SMART MASTERING 1.0.0
Andrea Di Tella | Windows 64-bit | VST3 | Stereo input and output

Smart Mastering combines gentle bus compression, gain, look-ahead limiting
and an output ceiling in one stereo effect. Its four controls follow the
signal from left to right: COMPRESS > GAIN > LIMIT > CEILING.

INSTALLATION
1. Close your DAW and extract the ZIP.
2. Copy the COMPLETE SmartMastering.vst3 folder into:
   C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3
   Keep the Contents folder and everything inside it. Do not copy only the
   inner binary. Windows may ask for administrator permission.
3. Reopen your DAW and run a VST3 plugin scan or rescan if necessary.
4. Look for Smart Mastering by Andrea Di Tella in the effects list,
   usually under Dynamics or Mastering.
5. Insert it on a stereo master bus or stereo group. The plugin requires
   two input channels and two output channels.

THE FOUR CONTROLS
COMPRESS: 0 to 100 percent. Adds stereo-linked, soft-knee compression with
  a gentle 2:1 ratio, a 30 ms attack and an adaptive release. Turning it
  up lowers the compressor threshold. At 0 percent compression is off.
  The compressor has no automatic makeup gain; adjust GAIN as needed.
GAIN: -12 to +12 dB. Adjusts the level after compression and before the
  limiter. Raising it also pushes the signal harder into limiting.
LIMIT: threshold from 0 down to -24 dB. Lower settings produce more
  limiting and automatic level recovery. A lower threshold can make the
  result louder and denser; use it gradually and listen for artifacts.
CEILING: maximum output from -12 to 0 dBTP. The default is -1 dBTP.
  This is the output cap, not the amount of limiting. The limiter uses
  an 8x inter-sample peak detector and a small protection margin; peaks
  may sit slightly below the selected ceiling.

USING THE CONTROLS
Drag a knob horizontally or vertically. Click its numerical value to
enter a setting. Double-click COMPRESS, GAIN or LIMIT to reset it to zero.
Double-click CEILING to restore -1 dBTP.
All four parameters support DAW automation and are saved with the project.

THE METERS
The two illuminated needle meters show the averaged output level of the
left and right channels. Their sine-wave calibration is 0 VU = -18 dBFS.
They are VU-style level displays, not LUFS or true-peak readouts.
OUTPUT PEAK shows each channel's sample peak in dBFS with a short hold.
The small red indicators illuminate when sample peaks approach 0 dBFS.
COMP GR and LIMIT GR show the gain reduction applied by the two stages.
Both dynamics stages apply the same gain change to the left and right
channels to preserve the stereo relationship.

A FIRST MASTERING PASS
1. Start with COMPRESS 0%, GAIN 0 dB, LIMIT 0 dB and CEILING -1 dBTP.
2. Play a representative, louder section of your mix.
3. Add a little compression, for example 20-40%, and watch COMP GR.
4. Adjust GAIN, then lower LIMIT gradually while listening to the result.
5. Compare at a similar listening level using your DAW's bypass control.
   Keep the sound of transients and the musical dynamics you want.
6. Check quieter sections and the final export as well as the loudest part.

The look-ahead introduces a short processing latency (about 7.7 ms at
48 kHz), reported to the DAW for automatic delay compensation. Host bypass
keeps the same delay. Latency compensation depends on the DAW settings.

ABOUT AND SUPPORT
ABOUT opens the product information panel, including version and author.
DONATE opens the optional PayPal donation page in your browser.
Website: https://www.andreaditella.com
Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/andreaditella