Appendix A: Quick Reference Guide

The following shortcuts use the Mac convention (Cmd). For Windows, substitute Ctrl for Cmd and Alt for Option unless noted.

Note: If your master is significantly louder than a platform's target, the platform will turn it down—preserving any distortion from heavy limiting while negating its loudness benefit. Master to the appropriate target.

Equalization

Dynamics / Compression

Reverb and Delay

Mastering

Audio Repair and Post-Production

Saturation and Character

For best results, convert interframe video to DNxHD or ProRes before importing into Pro Tools using DaVinci Resolve, FFmpeg, or Shutter Encoder.

All speakers at ear level. Surround angles per ITU-R BS.775—exact placement varies 100°–120° by room. Full context: Chapter 20.

Calibrating the rig (any surround or Atmos layout) — Placement gets the geometry right; calibration makes the system honest. Work in this order:

1. Time-align every speaker. Unless every speaker sits exactly the same distance from your ears, delay the closer ones until all arrivals land together. The Dolby Atmos Renderer, most monitor controllers, and room-calibration software all provide per-speaker delays—measure each speaker's distance from the mix position and let the tool compute the offsets.
2. Set levels one speaker at a time. Send band-limited pink noise at −20 dBFS to each channel individually (hard-assigned to the channel—never through a panner), and read an SPL meter at the mix position: C-weighted, slow response, at seated ear height, held at arm's length. Trim each channel until every speaker reads the same reference level—the working values from Chapter 7: 79–83 dB SPL for music rooms, 85 for film-style rooms.
3. Calibrate the LFE. The LFE channel runs +10 dB of in-band gain over the mains. Set it on a spectrum analyzer, not the SPL meter alone—band-limited low frequency fools broadband meters. With bass management engaged (80 Hz crossover), confirm the +10 applies only to the LFE feed, not to the bass-managed low end of the other speakers.
4. Verify and save. Walk the pink noise around every channel in order and re-trim anything that drifted, then store the result (monitor-controller preset or Renderer configuration). Recalibrate whenever a speaker, the desk, or the treatment moves.

A calibrated room is what makes “it sounds right at reference level” mean something—the loudness judgments in Chapters 18–19 assume it.

These are starting points, not rules. Every source is different. Use your ears, and always level-match when comparing compressed to uncompressed.

Lead Vocals — Ratio: 3:1 to 4:1. Attack: 5–15 ms (let the transient through). Release: 40–80 ms (follow the natural phrasing). Threshold: set for 3–6 dB of gain reduction on peaks. Consider serial compression: a gentle 2:1 first, then a more aggressive stage after EQ.

Background Vocals — Ratio: 4:1 to 6:1. Attack: 5–10 ms. Release: 50–100 ms. More aggressive than leads—you want backgrounds to sit consistently behind the lead without dynamic surprises.

Kick Drum — Ratio: 4:1 to 6:1. Attack: 10–30 ms (slower attack lets the beater transient through for punch). Release: 50–150 ms (fast enough to recover before the next hit). Threshold: 6–10 dB of reduction.

Snare Drum — Ratio: 4:1 to 6:1. Attack: 5–15 ms. Release: 50–100 ms. Faster attack tames the crack; slower attack preserves it. Choose based on the song.

Drum Bus — Ratio: 2:1 to 4:1. Attack: 10–30 ms (let transients breathe). Release: auto or 100–200 ms. Threshold: 2–4 dB of glue compression. Classic choices: SSL G-Bus compressor, API 2500, Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor.

Bass Guitar / Bass DI — Ratio: 4:1 to 8:1. Attack: 10–20 ms. Release: 40–80 ms. Bass often needs heavier compression for consistency. Consider a limiter after the compressor to catch remaining peaks.

Electric Guitar — Ratio: 2:1 to 4:1. Attack: 10–25 ms. Release: 50–150 ms. Already compressed by the amp—use gently. Distorted guitars may need very little or no additional compression.

Acoustic Guitar — Ratio: 3:1 to 5:1. Attack: 15–30 ms (preserve pick attack). Release: 100–200 ms. Threshold: 3–6 dB of reduction. An opto compressor (LA-2A style) works beautifully here.

Piano / Keys — Ratio: 2:1 to 3:1. Attack: 10–20 ms. Release: auto or 100–200 ms. Light touch—piano has enormous dynamic range that is often intentional.

Mix Bus / Stereo Bus — Ratio: 1.5:1 to 2:1. Attack: 10–30 ms. Release: auto or 100–300 ms. Threshold: 1–3 dB of gain reduction. This is glue, not control. If you are seeing more than 3 dB of reduction, your individual tracks need more work.

Mastering — Ratio: 1.5:1 to 2:1. Attack: 10–30 ms. Release: auto. Threshold: 1–2 dB of reduction maximum. Mastering compression is the gentlest of all—its job is to unify, not reshape.

