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Originally Posted by Kenny Gioia  People that know how to mix don't listen to mastering engineers. They make great mixes and let the ME figure it out.
The client gets a bit of Massey L007 for their reference but the ME doesn't. |
Sounds as if you're listening, then.
If some squeeze is part of the sound – and not done for level – then fine. In the end, communication of any uncertainties is crucial, even to the point of sending the ME a mix ahead of time for some feedback. Nothing wrong with that. Most of my clients come to me explicitly
not wanting a crushed result.
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Originally Posted by firemoon Look if you send a supposedly finished album to someone and the levels on different songs are so wildly differing, as to need correction, it might raise the point of. What the hell were you doing when you mixed it? |
I'd hazard a guess and say most mix engineers are focussed on the song in its own right. There could be different mix studios or engineers involved, different vocalists/mics/drum set ups/ambience balances, any number of subtle or not-so-subtle things from song to song. On a recent EP two of five tracks didn't need compression. The other three did. Different mix engineers.
Ideally, yes there'd be an amount of consistency, but it's pretty rare for it to all be finessed during the mixing process. If mastering requires little more than an EQ tweak & level matching – great!
It still takes an excellent full range monitoring environment and experienced objectivity to make such calls. Quote:
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Originally Posted by jamwerks There was a feature artical in "Sound on Sound" of May '08, dealing with 2 bus compression. If I remember correctly, the ME's interviewed made the analogy of coats of paint on a car, saying that its better to have 3 coats of paint (thinner) than 1 thick coat of paint. Basically saying that a little compression during tracking, a little at mixing, and a little at mastering gives the best results. |
True. The effective net result of added comps is the product of the ratios, not the sum of. i.e., 4:1 + 3:1 + 2:1 =
24:1 equivalent.
And who's to say the time constants are always set right and within context of the whole release and track sequence, with part of your brain in mix balancing mode?
And every compressor sounds different.
And gain reduction can be occurring before you see it on a meter, etc, etc.
So again: as long as it's for the sound of it, not for level. If unsure, supply both options, and communicate this (and name your digital mix files accordingly!).