Episode 4

Mix Bus: Clipping, Imaging & Loudness Without Pump

This is the episode that might change how you approach loudness forever. Austin walks through his complete mix bus chain, from Luca's Super Wide Master 2 (for stereo imaging and low-end narrowing) to his controversial final move: railing the master output at +3 dB with no limiter catching it, letting Pro Tools' internal clip handle the peaks. He compares this directly against the Ozone 12 Maximizer limiter on the same material, demonstrating in real time how the limiter creates audible ducking and pump on bass hits while the raw clip does not. He also revisits a first-morning listen, trims the kick and bass back slightly, and finishes dialing in the loudness with metric AB comparisons against the rough.

Key takeaways: Stereo imaging on the mix bus, the case against limiters for pop/dance, master bus clipping technique, Luca Super Wide Master 2, morning-ear revisit workflow.