So, after going through some songs that I’ve recorded and mixed (and attempted to master), I’ve come to the conclusion that I not one to master songs. Tracking and mixing, I can do. But as far as mastering goes, I need to send the projects to someone else.
When I first started looking into recording, one of the first things I noticed was that many suggested having a different mastering engineer if you are the tracking/mixing engineer. At first I thought, “I can be the exception.” Well, I was wrong. Some people can, but I am now in the camp that believes whoever tracks/mixes a song or album should send their finished product to an engineer who knows their what they are doing.
I began thinking why this might be; why is it better to have a separate person master than the one mixing? Why couldn’t I [efficiently] do both?
I think it comes down to this: you are your own worst enemy. We all have gifts, and the sooner we realize what we are not good at (along with what we are good at), the easier each project will become. I found that the more I messed around with a song after I felt I had finished it, the more is made it soundworse. I guess some people (me!) have to learn the hard way sometimes.
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