What is your process to begin Mastering after you've finished mixing?

Hey everyone!  It's my first time mastering, I'm going to use Ozone 7 Advanced.  I just finished mixing my project and I want to know what everyone's process is to get a project ready for mixing?  Specifically I'm asking, do you mix it down to a two track mix?  What settings do you use to do this?  And what specific steps do you take in cakewalk to do this?  I hope I'm being clear and thanks for the help.  
 
I guess I'm confused on exactly how to take my mix to a two track mix or if I even need to?  

Thank you so much!  This is good stuff!  How do you mix your project down to a two track mix?  

Rhytenow
Thank you so much!  This is good stuff!  How do you mix your project down to a two track mix?  

I get all the levels set to where the project sounds good (automation, eq, fx, volume) and then Export All to a WAV file.  Aiming for a -6db level, which leaves 6db of headroom for mastering changes.
 
There are lots of resources on how to mix:  Bobby Owsinski's "The Mixing Engineer's Handbook" is popular.  I found David Gibson's "The Art Of Mixing" to be helpful.

In addition to the above, Ozone 7 Advanced can be run in stand-alone mode, so 2-track pre-masters are needed to use that way. It also prevents fiddling with the mix and allows for multiple songs to be mastered to each other. Not that this is better, but isolating mastering from mixing is often helpful.

Here's an alternate process: I master in-place, in the project, rather than exporting a full mix and mastering in a separate program. This has one big advantage, which is being able to go back into the mix to correct problems that become apparent after mastering.
 
During mastering, you may become aware of issues that weren't previously obvious, such as excessive reverb or frequency imbalances. Addressing these in mastering is a kludge at best. It's always better to go back into the mix and fix those problems there. Having your mastering chain active whilst making those changes immediately lets you know if you're doing something right or just making things worse.
 
I use Ozone Advanced about 50% of the time, with FabFilter Pro-L being my primary alternative. Lately, I've been experimenting with Adaptive Limiter, which is proving itself to be a viable third choice. Often, Ozone is in there even when I'm not using its limiter, because I like its other modules.
 
My default preset is Dynamics -> Equalizer -> Exciter -> Imager -> Maximizer, all disabled with neutral settings.
 
I start with the EQ module, initially rolling off the extreme low end at 20 to 30 Hz. I always use the EQ module in critical-band mode, looking for obvious dips and peaks that might require mediation. If I find that more than 2 bands or adjustments greater than 2 dB are needed for correction, or if any of the corrections are narrow, then I dive back into the mix to see why that is, and attempt to fix it there.
 
Once I'm happy with the overall EQ, I next enable the Exciter. This is a dangerous module, because small movements can make everything immediately seem to sound better. But you're actually adding harshness whether you know it or not. Later on, you may become unhappy with the final master - if that happens, revisit the Exciter first and see if more conservative settings don't improve things. You get the biggest bang for the buck in the first and last bands. Band 2 will usually either have no excitation or will be set to a very low Amount, e.g. 1%.
 
Next is the Imager module, setting the first crossover to between 240 and 250 Hz and dropping the first band's Width slider to -100. Band 2 is either disabled or set to 5%, band 3 starts around 1.5 KHz and is set to 20-25, band 4 starts between 8 and 10 KHz and is set slightly higher. These are aggressive settings, just so I can hear the effect, but I usually back them off later. I do not use the Stereoize feature except in rare cases, e.g. solo acoustic guitar or piano.
 
Dynamics would come next, if used at all. I realize I'm running contrary to popular wisdom, but I am not a fan of master bus compression. To my mind, needing it is indicative of a failure in the mix process. Folks talk about "glue", to which I say "bah". It's a crutch for when you're in a hurry, an acceptable shortcut for professionals who are paid by the hour. As an amateur, I have the luxury of taking as long as I want for the mix, and I know I'm on the right track when the mix glues itself.
 
Lastly, the Maximizer. I start by setting the Ceiling. For aggressive rock, which is not my usual genre, I'll set it to -0.1 dB. More typically, it'll be -0.5 or -1.0 dB for clean stuff, and as low as -3.0 dB for jazz and classical. Again, I am bucking the popular trend here, but technically-speaking if your ultimate target is an MP3, you really should have that headroom.
 
It's worth experimenting with the modes. Everybody assumes IRC IV must be the best because it has the highest number and came along last. That's not necessarily true. Sometimes IRC I or IRC 2 works really well, although I'll admit that I'm most likely to end up using IRC III Balanced or IRC IV Modern. If the piece is very percussive, IRC IV Transient.
 
Character depends on the style and genre of the music. For my stuff, I usually stay between Smooth and Transparent. I keep the Stereo Link at 0% (again, contrary to popular practice). I'll try the Transient Emphasis to see if it helps, but it usually doesn't so I usually turn it off or use a low setting. As with the Dynamics module, Transient Emphasis is a crutch that shouldn't be needed in a good mix.
 
Finally, I bring up both SPAN and Insight and watch them as I adjust the Maximizer's Threshold slider. Because I'm not mastering for radio, I set Insight's loudness target to -14 or -13 and pull down the Threshold until I've found a nice compromise between the quiet parts being loud enough and the loud parts being quiet enough.
 
Keep in mind that all of the above are my personal preferences, and will not be suitable for everyone. If your genre is Hip Hop or EDM, forget everything I just said. 
 
 

I first ensure my mix is what I want it to sound like, I use  a lot of parallel techniques on my subs 
I then add/enable on my Master bus the Lurssen Mastering Console (adjust as needed)
I also use Sonarwork's headphone reference plugin for when I'm using headphones to mix
Last I use IK Multimedia's metering plugin to look at levels and frequencies etc.....
 
Referencing bitflipper's post I find it efficient and easy to correct issues that the mastering process can expose. Although I know many like the separate mastering process I like hearing the end product without having to rerender my mix.


Good luck

I use Ozone 7 as well.  The first step I do is pick a preset that you think would closest fit the sound you're going for, and if you like it, start tweaking until it sounds like you want.   If the first preset doesn't do it for you, try another.
I don't mix down the song to a stereo mix, I always use Ozone on the project with all the tracks still intact because you might find you need to adjust levels on a specific track after Ozone is applied.  I know you should have the perfect mix BEFORE you start mastering, but I'm not a professional and sometimes I don't get it right the first time.

I have made a list of customized presets in Ozone, and usually start with them.  The Mastering purists think Ozone 7 is "cheating".  I don't care, I think it's the fastest and easiest way to master your songs (except that it is a bit of a memory hog, so I only apply it after all the tracking and mixing is done)

I'm with Bit, I tend to master and finalize mix at the same time...depending on processing power...those linear phase EQs can be quite taxing :).

My mastering signal chain runs like this, first Waves NLS console emulation (sorry Cake, brought this plug a few weeks ago, and it really is the bomb), next compression, I tend to use for rock/pop and really full mixes Waves HComp, for less full mixes Waves VComp, and for acoustic sort of stuff Cakewalks C2, next I use Cakewalks linear phase EQ set to best quality, I use this EQ to really clean a final mix up, then I use Waves Master Tape to get the final levels right. Really what I'm doing is emulating a typical analogue mix master session, the master tape is then fed into Waves RS56 EQ for final tonal adjustment and finally I use Cakewalk's Adaptive Limiter, which is the bomb by the way. Of course of the mix needs less processes...so be it.

Ben