[bgrotto]

Originally Posted by rallycapmusic

well im running into more and more ppl who have horrible mixes and dont no a thing about mixing but yet their songs sound so much bigger than mine.

If their, um, horrible mixes sound better than yours, perhaps you should be giving them more credit...

A good final product doesn't have much to do with the "mastering" (I put that in quotes because one could hardly consider what you're talking about here mastering). It's all about the tracking, the arrangement, and finally, the mix. Mastering engineers have the least control over the final product; it should go without saying that there's really not all that much they can do to improve the sound quality. They can, on the other hand, improve the way a mix translates, but that's a much, MUCH different thing. I can't really emphasize this point enough.

Now don't get me wrong, I've heard and had MEs perform genuine freakin' miracles. But these were on mixes that were generally good to begin with. A far cry from those other guys' "horrible mixes" you mentioned above; in other words, it seems you're either underestimating the other guys' mixing chops, or overestimating what an ME is capable of, or both. And in any case, you're most certainly overestimating what you as an ME is capable of. A couple VST plugins on the mix buss ain't gonna turn you into a genius mix engineer. Hell, Bob Ludwig on a good day with all the high-end hardware in the world ain't gonna turn anybody into a genius mix engineer. Like the old adage says, "garbage in, garbage out".

I'm sorry if I'm coming off like a dick, but it's really disheartening to hear the way people talk and think about music and the process of making and recording music. All too often, it's entirely unrealistic. "If I just had this one thing, I'd be able to make great-sounding recordings." It has nothing to do with gear. At all. That "one thing" is years of experience, talent, and the drive to make it all happen. Few people have even one of those things, let alone all three.

Again, I'm sorry to be coming off like a dick; believe it or not I actually encourage anyone who wants to pursue this stuff to do so. Just don't get caught up in thinking it's anything but YOU keeping you from "making it" (in whatever way you define that phrase).

Good luck. I really mean that.