I just finished watching Steve's "Logic's Mastering Toolkit" and was really excited until I started to master one of my songs. I'm working on instrumentals right now and the entire song is with Logic's software syths. I'm stuck on the correlation meter. It is always in the blue section but I wanted to get it as close to +1 as possible. I also thought it was b/c I panned some of the instruments. So, I imported Jon Hopkins' "Wire" to see if the correlation meter was at +1. Of course, it was. Anyway, the only way I can get the correlation meter to +1 is using the Direction Meter with a spread of 0.3. Does this solve my issue or will it create more down the line?? Also, I've placed the Multimeter, Gain and Multimeter plugins on my L/R Output in my Project([i]before bouncing[/i]) and get the correlation meter to +1. I solo the bass and it's perfect +1 (no panning). I solo the piano and it's in the red. Should I add the Multimeter to every track to solve the issue at the track level? The more I learn. The more I'm confused and frustrated. Thanks for any help.

Kia Ora SmallGiant, sounds like you're going about things the right way. Finding which instruments are the ones that are effecting the correlation meter the most. The main thing that I would stress though, is the the correlation meter indicates what information is likely to be lost when the stereo mix is played as mono. Meters are useful as a guide, but ultimately, you should be trying to assess the mix by what it sounds like. Stick a Gain plugin on the main outputs and select the mono check box. What do you hear? If the only instrument that is causing the problem is the stereo piano, does it lose it's presence or balance when mono'd? Just because the correlation meter says it won't mono that well, if it's a busy mix and the piano is a small part, then it might not be as crucial an element. One of Steve's tricks in the tutorial was to slightly reduce the stereo field with the direction plug-in in order to mono pan the stereo signal (as opposed to changing the L/R balance when normally panning stereo instruments). That might well enable you to find the right space for the piano using pan and also maintaining +1 correlation. Worth exploring! You also have to ask yourself where and how your finished mix will be played back and whether you want to worry about mono compatibility. There are plenty of albums out there produced by many big name artists and engineers who have released material that collapses when mono'd. Cheers, j

J, Thanks for the info. I'll only use the correlation meter if I need something for TV. I think Steve H had a very easy example for the correlation exercise. His mix was very narrow and horizontal. Wish he would have used one that was a bit more drastic. Thanks again for the instruction!! I'm a new convert that loves his MAC!!!

Sweet as :) I think that's also what you call welcome to the tutorial world! Getting license and copyright clearances for music, in styles that people like/ want to learn from, whilst simultaneously making the whole package worth while for everyone concerned, is a hard nut to crack! Every song, track, piece, whatever you want to call them, are all different so to finish where Steve left off, I would recommend getting hold of some reference mixes that you like, and putting them through their paces via all of the meters you can get your hands on! Just don't forget to turn up your ears in the process and not get distracted by the pretty graphics. Easier said than done that last point too! Welcome to the land of the mac too, by the way, where you'll still get occasional computer problems, but they'll do it in much a nicer way :)