Turn Down Master Bus or Tracks?

[cominginsecond]

I'm getting my mixes ready to send to the mastering engineer, and, right now they're all too hot (and compressed). Basically I need to turn my mixes down. I think I remember reading that it is not a good idea to turn the master bus down to acheive this. I assume then, in this school of thought, that you'd just want to turn down all the levels, including the aux sends, until the mix is at the right level.

Is this right? Or is it OK to just turn the master bus down?

BTW, I'm mixing in Sonar.

 

[slabrock]

I'm getting my mixes ready to send to the mastering engineer, and, right now they're all too hot (and compressed). - - - Or is it OK to just turn the master bus down? ]

EDIT: Sorry, i was talking analogue here. In Sonar you may well turn your master volume slightly down IMHO, as long as you take care that there's enough data coming to the media in which you print. If recording media shows well below zero, you're not getting all you could.

Mixing in digital is all computer data.

(Original answer
When you look at the faders of your console, you probably see that the area around zero looks somewhat different. The marker lines are closer to each other, maybe that area is shaded too. It indicates, that around there the desks own s/n ratio is on its lowest. You shouldn't stray very far from there.

Basically you should set input gain so, that all the most important elements are somewhere within that area.

You say your mixes are too hot and compressed. Are you using a compressor on the master buses too, and if, what do you think your mastering engineer thinks of it, when he/she receives your mix? And if, wouldn't that be the place to turn the volume down.

I prefer several compressors that i cant hear, chained, to a single compressor that i can.

 

[cominginsecond]

Re: Re: Turn Down Master Bus or Tracks?

You say your mixes are too hot and compressed. Are you using a compressor on the master buses too, and if, what do you think your mastering engineer thinks of it, when he/she receives your mix? [/B]

Yeah, it is compressed on the master bus, as a rudimentary "pre-master" so that I can more accurately compare my mixes to professional mixes. However, before I send it to the mastering engineer, I will take off all bus compression and just turn down the whole mix.

Anyone else have any insight into this question?

 

[Tukkis]

If you are sending it for mastering don't compress the mixdown at all. It doesn't really matter if you turn down the master fader or indivudual tracks. Just make sure it doesn't go over 0dB.

Tukkis