11-03-2014, 11:00 PM
From what I have learned about this genre, dynamic range is generally less important than in most genres, so I think a limiter might be necessary for "the sound." Seems like a really crunchy bottom end is what most Drum&Bass listeners are after, and a limiter is often the best way to achieve this sort of distortion.
It's very uncomfortable for me, personally, but often we have to make sacrifices to satisfy the market's expectations. I agree it sounds better without limiting, which I only use to catch stray transients that result from some sort of frequency buildup during the biggest sections that can't be tamed prior to mastering (at least with my current skillset) without what I consider an unacceptable level of sacrifice.
The artists intentions are of course paramount (unless his best interests aren't served by his intentions, although that's not the case in this situation as skelly's original mix is very suited to the genre) but I think a mix engineer is also responsible for challenging the artist's intentions to introduce objectivity and the potential for that "something special" that makes the mix unique, in a real world situation. Most artists prefer to please their market at least as much as they want to please their egos, but since this is practice, matching the artist's original intentions is definitely a good idea.
It's very uncomfortable for me, personally, but often we have to make sacrifices to satisfy the market's expectations. I agree it sounds better without limiting, which I only use to catch stray transients that result from some sort of frequency buildup during the biggest sections that can't be tamed prior to mastering (at least with my current skillset) without what I consider an unacceptable level of sacrifice.
The artists intentions are of course paramount (unless his best interests aren't served by his intentions, although that's not the case in this situation as skelly's original mix is very suited to the genre) but I think a mix engineer is also responsible for challenging the artist's intentions to introduce objectivity and the potential for that "something special" that makes the mix unique, in a real world situation. Most artists prefer to please their market at least as much as they want to please their egos, but since this is practice, matching the artist's original intentions is definitely a good idea.
I'm grateful for comments and suggestions. Thank you for listening!