Preparing for Mastering

Hi All,
 
We are contemplating having our new music mastered by a pro rather than doing it ourselves.  In my current mixes I tend to add a buss compressor and limiter on the master buss.  Is this OK or will that be a problem for mastering?
 
I know that there is still headroom available because our mixes are not as hot as most popular music today.
 
Although not pro, I've taken a song or two and used Ozone after the fact and it worked out pretty well, so I'm thinking that the buss compressor/limiter additional haven't hurt that scenario.
 
I'd appreciate your thoughts/feedback.
 
Thanks,
Tom

Everything stated above is absolutely correct, the ME will not adjust or fix anything in your mix. They will master the songs as complete project, there may be some eq or volume adjustments for continuity across the full cd, but what you send them is what they have to deal with. You are sending stereo wave files, not bundles.

The safest approach would be, after researching and deciding on the best Mastering House that meets your particular needs, contact them and talk to a rep. Ask for details, what are they expecting, or what will work best for them. They want to produce the best possible product, so they will want to get the best possible raw material to work with. If they give a "send anything, we can work miracles" attitude, go to the next name on the short list.

Later
Albert

RMS anywhere around -20 dbfs and peak anywhere around - 10 dbfs

 
That low for peaks?  I thought the standard was around -6db

I am absolutely with Jeff on this one. 

Don't do anything the ME can do better. 

The ME will not necessarily fix the mix, but giving them the option to do what is needed is a good idea.  You may need to compress individual tracks if you are sending a two track mix, but many ME's will appreciate (for example) a 5 stem version with lead vocals, drums, bass, guitar, BG vocals, that has no or little compression so they can make individual elements "sit" better in the final product.  Never limit or use other compression on the master buss, that is the final step for the ME, and EQ only individual instruments, not the entire mix, and always send 24 bit tracks when available.  I think you will find all ME's are of the same mind in this. 

Originally I was totally against any form of master buss compressionm but I read a great article about it in Sound on Sound, I tried it and it changed my view. I now think a little buss compression is good and it translates into a better master as well I believe.

Yes to Dave. I leave the buss compressor on when printing the track, but it is only gentle in its action. Glue type compressor. If I wanted a slammin pumping compression effect, then I agree the buss is a good place to do it. But many of us are not producing slammin mixes. (Phew), we are making more normal mixes I hope. Ones that are a bit more dynamic, more use of the 16 bit medium, less compressed, more natural etc..

Compression on the master buss, even gentle, alters the mix slightly so you need to re adjust a few things to get the mix back. Compression ratios multiply as well so if you use say 1.3 to 1 on the masterbuss then all track compressors will have their ratios multiplied by 1.3. You have to back some of those off a bit too.

I leave the 3rd area of compression to the mastering stage. So three coats of paint for compression. First on the tracks, second on the buss, 3rd in mastering. Remember all those ratios are multiplying!

I am right into calibrated monitor gain now. You have to set up so your -20db reference level produces 83 db in each monitors. (Bob Katz, K system metering!) When you mix, you can add precise amounts of monitor gain and you are hearing the music at mastered levels.  During mastering the monitor gain gets turned down precise amounts to allow for the increase in volume to your mix.

No limiting for me during the printing of the mix. I see mastering the best place to start using limiters for the purposes of volume rasing etc.. I like Waves LU3 etc. Not sure if Boost 11 is great but maybe a new limiter from Cakewalk would be a fine addition to Sonar. There are great 3rd party limiters around anyway. By the way Bob Katz loves digital compressors and limiters and I agree with him, they can sound fabulous. ( I find altering lookahead time can really effect the compression, you cant do that in an analog compressor)

In mastering, I get the EQ to add about 2 db of gain, the compressor another 3 db or so and the limiter about the same. Then you end up with a track that is fairly loud (6 to 8 db higher than your mix) and still has plenty of transients and weight in the sound.

that low for peaks?  I thought the standard was around -6db 

yes, that low for peaks.
unless you really trust your meters.
again, it's subjective, based on how good of a mixer you are, and how you achieve your -6db peaks.

i've been mixing with very mild compression on my master buss now, for about a year. i like it. sounds good. with the buss compression scheme, i'll allow peaks to -6. but any mix without, i go to -10.

 
Care to share your settings?