Hi Lee
I bet he has a ducks back as he was only trying to help.
I hope you are on top form and now i have my ears back and hearing stereo.
That infection was not very nice and the after effects last quite a while.
What i am doing at the moment is mixing a song and going back to the original recording if i lose focus
I have realized now that a recording from the Genos is really well balanced , so no need for gain staging in Cubase.
The songs always for me land up at around 16 to 17 LUF's and that is in the ballpark.
When mixing in Cubase it is easy to lose focus when learning and rather keep plugging on , i go back to the original .
I like Eileens tip that she was told when recording keep the compressor off and just have the Eq.
When mixing i hear faults in the strings, like unwanted artifacts that can be eq'd out at certain frequencies. By leaving EQ on and not changing the Strings for example can sound better that trying to change everything.
I have come to the conclusion, if it sounds good on the Genos, do not change it, just mix the song in Cubase. Small moves with EQ and other things.
When it comes to an attempt at mastering it is where things can go wrong. Your song can sound thin, toppy,etc and maybe you have to go back to the mix.
Ozone helps a lot , but it is understanding what everything does. I try to get things upfront at the back and over your head feeling and stereo width rather than going for the loudest thing that could put out.
It is fun learning , but frustrating sometimes. Very time consuming , but now i am retired It is "Back to the Future
We have all the time in the world"
People who just record and use Audacity to finish can get pretty good results and going through Cubase and mix/ mastering can mess things up. But the Cubase way is the best if you get your head around it and recording can be made better. it is up to the pilot and how well he can manage that aeroplane.
Some may say why do you do what you do , and i say it is fun learning no matter how old you get. Slowly getting there now.
Just watch Ian Sheppards mastering video live last night and it is amazing how little you really have to do. But you have to know your room and what you are doing.
i put on my favourite music when in my room on the monitors so i get used to how the real songs sound . Got to get the ears tuned up to the genre's i like. It is all a long learn curve of trial and error.
I am finding Gulfoss a great help . Amazing EQ
All the best
john