Steve DB`s Q&A production workshop

[koda]

How to get (frequency wise) well balanced tracks?
I mean not too much highs or lows or whatever but all very nice and levelled.

I myself often compare my track to something someone else made that I think sounds good. And then take it from that.

i think thats a pretty important one, a good way to start is to reference your whole mix starting with bass and kick, with the amount of air they move i find it easier to work around those elements.
another thing which could be included is how to attract label attention, im in the proces of putting a 3 track demo together and i guess ill just send it out to a&r's? dunno...

[Siege]

Obviously,mastering should be left to the pros,but if your gonna try yourself, is it possible to get better results mastering your track before its rendered down to a single stereo file?

[koda]

Obviously,mastering should be left to the pros,but if your gonna try yourself, is it possible to get better results mastering your track before its rendered down to a single stereo file?

ideally your mix down should be as close to mastered as possible, ive seen people who throw dynamic effects over the master bus to squeeze it together because they cant get that tight feel to it, my technique is eq and compression (amoungst other things) ONLY where its needed.
but otherwise i think i would get carried away mastering my own stuff, best left to someone else i think

[Siege]

I concentrate on getting the mixdown sounding the best i can before even thinking about mastering.
Therefore when it does come to the mastering stage, im not relying on this to get the sound i want...i have it sounding how i want before master. Like i said il leave mastering to the pros but do have a dabble myself for pre-masters,trks i post up in here and that. Usually warm it up a little...eq cut...multiband comp...maximise..
What i want to know though is,ive heard you can get better,louder results if you master the mix before you render the whole thing down and then master.Is this true???

[loopdon]

i think the terminology 'mastering' is often misused. what a lot of people mean is pre-mastering...