NUGEN Audio MasterCheck - Detailed Review
Music Tools
NUGEN Audio MasterCheck - Product Overview
Introduction to NUGEN Audio MasterCheck
NUGEN Audio MasterCheck is a versatile audio tool specifically designed for music professionals, including mix and mastering engineers, as well as producers. This plugin is essential for ensuring that your audio productions sound optimal across various digital music streaming services.
Primary Function
The primary function of MasterCheck is to help producers and engineers prepare their audio mixes for playback on different digital platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and SoundCloud. It does this by simulating the encoding and loudness matching techniques used by these services, allowing users to preview how their tracks will sound in real-time.
Target Audience
MasterCheck is targeted at serious mixing and mastering engineers, producers, and anyone involved in audio production who needs to ensure their work sounds great on various digital music services. This includes professionals working in music, podcasting, and digital radio.
Key Features
Codec Auditioning
MasterCheck allows users to audition different codecs in real-time, such as Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, Opus, AAC-LC, HE-AACv1 (AAC ), HE-AACv2 (DAB ), and MP3. This helps in identifying codec distortion and over-compression before finalizing the mix.
Loudness Measurement
The plugin measures integrated loudness and peak-to-loudness ratio (PLR or dynamic range), ensuring the mix complies with the loudness standards of various streaming services.
True Peak Metering
MasterCheck includes true-peak metering to prevent downstream clipping and ensure the mix stays within delivery specifications.
A/B Referencing
Users can A/B reference their master FX chain with other reference tracks or the uncompressed mix at matched loudness levels, allowing for objective assessments of the processing applied.
Dynamic Content Measurement
The plugin helps in measuring dynamic content and preparing mix dynamics for mastering, ensuring the music makes full use of the available headroom without being automatically turned down at playback.
Specific Presets
MasterCheck includes presets for specific streaming services, such as Spotify, Apple Music, and SoundCloud, making it easy to optimize mixes for these platforms.
Loudness Matching
The plugin allows users to match the loudness of their audio to the target loudness of the streaming service, ensuring consistent playback levels.
By using MasterCheck, producers and engineers can ensure their audio productions are optimized for digital music services, maintaining the intended sound quality and avoiding potential issues such as codec distortion and clipping.
NUGEN Audio MasterCheck - User Interface and Experience
User Interface Overview
The user interface of NUGEN Audio’s MasterCheck is designed to be intuitive and user-friendly, making it an invaluable tool for audio professionals.Visual Layout
The interface is clean and uncluttered, featuring a three-way bar-graph meter layout. This includes a standard ITU-R BS.1770 ‘Short-term’ Loudness meter on the left, a peak-to-loudness ratio (PLR) indicator bar in the middle, and a stereo True Peak meter on the right. Additionally, there are numerical displays at the top showing the integrated PLR and Loudness values over the full duration of the audio material.Metering and Monitoring
The GUI is organized to provide quick access to key metrics. The True Peak meter, displayed prominently, helps in avoiding downstream clipping by showing inter-sample peaks. The PLR and Integrated Level meters are also easily accessible, allowing for constant monitoring of loudness and peak levels.Customization
Users can fine-tune the color scheme of the volume gradations for LU level, PLR, and True Peak, making the interface visually appealing and easy to read. The interface can be switched between a compact layout and a codec layout using the ‘Mode’ control in the settings panel, which is particularly useful for monitoring different streaming profiles.Practical Features
MasterCheck includes several practical features that enhance the user experience. For example, the ‘Offset to match’ button allows users to automatically match the loudness of their audio to a specific target, providing real-time adjustments. The ability to compare audio with and without effects, while maintaining matched loudness, helps in making objective assessments of the processing applied.Preset Management
The plugin comes with a preset browser that allows users to step through presets sequentially or select from a list. Presets can be managed easily, with options to save, rename, and organize them in user-defined folders. This feature ensures that users can quickly access and apply different settings based on their needs.Ease of Use
The overall design of MasterCheck is geared towards ease of use. The interface is straightforward, and the meters are easy to interpret. This makes it accessible not only to experienced engineers but also to those who are new to loudness normalization and audio mastering. The manual and online resources provide clear instructions on how to use the various features, ensuring a smooth learning curve.User Experience
The user experience with MasterCheck is highly positive due to its clarity and functionality. The plugin integrates seamlessly into the workflow of audio production, allowing users to mix and master audio with confidence. The ability to monitor and adjust loudness, PLR, and True Peak levels in real-time ensures that the final product sounds optimal across different playback platforms, such as Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.Conclusion
In summary, MasterCheck’s user interface is well-organized, easy to use, and provides all the necessary tools for ensuring high-quality audio production, making it an essential tool for any serious mixing and mastering engineer. NUGEN Audio MasterCheck - Key Features and Functionality
NUGEN Audio’s MasterCheck Pro
MasterCheck Pro is a comprehensive toolset designed to help music professionals optimize their mixes and masters for various digital music streaming services. Here are the key features and how they function:
Loudness Normalization Auditioning
MasterCheck allows producers to hear and visualize the effects of loudness normalization algorithms used by streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Digital Radio. This feature helps in finding the optimal balance between perceived loudness and dynamics, ensuring the music sounds as intended on different platforms.
