IK Multimedia T-RackS 6 review: an excellent mastering solution

Intro version: Free
Standard: $/€99.99
Pro: $/€199.99
MAX: $/€299.99
Upgrades available for existing users
ikmultimedia.com

For well over twenty years, IK Multimedia has been distilling the dark art of mastering and pouring it into T-RackS. Over those long years, this oddly-named software has gone from strength to strength, expanding from a standalone mastering console, to a sprawling one-stop shop for bedroom producers and studio professionals alike.

Now on its sixth release, T-RackS is bigger, better and more affordable than ever.

There are four pricing tiers to choose from. On the lowest end, we have a completely free ‘Intro’ version that comes with a tasting flight of three plugins, and from there we move up in €100 increments with progressively more plugins, reaching 60 when you get to the $299 MAX version.

Balancing faithful hardware emulations and original creations, these plugins cover just about all aspects of modern mixing and mastering. You get classic dynamic processors like the excellent Dyna-MU, modelled from the Manley Stereo Variable MU compressor, EQ modules such as the Pultec-inspired EQP-1A, and channel strips like the British Channel which appears to take cues from the SSL 4000.

Additionally, there’s the Mic Room plugin which, much like Waves’ The King’s Microphones, models high-end microphones like the Neumann U87 and AKG C-414. While we can’t say it truly gets you the authentic sound of these microphones, it works great as a tone control, adding new flavours to recordings that sound flat or uninspiring.

There’s plenty of workhorse reverbs and delays, but, new with T-RackS 6, there’s also a selection of forward-thinking effects that stray into creative sound design territory. The new Dual Spring reverb has five spring materials to choose from and lets you artificially compress or stretch the spring length for decidedly experimental textures. Filter Fusion comes with a step sequencer, envelope follower, LFO, and a joystick that lets you dynamically blend between all three modulation sources. Lo-Fi Punch excels on bass and percussion stems, but can get downright chaotic if you dial up the pitch and flutter controls. These are attractive options not just for mixing but for production as well.

Most intriguing of all though might be IK Multimedia’s hybrid, all-in-one plugins. Since T-RackS 5, and the introduction of the ONE mastering plugin, the brand has been working on a set of tools to unify various audio processes into a single module, with an easy-to-use interface slapped on top. Far from being a gimmick, ONE has come to be well regarded as a powerful mastering tool used by novices and pros alike. In a similar vein, the new Channel Strip X features single-dial controls for compression, de-essing, EQ and stereo imaging, while the Bass One module tackles the low end to produce fantastic results with a minimum of parameters.

On the furthest end of the automation spectrum, we have Master Match X – an AI-powered mastering plugin that analyses your mix and matches it to a reference track. Where the previous version of Master Match could only tweak the EQ curve, it now can match compression, limiting and stereo imaging too. Another new feature is a selection of inbuilt reference mixes covering a range of different musical genres.

The feature set has improved, and so has the quality. Where automated mastering plugins once served as a good starting point, Master Match X can now get you surprisingly close to release-ready results. Thankfully, however, you’re not committed to what the plugin dictates; once it’s worked its magic there are options to modify the output with further EQ, compression, limiting and imaging.

Together, T-RackS’ plugins do a great job of meeting the current moment. Many creators prioritise accessibility, speed, and digital tools that ‘just work’ – at the same time, our continued fascination with vintage music hardware is alive and well. T-RackS 6 serves up the best of both worlds.

All of these modules can be individually loaded in as inserts in your DAW or quickly chained together using the excellent T-RackS plugin. With a well thought out, uncluttered user interface, the T-RackS plugin offers a speedy workflow for navigating the plugin library, building up effect chains, and processing sound in sequence or in parallel. It also boasts fantastic presets that provide plugin chains for individual instruments, mix busses, and mastering. The only fly in the ointment is that it can’t host third-party plugins – an addition that would make it truly formidable.

Despite the increasing focus on mixing and production, IK Multimedia hasn’t lost sight of where T-RackS started out: the Mastering Console. Load up the standalone application and you’ll be greeted by a clean workspace to drop in your master-ready mixes. Individual modules can be loaded in from a panel on the right, and there’s an additional Module Manager application where you can select which plugins you want to show up in the Mastering Console or in your DAW. It’s a simple but highly useful feature for professionals who don’t want to scroll through 60 plugins to find a handful of favourites.

Each track you load gets its own plugin chain, and each chain can have up to 16 modules. There’s four memory recall slots which allow you to quickly compare different mastering chains, and a helpful Equal Gain feature to volume-match these memory slots for more accurate comparisons.

A new Master Bus section holds an additional four modules which can be applied across every track in the project – incredibly handy if you wanted to run an entire album through the same tape emulation for example. Talking of albums, there’s also an Assembly View where you can sequence tracks, fine-tune start and end points, create crossfades between tracks and input metadata.

The advanced metering section is another standout, with LUFS, peak, RMS, dynamic range meters and a host of industry-standard loudness references to choose from. There’s also a spectrogram, a spectral analyser, and phase and correlation meters. Many of these features will exceed the needs of average users, but that’s kind of the point: T-RackS 6 accommodates a range of skill levels and use cases – it also leaves you room to grow.

Between the near fully-automated mastering of Master Match X, the simplified parameters of plugins like ONE and Bass One, and the pro-level capabilities of Mastering Console, T-RackS feels appropriate for novices looking to get started with DIY mastering, bedroom producers who want to take their tracks to the next level, and professionals working to high standards and tight deadlines.

Achieving such a wide scope has to be commended. T-RackS has long since exceeded its initial remit as a suite of mastering plugins, and, with an increasingly diverse range of tools being added, there is always a danger of tipping over into ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ territory. But there’s no lack of focus here – this is still one of the most powerful and versatile software mastering solutions available, only now it also has relevance for mix engineers and even producers.

Full suite of professional tools in T-RackS 6

Sure, Ozone 11 might edge out in front when it comes to AI-powered mastering, Universal Audio arguably takes the lead on faithful hardware emulations, and a Waves subscription will net you a wider range of plugins. But once you really dig in, it becomes clear that the difference in quality between T-RackS 6 and its competitors is actually miniscule – the difference in price, however, is big.

Despite increasing the number of included plugins, introducing brand new modules and improving old ones, T-RackS 6 costs less than the previous version. Across the four pricing tiers there is remarkable value at every step. While the €299.99 MAX version may feel like a significant investment, for that price you can expect a fully-featured suite of professional tools.

Of course, once you factor in subscription libraries, the competition looks decidedly stronger, but as a standalone purchase there is simply nobody else offering a similar scope, quality, and utility at this price point. T-RackS is the one to beat.