QUICK START

v1.2

1. What it is and where it goes

MONKEY MASTERING is a mastering plugin that works by measuring. You play your audio, it listens for about 20 seconds and builds its chain from what it actually heard — not from a preset that guesses. Then it tells you, with numbers, whether the result meets the platform you are sending it to.

It is a plugin (VST3 on Mac and Windows, AU on Mac) and it also runs on its own, as an application, with no DAW. You insert it like any other plugin, in one of these two places:

WhereSet Mode toWhat it does there
The master bus
the normal case		MASTER FINALMasters your finished mix: the whole chain, plus the platform target and the true-peak ceiling. This is the one you want for release.
A single trackTRACKCleans up and shapes one element — a vocal, a kick, a bass — before it reaches the mix.
A group or stem busPRE-MASTERMiddle ground: the track treatment plus stereo width and saturation.
If you only do one thing: put it last on your master bus, set Mode to MASTER FINAL and follow the three phases below. Everything else on this page is optional.
ABL Drag it onto the Master track, at the end of the chain.
LGC Stereo Out → Audio FX → MONKEY MASTERING, in the last slot.
If you use Ableton: the Monkey Engineer Extension (Live 12.4.5 or later, at no extra cost) sets up your master chain and checks your set before you start — forgotten solos, another limiter after MONKEY MASTERING, the master fader off 0 dB.

2. The window, part by part

Hover over a number — or tap it on a phone — to see what that part of the plugin does. This is the short version: every control, one by one, is in the manual.

The complete MONKEY MASTERING window in EXPERT view, with the numbered section rail down the left edge, from SETUP at the top to the PROOF panel at the bottom. •HeaderYour view (BASE / EXPERT), your licence, the integrated loudness, the language and the master on/off. 01SETUPPreset, mode, and what you are mastering: track type and music style. 02SMART EQFive bands drawn over your real spectrum. Drag any of them. 03METERSHow hard it is compressing, and the input and output levels. 04COMPRESSORThe compressor. The analysis sets these seven knobs — you can still move them. 05MID/SIDEStereo width, and separate compression for the centre and the sides. 06IMAGINGBass to mono below a frequency, and width per band. 07STEMSSplits the mix into vocals, drums, bass and the rest. Heavy on the computer — see §5. 08EXTRASDe-esser, sidechain, filters, clipper and the advanced compressor controls. 09VIRTUAL SPEAKERHear your master as a phone or a laptop would play it. It never reaches the file. 10PLATFORMWhere it goes. Sets the loudness target and the true-peak ceiling. 11RECWrites the result to a file straight from the plugin. 12PROOFThe verdict, measured. COMPLIANT in green means it meets the destination you chose.

The numbers are the plugin’s own: that strip down the left edge is its section index, and it renumbers itself.

3. BASE or EXPERT

There is only one interface. BASE opens it with the sections you rarely touch already folded; EXPERT opens it fully. Same window, same controls, same order — folding changes nothing about how it sounds.

The MID/SIDE section folded to a single line: the title, its live W 100% readout on the right and its ON switch.
FOLDED SECTION VIEW. Notice what survives the folding: the section still shows its readout (W 100%) and its ON switch still works. Folded is not switched off.
The same MID/SIDE section unfolded, with the width, mid threshold and side threshold knobs and their values.
UNFOLDED SECTION VIEW. The same section after clicking its header. Same place in the window, same switch, same readout — now with its knobs out.

You switch with the plate at the top right of the header, or from the “...” menu. The first time you open the plugin it asks which one you want.

4. Your first master — 3 phases, 6 steps

Three phases that contain six steps. The plugin walks you through them the first time you open it, and you can repeat that walkthrough whenever you like from the “...” menu.

PHASE 1 — Tell it what it is listening to
01

What are we mastering?

Pick the Track Type and the Music Style. That is all the context the engine needs to know what is “right” for your material.

The SETUP section: the preset row, the TRACK, PRE-MASTER and MASTER FINAL mode tabs, and the Track Type and Music Style selectors.
SETUP. The mode tabs and, below them, the two selectors. On PRO, ANALYZE can read them off your audio and set them for you.
02

ANALYZE

Play the loudest part of the track and press ANALYZE. Give it about 20 seconds. It is measuring your real audio — the loudest part is the one that will have to deal with the limiter, and that is why it is the part worth measuring.

The SMART EQ section: the five-band curve drawn over the live spectrum of the incoming audio, with the A/B comparison row below it.
SMART EQ. The curve is drawn over your real spectrum, so you can see what it heard.
PHASE 2 — It masters itself
03

Applying is automatic

When the analysis ends the whole chain sets itself and the dot on the CHAIN plate stays solid gold. You do not have to press anything.

And if your mix was already fine, it says so instead of processing it. That is the Honest No: a line in the PROOF panel telling you there was nothing worth touching. The WHY? button — top right of the chain, next to REF TRACK — opens the reasons, explained.

The COMPRESSOR section with its seven knobs: level, threshold, ratio, attack, release, mix and ceiling, all set by the analysis.
You did not set this. Every knob you see got there from the measurement. You can move any of them.
PHASE 3 — Check it and deliver it
04

Where is it going?

Pick your destination in PLATFORM. That sets the loudness target and the true-peak ceiling the master has to respect — and it is the question answered by the next step.

