Over the last couple of days I've been mixing a classical quartet that I tracked in the most incredibly dry rehearsal room. The results of which I have subjected to various mix approaches including, leaving the mix dry, and adding differing amounts of reverb.
Now, because my ear does not like the ridiculous dynamic range of a close-mic'd and vigourously sawed violin or two, I have been trying a limiter on the mix buss.
This has clarified massively what I had only known previously by instinct....that limiting on the mix buss is very unnatural to the ear if the mix has any reverberation....which is to say that the ear is very sensitive to the proper natural decay of reverberation.
On even a slightly wet mix I can barely limit 1-2dB before the mix starts pumping and sounding terrible (makes my ears jump and the image goes to shit), yet I still have at least 5 dB too much range on the violins for my fragile ears....
However, I can limit the bone dry mix by 5-10dB and take away the 'nasty' upper dynamics of the violins, and it sounds lovely, intimate and rich (to my ear!). So I can crank the monitors and get inside the performance beautifully, without having my head taken off by the violent violins.....
Then I take the limited mix and post-apply the 'verb (although at a lesser amount) and it sounds perfectly natural....
Which leads me to the notion that the mastering guy can't possibly do any kind of mix-buss limiting/comp without completely screwing the reverbs/delays in the mix.....and that the best place for limiting is pre-reverb.....and definately pre-mastering.
I'm sure most of you already know this, but it's a bit of a realisation for me.
And anyone who has had the pleasure of hearing a master cellist from 3 ft away in a quiet dry room will understand why I love the dry, limited and imtimate sound. So.
Andy
PS I know that some of you 'classical' engineers would balk at the idea of close mic'ing & limiting classical music, but loud violins make me flinch (like a vented picolo snare) - but I do like to get close to a cello....and a little limiting can help to tame a violin that also moved quite alot in respect to the position of the mic and was played very vigourously!