Mix Note 099 / Mastering New
Check the file you actually exported
A session sounds right but the delivered file has a clipped intro or missing tail.
The move
Reimport the final export and listen from start to finish outside the active mastering chain.
Do this- Reimport the final export.
- Bypass the mastering chain on playback.
- Check the whole file, start to finish.
Listen for this.
Confirm starts, fades, channel layout, and peak behavior.
Know when to back off.
Do not accidentally process the reference export through the mastering chain twice.
Match loudness when you compare. If the original serves the song better, undo the change.
Vantage
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Keep working.
100 / MasteringThe reference needs a bypass routeA mastered reference passes through your bus limiter and sounds misleading.101 / MasteringDither belongs at the final reductionRepeated bit-depth changes make the delivery chain harder to control.102 / MasteringCheck the encoded versionA lossless master behaves differently after lossy conversion.
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