Quote:
Originally Posted by leebridges  1. the client is going to reference other material that is mastered 2. to use up as many bits as possible...at lower gain, you lose resolution in digital, right? |
I understand your first point. With many clients I'll strap an L2 on the end of the chain for their mix so I don't hear whining about it "not being loud." It gives an idea what mastering is going to do to your mix as well, but the final mix will be hitting that spot I want it to.
However, the loss of resolution--which is going to be minimal--doesn't make up for the loss of microdynamics and transient bursts that fly past the meters. Chances are portions of your audio (either freq bands or transients) are clipping.
Quote:
Originally Posted by leebridges i learned to mix under a guy that slams the 2-buss of an SSL (VU's are always in the red)....we had the 2-buss A/D's set to -23dB at one time (if that tells you how hot he mixes). if you were to look at his mixes, they look like they've already been mastered...pretty square wav-ish. |
Wow. I don't like to cast judgement down without hearing the man's work, but that's not how I go at it. However, that being said, there is a time and a place for hitting the console heavy. But, generally speaking, I prefer to keep the console interaction to a minimum and keep the signal clean.
Quote:
Originally Posted by leebridges it's all gonna end up peaking at 0dB anyways...i'd rather mix it like that than be surprised by what happens when the ME gets done...and i've found that the good ME's don't mind getting something that is pretty hot already (as long as it sounds good). they're used to it. |
I dunno, like I said earlier I feel something is missing when listened to at equal volumes... microdynamics and transients. Granted, those are getting pummeled during mastering, but I'd rather it happen ONCE... rather than pile compression on top of compression, distortion on top of distortion.
Keep in mind I like very clean, transparent mixes with a few elements "pushed" on the channel. I don't even hit the buss compressor very hard compared to most. 4db GR max on the buss compressor. I did a song earlier today where the buss compressor was only hitting about .75 db of GR and that was the sweet spot. Subtle, but not having it seemed a major loss, and overdoing it past that was just too much.
Ultimately, in the end if the song communicates what the client is going for and sounds good it doesn't really matter what we do... it's just a bunch of thoery and numbers. Proof is in the puddin'.