There's still a hint of compression on the masterbuss (2db max gr). But I mixed the song through that one from the start, so I'll keep that on or the mix will sound very different (I'd still give an external ME versions with and without it so he could decide)
Just to clarify, I have absolutely no issue with using plug-ins on the masterbus. There is some very cool processing that works great on the 2bus that has an affect on how you mix the song. I'm just encouraging people to avoid excessive compression and limiting on the master bus.
The overall volume of the mix will play no part in my evaluation. I wish I could say the same for clients
When giving a client a reference mix of the song it's likely that you'll have to toss a limiter on it to keep them from coming back with "it sounds so quiet." I've got most of my repeat clients trained pretty well to turn up their playback systems when listening to unmastered mixes.
I should get to the latest round of critiques today and then I'm out of town until Monday. I'll be able to participate in discussion while I'm gone but I won't be able to do any critical listening of mixes until I'm back.
