BEST Mastering Chain 2025 : For Songs | Industry-level mastering 2025 

BEST Mastering Chain 2025 : For Songs | industry-level mastering 2025 

For industry-level mastering in FL Studio 21, the goal is to achieve a polished, loud, and dynamic sound while maintaining clarity and punch. Here's a suggested mastering chain you can follow for high-quality results:

1. EQ (Equalization)

• Plugin: Parametric EQ 2
• Purpose: Clean up the low end, control the midrange, and brighten the high-end if needed.
  • Low-cut: Around 20-30Hz to remove inaudible low frequencies.
  • Notch problematic frequencies (e.g., harsh mids around 3-5kHz or boxiness around 200-500Hz).
  • Boost highs: A gentle shelf around 10kHz+ for clarity and brightness (if necessary).

2. Multiband Compression

• Plugin: Maximus (or any multiband compressor)
• Purpose: Control dynamics across different frequency bands.
  • Low band compression: Tighten the bass without losing punch.
  • Mid band: Smooth out the mids to avoid harshness.
  • High band: Light compression to ensure the treble is controlled and not too harsh.
  • Crossover frequencies: Typically, set at around 120Hz (lows/mids) and 4kHz (mids/highs).

3. Saturation / Harmonic Exciter

• Plugin: Fruity Waveshaper, Soundgoodizer, or third-party plugins like FabFilter Saturn 2 or Ozone Exciter.
• Purpose: Add harmonic content, warmth, and subtle distortion to glue the mix together.
  • Use gently across the full spectrum, or focus on the mids and highs.

4. Stereo Imaging

• Plugin: Fruity Stereo Enhancer or Maximus (stereo controls in multiband compression).
• Purpose: Widen the stereo field in the high frequencies and keep the low frequencies more mono.
  • Boost stereo width on high frequencies.
  • Keep low frequencies (below 120Hz) in mono for punch and clarity.

5. Glue Compression

• Plugin: Fruity Compressor, Maximus, or third-party options like FabFilter Pro-C 2 or SSL Compressor.
• Purpose: Provide cohesive "glue" for the track by applying subtle compression to the entire mix.
  • Ratio: 2:1 or 4:1.
  • Attack: Slow enough to let transients through (around 20-30ms).
  • Release: Medium (100ms or auto).
  • Gain reduction: Aim for no more than 2-3dB of reduction.

6. Limiter

• Plugin: Fruity Limiter or Maximus (Limiter mode) / FabFilter Pro-L 2 (third-party).
• Purpose: Set the final loudness of the track and prevent clipping.
  • Ceiling: Set the output ceiling at -0.1dB to avoid inter-sample peaks.
  • Gain: Push the gain to achieve commercial loudness, but don't overdo it—watch out for distortion.

7. Dithering

• Plugin: Fruity Dither (in the export options)
• Purpose: When down-sampling (e.g., from 24-bit to 16-bit for final export), use dithering to minimize quantization noise.
  • Dither type: Triangle or noise-shaping, depending on your preference.

Final Tips:

• Reference Tracks: Use reference tracks to compare loudness, tonal balance, and stereo width with industry-level songs.
• Gain Staging: Ensure your mix is not too hot before entering the mastering chain. A peak level of -6dB in the mix gives enough headroom.
• Export Settings: When exporting, ensure the sample rate and bit depth match the required output (usually 24-bit/44.1kHz or higher).

This mastering chain should provide a high-quality, industry-ready output. Make sure to adjust each step based on the song’s needs.