>>1350
hey, i'm >>1348
I do some slightly different routing than that, I send each instrument to its own buss, for compression and EQ, followed by reverb, or use patcher, then I take simmilar sounds (for example, all drums) to a sort of sub-master buss, where I mix together with just EQ, and maybe a minor amount of compression (which means yes, compressing reverb, it depends on the genre, or adding reverb post compression even, but that sounds a bit wonky sometimes depending on how compressed it is) and I do more fine tuning for volume adjustment at this stage,
then all those different "sub-master-buss" channels get routed into the actual master channel, which, I do typically leave the default limiter on, with its original launch settings (which amazingly are not a preset by default nor is it the "default" settings. I had to manually add that as a preset myself as "launch settings" it was weird)
but yeah OP, exactly what we both said, it's mostly personal preference.
Like I said, I mix everything dry with less volume, so I always have headroom, I get everything leveled together, then I amplify till i'm peaking at +0db, then add an EQ and multiband compressor (maximus usually) amplify pre-EQ, and make adjustments until it's loud enough on average.
This is because I do a pre-mix, a pre-master, and then a master, meanwhile this other guy sounds like he does his mastering while composing (which I just don't get) which is why we're both saying, It's all about personal preference
>Know what the tools do
>know what methods are out there
>know why someone uses a given method
>Use what feels right for your particular situation
>personal preference
This is like asking "what type of human beings are human beings sexually attracted to" and it's like "male or female? gay or straight, is this guy an ass man or does he prefer tits, big tits or a flat chest, Twink or a bear, effeminate, tomboy, musclegirl," so many choices, and all of it depends on what you like.
If you're trying to master so you feel confidant with your skills, fucking experiment, try different things, and find what works for you and your sound.
If you're trying to make something Professional that could chart on radio or get played in 'da club' or whatever, do a damn good pre-master that hasn't been compressed as shit, and it sounds good on your speakers and headphones, but don't worry about mastery, and then pay to have it mastered. if you can make money off of your music you can make even more with a professional mastery, and therefor pay for it, and in the mean time, you can compare what you did, to the master and reverse engineer how much compression they did and where, to figure it out and do it yourself. DIY the shit out of it, Science the shit out of it. Most mastery services are automated processes anyway which means it will always master the same.
practice doing some mastery yourself out of those pre-masters, and if they're good enough then you can stop using the pro masters you pay for, Then from there you can use those techniques you've learned from reverse engineering to do even better. HOWEVER BE WARNED. Once you get to that point, it actually becomes more profitable to sell a mastery service than to actually produce music, it isn't fun, it isn't creative, and it's a job, which is why mastery services exist.
Though, I suppose once you get to that point, with a bit of work you could turn into the next max martin, or a charting ghost-writer.
But that shit is long-ass hours, tedious as shit, and working music to the bone,
>Important bit about all this shit
I Mention all this, because I don't know what your goals are, and what you intend to do with your music is going to help us give you more usable tips to get you to where you want to go.