should I master a track BEFORE I mix it??
 

Dear Anyone.

OK, the heading looks crazy but hear me out! I've not got a rockstar budget for my music, indeed I'm using freebies wherever I can (I'm usually broke!) Now I've just found Landr and am considering joining the $4 a month version of it. (Incase you don't know, it's an automatic online mastering service.) I was just wondering if I had a sound I thought I'd MIXED right in a track, but I wasn't too happy with the sound itself (it being yet another legit. freebie!) would it be an idea to master it as a soloed track, then drop it back in the mix, and have a (hopefully) much better sounding sound going on? Just for lead or main sounds, of course if you do that with every sound you'd have them all jockeying for ear-space and defeat the object. But for (say) main accompanying instruments, do you think it would work?

OK, I know I'm gonna be told to 'try it and see', just wanted a couple of opinions on the subject.

Yours hopefully

Chris.

Hey,

If I have you correctly, you want to fix (or improve) a sound by applying some mattering techniques to it before the tack is actually mastered.

Not that I’m a master engineer but I’d say that wouldn’t be a good way to go. Mixing everything together until you happy with is always the better option. Basically it’s always better to get the mix sounding well before the latter - So you end up with a good balance.

If you take a single stem and apply some mastering techniques to it, then it may sound too ‘rinsed’ when it goes back into the mix. And then it will be further processed after the actual master, which may really interfere how it sits.

Best thing is to improve it before the master. That way you can A/B constantly with your mix for reference.

If you can't record the track again, you could try sweetening it with EQ. Or at least cut out the stuff that you don't need. Or try surgically cutting rogue frequencies, etc.

Cheers,

Rob.

Hi, do you mean for example, mastering the guitar solo track and then throwing it back in the mix hoping for it to sound better? I think its not gonna help. A track can sound amazing when isolated but crapp when put in the mix. It could also sound wrong or thin by its self and perfectly fit in the mix. Hope it was helpful. See ya.

The best example of this idea I know of here

The only thing you are going to get from a horrible service like Landr is a louder and more compressed version of your mix. The best thing you can do is try to learn as much as you can about the recording and mixing processes. This takes time, and if you need a recording out ASAP, you're going to have to involve people who have experience and the technical capabilities to record or mix your music. It's not something you can take a short cut to and get professional results.

You haven't given much information as to the type of music you are recording. If it's rock or some variation that relies on recording instruments with a microphone (guitar cabs, drums, etc.) then you will most definitely need a mix engineer who knows what he or she is doing. If you're going for a lo-fi, raw type of sound then you may be able to pull it off yourself, but since you're to the point where you're trying to master an individual instrument track to make it sound better, my guess is that you are not.

Software instruments are much easier to deal with because they do not have as many of the unpredictabilities that trained engineers know how to deal with. Everything from knowing when to EQ, compress, automate, layer, buss, and the many, many, many other things seasoned mix engineers have taken years to learn is vital to creating a vibrant and professionally sounding mix. Even with software instruments, you can't just wing it.

If you have the time, then spend it learning as much as you can and recording as much as you can. If you don't, you're better off finding the money and paying someone to do it right. We can do a lot on our own, but even those who make an album in their basement have been working on the skills needed to do so for years, and a lot of them have someone with more experience mix and master their music, even then.

Hope this helps.