Real-Time Codec Auditioning
One of the standout features of MasterCheck Pro is the ability to audition different codecs in real-time. This allows producers to preview how their masters will sound when encoded with various lossy data compression algorithms, helping to avoid codec distortion or over-compression. This feature is crucial for ensuring that the music does not suffer from unwanted artifacts when streamed.
Industry-Standard Meters
MasterCheck includes several industry-standard meters:
- Short-term Loudness Meter: Compliant with ITU-R BS.1770 standards, this meter shows the loudness of the audio material.
- Peak-to-Loudness Ratio (PLR) Indicator: This bar graph indicates the dynamic range of the audio.
- True Peak Meter: This meter reveals inter-sample peaks, ensuring the mix is within the delivery specifications and preventing clipping during later encoding stages.
Level Adjustments and Offset to Match
The tool allows producers to introduce the necessary level cuts or boosts to match the loudness target values of different streaming services. This ‘Offset to Match’ feature replicates how the track will sound on loudness-normalized systems, helping to identify and correct issues with hyper-compressed material.
External Reference Signal
MasterCheck can use an external signal as a reference, routed into the plug-in via a separate ‘Send’ plug-in. This allows for comparing the PLR, integrated loudness, and true-peak values between the external reference and the source tracks, providing a more accurate comparison.
A/B Comparison
Producers can A/B the master FX chain with other reference tracks or with the uncompressed mix. This feature helps in making informed decisions about the final mix and ensuring it meets the desired quality standards.
Monitoring for Specific Streaming Services
MasterCheck includes presets for specific streaming services, allowing producers to monitor how their music will sound on platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, SoundCloud, or YouTube. This ensures that the music is optimized for the target platform’s encoding specs and formats.
AI Integration
While the provided resources do not explicitly mention AI integration in MasterCheck, the tool’s advanced features and real-time processing capabilities are based on sophisticated algorithms that simulate the encoding and loudness normalization processes used by streaming services. However, there is no clear indication that AI is a core component of this product.
In summary, MasterCheck is a powerful tool that helps music professionals prepare their mixes and masters for digital streaming by providing real-time feedback on loudness normalization, codec effects, and other critical metrics, ensuring the music reaches the listener as intended.
NUGEN Audio MasterCheck - Performance and Accuracy
The NUGEN Audio MasterCheck Plugin
The NUGEN Audio MasterCheck plugin is highly regarded for its performance and accuracy in the music production and mastering process. Here are some key points that highlight its capabilities and any noted limitations:
Accuracy and Compliance
MasterCheck is praised for its accuracy, particularly in measuring loudness and dynamics. It adheres to international standards such as ITU-R BS.1770, which is a benchmark for loudness measurement. This ensures that the plugin provides reliable and consistent results, making it a trusted tool in the mastering community.
Real-Time Monitoring and Codec Simulation
One of the standout features of MasterCheck is its ability to simulate how your audio will sound on various streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. It supports multiple codecs like Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, Opus, AAC-LC, and MP3, allowing you to monitor and adjust your mix to avoid issues like True Peak overs and codec distortion.
Dynamic Content and Loudness Measurement
The plugin is effective in measuring dynamic content and integrated loudness, which helps in maintaining the optimal balance between loudness and dynamic range. It also allows for A/B referencing at matched loudness, enabling you to compare your work with reference material objectively.
Practical Applications
MasterCheck is versatile and can be used in various aspects of audio production, including preparing mix dynamics for mastering, avoiding downstream clipping, and auditioning loudness-matched FX chains. It is also useful for mastering for digital music services, podcasts, and digital radio.
Limitations and Areas for Improvement
- System Requirements: The plugin requires specific system specifications, such as Mac OSX 10.7.x or Windows XP with at least 512 MB RAM. This might be a limitation for users with older systems.
- Compatibility: Although it supports various formats like AAX, VST, VST3, and AU, RTAS is only available in 32-bit, which could be a limitation for users who have transitioned to 64-bit environments.
