Can you master in Logic Pro?
Yes. Logic Pro has everything a master needs: an EQ, compressors, a limiter, a loudness meter, and since recent versions an automatic tool, Mastering Assistant. What it cannot give you is a fresh pair of ears. The hard part of mastering your own mix is hearing it as someone who did not make it.
Whichever way you go, master a finished mix. If something in the balance bothers you, fix it in the mix: a master works on everything at once, so it can only move the whole song. Mixing vs mastering explains where the line falls.
With Mastering Assistant
Apple’s instructions are to insert Mastering Assistant on the stereo output channel strip, after any other plug-ins there, or to choose Mix > Mastering Assistant. It analyzes the whole project, including software instruments and effects, and may apply corrective EQ, adjust loudness and adjust stereo spread.
- Character. On a Mac with Apple silicon or on iPad it starts on Transparent, and you can choose Clean, Valve or Punch instead; on a Mac with an Intel processor, Clean is the only one. Apple suggests Clean for EDM and acoustic music, Valve for acoustic music and hip-hop, and Punch for rock.
- Auto EQ. A slider that scales how much of the corrective EQ is applied.
- Loudness. Centred, the output measures around -14 LUFS integrated, which Apple describes as the target of many streaming platforms.
- Width and the Correlation meter. Turned fully left, Width folds the mix to mono so you can check it; Apple says the Correlation meter should stay above zero for good mono compatibility.
Two things Apple asks before you bounce: click Reanalyze if you changed anything in the mix after the first analysis, and turn Loudness Compensation off. Loudness Compensation is there so you can compare the master with your mix at the same loudness while you work, which is the fair way to judge it.
By hand, with the stock plug-ins
Doing it yourself takes longer and teaches you what the automatic version is doing. On the stereo output, in this order:
- EQ first, and small. Channel EQ or Linear Phase EQ: a gentle cut where the mix is crowded, a gentle lift where it is dull, a few decibels at most. Big moves here mean the mix needs work.
- Then light compression. Compressor or Multipressor, a low ratio and a couple of decibels of gain reduction on the loudest parts. It holds the song together; it is not where the loudness comes from.
- A limiter last. Adaptive Limiter, with its output ceiling below 0 dB so the peaks rebuilt after encoding stay clear of full scale. Raise the gain into it until the song is as loud as you want, and stop before it starts to flatten the drums.
- The Loudness Meter after everything. It reads integrated loudness and loudness range for the stretch you play while its Start button is on, so play the whole song through before you trust the number.
Compare against a released song you like, at the same loudness: how to use a reference track explains how, and why a louder version always seems better for the first few seconds.
Bounce it
Choose File > Bounce > Project or Section. For the file you keep, choose Uncompressed, with WAVE or AIFF as the file type, at 24-bit, and leave Normalize off: normalizing scans for the highest peak and raises the whole file until that peak reaches full scale, which undoes the ceiling you just set. If Cycle mode is on, Logic bounces only the cycle area, so check that it is off or covers the whole song.
Then measure the bounced file, not the project, because the file is what ships. Our free LUFS and true peak meter reads both in your browser without uploading it.
Or hand the mix to a mastering service
If you would rather have someone else’s ears on it, bounce the mix instead of the master: everything on the stereo output that you added for loudness switched off, Mastering Assistant included, so the master has room to work. The same settings apply, 24-bit and Normalize off.
Euphona’s mastering takes that file and delivers it under a true peak ceiling. Without a reference it changes your mix’s tonal balance only where it falls outside the range finished records occupy. It can also play the master at the streaming standard beside its default level, at matched loudness, so you choose by ear.
Questions
Should I master in the same project as the mix?
You can, and Mastering Assistant is built for it. Bouncing the mix and mastering it in a new project has one advantage: you stop changing the mix while you master, so every decision is about the whole song.
What loudness should I aim for?
Streaming services turn loud songs down to their own playback level, so loudness past that point buys nothing for most listeners. LUFS for Spotify explains how one service does it; aim for a master that sounds right at that level rather than for a number.
Can I master in Logic Pro for iPad?
Yes. Apple documents Mastering Assistant for iPad too: tap the Mixer’s Setup button, then Mastering, to add it.
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