a/b ing

[mrmangle]

Hi,im curious regarding the a/b system.
We are advised to a/b our work while producing.
I produce house music,if im working on a track and havent got to the mastering stage,what is the point of a/b ing as obviously the commercial track is going to sound louder and better as its mastered.
theres no point in me trying to reach the commercial tracks level when im only approaching the mixing stage.
So basically im wondering should i really only be a/b ing when mastering?
thanks

 

[Storm]

You can A/B is mixing for width and frequency placement. In mixing though, you do want to A/B your stereo / mono mixing and A/B in a couple different monitor set-ups just to make sure you're on the right track. You're right about loudness A/B testing as that's unnecessary. Leave that for mastering. Make sure stereo sounds wide but your mono still captures everything clearly. Otherwise, your mastering engineer is going to throw it back at you.