What does premastering mean exactly?

Electronic Music Production // Dark Arts
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Barfunkel
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What does premastering mean exactly?

Post by Barfunkel »

I'm entering this remix contest for fun. Don't expect to win of course, though it being only for the members of a closed FB group helps.

However, the rules state that:
Winners must send a premastered wav file at -6db peak no later than 3 days after being notified
And I was just wondering what the heck premastering even means, in practice? Does it mean that you're not supposed to put anything affecting the sound on the master bus (in which case I wonder why don't they just say unmastered instead of premastered), or does it mean something else?
"I don't shower every day, but when I do, I do it after listening to some Barfunkel" - Anonymous

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Lost to the Void
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Re: What does premastering mean exactly?

Post by Lost to the Void »

It's a silly term.
Technically what it means is not generally what people mean any more.
What it actually means is the final adjusted stereo mix (done by the mastering engineer) prior to printing to final format ie tape, lacqeur, glass master etc.

What most people mean when they say it now however, is a mix ready to be mastered.
So a final mix, basically.
Mastering Engineer @ Black Monolith Studio
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Barfunkel
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Re: What does premastering mean exactly?

Post by Barfunkel »

Ok, thanks!
"I don't shower every day, but when I do, I do it after listening to some Barfunkel" - Anonymous

http://soundcloud.com/user4904810
http://www.mixcloud.com/Barfunkel/


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