magik570
My first/last song was mixed and mastered by a 3rd party... I realized nobody knows/understands your song better than you do
i have found that this is the biggest hamstring to overcome.....
the project is TOO FAMILIAR.....
and you are too close to it, to make a 'clean decision'.
i DO master my own material, now, but i have mastered other engineer's work as well, and have paid pro mastering engineers to master my material in the past....
if i HAD the cash, i would always elect to hire a ME......
but if you are going to do your own mastering, i can offer a couple of tips:
1. always walk away from the mixes, for long enough to FORGET what you did.
this alone, will offer a huge change in perspective, which is what you want when you master.
2. do a LOT....... i mean a LOT..... of referencing of pro recordings, that are in a similar genre as what you are mastering.
3. trust your room and monitors. if you do not, do not proceed.
4. never master to compete with pro releases as far as SHEER VOLUME GOES....... IT IS A SELF DEFEATING TASK THAT IS EQUIVALENT TO TYPING AN ENTIRE RESPONSE IN NOTHING BUT CAPITAL LETTERS.
LOL
PS
i use WAVELAB for mastering.
i create a stereo bounce at 24 bits, inside SONAR, and then export that file.
i then bring it into WAVELAB, and use a very select few WAVE plugins for the mastering.
the docs say it all the time...
"Do No Harm."