Ready to master? Mix Saturator question.

killthepixelnow

killthepixelnow

Do it right or dont do it
Hey guys, thanks a lot for your tips and comments. I'm finishing my project and I'm seriously considering sending the mixes to a mastering facility. I saved some money so I can afford the service.

Here's the thing: I applied a PSP Mix Saturator 2 on the master fader and I like the result, for it fattened up my mix. However, I was wondering if that's not advisable since I'm sending it to a master studio.

Here's the track with the saturator:


And here's the same track without the plug-in:


Just in case, the original 24bit [.aif] file can be downloaded directly from SoundCloud.
 
I'd be pulling off anything on the 2 bus and speaking with your mastering engineer about what end result you're after, and your success with the saturator - your ME will have his/her own tools to achieve that result, if that's what you're after, probably better ones too...
 
That's good news. According to the samples I've posted, does the track with the saturator is OK? I mean, is it hurting the mix?
 
I haven't checked out the mix yet. But often the answer is if you're unsure about it, .. send each mix with and without and then communicate with the ME, about which works best.

I've run into this a bit and usually would do a test master of one song and send them back unlabeled, and see what the client prefers and more times than not, the one without the sat or virtual whatever is picked to sound the best. gl
 
Without even listening, I'd suggest the "off" part. There will likely be *some* sort of saturation (not necessarily a plug, but due to compression or miscellaneous color devices, etc.) and that stuff can add up fast.

Putting in differently -- I get mixes in all the time that are saturated (distorted) in one way or another. But I've never had a mix in that "wasn't saturated enough" (for lack of a better term).
 
Massive Master said:
(....)Putting in differently -- I get mixes in all the time that are saturated (distorted) in one way or another(...)
Click to expand...

In this particular case, the track is not distorted, just... fuller? I'd appreciate if you could listen to the affected track (even thou I know you hate SoundCloud for these matters :D.)
 
It's saturation distortion that's causing it to sound fuller. If nothing else, a saturated set and a non-saturated set to the mastering guy.
 
I'm gonna go the other way and say don't send the mix out for mastering until it sounds the way you think it should. Don't expect the ME to finish your mix for you, and especially don't expect him to fix anything. It is my firm belief that it is always best to leave the ME with almost nothing to do. He should be adding small touches - just enough to get all of the songs on an album sounding consistent like "an album".

I suspect that if you had phrased the question differently - "should I mix to tape or just bounce to hard drive" - you'd get different answers. I haven't actually listened to the thing, but it really amounts to about the same question.
 
Well yes, some people prefer the ME to take some licenses and reshape their music. Not my case, I prefer that he respect the mix. However, my question was more a concern about using a saturation plugin on the master fader of a mix, acknowledging that sometimes it is applied during the master stage.
 
killthepixelnow said:
Well yes, some people prefer the ME to take some licenses and reshape their music. Not my case, I prefer that he respect the mix. However, my question was more a concern about using a saturation plugin on the master fader of a mix, acknowledging that sometimes it is applied during the master stage.
Click to expand...
Yup, and that's the question I tried to answer with my own opinion and perspective. If it makes your mix sound more like you want it to sound, then do it. Don't wait for somebody else to do it for you.
 
Another thing to consider is that the files really need to be level matched to make a fair decision.

Just checking the files above briefly, the bottom one is a bit lower in level and I've seen this a lot as even a sales pitch to sell virtual things. Louder is always better ; ) people will usually gravitate toward loud.

From listening quickly as they are, I think your losing just little transient or leading edge info on the drums with the one using the saturator. I'm a fan of using some tube gear in mastering to get a little drive or girth if that's what's needed. I don't trust code for that as I see over driving tubes is more harmonically pleasing than ones and zeros.
 
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