Volume Levels for Mixdown
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  1. #1

    Default Volume Levels for Mixdown

    i wanted to get some input on this, as i'm struggling to find a good way to get my tracks as loud as i want them. so for all of you who produce out there, what methods do you use? i'm debating whether to use compression on the stereo bus (master out, whatever), and do compression in mastering (peak pro, any other recommendations for mac? other than sending it to a mastering engineer -_-), and leaving the mixdown uncompressed, but i find that just a little will "hold" the mix together a bit better. i've just heard horror stories of people compressing the mix and sending it to mastering only for the mastering engineer to say "i can't really do much with this dude". but the real issue is boosting certain elements of the track (snare, kick, etc) and still maintaining a "balanced" mix, like without drowning anything else out by boosting one. it sounds quiet and a bit weak at the mixdown stage, do any of you have a solution for this? or is it fixed in mastering? any help would be greatly appreciated.
    soundcloud.com/hpntk / soundcloud.com/freakstep
    freakstep.com / thefreakbeat.com
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    Quote Originally Posted by JesterNZDJ
    My solution: Pay some one to whack them so you don't have any competition

  2. #2
    Tech Wizard deepstereo's Avatar
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    Generally the tracks should be sent off to a mastering engineer uncompressed and he (or she) will take care of the levels, etc.

    But I personally think it's a good idea to add compression to some tracks in your project. Like drums for example and sidechain compression for the bass, otherwise it's hard to achieve good crisp sound and avoid clipping.

    And Izotope Ozone is great for mastering if you want to do it on your own.

  3. #3

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    ..this is what "eprom" says for the premastering stage:

    Mix your track down so that you are really, really happy with it. As good as you can possibly get it. Use sidechaining, distortion, compression, and whatever else you need to get it sounding as loud as possible. Bounce it in as high resolution as you need, with the highest peaks below 0dB - most mastering houses will say below -6dB - and load it into a new project file. This may seem like an extra step, but it is important philosophically because then you are committed to having the track done, and when you open it up in a new project with just the audio waveform, you are committed to working on the mastering alone, and not going back to make compositional changes.

    taken from another excellent forum:

    http://glitchhopforum.com/glitchhop-...ring-t789.html

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by compact View Post
    ..this is what "eprom" says for the premastering stage:

    Mix your track down so that you are really, really happy with it. As good as you can possibly get it. Use sidechaining, distortion, compression, and whatever else you need to get it sounding as loud as possible. Bounce it in as high resolution as you need, with the highest peaks below 0dB - most mastering houses will say below -6dB - and load it into a new project file. This may seem like an extra step, but it is important philosophically because then you are committed to having the track done, and when you open it up in a new project with just the audio waveform, you are committed to working on the mastering alone, and not going back to make compositional changes.

    taken from another excellent forum:

    http://glitchhopforum.com/glitchhop-...ring-t789.html

    sick! eprom you make good cookies

  5. #5

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    so mix it down so it's a little below 0db, bounce it, then bring it down for -6db? am i reading that correctly?

    thanks for the help guys, you've confirmed what i've been trying to avoid :P i'm trying my best to resist the urge to mix it as loud as i can and just use that. but in the back of my mind i know it will sound better if done right.

    thanks again guys.
    soundcloud.com/hpntk / soundcloud.com/freakstep
    freakstep.com / thefreakbeat.com
    me on beatport / me on djtunes
    Quote Originally Posted by JesterNZDJ
    My solution: Pay some one to whack them so you don't have any competition

  6. #6

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    it differs...personal i would say make your masterbus peak @ -6bd - leave that headroom for further mastering processing and you should be fine..!

  7. #7
    Tech Mentor rjw's Avatar
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    In my opinion there's no point mixing to just under 0db then reducing it down to -6db. It adds an unnessacery step and if your running a mixdown that hot your more likely to be clipping your track somewhere..

    Mix it down to -6db in the first place. and it doesn't even need to be exactly -6db, use that as a guideline to make sure you've got headroom.

    A good way to get more level is to lose as much bass as you can from your individual tracks. If it aint a sub bass part, roll as much of the sub bass out as you can without affecting the sound. That'll free up headroom in the part allowing you to push the volume more without clipping.

    Read this and download the plugin on the page, leave it on your master bus and that'll help with setting the levels right the trick is trying to get it loud and with dynamic range intact!

  8. #8
    Dr. Bento BentoSan's Avatar
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    Mix it down as the RJW described above without any compression on the master bus: like with every rule there are exceptions, you might want a comression if theres a certain sort of sound your going for and you know wtf is is your doing (otherwise use no master bus compression or limiting) - much caution is advised here or mastering engineers will give you funny looks if you choose to get it mastered professionally down the track !

    Then open it up in T-Racks to get the loudness factor going - i hear it runs better when not used as a plugin. That will be good enough to play out in a club, but if you want to actually release the track then send the un-traxed version to the mastering engineer. Only just started experimenting with T-Racks, its built for mastering, first impressions are good but i still need more time with it to really start forming a solid opinion on it and to build up an ear for using it.

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by BentoSan View Post
    [use compression on master bus if you know wtf you're doing, agreed]

    T-Racks
    t-racks looks pretty sweet, and i've heard good things about IK in general, i'm gonna see what's up with that and ozone to see what works for me. thanks for the suggestions!

    Quote Originally Posted by rjw View Post
    A good way to get more level is to lose as much bass as you can from your individual tracks. If it aint a sub bass part, roll as much of the sub bass out as you can without affecting the sound. That'll free up headroom in the part allowing you to push the volume more without clipping.

    Read this and download the plugin on the page, leave it on your master bus and that'll help with setting the levels right the trick is trying to get it loud and with dynamic range intact!
    dude, that is a tip i should have learned a long time ago, and it seems so obvious! thanks for the advice and the link brother.
    soundcloud.com/hpntk / soundcloud.com/freakstep
    freakstep.com / thefreakbeat.com
    me on beatport / me on djtunes
    Quote Originally Posted by JesterNZDJ
    My solution: Pay some one to whack them so you don't have any competition

  10. #10

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    best thread i´ve ever found ´bout this topic, period:

    http://www.dubstepforum.com/this-thr...ns-t74832.html

    ..yes, i´ve read all 17 pages...helped me alot to be honest.

    happy weekend!

    compact

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbcbOFM4tFQ

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