Mixing / Mastering Question

[Priest]

I'm in need of some help, i'm in the process of getting into the studio to have my tracks mastered for my upcoming street album ( Mixtape ) and i was talking to a guy who has a full set up recording studio, and he told me that what i was looking to do was get my tracks mixed, not mastered.

He explained to me that to get my tracks mixed would mean that he would make sure that the levels on the vocals are sounding good.

Now, what i need your help with is this, with my upcoming release being a mixtape, the beats are from other artists that i bought online, they're considered to be the masters, would i need to have my vocals mixed, or should i just have them mastered?

Any and all help with this situation is appreciated.

 

[Rukas]

You'll need your vocals mixed and then if the instrumentals are already mastered you'll need a light master over the whole mix, usually a limiter and multiband compressor and EQ just to get it sounds a bit better. But you most def need to get the mix done right first.