This is the part where most people mess up and another great short, and to the point explanation, Herb! smile Well put, sir.

The mastering really starts when you turn on your amp, decide how you want to mic it, and what guitar you pick, as one example. Graham backs this up.

THEN, as Herb said, you do your level best to record your very best take and signal with the sound being as good as it can get before it even hits the board.

THEN, you use whatever effects you have WITH CAUTION to make each track sound as perfect as you can, and as lifelike. Remember, professional producer Bob said less is more--just because you went crazy on Black Friday and bought 100 VSTs doesn't mean you are supposed to use them all.

If you follow the instructions given on this thread by all posters, very little "mastering" will need to be done in the end as Herb said.

As an FYI, some of the very best mixes I have heard have been done by people on this forum in Real Band using very minimal effects.

That is because they let the music speak for itself, and they didn't throw in a bunch of effects that turn the music into soup.

Less is more, less is more, less is more.

smile

David Snyder
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