just a question i have been wondering lately.
I understand the principals of mastering well but what I do struggle with is not reaching for eq to make the overall mix sound 'better' to my ears. Sometimes this changes the overall sound quite a bit but I feel it is for the better but sometimes people dont want to hear a difference after listening to their own mix (pre-master) for a period of time as it is hard to adjust to it even if it may indeed be better, they just want louder.
I know in an ideal situation the mix should be well balanced and just need some mild treatment to get it loud and if you are working with good engineers this would be fine but what about when you are mastering say bredroom warrior stuff and the mix is clearly lacking? Do you still just shoot for volume or do you 'fix the mix' a little or do you supply two mixes, one of each?
I understand the principals of mastering well but what I do struggle with is not reaching for eq to make the overall mix sound 'better' to my ears. Sometimes this changes the overall sound quite a bit but I feel it is for the better but sometimes people dont want to hear a difference after listening to their own mix (pre-master) for a period of time as it is hard to adjust to it even if it may indeed be better, they just want louder.
I know in an ideal situation the mix should be well balanced and just need some mild treatment to get it loud and if you are working with good engineers this would be fine but what about when you are mastering say bredroom warrior stuff and the mix is clearly lacking? Do you still just shoot for volume or do you 'fix the mix' a little or do you supply two mixes, one of each?