Software or Hardware "Mastering"

[fretmeister]

Does mastering with outboard gear produce better results than software? I use Wavelab with Powercore MasterX3 to prepare my mixes for CD. Would mastering through my RNP or dbx 1046 sound better than the software compressors? I'm going to try it as soon as I figure out how to do it in Wavelab, but I would like to hear your thoughts about this topic in general. Does everyone use software now?

 

[Massive Master]

The quick answer (IMHO) would be that hardware on the way to the software is ideal. My "usual" M.O. would be to shape in the hardware and tweak surgically in the soft. Not as a rule, but as a "rule of thumb" on a good portion of projects.

I don't think you'll get much better results with a 1046 or an RNP (or RNC) that you will with plugs, but it's certainly not illegal to try.

On the software question - Every other M.E. I know uses software (or at the very least, certain digital processors) to some extent. It's almost unavoidable. But again, the crucial shaping would in many, if not most cases, be done through analog gear.