OK, Mr. Thomas's comments lead to another issue. I recently heard that a very well respected mastering guru said that, when mixing, people should back off on their levels and allow as much dynamic range as possible in the mixdown—this instead of trying to get the individual tracks as hot as possible without crossing the line. There was also some talk about gain staging involved. Anyway, I took this to heart and started backing off my track levels until there was no clipping whatsoever on the output stereo track with no plugin. I ended up dropping levels by as much as 12 or 14 db, and then I figured I could make it up with VW and should end up with a clearer, more open and dynamic sound. This did help quite a bit, but as I said, my stuff just sounded tiny and flat next to Badly Drawn Boy—until I cranked the volume a bit. Then it sounded much more comparable in volume and dynamics, though not quite as sweet and open. That part I can attribute to superior pres, mics, equipment and engineering skill. So, If I understand you right, Mr. Thomas, some of the perceived level is just better, more musical pres, mics, rooms, etc., and better skill in the use of equipment/plugins. And if VW only goes halfway there, which I don't doubt, are you of the opinion that the only way to really get all the way there, is to send the stuff to a Mastering house? Any recommendations for that?