IK Multimedia T-RackS 5 MAX

Matching that world-class sound has never been easier

What's new 

The most powerful mix and master modular system — remastered

The ultimate mix and mastering workstation from the creator of the first desktop mastering software.

IK Multimedia invented T-RackS in 1999, marking the beginning of a new era by unleashing the power of a complete, affordable mastering software tool to everyone.

Since then we have been leading the way, setting an industry standard and crafting some of the world’s best sounding plug-ins for professional applications. From day one, an ever-growing number of professionals and enthusiasts have trusted our expertise and meticulous approach to creating the finest digital processors on the planet. It’s no coincidence that thousands of top-charting records have been made using T-RackS.

T-RackS 5 has evolved into the most powerful mix and master modular system ever, offering maximum processing versatility, an improved audio engine, 4 new processors for a total of 38 high-quality modules on a flexible 16 processor series/parallel chain, a comprehensive broadcast ready professional metering tool section, a new completely redesigned, smart single-window GUI as well as an album assembly section with multi-format exporting function.

T-RackS 5 boasts more versatility and firepower than any of its competitors and gives you everything you need to professionally treat and finalize your audio from raw mixes to a perfect finished product ready for uploading to the leading digital delivery and streaming services or for CD printing.

4 new processors - the family just got bigger

Not only have all the plugins been redesigned and adapted to take advantage of the full processing power of the new audio engine and the new sleek, zoomable GUI, but we also created 4 new incredible processors that we know you will love.

Master Match

Dyna-Mu

EQual

One

In T-RackS 5 now you have up to 38 incredible modules to choose from to build your perfect studio setup.

Match it like a master with the Master Match

T-RackS 5 Master Match module is a new type of plug-in that automatically matches the sound of your songs using up to 3 different source tracks as reference.

Master Match calculates the spectral balance and perceived loudness of the reference tracks, analyzes them using sophisticated algorithms and then creates an exact match for the source material providing an editable ultra-high quality EQ curve and level adjustment. This can be achieved using the Master Match as a stand-alone processor or at the end of a pre-existing processing chain.

Thanks to this new powerful module, you can create great sounding masters or mixes in seconds, sounding every bit as good as your preferred tracks, without the need for any previous audio engineering experience or specialized skills.

Additionally, the Master Match can provide its magic either by being used as a fully automatic processor, or alternatively it can be used as your personal audio engineer assistant, since you can look at the suggestion it gives, and then you have the freedom to apply those by yourself using the T-RackS 5 tools you prefer.

The Dyna-Mu – glue for your mix

The new T-RackS 5 Dyna-Mu vari-mu compressor/limiter is based on an iconic American coveted piece of hardware praised for its subtle but instantly recognizable sonic fingerprint. Thanks to its transformers and all-tube modeled heart, it can impart an audible magic which makes a mix bloom, amazingly gluing all the parts together.

The Dyna-Mu is an exceptional all-rounder that will work wonders on full mixes as well as single sources. Use it on drums to make them full or to bring out the natural ambience of the room using parallel compression; try it on vocals to make them cut through the mix or on electric bass to give it a rock-solid presence. Push it hard creatively or just use it to “finesse” a track. Either way, don’t be surprised if you end up using it all the time.

Not all plug-ins are born EQual

The new T-RackS 5 EQual digital equalizer is a 10-band, ultra-clear, high-end parametric equalizer with an extremely transparent sound, a full-screen resizable interface for ultra-precise editing and a vast array of filter shapes that replicate the typical curves of classic analog EQ’s from Neve, SSL, API and other legendary machines.

This “hybrid monster” gives you the best of both worlds: digital precision and on-demand analog character. Plus, when it is zoomed full screen it allows for ultra-precise editing and fine adjustment without distractions from other elements on the screen, in a way that simply can’t be experienced with other digital equalizers.

This ultra-high resolution processor is the most transparent equalization tool digital audio technology allows today, offering crystal pure processing for the most musical adjustment to any tracks.

Here is the…ONE

The new T-RackS 5 ONE mastering processor has been conceived as an “all-in-one” solution for easy and straightforward audio finalization. It includes an EQ, compressor, analog harmonic exciter, low-end enhancer and limiter that will let anyone achieve professional quality results in the blink of an eye. Just turn its knobs, experiment and hear the mojo.

3-in-1 workflow versatility

With T-RackS 5, you have the freedom to optimize your workflow as you please with 3 working environments that will suit every need.

The standalone suite makes T-RackS 5 a complete, self-contained, one-stop mixing and mastering workstation that allows you to load a set of audio tracks and perform several operations, a typical method of top mastering studios. It's all in there: from an ever-expanding series of great sounding processors, to the most basic, but always necessary, waveform editing functions (like fades and length trimming of the audio file). Add to this a set of astoundingly precise and smooth, easy on the eye industry standard professional meters and you have everything you need to finalize your work from A to Z in one place.

The plug-in suite allows you to tap onto almost all the standalone mode features within the environment of your DAW of choice as the most powerful channel strip or mastering chain available today as a plug-in.

All T-RackS processors (including metering) can also be used as single plug-ins in any compatible DAW for multi-track mixing and stereo mastering duties. From equalizers and compressors, to reverbs, delays, harmonics enhancers and stereo processors, the choice is yours.

