Prepping a mix for mastering

[theswiftone]

Is it ok to send all your stems to a bus then turn that down by 3-6db to give yourself headroom? Or is it better to turn all faders down by the same amount? Im happy with the way the mix sounds, but its peaking to high. Just under 0db….

[LKB3rd]

I am a noob, but I am a motivated one, and according to what I've learned recently, you should remove all master bus effects, and turn down the individual sliders, shooting for around -6db. You can command or control click to select them all and lower together so as not to upset your mix. Also turn off dithering when you export.

[H20nly]

remove all master bus effects, and turn down the individual sliders, shooting for around -6db. You can command or control click to select them all and lower together so as not to upset your mix. Also turn off dithering when you export.

That's the easy way IMO... and the way I'd do it...

You don't have to do it at all... It's a 'best practice' not a rule...

[Tarekith]

Is it ok to send all your stems to a bus then turn that down by 3-6db to give yourself headroom? Or is it better to turn all faders down by the same amount? Im happy with the way the mix sounds, but its peaking to high. Just under 0db….

In your case, I'd just turn down the master fader 6dB.

[H20nly]

jeez T way to simplify.

[Tarekith]

Normally I try and keep the master fader at 0 and adjust the track faders, just because that's how I learned to do it. But if the mix is fine and you just need to trim the whole thing down to avoid clipping, easiest to grab the master fader and do it there.

You could put a Utility on the master and turn that down 6dB too I guess. Multiple ways to fix the issue!

[Khazul]

Or just select all the tracks that feed the master and pull them down together (rather than risking upsetting the mix balance trying to pull them down one at a time) - this will let you leave the master at 0 if you want it there for some reason or other.

[theswiftone]

Thanks for the responses guys….. I just dragged the master down 6db, cheers Tarekith. I don't know why but felt I had to leave it 0db and use the other faders to bring the volume into line. It felt a bit taboo changing the master fader to be honest as i always use it as my reference. Seems a bit silly now lol……..