Bitsonic The best mastering solution

1) Save the default settings so that you can restore them whenever you need them.

2) Download the audio file that you wish to work on.

3) Set up your soundcard driver settings.

4) Enable the limiter with default settings of  0dB threshold and 80ms release time.

5) Music often sounds better when the balance of frequencies is more even.  The 31-band Linear EQ has an automatic function to help you with this.  Simply play your track from start to end with the Automatic function enabled, and the EQ settings will be adjusted for you.  The Multiplier control changes the strength of the frequency changes if the effect is too strong or too weak. Alternatively, turn off automatic mode to adjust the equaliser manually - the automatic setting will be remembered in case you wish to return to them later.

6) Enable the Multi-band Stereo enhancer.  You can control the spacial sense of your track in five independent frequency bands.Values above 127 increase the width, and values below 127 make each band more 'mono'.  The panorama sliders allow you to pan each band from left to right, to correct any stereo imbalances in your recording.  Adjusting the width and panorama can sometimes alter the perceived loudness of the sound, in which case, use the Delay controls to restore the levels. You can hear the effect on individual bands by using the Mute switches.  Use the Scope to see how your settings are affecting the stereo image, to help you judge when the effect is distorting the sound too much.

7) Enable the Paragraphic EQ.  Useful for more precise adjustment of the frequency balance. It's best to set this up before enabling the compressor, due to the way in which their setting interact with each other.

8) Enable the Multiband Compressor; this also has five frequency bands.  Set the ratio and threshold for each channel until you see an appropriate amount of gain reduction in the meters.  Then, set the attack and release values until the gain reduction is as smooth (high values) or aggressive (low values) as sound right for your track.  The default value of 80 for attack and release is designed to compress you track without the effect standing out too much.  You can also mute compressor bands to help you concentrate on the settings for individual frequency bands.

9) If you want a 'richer' more bassy sound, enable the Tube Virtualiser here.  Slowly raise the value from zero using the slider until you hear the right amount of effect - too much will make your track sound obviously distorted!  Note that this function will only work if the Multiband Compressor is active.

10) The MS-Matrix splits your signal in two - sounds which are central, and sounds which are to either side.  You can use this to adjust the balance of central sounds relative to the two sides, in order to raise or lower the level of your lead sounds against the backing track.

11) The left and right hand channels can have their levels adjusted independently, so that you can balance recordings that may have a bias to one side.  Note that changing the level may require other controls to be adjusted, as the Compressor and Tube Virtualiser effects depend very much on the signal level sent to them.

12) Set up the Limiter.  To help find an appropriate threshold level, you can set the plugin to loop a short section around the loudest part of your song.  High values may introduce distortion before the required amount of peak limiting is reached - in this case, the compressor should be used to even out the peak levels prior to adjusting the limiter.

13) Use the bypass button regularly to compare your track with and without effects, this will help you to avoid using settings which are too extreme.

14) Use the mono button to check how your track will sound in mono (e.g. on the radio).  Too much spacial enhancement can sometimes make elements of your track 'disappear' when played in mono. If your sound is already mono, even with this button turned off, then it is likely that the spacial enhancer has been set to zero for all of the bands.

15) Mastering will take some skill to master.  Every one of the processes applied here will interact with all of the others, so it is worth fine tuning the controls several times over in order to find the optimal sound.

16) The second wave player can be used to load and play a reference track.  It's often useful when mastering to compare against a piece of music in a similar style that you know has a great sound. Switch between your tune and the reference track regularly to make sure that your settings are headed in the right direction.

17) If you want some extra volume on your music, you can use the Overdrive. Warning! Be careful! If the overdrive value too much, the song might be really overdriven.

18) Use the preset manager to store your favourite settings for different styles of music, having 'template' settings for your favourite kinds of music can save you a lot of time.  Change the preset name, by clicking on the current name, before saving to make sure you remember what style or track your preset is to be used for.

Like all mastering programs, this one will take a little time to master.  This is perfectly normal; finding the right settings is a process of continual refinement.  Having so much control available gives you the power to get precisely the sound you're after - so some time spent learning and practising will be time well spent.