My first step was to use freebie VU and loudness meters to adjust the Pre‑Gain in the Channel Settings dialogue. The first screen (above) shows the plug‑ins I used in Cubase Elements 11 to recreate Ian’s basic signal chain, and these are the settings I used for the first audio example. You can also import any reference tracks you want to audition, again putting them on their own stereo track. You can still use the same insert plug‑in chain for each, but this way you can tailor the settings to suit each track. Each track will still require different mastering treatments, of course, so place each finished mix on its own stereo audio track in a new Cubase project. for a compilation such as an album or EP). ![]() ![]() Simple StepsĮven though it’s technically possible to mix and master a single track in the same Cubase project, I recommend handling them as two separate processes - partly for the clarity of thought this forces upon you, and partly so that you can master multiple tracks together (eg. For visualisation that can help you achieve a ‘balanced EQ’ (rather than EQ matching), I’m not sure Cubase (or any other DAW) really has anything to match something like iZotope’s excellent Tonal Balance 2 plug‑in, but there are nonetheless some simple, pragmatic workarounds that I’ll touch on below. Loudness targets can be a matter of personal taste, musical genre and where you intend the final master to be played (vinyl, CD or a streaming service, for example) but in the audio examples that accompany this article (on the SOS website at ) I’ll not veer too far away from Ian’s suggestions of ‑11dB on my VU meter (by calibrating the zero point on the meter to ‑11dB) and ‑10 LUFS for short‑term loudness of the loudest part of my mix. Elements and Artist users might also want to investigate Youlean’s Loudness Meter 2 Free (there’s also a paid version with more features but the free one should do just fine). TBProaudio’s mvMeter and PreSonus’ VU Meter). Happily, you can add one of those for free (eg. Cubase Pro 11 has comprehensive loudness metering, courtesy of its SuperVision plug‑in, but users of Elements or Artist don’t have that and nor does it provide us with one of Ian’s favourite tools: a virtual VU meter. Ian discussed how useful he finds it to be able to visualise both the spectral balance and loudness of the audio. That got me wondering how someone might attempt DIY mastering for the first time if using a relatively basic DAW such as Cubase Elements 11, perhaps with the help of a few freebie plug‑ins. One of the key things Ian explains is that, for the basics of mastering, his processing chain is always simple: it consists only of gain adjustment, EQ, compression and limiting, although he also makes use of various meters. Our recent six‑part video series on the subject by mastering engineer Ian Shepherd ( ) is a great introduction to the topic, and I’d encourage you to watch it. But we still want our material to sound ‘finished’ so it’s natural that many of us look to dabble in a little DIY mastering. ![]() Realistically, we can’t all get every track we write mastered professionally. ![]() Want to try a spot of DIY mastering? You can do so in any version of Cubase 11, including Elements. Some freeware plug‑ins that can enhance your DIY mastering experience in Cubase Elements.
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