> This is my first post in this thread. It's surprised me that no one > has mentioned the absolute most powerful available tool to us DAW > users in getting the best possible result from our mixes/ masters - > total recall of our mixes. Ask any leading mastering guy and he will > confirm that for mastering any well mixed track, regardless of style, > that anything more than a couple of dB eq, and a bit of compression > single or multiband 1-3 dB and then limiter is pretty much all you > need. If your mixes need much more than that then any other processes > applied are at best a band aid and the issues are far better > addressed by doing another mix - which is generally pretty easy with > total recall. I totally agree with Paul. I also think it's a very good idea to let someone else do the mastering. It's all psychological, killing your own darlings and stuff. Another trick: I sometimes asks a friend(not necessarily a musician) over when I'm mixing, just to have a fresh perspective on a song. And another: leave a song for a couple of weeks/months. When you then go back to the mix, it's much easier to hear what's not right yet. Best, Zip