Benefits of getting a mix as loud as possible (without limiting) before mastering ?

[lord_bunny]

using a limiter on the 2 bus isn't all that great, I use one but only 1ab of reduction... as well as a maximizer that is doing some soft clipping.

i get -8 rms mixes by using a limiter on the drum buss.... nice compression on the kick and snare and by having a great drummer playing. Also, making sure the bass is even helps a lot. notching out ringy notes or anything that pops out too much goes a long way.

Parallel compression... I sometimes use 2 or three compressors for parallel compression on the drums.

So at the end of a busy mix I have an ssl bus comp doing 2-3 db, uad maximizer clipping a db or two and a limiter doing 1db... i haven't compressed my guitars, rode the hell out of everything, eq'd all my returns etc.

I like dynamic mixes, so I have -8 just in the loudest part of the loudest songs on the record.

When I master I'm not looking for extra volume by any stretch... just EQ maybe and relative volumes... getting the color of various mixes to gel.

[lucey]

Originally Posted by lord_bunny

I like dynamic mixes, so I have -8 just in the loudest part of the loudest songs on the record.

Mmmm