- Specialization: MasterCheck is not designed for the audio-post community; NUGEN offers other solutions like VisLM 2 for surround-capable needs.
User Feedback and Community Trust
MasterCheck has gained the trust of many professionals in the music mastering community. Users appreciate its accuracy and the ability to work directly with the codecs and volume levels used by popular streaming services. This trust is reflected in positive reviews and continued use by industry professionals.
Conclusion
In summary, MasterCheck by NUGEN Audio is a reliable and accurate tool for music producers and mastering engineers, offering a range of features that help ensure high-quality audio across various playback platforms. While it has some system and compatibility limitations, it remains a valuable asset in the audio production workflow.
NUGEN Audio MasterCheck - Pricing and Plans
Pricing Structure
The pricing structure for NUGEN Audio’s MasterCheck is relatively straightforward, with a focus on a single product offering rather than multiple tiers.Purchase Option
MasterCheck is available as a standalone plug-in that can be purchased directly from NUGEN Audio or through authorized resellers. The typical price for MasterCheck is $199.00 USD, although there may be occasional promotional prices or discounts. For example, during a specific promotion in 2019, the price was temporarily reduced to $149.00 USD.Features Included
Regardless of the price, MasterCheck comes with a comprehensive set of features, including:- Preview and auditioning for various digital music services such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and more.
- Support for multiple audio codecs like MP3, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, Opus, AAC-LC, HE-AACv1 (AAC ), and HE-AACv2 (DAB ).
- Loudness and dynamics balancing.
- Real-time monitoring of loudness adjustments and codec effects.
- A/B referencing with loudness matching.
- Industry-standard metering for Program Loudness, Short Term Loudness, and Peak to Loudness Ratio (PLR).
No Free Tier or Trial
There is no free tier or trial version specifically mentioned for MasterCheck. However, NUGEN Audio occasionally offers promotions or free plugins in exchange for completing surveys, but these are not directly related to MasterCheck.Summary
In summary, MasterCheck is a single-product offering with a fixed price point, and it includes a wide range of features to help audio engineers and producers optimize their mixes for various streaming and playback platforms. NUGEN Audio MasterCheck - Integration and Compatibility
NUGEN Audio’s MasterCheck
MasterCheck is a versatile tool that integrates seamlessly with various music production environments and is compatible across multiple platforms and devices.
Platform Compatibility
MasterCheck is compatible with both Mac and Windows operating systems. Specifically, it works on Mac OS 10.6 and above, and Windows XP and above.
DAW Integration
MasterCheck is a plug-in, which means it can be integrated into most popular digital audio workstations (DAWs) such as Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, and others. This allows producers and engineers to use MasterCheck directly within their workflow, enabling real-time monitoring and adjustments of their mixes and masters.
Codec and Loudness Compatibility
One of the key features of MasterCheck is its ability to simulate and audition various codecs used by different music streaming services, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and more. It supports a range of codecs such as Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, Opus, AAC-LC, HE-AACv1 (AAC ), HE-AACv2 (DAB ), and MP3. This ensures that producers can prepare their music to sound optimal on different platforms and devices.
Reference and Comparison Tools
MasterCheck allows users to compare their productions with reference tracks, which can be particularly useful for A/B referencing at matched loudness levels. Additionally, it can use an external signal as a reference via a separate ‘Send’ plug-in, enabling the display to show differences in Peak-to-Loudness Ratio (PLR), integrated loudness, and true-peak values between the external reference and source tracks.
Dynamic Content and Loudness Measurement
The tool provides comprehensive loudness and dynamic content measurements, including integrated loudness, true-peak metering, and PLR. This helps producers to avoid downstream clipping and ensure their mixes meet the delivery specifications of various streaming services.
Conclusion
In summary, MasterCheck by NUGEN Audio is a highly compatible and integrative tool that fits well into various music production workflows, ensuring that producers can optimize their music for different platforms and devices with ease.
NUGEN Audio MasterCheck - Customer Support and Resources
Customer Support
NUGEN Audio ensures that customer support is readily available. Users can contact the support team via email at support@nugenaudio.com for any queries or concerns they may have. The company also maintains a normal level of customer support even in challenging times, such as during remote work periods, ensuring that phones are answered and emails are responded to promptly.
Temporary Licenses
For users who need to work remotely and cannot access their usual licenses, NUGEN Audio offers temporary licenses. Owners of iLok licenses can access 2-month temporary licenses for several products, including some that might be used in conjunction with MasterCheck, from their My Licenses page. Additionally, Challenge Response license codes allow one extra authorization.
