The Burn Out Factor

[Phuturistic]

I understand that a big part of a mastering engineer (and a mixing engineer) is to get a fresh set of ears and a different perspective on a song, to help guide it to the final sound that the artist (or whoever is in charge of the project) is trying to acheive. All the projects I work on as a hobby at home I record, mix, and master myself. Sometimes I think because I'm so close to my music at all stages of the process, I begin to lose sight of the bigger picture. I get so caught up in the details of each sound/sample in the song, or trying to acheive the perfect EQ setting for a track, etc., that I have trouble focusing on hearing the song as a normal listener who popped the song in their car stereo for the first time would hear it. Plus the fact that I'm listening to the same material over and over again for one to a few hours at a time.

My question is, is this situation I'm having one major reason why the process of making music usually involves two, if not more, people to interact (listen/process/whatever) with a particular song before it is considered finished? (I suppose I'm speaking on a professional level of making music). Is this a reason why many mastering engineers say that they don't like mastering their own work?

Just some food for thought.

 

[danny.guitar]

Yes I would say that's probably the main problem most artists/recorders have and why it's good to have a fresh set of ears.

Although, it helps to take a break for awhile. On important songs, I usually wait at least a day or 2 before going back to it. I also get opinions from friends, family, etc. They aren't "mastering engineers" but they are a fresh set of ears and will usually hear things that you had missed.

 

[cusebassman]

I love giving things I've worked on to people who do NOT have engineering experience, because they are the ones who will dumb it down... my mom will say "Yeah - the song is good, but it seems really bassy", or "this or that seems louder than everything else", or "the amount of instruments off to the sides gives this a very high cheese-quotient".

I can deal with the slight peaks at frequency X in software, but I may be too close to my own music to realize that what I think sounds great seems completely odd to everyone else who hears it. And while I do believe that you should create what you want and hope that others like it, you should also have some sort of audience in mind, and try to please them to at least a small extent.

I've also found it much easier to work on something after a lot of recording if I let it be for a few days... sometimes even weeks, if I've spent so much time on it I feel like I never want to hear it again

Its probably personality-dependant, but think about a song you really like... I will listen to something to death for a week or two, and then suddenly be completely tired of it. Then, a few weeks later, I'll get it stuck in my head and I get right back into it... and writing, recording, mixing, mastering and putting out a song takes a lot more work than just listening to something a great deal

 

[Massive Master]

Is this a reason why many mastering engineers say that they don't like mastering their own work?

That's Reason #1.

After that, the whole "different room" thing also comes into play...

But no doubt, almost every time I was "forced" to master my own mixes, I regretted it at some point.

 

[Ironklad Audio]

i'm working on a solo album right now that i'm unfortunately writing, performing, engineering, and mixing myself

i considered trying to master it myself, but the problem i run into is that i always make sure my mixes are as good as i can get them to be in the 1st place...to the point that there's not much i even want to fuck with when the mastering stage comes around, aside from sucking out a few db's of headroom

that's when it kind of hit me that i'd probably be better off letting a seasoned mastering pro take a turn putting the polish on. besides, i want to hear an experienced professional's opinion of my mixes, and i guess there's no better way than to have them master your stuff for you.

 

[FALKEN]

whats so wrong with taking a mix out to the car, listening to it on the way to work and back, and getting a different picture of the sonics that way? I can easily see that I might need to separate the vocal out a bit, cut specific mid frequencies, whether the kick should go up or down a bit, and if the mix would rock a little bit more if I ran it through the compressor. its not that difficult. or maybe I'm missing something?