no matching at 0% to full match at 100%.

[jimmyjames75]

Technically yes, as it seems to control the RMS matching levels. From the manual:

LEVEL MATCHING: is the percentage go matching RMS level resulted from the analysis. It goes from no matching at 0% to full match at 100%.

OK, for anyone wanting to know. The Brick Wall Limiter in Master Match can not be turned off. I turned the level match to zero, it still works. So, in theory, you could keep it from working if you keep the gain below -0.3, as that is where the Limiter enguages.

The Brick Wall Limiter in Master Match can not be turned off

[zyzygis]

Does anyone else get a large level bump when engaging linear phase?

[jimmyjames75]

Does anyone else get a large level bump when engaging linear phase?

Yes. A lot of their plugins do that. Even when they are set to zero.

[zyzygis]

It’s a serious problem with Master-match being last in the chain and with a limiter which can’t be disabled, I often get distorted output because of the unwanted gain which can’t be solved even when gain match is lowered to zero.