Ugly ugly volume spikes, clipping the stero out

[bryan_kilco]

So apparently the proper way to be Mastering is to bounce down your mix and then put it in its own project, then apply comp/limit/etc to the Master bus, or the actual mixbus/track? And what is the difference (if any) between having your entire mix/all the tracks with FX in a session, running to a Master, which has comp/limit/etc on it, compared to Mastering in a new session with the rendered mix? Is this mostly to save CPU?

 

[nwright]

I would imagine most people would say in general it's more common to get a good mix and master seperately, but I don't think that means you can't "master as you mix". I do it, and I'm pretty sure other people do as well. But a lot of mixes get sent to a mastering facility, so obviously a master as you mix approach wont work.

But Mega Dave's issue isn't with mastering, it's with his mixes peaking the mixbuss. If all you do is apply a limiter or other mastering type plugins on the buss, it's "band-aiding" the initial issue of peaking the master buss, and isn't necessarily solving the issue, only covering it up...and more than likely hampering the learning process. If the mix is falling apart when those mastering tools aren't there, then the mix is what needs work.

In the OP's scenario, mastering is irrelevant to the problem IMHO, because he never once mentions his intention is to master as he mixes. If he is, then the problem's solutions could be different.

 

[MEGA DAVE]

nwright thank you, you get it... I master separate from mixing so mastering has NOTHING to do with this problem and exactly as you said, I'm not looking for a band-aid, I'm looking for a solution that will fix this problem without having to use a limiter on the master... Sure people do it but I don't want to because I feel I can produce a better product without resorting to a quick fix because I believe there is a problem somewhere in the mix, before the master bus...

 

[hurdy]

You do realize that when you feed another track of shit into the master 2bus, the peak level going through the 2bus is going to increase dramatically.
But maybe you need to turn down the individual tracks more than you usually would mate? (Turn your monitors up, if its too quiet)
On each individual track that has a compressor, is your attack time quite slow??
Maybe try quicker attack times on certain instruments (Especially loud & bass heavy stuff)
Maybe you just gota crappy mix (re-mix the levels)
Try find the instrument that is clipping it, & automate the level down on those beats (or try sidechain compressor if possible)