You send the mix to your client. They listen. Your phone lights up: “🔥🔥🔥 this slaps!” Feels good? Sure. Helps you improve the mix? Not at all. Then two days later: “Actually, can we make it hit harder?” Now you’re guessing what “harder” means, where it should hit harder, and whether they mean the kick,…
Your client’s Dropbox is littered with “v12_FINAL_3.wav.” The label wants one more tweak. The artist just texted you at 11 PM: “Can we bump the snare 0.25 dB?” Meanwhile, you quoted this as a two-round project, you’re eight rounds deep, and the mastering engineer is waiting. If you don’t learn to close the door on…