New streamlined, resizable interface

T-RackS lets you get the job done faster and better than anything else. The all-new interface is designed so you can achieve everything from a single window, smoother and faster than ever. Plus, it’s fully resizable at will, meaning that you can exploit the full size of your screen when working with it.

Just like in the previous T-RackS versions, the main module view shows the currently selected module, always sitting on top of the main frame so that its controls are quickly accessible. Just click on the module and tweak its parameters.

 

 

 

The new flexible module chain view allows you to manage all the modules in a flexible way, dragging and dropping them into the 16-processor series/parallel signal chain at will directly from the sidebar carousel showing all T-RackS available modules. Simply put, no other platform allows such unprecedented versatility.

The waveform view allows for super-fast editing operations of the waveform such as trimming, fading and looping of a selected area as well as placing snapshots for settings recall. We also made it a lot larger to help you visually perform all these tasks with greater precision.

Audiophile grade audio engine

We made T-RackS 5 more sonically powerful than ever. Now projects are supported with audio up to 192kHz / 32 bit floating point, so you can master for high-definition music platforms and distribution without ever leaving its single interface.

Plus, we added 4 dithering options for you to choose from, meaning you can optimize the dithering noise when reducing the bit-depth of your tracks to match the actual content of the song.

On top of that, T-RackS internal resampling engine has also been improved to deliver nothing less than best-in-class performance including DDM (Digital Delivery Mastering) on the way out from the final limiting stage, offering an additional layer of protection against inter-sample peaks and overshoots that could be generated by MP3, AAC encoding or similar compression and decompression processes.

Broadcast-ready metering for music and multimedia

T-RackS 5 includes a comprehensive suite of metering tools – with a completely overhauled internal engine - that provides you with immediate and complete visual information about the content of your audio material, so you can easily achieve professional results that will meet the strictest broadcast compatibility standards and will always sound great.

The new precision loudness LUFS meter, compliant with all leading professional reference standards, gives you valuable information about the integrated, mid or short term loudness of the material you are working on, so you know right away you are producing a master that has the perfect loudness for music delivery or broadcasting.

Peak, RMS and Dynamic Range meters give you useful information about the “crest factor” and dynamic response of your mixes. This way you can decide whether you want to go for a more compressed sound or a more dynamic one while still retaining the emotional impact of your songs.

The spectrogram, the real-time analyzer, the phase and correlation meters will also help you visually spot frequency imbalances and phase problems you might need to address before printing your masters for both digital and physical distribution.

M/S meters too will help you gather information about the relations between the mono and the stereo content of a track in terms of “overall energy”, so you can choose whether to go for a more widespread or in-your-face kind of sound.

Additionally, T-RackS 5’s new metering section can be launched as a separate floating window, like on a secondary screen, to let you keep an eye on levels while you focus on sound processing.

Album assembly

In T-RackS 5 you now can sequence and assemble your full-length production directly within the interface and create a cohesive album sequence, with suitable track metadata, like pauses, fades, track ID’s, ISRC codes, CD-Text, etc. Then you can export single high quality master audio files or the whole project in various formats such as WAV, AIF, standard DDP image for professional replication plants, or Wav Cue files.

It’s fast, it’s intuitive, and most importantly, it brings back the fun of sequencing an album that, despite being considered by many as a tedious activity, is indeed a true art form and one of the most emotional aspects of creating a full music experience.

Multiple versions to suit all needs

T-RackS 5 comes in different packages so you can choose the best option for your needs.

Previous users, owning some or all modules with a total of $/€ 99.99 or more can purchase T-RackS 5 at the upgrade price and take advantage of all the new features. This version is also ideal for beginners or users getting into mastering for the first time since it includes the 4 new modules along with 5 additional classic T-RackS modules (for a total of 9 processors) to jump-start things right away and let you mix and master taking advantage of the finest analog modeling technology and classic sound that we are known for.

For more demanding users T-RackS 5 Deluxe offers 22 smartly selected modules that cover you for most mixing and mastering duties with a wide selection must-have vintage and modern EQs, Dynamics processors and more.

In each of this version you are always free to add more modules as time goes by, thanks to the exclusive T-RackS Custom Shop, that allows you to try any of the available processors for 14 days, and buy them a-la-carte using $/€ or Custom Shop credits for greater savings.

If you want the full processing power of the entire suite at once, T-RackS 5 MAX is the full-blown collection of all 38 available T-RackS processors covering everything from vintage compressors and EQ’s to reverbs, stereo processors, saturators, precision digital tools and more.

Features

4 new processors (Master Match, Dyna-Mu, EQual, ONE)
Completely redesigned, flexible and resizable interface
Ultra-rapid, flexible and smooth workflow
A total of 38 high-end modules: available à la carte or via carefully selected bundles
Unique modular chain system with 16 series/parallel slots
Improved audiophile-grade audio engine
Up to 192kHz / 32-bit floating point processing capability
4 optimized user-selectable dithering options
Extensive calibrated metering for multi-standard, broadcast-ready and future proof masters
Album assembly with sequencing and metadata embedding
Multiple file format export function
64-bit native support
Standalone workstation, plugin suite and single plugins for Audio Units, VST2, VST3 and AAX formats
Requires macOS 10.7 / Windows 7 or later