This is a burning question for many.

It's so hard to know the answer you'd rather spend time tweaking your work than figuring out how to finish.

I presented to a group of Ableton Live users last week and this was one of the major questions they asked.

I told them that it's a combination of knowing what you want, understanding when things compare to your references, and then getting outside peer opinion to make sure you're not missing something.

This last one is key.

You're too close to your art to make objective opinions that aren't based on the whims of your emotional mind.

That's one of the main reasons I had Ian Shepherd master Sympathy.

Not because I couldn't do it myself. The test-master I did was perfectly acceptable to release.

The reason I used a mastering engineer was because I wanted a professional set of ears on my work to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

To make sure everything sounded as pro as possible, to another professional.

And sure enough, he spotted some places where the mix needed improvement. 

So after a bit of back and forth, the song was even better.

It had nothing to do with the exact mult-band compression setting, the type of limiter or the filter curve of the linear phase EQ - it was all about trusting another person to listen to the music to make sure it was done.

So next time you find yourself tweaking your tracks because you don't know whether you're done, find somebody you trust to tell you the truth.

Maybe you're done. Maybe you're not.

It seems like the only person who can't figure it out is yourself.

-Björgvin

P.S.

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