No Target and Generic are not platforms, they are shortcuts: No Target touches nothing (use it while you are working) and Generic is a safe middle ground for when you do not yet know where the track will end up.

The PLATFORM section: ten plates in two rows — No Target, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and Tidal on the first; Generic, Beatport, Amazon Music, Deezer and SoundCloud on the second.
PLATFORM. Eight streaming destinations plus the two shortcuts. Picking one moves the ceiling and the target — it never undoes the tweaks you made by hand.
05

The verdict

Play the whole track once and read PROOF. The seal on the right is the answer: it reads COMPLIANT, in green, when the master meets the destination you chose. Here green is earned — in this plugin nothing is green for decoration.

The seal saysWhich means
NO TARGETYou have not picked a platform yet, so there is nothing to measure against.
MEASURINGKeep listening. Let the track run.
COMPLIANTIt meets the target and stays under the ceiling. Ready to send.
OVER TPTrue peak is above what the platform allows.
Δ ±x LUHow far the loudness still is from the target.

The two small green numbers under the big figures are the distance to the target (loudness) and to the ceiling (true peak) — which is why they only appear under those two.

Want to hear exactly what the plugin changed? Δ NULL, in the A/B row under the EQ, plays the difference only: your audio subtracted from the processed signal. If you can barely hear anything, it has barely done anything.

The PROOF panel: integrated LUFS, short-term LUFS, max true peak and PLR in large figures, with LRA, correlation and bass in mono below, and the verdict seal on the right.
PROOF. Everything here is measured on the audio leaving the plugin, against EBU R128 and ITU-R BS.1770-4.
06

Export

Bounce from your DAW as you always do — the plugin prints exactly what you heard. Or press REC, in the section just above PROOF, to write the file from the plugin itself.

One thing that is not obvious: Virtual Speaker, Codec Preview and Δ NULL colour what you hear and never reach the file. They also switch themselves off while your DAW renders, so a bounce sounds the same with them on or off.

5. Before you stack many instances

The rule: the Stem Separator is the only feature here that really loads your computer and adds delay to the signal. Leave it off on individual tracks — a dozen instances with it on will choke the session and pile up latency. On the master bus, one instance with it on is not a problem.

6. If something does not add up

What you seeWhat is happening, and how to fix it
A section only shows its titleYou are in BASE and it is folded, not switched off. Click its header. A folded section still shows its readout and its ON switch still works.
A track type or a style is greyed outIt belongs to the PRO catalogue.
PROOF says NO TARGETYou have not picked a destination yet. Choose one in PLATFORM.
PROOF says MEASURING and does not changeIt needs audio. Play the track.
PROOF says Δ ±x LUYour integrated loudness is off target. Adjust LEVEL until it lands within ±1 LU of the target; then RESET and a full playthrough again.
PROOF says OVER TPSomething after MONKEY MASTERING is raising the peaks — MONKEY MASTERING must be the last device in the chain. Then RESET and a full playthrough again.
ANALYZE finished but almost nothing changedIt is probably THE HONEST NO: your track already meets the selected target, so MONKEY MASTERING refused to process it. Press WHY? to read the measured reasons.
ANALYZE does nothing at allMake sure the audio is really playing (no bypass, no silence). Let about 20 s of the loudest section play while ANALYZE works — the chain applies itself when it finishes.
The bounce does not sound like my monitoringThat is expected if you have Virtual Speaker or Codec Preview switched on: they are monitoring only and the plugin leaves them out whenever the host renders offline, so an offline bounce and the REC file are always the clean master. The only case where the colouring can reach a file is a real-time capture of the master output: there you are recording what you hear. Set the profile back to --- None --- first, or use REC, which is taken before the simulation and never comes out coloured.
Audio crackles or glitchesRaise the audio buffer (256 / 512 samples). Switch off the Stem Separator — it is the one heavy feature here: leave it off on individual tracks and save it for a single instance on the master bus. Watch the CPU meter.
Integrated LUFS stays at −∞Press RESET and restart playback from the chorus or the densest section, not from silence.
The master sounds too quiet on SpotifyPrint to −14 LUFS integrated, with true peak ≤ −1 dBTP. Avoid over-limiting.
The kick disappears in monoWidth is too high. Narrow the sides and check mono compatibility before exporting.
The Stem Separator mixes the kick with the bassExpected on very tight mixes. Use Stem mode to rebalance at mastering level, not to extract a cappellas.
The sidechain knobs do nothingThe trigger comes from the DAW’s external sidechain input. Route the kick to MONKEY MASTERING’s sidechain input in your DAW.
REC shows a disk alertThe destination disk filled up or became unavailable mid-take. Free some space or pick another drive, and record the take again.
The interface is too small or too bigPreset menu “...” → UI scale → 75% / 100% / 125% / 150%. The window does not resize by dragging.
Still stuck? Write to support@monkeymastering.com — every message gets an answer. Tell us your operating system, your DAW and its version, the plugin format (VST3 / AU / Standalone) and what you did just before the problem appeared.

Where to go next

You want to…Go to
Install or activate your licenceInstallation guide
Learn every control, one by oneUser manual
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MONKEY MASTERING v1.2 · Quick Start · last updated 2026-08-09 · full manual: MONKEY_MASTERING_Manual.en.html