i'm thinking about this too hard!!
 

 
i like to have a stereo file, of my final mix, including all my sub busses and automation, individual track effects, etc, just as if i had bounced the output of a mix desk to a 2" tape machine.
old school.
that file, is what i will export, to master in another program.
so, i'm bouncing my entire mix down to a stereo pair, then i route that to MAINS bypassing the master bus,
so i hear the raw stereo mix directly to mains, to ensure that i have what i want.
 
 
for my final stereo mix,
i've always used 'what you hear' in the bounce to tracks dialog....
 
seems like the right choice.
 
 
but wouldn't a more correct method, be to bounce down to tracks what is going thru the Mains output only?
 
 
so the idea is, all tracks routed to sub busses, all subs routed to master (i mix into compression on the master bus) and the master routed to main outs.
 
 
or is this the same thing as 'What you Hear'?
 
 

What I've always done, right or wrong, is bounce all the tracks (whether panned to "0" or to the left or right) to a new "Stereo" track.  I then take that track and "master" it with Izotope Ozone.  I export the Ozone track as 16bit/14.4Khz stereo wav file.  

what i am asking,
is what picks up the correct routing so that the bounce strictly comes from the output of the master,
or in other words,
the Mains?
 
what i don't want to happen, is anything else being included in the mixdown,
OTHER than what i am monitoring thru the master bus,
what is going to mains.
 
i've had some anomalies, where i am hearing in my final bounce,
what sounds like an extra boost in level on a particular sub buss, say, percussion,
that does not sound like what i'm hearing when i'm monitoring the mix before the bounce.
 
nothing is routed wrong,
it's all correct,
but once i do the 'bounce', i'm not hearing the playback exactly the same as i did listening to the mix pre-bounce,
and makes me think more is getting bounced than JUST the output from the master buss

so, 
i don't want to bounce the master PLUS all the sub busses,
i only want to bounce the final stereo out,
after all effects have been run thru, all sub busses have been routed to master,
and the master out is the only signal going to the 'bounce'.
 
sometimes it seems as if picking 'what you hear' is routing not only the master buss, but all the other busses at the same time as the master buss...
which would defeat the purpose.
 
 

so.........
 
 
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..............
 
 
does anyone know what bouncing from mains only does?
 

Well, I do what Fireberd does, so I am not really helping you out with the answer... I think people are so preoccupied with the Cakewalk "situation" right now that they aren't focusing on questions like this, but it will pass, and some smart folks will pop in ASAP and give you good feedback.... On a different note, I noticed in your signature that you are using a Babyface Pro(liked your Soundcloud tunes too)... I'm due for a new interface, and this looks like the best way to go... any thoughts on signal flow, routing quirks, Totalmix, etc. that you can impart?  Don't want to highjack this thread, so don't worry about answering if you got other things on your plate.
Salud!
Freq
P.S.  If you don't get an answer in a timely manner, maybe a visit to the new BeyondCakewalk http://beyondcakewalk.com/forum/index.php) and CakewalkCommunity (http://sonarmods.com./sonarmods/forum2017/) websites might expedite things..

I always do the following;
 
Mute the master to check everything is routed there,,,it often isn't even effect busses can be missed. . unmute once you have silence. 
Select NONE
Export the mix using the default settings what ever that is, I never look anymore , they seem to be the same over time. 
I change one thing, the bit rate down to 16. 
 
I guess I've never thought to "bounce " internally as export is pretty fast. 
I master in Wave Lab so I guess if your mastering in Sonar you would just drag and drop the export to a new stereo track. Personally I don't like this idea as then the master buss will need changing as the effects in the bin will have already been used during the export and new plug ins will be required. 
I see no benefit in having a stereo track of the same thing you can hear anyhow. 
I I was using Sonar for mastering it would be a special template and only the stereo tracks or the tracks from a whole albumwould be included. seems messy to do it otherwise but this is where we each have our own ways and nothing wrong with that at all. 
I could not think of NOT mastering in Wave Lab after 15 years or more. I love the  browser where he whole album is easily opened and tabbed. ALl the plug ins stay in the rack and you can treat each song the same. gives it glue. 

Never thought of muting the master to check for missed routings. That's a great idea. 
 
I do sort of what johnny does. In that, I do bounce to track just using the default. Seems to work.
Then, if taking the resulting wav out of Sonar, I just drag it out to wherever. Usually the desktop and then organize from there.
 
That said, I don't think I understand your question Batsbrew.
If your busses are routed to the master they shouldn't be occurring on the main out except through the master.
 

bokchoyboy
Well, I do what Fireberd does, so I am not really helping you out with the answer... I think people are so preoccupied with the Cakewalk "situation" right now that they aren't focusing on questions like this, but it will pass, and some smart folks will pop in ASAP and give you good feedback.... On a different note, I noticed in your signature that you are using a Babyface Pro(liked your Soundcloud tunes too)... I'm due for a new interface, and this looks like the best way to go... any thoughts on signal flow, routing quirks, Totalmix, etc. that you can impart?  Don't want to highjack this thread, so don't worry about answering if you got other things on your plate.
Salud!
Freq
P.S.  If you don't get an answer in a timely manner, maybe a visit to the new BeyondCakewalk http://beyondcakewalk.com/forum/index.php) and CakewalkCommunity (http://sonarmods.com./sonarmods/forum2017/) websites might expedite things..

HI FREQ!
 
the babyface....
 
i can tell you this.....
the day i bought it, i didn't bother installing the drivers,
i'm not connected to the web:
 
my daw dates back to 2010......
win xp, never updated beyond service pack 2
 
 
the babyface worked perfectly....first time it powered up.
and i've tracked several new demos using it, 
the preamps are extremely clean, almost no color,
and the totalmix control panel rocks.
highly suggested.
 
i got mine for $600 with a guitar center coupon that did NOT exclude RME!
 

Cactus Music
I always do the following;
 
Mute the master to check everything is routed there,,,it often isn't even effect busses can be missed. . unmute once you have silence. 
Select NONE
Export the mix using the default settings what ever that is, I never look anymore , they seem to be the same over time. 
I change one thing, the bit rate down to 16. 
 
I guess I've never thought to "bounce " internally as export is pretty fast. 
I master in Wave Lab so I guess if your mastering in Sonar you would just drag and drop the export to a new stereo track. Personally I don't like this idea as then the master buss will need changing as the effects in the bin will have already been used during the export and new plug ins will be required. 
I see no benefit in having a stereo track of the same thing you can hear anyhow. 
I I was using Sonar for mastering it would be a special template and only the stereo tracks or the tracks from a whole albumwould be included. seems messy to do it otherwise but this is where we each have our own ways and nothing wrong with that at all. 
I could not think of NOT mastering in Wave Lab after 15 years or more. I love the  browser where he whole album is easily opened and tabbed. ALl the plug ins stay in the rack and you can treat each song the same. gives it glue. 

ok cactus, thanks for the input...
i'll experiment with that approach this weekend.
 
i always check the master that way, always have.... by the time i've finished a mix,
i'm confident of all the routings. and i use a lot of busses, usually at least 8, mostly around 12.
 
i keep all 'pre-mastered' tracks at 24 bit.
i also output to wavelab, and master there, adding dither and bit drop in the L2 plug.