Preparing mixes for mastering, advice please

[BUTCH]

Hello all,

I am in the process of mixing songs for my first album. Someone else is mastering it. The problem is this: when I send my mixes in, they are 24 bit, no compression, no EQ, etc., but, when the levels are pumped up in mastering, it seems to change the mix, the relative volume between instruments. How can I mix in such a way that the finished master will have basically the same sounding mix that I hear in my studio?

Thanks for your help,

[Foreverain4]

find a different mastering engineer...

[Byll]

Hi, Butch. I agree with Foreverain to a point, but there may be something else going on here. Do you create your mix without any individual track EQ or compression, or are you referring to only leaving off FINAL EQ and compression? I cannot imagine doing a complex mix without using individual track EQ and compression. Before mastering, I have even been known to use a slight bit of tasteful EQ on the final pre-master, but never final compression, as most mastering engineers will use some form of multi-band compression as part of their magic...

A good mastering engineer will simply add life and snap to a mix, not change its tonal balance.

Be well, and welcome to the board.
Byll

[Audioholic]

BUTCH

when adding eq to brighten up tracks and stuff, that tends to pull certain instruments out.. What you could do is on the songs where you are unhappy with the loudness of certain instruments after mastering, do another pre-mastered mix bringing the volume down on those instruments a few db... then maybe vocal up, vocal down mixes.. etc

[Ernest828]

Actually during the compression/limiting process, volumes of individual instruments do get affected.

For example, lets say your lead vocals are about 3db louder than the next loudest instrument which we`ll say is bass for example.

The compressor and/or limiter see a certain frequency is louder by 4db so that instrument (the lead vocal) is going to get compressed where the bass and guitars will seemingly get louder. This is compression done without multi bands.

So what you are describing is a natural effect of compressor affecting the entire mix.

Find out if he is using a Multiband compressor. If so, he can lay off certain freqs. and that should get the songs to sound much more like the mixes.

If that doesn`t work, contact me and I`ll do it!

[Ernest828]

I realized I didn`t answer your question. When you are mixing next time, try strapping a compressor across to stereo bus to mimic what mastering will do. Then when you are ready to throw the mix onto DAT or whatever you are mixing down to, remove the compressor. I know the ART PRO VLA to be good at that sort of thing or the REAL NICE COMPRESSOR.