When is it worth getting your tunes mastered?

[mumble]

I'd only worry about mastering tracks that you/others are going to be play out on a big system.

If you feel confident enough that your music is up to scratch then send some tracks out and if people aka "big" DJ's are interested in them then get them mastered, no point spending money to master tracks because a few people on a forum said its big.

[deadly_habit]

when labels/djs want em and you cant do anything more in house

[Mad_EP]

The only tracks I have mastered are the ones that are lined up for release... and that mastering is always paid for by the label.

I play my dubs in mixes all the time, and I don't really have much problem with relative volume. IE - at the same loudness, the tracks are fine against each other (all it takes is some volume adjustment on the mixer).

If at the same loudness, my tracks still seem thin, it is because I didn't do a good enough job in the mixing stage. So I go back and fix it.


But really, the goal in your mixdowns should be that the Mastering Engineer has to do very little. Perhaps some minor EQ work or some volume matching against your other tracks, etc... but if the Mastering Engineer is working really hard, it means you didn't work hard enough.