comparing sounds with mastered tracks

[ShadowAMD]

Originally Posted by fhill2

When I'm trying to re-create a sound, a synth, or drumbeat etc from a track that has been mastered, should I be re-creating my sound through a limiter inserted on the master?..

If I were to try and match the dynamic processing of my synth with the dynamic processing of the sound from the mastered version.. will I be trying to apply too much gain reduction because it would be lacking the final limiting that the mastered version has?

I'm creating electronic music by the way.

It's fairly common to work with a limiter on the bus, a limiter can affect the overall sound of a track so it's good to reference.

[kholland65]

Originally Posted by ShadowAMD

It's fairly common to work with a limiter on the bus, a limiter can affect the overall sound of a track so it's good to reference.

Not necessarily. Many people do this just to prevent clipping but in my opinion, if you practice proper gain staging, this shouldn't be an issue to begin with.

However, I do like to use a quick mastering chain or a limiter just for reference to give myself an idea of what it will sound like after the mastering to see if I need to change anything in the mix. At the end of the day, I take it off before I send it out to be mastered.

[Hypnotic]

I'm no expert, but I think working with some NICE eq, a limiter, and a compressor, plus a stereo imager is best applied earlier than later. The reason I have come to this conclusion is that I very often want to use the above for the way that they can not only make a mix bigger, but also the way that they can add a little fairy dust and glue the mix together. Whenever I add any of those things towards the end, I often find that I have to remix a lot of stuff. Opinions on this topic vary widely. A lot of people don't believe you should put anything on the master. I just like the way that it gels everything together.

[ShadowAMD]

Originally Posted by kholland65

Not necessarily. Many people do this just to prevent clipping but in my opinion, if you practice proper gain staging, this shouldn't be an issue to begin with.

However, I do like to use a quick mastering chain or a limiter just for reference to give myself an idea of what it will sound like after the mastering to see if I need to change anything in the mix. At the end of the day, I take it off before I send it out to be mastered.

Same here and I think we meant the same thing