Plugins on the 2Bus if sending the tracks to a mastering house?

[stevehollx]

A lot of people talk about what compressors/limiters/EQ they put on their 2Bus. If I understand correctly, this procedure is in place of mastering, right?

I assume that if a mix is going to be sent away to a mastering house to get mastered, that I could leave the 2Bus dry and leave it up to the mastering engineer to throw the brick wall at the entire track?

 

[The Unavoidable]

Yeah, you probably could. But you should just be able to talk to the engineer about it also if you have any questions.

 

[Torniojaws]

Most people seem to do it so that in the master channel they have everything they want, except for brickwall limiting (volume maximising) and mastering effects (exciter, reverb, and so on).

So, maybe a wee bit of compression to glue the mix together and things like that.

 

[rockstar_josh]

Yes, the mastering engineer can tell you his preferences, and will probably be glad that you asked. He (she) may not be too worried about a small amount of compression. If you have a piece of gear with characteristics you like, and can impart its characteristics without slamming the track, then why not? Otherwise, the actual limiting and final processing should be left up to the ME.

 

[Zack Uidl]

Definitely talk to the mastering engineer first. I know mastering engineers that like things both ways.

 

[Ermz]

Check with the mastering engineer.

If your mix is heavily reliant on the 2-bus processing than I see no reason not to apply some. My mixes tend to be geared towards getting brickwalled later on so my drums are usually a bit above the bed of the track, as a result I tend to do some minor limiting just to shave the tops off (so to speak). If you're using high-quality plug-ins or hardware on the 2-bus I'd say it's all good as long as you're moderate with your usage.

 

[Morgan C]

I think that if you're using a bit of compression or something on the 2bus because it sounds good, then leave it in. If you're using it to fix something in the mix, fix it in the mix not on the 2bus, and if you're just making things louder take it off.

 

[Gomez]

I only accept projects with a bit of compression... but I also always ask for a mix without it.

Limiters and eq's are a no-no... but that's the way "I" like to work