The formula for converting tempo to a quarter-note delay time in milliseconds:

From the quarter note all other common note values follow:

• Dotted 1/8 = 0.75 × quarter note
• 1/8 note = quarter ÷ 2
• 1/8 triplet = quarter ÷ 3
• 1/16 note = quarter ÷ 4

The dotted eighth-note delay—the value that lands between beat and upbeat—is the signature of the U2 / Edge sound; tempo-synced delay is covered in full in Chapter 17.

Distilled from the full instrument-by-instrument EQ Reference Charts in Chapter 15. These are starting points; always use your ears. Full charts: Chapter 15.

The checklists below are condensed reprints drawn from the chapters where each workflow is taught in full. Use them at the session, not in place of the chapter. Full context and explanatory prose live in the chapters noted at the end of each checklist.

Session Handoff Checklist

1. Every MIDI / Instrument track committed to audio (Track arrow Commit).
2. All clips consolidated from bar 1 to song end on every track.
3. All tracks named descriptively; color-coding preserved.
4. All fades and crossfades applied to every clip (Ctrl+F / Cmd+F).
5. Stems bounced at session bit depth and sample rate, named consistently, every stem starting at bar 1.
6. Outboard hardware passes printed to audio; automation printed or documented.
7. Session notes file included: tempo, key, reference track, plugin list, outboard list, editorial notes.
8. Exchange format chosen: AAF for cross-DAW, native .ptx + Save Copy In for Pro Tools-to-Pro Tools.
9. Session folder zipped; integrity verified by reopening on a clean machine before delivery.

Full context: Chapter 14.

Master-Ready Mix Checklist

• Peaks between −3 and −6 dBFS on the bounced stereo file.
• No brickwall limiter on the mix bus—leave final limiting to mastering.
• Mono check passed; no element collapses or drops out when summed to mono.
• Bounced at the session's native sample rate and bit depth.
• Files clearly labeled: [Song]_v7_Mix.wav.
• Reference track included or named for the mastering engineer.
• Notes on intent (target loudness, genre reference, artist direction)—two sentences max.

Full context: Chapter 19.

Metadata Checklist for Every Delivered Master

• Title (song name, not filename).
• Artist.
• Composer (all writers, “Lastname, Firstname”).
• Year.
• ISRC (twelve-character alphanumeric code; obtain via your distributor or usisrc.org).
• Embed in WaveLab, in iZotope RX's File Info panel, or at the Pro Tools bounce dialog.

Full context: Chapter 19.

Portable Recording Rig Checklist

• Laptop running Pro Tools, Reaper, or a dedicated recorder.
• MADI or Dante interface to bridge the console output.
• Managed Gigabit switch if using Dante (never trust venue house networking).
• Redundant storage: record simultaneously to two drives or the recorder's dual card slots.
• Backup DI on each critical channel (keys and bass at minimum) so a failed mic has a safety track.
• Personal power conditioning—venue power is the one thing nobody warns you about.
• Recording levels set conservatively (−18 dBFS nominal on 24-bit feeds); do not touch gains during the show.

Full context: Chapter 20.

Release / Registration Filing Checklist

• Register composition + master at the U.S. Copyright Office (Form PA + Form SR; from $45 single-author/single-work to $65 standard application; copyright.gov).
• Register with a PRO as both songwriter and publisher (ASCAP or BMI; SESAC and GMR are invitation-only).
• Register compositions with the MLC for streaming mechanical royalties (themlc.com; free).
• Register with SoundExchange for digital-performance royalties on sound recordings (soundexchange.com; free).
• Obtain ISRC codes via your distributor or usisrc.org ($95 one-time fee; authorizes up to 100,000 codes per year).
• Consider USPTO trademark registration for artist / studio name ($350 per class; uspto.gov).

Full context: Chapter 21.

Studio Assistant Tape Checklist

• Confirm machine speed (15 or 30 IPS) and EQ standard (NAB vs. IEC) with the lead engineer.
• Run alignment tones—100 Hz, 1 kHz, 10 kHz—on a fresh leader section.
• Set bias for the specific tape stock.
• Note operating level (250 or 320 nWb/m), tape brand and formulation, and noise reduction status on the reel box and in the session notes.
• At session end, forward the reel to tails out before shelving it.

Full context: Chapter 4.

Chapter 6 teaches the core sources in depth—acoustic and electric guitar, bass, the drum kit, strings, brass and woodwind families, piano, vocals, choir, and hand percussion (congas, djembe, shakers, and tambourine live there, not here). This table covers the long tail: the instruments that walk into a working studio a few times a year, each with one placement that gets you to a usable sound fast. Every entry follows Chapter 6's law—move the mic before you reach for EQ—and every mic listed is one this book has already put in your hands. Distances are starting points; let your ears finish the job.

Strings and Folk

Brass and Winds

Keys, Voice, and Electric

Percussion and Mallets