I'm soon ready to export my final tracks. I've done most of the mixing through my mastering setup, and it'll probably stay exactly the same for the final product. Should I still bounce my unmastered mix and use a clean session for mastering or are the results identical to just exporting the final track straight from the mixing sessiong, using the mastering plugins on the master channel?
Any benefit in mastering in a different session?
- Thread starter Ronixis
- Start date
This probably isnt true for you so much, but I usually have too much processing going on the CPU to load more than one or two plugs into the master bus, so I am forced to do it in another session, but regardless I've always heard of it being better to do so anyway so that's just how I always do it.
bryan_kilco
Member
I'm very curious about this topic as well. I don't understand how it could be better or worse one way or the other, since it's the exact same process. I always just master in the same session as the mix.
Trevoire520
Member
Won't make a difference to the sound quality, and if CPU load isn't an issue then you might aswell just do it in your mix session.
bryan_kilco
Member
And if you did master in a different session, would you just import the mix and leave its track fader at 0.0?
Jarkko Mattheiszen
The FU guy.
It gives you perspective. A lot of people combine the two processes, and there's nothing wrong with that, but when trying to find the workflow that suits you best, it's always constructive to weigh the alternatives.
If you master as you go, the borders of mixing and mastering become pendulous in a way. If you separate the processes completely (perhaps mixing through a quick loudness chain to get an idea how the dynamics will sit in the final product), and hopefully take a bit of a break after the mixing stage is done, you can focus on the mastering stage with a different mindset. Personally, this is how my brain and ears work best. I get the mix where I want it, take some distance to the music, and come back to the mastering phase treating the project like it was just another mastering gig mixed by someone else. Of course, in this case I do have the luxury of fixing problems in the mix if needed, though.
Perspective is one of the reasons I always, always recommend outside mastering. Not just because I make money from it - I actually frequently recommend bands to use someone else for mastering (and I'll gladly recommend my colleagues) when I'm in charge of the mix. Not because I couldn't do it, but because the other person might hear things that I've grown used to when shaping the mix.
If you master as you go, the borders of mixing and mastering become pendulous in a way. If you separate the processes completely (perhaps mixing through a quick loudness chain to get an idea how the dynamics will sit in the final product), and hopefully take a bit of a break after the mixing stage is done, you can focus on the mastering stage with a different mindset. Personally, this is how my brain and ears work best. I get the mix where I want it, take some distance to the music, and come back to the mastering phase treating the project like it was just another mastering gig mixed by someone else. Of course, in this case I do have the luxury of fixing problems in the mix if needed, though.
Perspective is one of the reasons I always, always recommend outside mastering. Not just because I make money from it - I actually frequently recommend bands to use someone else for mastering (and I'll gladly recommend my colleagues) when I'm in charge of the mix. Not because I couldn't do it, but because the other person might hear things that I've grown used to when shaping the mix.
JeffTD
Senhor Testiculo
waltz mastering
Member
Probably none of the commercial records that you own or have ever listened to were mixed and mastered in the same session.
waltz mastering
Member
OneDaySky
Clint
Joey Mixes into his Mastering buss so its 1 process and both done at the same time hand in hand on the same Computer