Free Trial and Purchase Information
Users can download a free 15-day trial of MasterCheck to test the plugin before purchasing. This trial allows them to explore all the features and see how it fits their needs. The plugin is available for purchase directly from the NUGEN Audio website, with detailed pricing and compatibility information provided.
Documentation and Resources
The NUGEN Audio website offers detailed information about MasterCheck, including its key features, such as measuring integrated loudness, monitoring PLR and PSR, identifying codec distortion, and preparing mix dynamics for mastering. Users can find specific presets for various streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, SoundCloud, and YouTube.
Community and Tutorials
While NUGEN Audio does not host its own tutorials on the website, there are external resources like YouTube reviews and tutorials that provide in-depth information on how to use MasterCheck effectively. These resources can help users learn practical applications and troubleshooting tips.
Compatibility and System Requirements
The website provides clear details on the compatibility of MasterCheck with different operating systems (Mac OS X 10.7 and above, Windows Vista and above) and plugin formats (AAX, AU, VST, VST3), ensuring users can check if the plugin will work on their system before purchasing.
By leveraging these support options and resources, users of MasterCheck can ensure they get the most out of the plugin and resolve any issues efficiently.
NUGEN Audio MasterCheck - Pros and Cons
Advantages of NUGEN Audio MasterCheck
Comprehensive Loudness Metering
MasterCheck provides accurate and reliable loudness measurements, adhering to the ITU-R BS.1770 standard, which is crucial for music production. This ensures your audio meets the loudness targets required by various streaming services and broadcast platforms.
Codec Monitoring and Simulation
The plugin allows you to monitor and simulate the encoding and playback of your audio through various codecs (such as Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, Opus, AAC-LC, HE-AACv1, HE-AACv2, and MP3). This helps you predict how your music will sound on different platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.
Dynamic Range and Clipping Prevention
MasterCheck helps you avoid downstream clipping and distortion by monitoring true peak levels and ensuring your mix does not exceed safe limits. This is particularly useful for preventing hot mixes from introducing True Peak overs that can clip during playback.
Loudness Matching and A/B Referencing
The plugin enables you to compare your work with reference tracks at matched loudness levels, allowing for objective assessments of your audio processing. This feature is invaluable for making informed decisions about compression and limiting.
Flexibility and Ease of Use
MasterCheck is praised for its ease of use and flexibility. It provides a clear and intuitive interface, making it easy to monitor and adjust your audio to meet specific loudness targets without compromising on sound quality.
Value for Money
Users and reviewers have noted that MasterCheck offers good value for money, especially considering its comprehensive features and performance compared to other metering and loudness tools.
Disadvantages of NUGEN Audio MasterCheck
Limited Historical Loudness Data
MasterCheck Pro does not provide a history of loudness over an album or multiple-part program, which might be a limitation for some users. For this functionality, you may need to use it in conjunction with other plugins like Meterplugs’ Dynameter and LCAST.
No Support for Surround Audio
MasterCheck is not designed for the audio-post community or surround audio applications. For these needs, NUGEN Audio offers a different plugin, VisLM 2.
Potential for Over-Compression
While MasterCheck helps in avoiding over-compression, it still requires careful use to ensure that the audio is not overly compressed, which can result in a less dynamic mix. Users need to balance compression levels carefully to make the most of the available headroom.
Overall, MasterCheck is highly regarded for its accuracy, flexibility, and practical applications in music production, but it may have some limitations that require additional tools or careful usage.
NUGEN Audio MasterCheck - Comparison with Competitors
When Comparing NUGEN Audio’s MasterCheck
When comparing NUGEN Audio’s MasterCheck with other tools in the music production and optimization category, several key features and differences stand out.
Unique Features of MasterCheck
- Codec Auditioning: MasterCheck allows users to preview their mixes through various encoding schemes and quality settings, including Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, Opus, AAC-LC, HE-AACv1 (AAC ), HE-AACv2 (DAB ), and MP3. This feature is particularly useful for ensuring that music sounds optimal on different streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and SoundCloud.
- Loudness and Dynamic Range Analysis: MasterCheck provides tools to measure integrated loudness, monitor PLR (Peak-to-Loudness Ratio) and PSR (Program Loudness Range), and identify codec distortion. It also helps in finding the sweet spot between perceived loudness and dynamics, ensuring the music reaches the listener as intended.
- True Peak Metering and Clipping Prevention: The plugin includes true-peak metering to ensure the mix is within delivery specs and prevents downstream clipping, which is crucial for maintaining audio quality across different playback systems.
