compression twice?

  • Thread starter Thread starter paresh
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paresh

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Sorry if this is dumb, but:

do you add compression at mixdown if you know it will also be added in mastering? Thanks
 
Not dumb but worth asking. If you have a search for John Scrip (aka 'Massive Master') on here you will come across him talking about this a lot. Basically, get the mix how you want it to sound, but don't blast and squash the master buss if it's going to be mastered.

This means, of course, that if you have a compressor you particularly like the sound of, such as PSP Vintage Warmer, you can definitely use it if you like how it sounds. But squash it too much and your mastering guy won't have much of a chance to use some of his (probably much superior) mastering processors.

Good communication helps, and you should be able to ask the guy you're paying to work on your stuff if there's anything he desperately needs, but if you just get your mix sounding great, then the mastering engineer can worry about giving it a little sparkle or extra 'loudness' ... he's the expert, after all!!! :)

Hope that helps,

Nik
 
personally, I would not compress the master buss at all if you are going to have it mastered UNLESS you are using the compressor for something besides volume or dynamic treatments.
 
xstatic said:
personally, I would not compress the master buss at all if you are going to have it mastered UNLESS you are using the compressor for something besides volume or dynamic treatments.
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Hence my example of Vintage Warmer ... which sounds ace ;)

Just stay well away from anything Waves and you'll be ok. I have been playing with L3 on and off for six months now and not once have I found it usable. Horrible stuff. My recordings sound bad enough without being completely trashed by this thing!!!! :eek:
 
This may have been implied earlier, but if so, I'll restate:

Feel free to compress individual tracks in order to make them work in the whole mix. But go light on compressing the whole stereo mix, if at all.

If you want to check out what compressing the mix buss does to the song, one option is to print two versions: one with compression on the master buss and one without. Then the mastering engineer can hear what you were going for, but have a "clean" version to get to that neighborhood in his own (probably more elegant) way.
 
Unless you have a great compressor, don't compress the master bus. You will be doing more damage than good.

Also where possible, use automation over compression for individual tracks. The results will be cleaner. It of course depends on what you are trying to achieve though.
 
This is just my opinion of course, but I would never use the vintage warmer on my mix bus if I was sending it in for mastering. My thinking.... Why use some cheap digital recreation of some dluxe analog gem that my mastering engineer may actually have in stock:)

Littledog's idea is great to me. I do that all the time. Make 2 versions to give the ME a specific idea of what I was after.
 
xstatic said:
This is just my opinion of course, but I would never use the vintage warmer on my mix bus if I was sending it in for mastering. My thinking.... Why use some cheap digital recreation of some dluxe analog gem that my mastering engineer may actually have in stock:)

Littledog's idea is great to me. I do that all the time. Make 2 versions to give the ME a specific idea of what I was after.
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Very good point! You're absolutely right. Ok then - no mix buss compression unless you really REALLY want to ... and even then don't! :D
 
I did not mean it to sound so severe. If you are NOT having it mastered, than you have to do whatever it is you ahve to do to get it to sound as close to how you want it as possible:)
 
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