Mastering. COMP and/or LIMIT

[Jevil]

Do you guys compress and limit your tracks when mastering or only limit?
I mean, if I'm not mistaken, limiter compress the signal that reaches an output ceiling, so wouldn't it be useless to compress it before limiting in the chain?

If we compress every track, we compress the mix when mastering and finally we limit it to a to a high value, we are overcompressing everything and then the result would be a wave file like a sausage, very modern but lifeless and very deathmagnetical.... wouldn't it?

I did in every album I recorded but I think for the next time I won't.

 

[freddrik]

To rely on 1 limiter at the end of the chain and not compress individual tracks before will sound like a mess, depending on how hard you limit of course, but if you're aiming for a modern sounding mix with competitive loudness ,applying compression in stages is the way to go I would say

 

[Jevil]

To rely on 1 limiter at the end of the chain and not compress individual tracks before will sound like a mess, depending on how hard you limit of course, but if you're aiming for a modern sounding mix with competitive loudness ,applying compression in stages is the way to go I would say

No, I mean, yes to compress every track, but not compress the whole mix before limiting.

 

[Black neon bob]

To rely on 1 limiter at the end of the chain and not compress individual tracks before will sound like a mess, depending on how hard you limit of course, but if you're aiming for a modern sounding mix with competitive loudness ,applying compression in stages is the way to go I would say

Freddrik, when you say "compression in stages" do you mean throughout mixing, or do you mean multiple compressors on the master buss?

 

[TRA]

It depends. Sorry that doesn't help, but it really depends on the source material.

 

[Gomez]

It depends. Sorry that doesn't help, but it really depends on the source material.

Totally.

 

[freddrik]

No, I mean, yes to compress every track, but not compress the whole mix before limiting.

Sorry, I misunderstood you. But yea why not, light compression on the masterbus can be really good for glue and also to take some load off the limiter.

I think that chaining compressors/limiters gives you better control of the sound envelope so that you can really sculp it the way you want.