I think that's a good observation, particularly the highlighted bit. Speaking from experience, I've had people do mixes and masters of some of my songs (for mixing competitions, for inclusion in other things, to get experience etc), and whilst most of them have been technically 'good', clear mixes, they always seem to lack liveliness and power, and seem a bit sterile. Possibly down to not being au fait with the material and style as much, or also an unwillingness to 'take risks'?
You'd hope a good ME could make corrections, but it's also possible that an ME doesn't quite catch the vibe or intention, or just masters too cleanly, or does more pop than electro.
I've had great masters, ok masters and not so good masters. These days I master for myself and others, and what I might lose in corrective preciseness, I think I more than make up for by having the creative control over saturation, compression, and being able to tweak mixes if the mastering highlights an issue.
Who knows? Interesting stuff.
Statistics: Posted by donkey tugger — Fri Jul 12, 2024 9:59 am
