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Originally posted by music2dance2 If a label accepts your track and requested you to remove the mastering so you have a flat mix so they can master it, does your mix sound poor once you remove those master output channel devices, and do you have to work at it to bring it up to an acceptable level?

If your track sounds poor after removing plugins on the master out then the track is not mixed well enough. You should go back and fix the mix.

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Originally posted by music2dance2 I'm still working at getting it how I want it to sound, which is good right now. But I'm also thinking if it sounds great with a bunch of devices on my master out as well then I should just use it.

Not if the label in question plans to have it mastered separately. If they want to do this, take everything off he master and send them that version.

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Originally posted by music2dance2 I've read on other threads many people have all kinds of mastering channel strips templates, but could some of you give me your opinions on this. Preferably if you have releases under your belt or experience to give me some advice.

I and many others do this because we generally have no reasonable expectation that it will be mastered elsewhere. If any label wants to do their own mastering it is a simple matter to remove any mastering chain plugins and the only thing that should be lost is a bit of level (3-5 dB) and a tiny bit of sheen. There should not be a dramatic change in how your track sounds.

Thanks for the good info dude. I assumed most labels would master any tracks they accept on their label. I take it this isnt the case?

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Originally posted by music2dance2 Thanks for the good info dude. I assumed most labels would master any tracks they accept on their label. I take it this isnt the case?

No not at all, in fact, most digital labels expect a finished product, so you'll either need to master it yourself or pay someone else to do it. Really, the mixing is what is important. Don't mistake good mixing, arrangement, sound design and composition for good mastering. As I said above, mastering should only be about raising the level a bit and adding a tiny bit of sheen. If its doing anything more than that, the mix needs to be fixed.

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Originally posted by Eric J No not at all, in fact, most digital labels expect a finished product, so you'll either need to master it yourself or pay someone else to do it. Really, the mixing is what is important. Don't mistake good mixing, arrangement, sound design and composition for good mastering. As I said above, mastering should only be about raising the level a bit and adding a tiny bit of sheen. If its doing anything more than that, the mix needs to be fixed.

Ok thanks for enlightening me on the label stuff.

Totally agree on the mixing/mastering stuff. Its part of why I hadnt been using anything on my master out to force me to create a great sounds mix before any kind of mastering is done. So any default mastering I turn off if it loads when start a new track.

Many thanks dude will experiment and see how things work out.

i myself would like to hear my tracks mastered by the pros, i generely stick by the said rules and then stick a limiter on the track and it sounds better louder and im happy with that for now

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Originally posted by chrisspob i myself would like to hear my tracks mastered by the pros

If your track is well mixed, you wont really notice a big difference.

careful! most mastering engineers will tell you to take off dynamic/surgical EQ things on your master BUT if you have creative FX on the master to leave them if you're happy with the result (your tape compression/distortion is a perfect example). Usually in a circumstance like this i'll bounce without the tape and with and ask both get mastered and make a decision after. Mastering engineers get paid a lot of money for 30min of work. It won't take him more than 5-10min to do 2 vers.

I use to put vintage warmer on mine and now i don't put anything but if you're coloring your sound on PURPOSE then leave it

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Originally posted by Eric J If your track is well mixed, you wont really notice a big difference.

maybe i think my tracks sound great, but will they sound better if they are pro mastered?

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Originally posted by Zombie0729 careful! most mastering engineers will tell you to take off dynamic/surgical EQ things on your master BUT if you have creative FX on the master to leave them if you're happy with the result (your tape compression/distortion is a perfect example). Usually in a circumstance like this i'll bounce without the tape and with and ask both get mastered and make a decision after. Mastering engineers get paid a lot of money for 30min of work. It won't take him more than 5-10min to do 2 vers. I use to put vintage warmer on mine and now i don't put anything but if you're coloring your sound on PURPOSE then leave it

Thanks for the advice dude. So at present your master out has nothing on it whats so ever right now?

obviously i cannot do mastering, i will give anybody my track to do a better job than i can do ! if it sounds better then i will u use for all my next tracks and pay you

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Originally posted by chrisspob maybe i think my tracks sound great, but will they sound better if they are pro mastered?

I think you may be missing the point here. Mastering is not what makes tracks sound great. Proper composition, sound selection/design, arrangement and mixing is what makes tracks sound great. Mastering's primary benefits are mostly about getting a 3rd party perspective on your music and squeezing every last ounce of headroom out of your track (especially in the modern era).

If you want your music to sound better than you need to work at composition, arrangement, sound selection and mixing. These are the things that make tracks great. If you think someone else has the skill to make your music sound better than you can make it, you'd be better served hiring a mix engineer, sound designer and/or composer, because any or all of these people are going to have a much larger impact on the final output of your product than any mastering engineer.

Mastering engineers are important to be sure, but far too often they are credited with being able to make OK tracks sound great, and that is simply not the case. No amount of mastering is going to do that. You have all the power you need to make great sounding tracks, its just a matter of time, patience and experience.