Oh for crying out loud, I think I know what half the problem is now. Nobody freakin' READS anymore.
PLEASE READ THIS POST BEFORE REPLYING TO IT. I say that because apparently there are a whole bunch of people who haven't even read my previous posts that they are rebelling against needlessly now. I'm just being forced to repeat what has already been said.
1. I never EVER suggested that nobody should ever use an MBC. What I did say was that they shouldn't NEED to use one. I also ammended that to say that there are special circumstances in which they can be used to good effect. And I have said two or three times that I'm not blaming the MBC, I'm lamenting the lack of proper technique in which they are so often used.
2. I never said that MBCs shouldn't be used in mixing to massage bad tracks. I in fact said just the opposite; that way too many people are using them during the mastering phase in an attempt to apply track fixes or finish incomplete mixing jobs after the mixdown has been done. I also said that is not waht mastering is for and what mastering is supposed to be all about, and that it's this bad technique that is the root of the problems that *they* are complaining about. It's not me saying their mixes sound bad, they themselves come on here and say that as the reason for their thread.
3. As far as examples of "perfect productions", there of course is no such thing as "perfect". However, if you'd go back and check my second post in this thread, you'd read a long list of artists that
regularly show up in public polls on this board and in other places as creating some of your favorite recordings or productions, which I point out as being a list where MBCs were not required in most, if not all, of their productions.
4. You're goddamn right I feel strongly about my opinion here. If I didn't, I would have shut up three or four posts ago
. But based upon my experiences and observations, the points I'm bringing up about technique vs. gear (and I'm not saying just MBCs, I'm talking in general) are so obviously a major source of so many of the problems brought to this board, that this is a huge issue which needs to be discussed.
5. To those of you who are fine engineers with good ears and good technique, and use MBCs to good results to fix oddball anamolies in the tracking, more power to you.
To those who have not yet developed the ears, who have not yet developed real tracking and mixing technique, who use MBCs on the two mix as a substitute for ears and technique, and who believe that the purpose of mastering is to fix the mix, THOSE are the ones to whom I sincerely recommend that they just put away the MBCs for a while.
And the ONLY reason I recommend that is because by forcing themselves to work without MBCs for a little while, and forcing themselves to get the mix right
before they sum, they will wind up with a much better product than they ever would otherwise because their ears and techniqe will be improved far beyond any improvements that gear alone can make.
6. Thanks, John, for leaving me out here all alone ol' buddy
. (j/k. I'm sure you've been busy doing something far more productive
.)
G.
and the subjects just aren't listening... 
