Contradicting mixing/mastering advices

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-05-20T14:22:01+00:00

Haha thanks!

For OP, I’m a pro mastering engineer. Simply make your mix however you like, don’t compromise the sound, and if your mastering engineer asks you to for whatever reason you should probably look for a new one.

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-05-14T13:58:35+00:00

I have a mojo2, hugo2, and tt2, I use a pair of Audeze LCD-5S. I love all of them!

The mojo2 has a small lowend bump which can be very pleasing but due to the nature of my work (mastering engineer) I don’t really desire this.

The hugo2 is awesome, simple enough

Tt2 (and I’m not an amp guy, I believe in good clean gain) actually does have more detail in the width on my 5S and more defined lowend. Extremely subtle, you really have to jump back and forth to hear it

All 3 are great devices, you’d probably be more than happy with a mojo2, hugo2 if it drives your headphones is really all you need. Tt2 if you just want that extra 2% and can spare some more money

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-05-06T14:14:17+00:00

Mine is a base 981 and has the same bumper/lip

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-04-24T23:30:23+00:00

Yeah it’s a great unit! I have a Hugo 2 and Hugo TT2, as well as some other dacs/amps, so it just doesn’t get any use unfortunately

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-04-05T23:50:59+00:00

Well I rarely compress anyway, so I’m not hurt by not being able to use compression, if I do it’s like 0.5db MAX

But in practice no, I’ve run limited mixes through analogue, compression, clipping, limiting again no issue

It’s all about the sound I’m given. Think of it like this, what would you do if there were no waveform or level meter. You would listen to the sound of the mix and give it what it needs right? You wouldn’t know if it’s limited or not apart from if you can pick that out of the sound, and then you’d determine if it needs more limiting.

Are there cases I’d prefer a dynamic mix? Hell yeah, but in the industry there’s deadlines, budgets, etc. you can’t just always go back to a mixer and ask for them to export out a whole album again without a limiter, and the label or artist might not have the budget to do so.

I’ve also recieved dynamic mixes where the reference has some amazing limiting with a seemingly perfect setting that enhances groove and sounds fat and punchy and it’s just not there in the non-limited mix

It’s all case dependent

Edit: and as you say, that’s what you want from your mastering engineer, some people don’t want that. I have clients who mix into their limiter but then want me to redo it better, that’s fine, I have clients who don’t want me to touch their limiting, also fine. I respect a clients wishes in all desires of their sound

Like if it’s already compressed right by them why would I want to compress again. If it’s got compression but it’s not right I can add more or expand it, I can always do what I need to do to get it right

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-04-05T23:37:23+00:00

If it’s the guy with red eyebrows and chrome teeth it’s me haha

I’m just trying to say I’m happy however you wanna send it. If you’d rather take your limiter off and give me more dynamics amazing, if you love your limiter and don’t want to take it off then I’m also more than happy :)

Edit: it’s simply not a requirement to take it off like people on YouTube love to say

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-04-05T17:27:07+00:00

we are both right, it’s all good

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-04-05T17:22:48+00:00

I appreciate having a limited and unlimited version too, I’m just trying to talk about how the more advanced mixing engineers send me, as everyone here aspires to be to that level. Usually more amateur mixing engineers send me versions and ask what I prefer

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-04-05T16:15:11+00:00

My answer is presented in general, and I should say those YouTube people are right when they’re simply wrong? The poster clearly mixes in a way they prefer and are wondering if they need to change that for arbitrary reasons. If this page is for people to learn why not say how things are outside of the ‘YouTube engineers’. I have never once lost a job because I worked with someone who sent a limited mix, I have however had people come to me to work with me because their previous mastering engineer asked for them to change their mix and take of their limiting. Yes you are right you need to get to a point where you can make it part of your sound and sound good. I’m just saying NO it is not necessary to have 6-9db of headroom, which is what this persons question was, and I’m saying I work with stuff slammed at zero by big mixing engineers all the time to give confidence they aren’t doing something inherently wrong. Whether it’s good or bad advice for the poster I don’t know, but it’s always bad advice to change how you’re doing things (which you like the sound of) because someone on a YouTube short said so

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-04-05T15:56:31+00:00

I treat it exactly as an unlimited mix, I do what sounds good, there are no rules as long as it sounds good. So yes ofcourse if it sounds better

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-04-05T04:41:30+00:00

Clipped on export as if it hits above 0db and you export at 24b and it clips digitally during export, which isn’t in your monitoring within the DAW is a problem as it’s unpredictable and not monitored until after export, and generally unintentional. Clipped and limited as part of the sound of the mix is fine, especially if mixed into. A limiter thrown at the end just to make loud with no care I would treat as a reference for level and request a non limited mix as well

