Not really actually... Mixing is part of your creative process, an outsider who'd mix your track doesn't know which sound should top another sound, and which sounds should be panned or whatever, and that could fuck up your mix entirely, and thus, not to your own likings. A mastering engineer can't touch your mix, so the only creative part he should worry about is the mastering of the track. That being said, a mastering engineer knows exactly how he/she should master a track when hearing the final mix. That's why they're mastering engineers.You're arguing that mastering is a creative process. In that case, it should be entirely up to the producer to make creative choices about how the master would be done. Nobody knows you as well as you do, which means nobody knows what you'd like from a master more than yourself. On top of that, your point about being dissatisfied with a master because you know the track too well is ridiculous - that's like saying that you should leave the mixing to someone else so they can objectively mix the track.
I know that there are a lot of home producers who do self-mastering, but that doesn't always have to be a good thing. When it comes to professional producers, 9 out of 10 producers let their tracks being mastered by someone else, just because they are objective and know how to approach this.The idea that you shouldn't master your own stuff has been dismissed for a long time - you'd be surprised at how many people self-master.
I didn't misunderstand you, I just think a limiter on your master is a bad idea when comparing or checking your mix for flaws. A limiter doesn't always give you a good reference of where the errors are. When mixing, i'll always leave my master channel clear. When i'm checking my mix, I check in mono, and at low volume and at high volume. That should be enough. And of course a frequency spectrum analyzer. When your mix sounds good in mono, it'll sound even better in stereo. When encountering phase problems or masking problems, you'll hear it when you check your mix in mono.Also, you misunderstood what I meant in regards to using a limiter when making comparisons. Firstly, you're making assumptions about the 'professional' tracks the person would compare to - how would you know if they used a large chain of plugins or not? Even if you were to find out that say, Wildsylez uses a bunch of plugins for mastering, that's one producer, and you have absolutely no idea about how others would approach it.
Turning up the gain and limiting are two different processes, and don't give the same results. My entire argument is based upon the fact that the final master will be limited, which means using it while listening over a mix can be helpful. Of course, a lot of people would rather not do it, but you can't deny its use for others. I know using one producer (Madeon) as an example doesn't show that it's ideal for everyone, but that's never been my point. I've only ever said that some people can benefit from it (though the fact that Madeon's mixes are better than anyone else's in this section does help to make my point clear).Cardioid wrote:When you want to check your mix, just screw the volume up from your speakers, and don't use a limiter for that.
Yes, but although they know what they're doing, the results may not be to your liking. I see no reason as to why a producer should not self-master - their lack of knowledge in regards to mastering should only serve as motivation to improve in that aspect. A producer designs, arranges and mixes a track, why shouldn't they master one?Cardioid wrote:Not really actually... Mixing is part of your creative process, an outsider who'd mix your track doesn't know which sound should top another sound, and which sounds should be panned or whatever, and that could fuck up your mix entirely, and thus, not to your own likings. A mastering engineer can't touch your mix, so the only creative part he should worry about is the mastering of the track. That being said, a mastering engineer knows exactly how he/she should master a track when hearing the final mix. That's why they're mastering engineers.
That's completely wrong. Unless of course we have different understandings of the word 'professional'?Cardioid wrote:When it comes to professional producers, 9 out of 10 producers let their tracks being mastered by someone else, just because they are objective and know how to approach this.
Yes, of course you vary volumes, check the mix in mono and look at various analysers. I've never said to constantly have the limiter on. My point this entire time has been to toggle it on or off - it serves another way to view your mix on top of everything you've mentioned.Cardioid wrote:I didn't misunderstand you, I just think a limiter on your master is a bad idea when comparing or checking your mix for flaws. A limiter doesn't always give you a good reference of where the errors are. When mixing, i'll always leave my master channel clear. When i'm checking my mix, I check in mono, and at low volume and at high volume. That should be enough. And of course a frequency spectrum analyzer. When your mix sounds good in mono, it'll sound even better in stereo. When encountering phase problems or masking problems, you'll hear it when you check your mix in mono.
Imagine building a guitar and then tuning it and then playing it. That's what electronic music is.
