#143 - 1st September 2024 - Polishing stuff with Master EQ

I've had a few things on my Sunday to-do list today.

One item: Revisiting the mastering of two tracks from the band that were not yet released. One of them is a potential candidate for a November release, the other one is more likely to be part of the album (ETA tbd).

Why revisit? The mastering is perfectly fine but there were one, two aspects I had recalled that could have been improved about the mix.

Yes, first master, then fix the mix? Wrong sequence and stupid, but what do you want to do?

A couple of months back, I got the Dangerous BAX EQ as software in a Universal Audio sale. Why? Well, UAD sales are about buying bundles and I wanted the Neve 1073 preamp and Antares Auto-Tune. For #3 I did not have an actual idea, but I recalled a video from a German hiphop producer who swears by the BAX EQ hardware unit.

Also, the only other Mastering EQ I have, is the Hitsville EQ which is great but also a bit vintage in its vibe?!

Long story short, I got the BAX EQ, forgot about it for a while and then recently got to use it when I stumbled upon it in my vst list and was nicely surprised by it.

And it is kinda great. I really like what it does in Mid-Side mode. It greatly enhances the stereo picture and also adds a smoothness to the sound. It's really really good.

So these two aspects; stereo picture enhancement and smoothing - were what I could achieve by adding the BAX. Other than that, I also reduced bass and low mids just a wee bit, like <1.5dB and what can I say? I'm happy now - the tracks are ready :)