Potential Alternatives
While MasterCheck is focused on audio optimization for streaming services, other tools may offer different sets of features that could be considered alternatives or complementary tools:
General Audio Processing Tools
There aren’t many direct alternatives that offer the same level of codec auditioning and loudness analysis as MasterCheck. However, general audio processing plugins and DAWs often include some basic loudness and peak metering tools, but they lack the specific codec simulation features of MasterCheck.
AI-Driven Music Generation Tools
Tools like Suno, Google MusicFX (formerly MusicLM), AIVA, and BandLab SongStarter are more focused on AI-driven music generation rather than audio optimization. These tools generate music based on various parameters but do not offer the same level of technical analysis and optimization as MasterCheck.
Key Differences
- Focus: MasterCheck is specifically designed for optimizing mixes for various streaming services and playback formats, whereas AI-driven music generation tools are focused on creating new music content.
- Technical Analysis: MasterCheck provides detailed technical analysis and previewing capabilities for codec and loudness issues, which is not a feature of AI music generation tools.
- User Base: MasterCheck is geared towards professional mixing and mastering engineers, while AI music generation tools are often more accessible to a broader range of users, including non-musicians.
In summary, MasterCheck stands out for its specialized features in optimizing audio for streaming services and ensuring that music is delivered in the best possible quality across different platforms. If your primary need is to optimize your mixes for streaming, MasterCheck is a highly recommended tool. However, if you are looking for AI-driven music generation, you would need to consider tools like AIVA, BandLab SongStarter, or Google MusicFX.
NUGEN Audio MasterCheck - Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions about NUGEN Audio MasterCheck
What is NUGEN Audio MasterCheck?
MasterCheck is a tool designed for audio production, particularly for mixing and mastering engineers, to ensure their audio sounds optimal on various digital music streaming services. It helps in monitoring and adjusting audio to comply with the loudness and codec standards of platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and more.
How does MasterCheck handle loudness normalization?
MasterCheck allows you to mix and master your audio to specific loudness targets, which is crucial because many streaming services use loudness normalization to ensure consistent audio levels. It provides real-time measurements of program loudness and helps you adjust your mix to match the target loudness, preventing automatic volume adjustments during playback.
What codecs does MasterCheck support?
MasterCheck supports a variety of audio codecs, including Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, Opus, AAC-LC, HE-AACv1 (AAC ), HE-AACv2 (DAB ), and MP3. This allows you to preview how your audio will sound when encoded in these different formats, helping you avoid codec distortion and over-compression.
How can MasterCheck help in avoiding downstream clipping?
MasterCheck includes true-peak metering, which ensures that your mix is within the delivery specifications and prevents clipping at later encoding stages. This feature is essential for maintaining the integrity of your audio when it is played back on different devices and services.
Can MasterCheck be used for comparing and referencing audio?
Yes, MasterCheck allows you to compare your dynamics and loudness levels with reference material. You can use a reference track to compare your work with respected material in the same genre, helping you determine appropriate compression levels and characteristics. It also enables A/B referencing at matched loudness, allowing for an objective assessment of the processing applied.
How does MasterCheck help in maintaining dialogue clarity in podcasts and radio mixes?
MasterCheck can be used to determine loudness differentials between different tracks and groups, which is particularly useful for maintaining dialogue clarity in radio and podcast mixes. It helps in ensuring that the dialogue level is appropriately balanced over the music and effects (M&E).
What are the key features of MasterCheck Pro?
MasterCheck Pro offers additional features such as real-time codec auditioning, loudness and PLR (Peak-to-Loudness Ratio) metering, and the ability to monitor multiple audio compression codecs simultaneously. It also allows for loudness auditioning to reveal any level changes applied by streaming services and ensures that the mix is within the delivery specifications to avoid clipping.
How do I use MasterCheck to mix and master to a specific target?
To mix and master to a specific target, you place MasterCheck on your master bus, choose a preset, and play some audio. You then adjust your mix to get the program loudness to match the target. The preset will determine the target loudness for your audio, and MasterCheck will measure and update the program loudness as you play the audio.
Can MasterCheck be customized to specific requirements?
Yes, MasterCheck can be customized using the settings panel. You can define different zones within the bar meters, set specific target values, and adjust the colors of the sections to indicate desired targets or out-of-specification values. This allows you to tailor MasterCheck to your specific needs.
How do I report a problem with MasterCheck?
If you encounter any problems with MasterCheck, you should email NUGEN Audio’s support team at support@nugenaudio.com. Provide a clear explanation of the problem, including how frequently you’ve experienced it, any specific steps to reproduce the issue, and details about your operating system and machine specifications.