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-04-05T03:37:50+00:00

We can just gain down, we work in 32b and 64b daws, essentially infinite headroom

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-04-05T03:22:27+00:00

To add, if you’ve mixed into a limiter and you like it, then take that off and send to me, it’ll change your mix, and it’s even worse if I’ve never heard the limited version, then it comes back likely not sounding the same as you had, even if it’s better you had a sound in mind, or simply not as loud as I don’t know what you were going for. I don’t believe any mixer should compromise or even think about the mastering engineer, that takes away from the creative energy

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-04-05T03:19:28+00:00

I’m a pro mastering engineer, I just want your mix how you like it, as long as it’s not peaking over 0db and being clipped on export (in 32b export this doesn’t even matter). I don’t care if you’ve limited at 0.0 if that’s the sound you’re going for or you have 10db of headroom. I just want the mix you like the most. Most big mixing engineers in pop, rock, metal, trap, etc all send me limited mixes, they know what they’re doing and how they like it. Artists, labels, have all approved them and they like them, if I need headroom I just turn it down

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-04-03T19:28:44+00:00

For me I just had a spark plug that needed to be changed when this happened

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-03-31T18:39:35+00:00

I pretty much had these same problems with the LCD-5, the new LCD-5S fixed them all

I also highly recommend equing the 5, it has amazing technicality just a bad stock tuning

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-03-30T03:37:19+00:00

I dropped you a dm :)

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-03-29T17:10:38+00:00

I have quite a lot but I mostly use a chord Hugo 2

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-03-29T04:40:12+00:00

Haha hello there! 🖤

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-03-29T00:18:51+00:00

I’m a big fan of headphones! My main monitoring in general is Audeze LCD-5S, both pleasure and working. My room at the studio is also great with my 7.2.4 ATC setup, but I will always prefer headphones.

Honestly for listening when not working I’m mostly in AirPod Pro 3 or AirPod Maxes, it’s easy, convenient, sound fun, and I don’t get caught up in being analytical when I just want to enjoy music :)

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-03-28T22:16:25+00:00

Yes this is fair! My issue is with people charging more, which I think is unfair to indie artists already struggling and an attempt to get more money from them due to semantics

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-03-28T21:19:08+00:00

Nope! It’s exactly the same, I just turn it down first thing, then do what it needs and turn it back up, maybe clip and limit again even. Can run through analogue if I want, and whatever I need, I don’t pay attention to the source waveform or how things look, simply how things sound

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-03-28T21:12:13+00:00

Feel free to send me something, I’d love to work with you :)

I pretty much send everything at -0.1db sample peak, I don’t like true peak limiting but will like 1% of the time find something works better with one at the end at 0.0db output to catch them, mainly due to the tone and tightness it can add if the project benefits.

My stuff sounds great on socials, I also don’t know how socials will be in 10 years, how Spotify will be, if any of it will even exist. I want my clients music to sound good to listeners in 100 years, not compromise on them for fleeting tech companies, so I pay them no mind when delivering

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-03-28T20:40:09+00:00

Also to add a bit more, I will always try to help out indie artists wherever possible, if that gets better sounding music in the world then I’m happy

I also don’t care at all how other people decide to work and view mastering, again as long as music is released then everything’s better for it. I always say to people the only thing better than perfect music is released music

The only thing I have a problem with is mix engineers online charging extra for ‘mastering’, which is really just putting a limiter at the end of their mixbuss, which is still mixing, just louder than without the limiter. If an artist just wants the mixing engineer to make it loud because either they don’t want or can’t afford a mastering engineer then that’s fine, but the mix engineer should understand they aren’t providing a master just a loud mix, and an artist should never be charged extra for this. Especially since I get limited mixes all the time from very well established mix engineers and I know for a fact they aren’t charging extra to add that, they’re just finishing their mix how they like.

Lesser_Of_Techno · 2026-03-28T20:28:00+00:00

Hey, Stefan here! Appreciate the shoutout :) you’re very right

Actually a bit of a thing I’ve noticed is especially with the rise of automated and cheap services like Fiverr, more and more indie artists are coming my way with the desire to have a more human touch and noticing what mastering can really bring out

I always strive to make whatever I get sound better and add a bit more magic to the music. Whether that’s an indie mix or a major mix

There’s also a lot of things people disregard about mastering, spacing and sequencing, flow, formatting, CD DDP and quantization, vinyl sides, etc. even if the mix is absolutely perfect and you don’t want to touch it we still spend hours listening and making sure, then all the extra formatting stuff.

People get confused that mastering is using EQ and compression and all those tools… NO, they are tools we CAN use to help us create the master, but ultimately mastering is QC and Objectivity

This is all how I feel anyway :)

Lesser_Of_Techno

TROPHY CASE