Vocals too high in the mix? Too low? Not even sure? Snare sounds wonky? And how do I make everything louder than everything else? Step in, step in, for your mix Viagra from people who know the secrets.
I want to get a song ready to put up on the interwebs but i want to master it. I tried giving it a quick master and it kinda sounds stupid scratchy and distorted. At a quick glance i noticed that with all the FX turned off (on the master bus) the metering on the master bus during play back of the song says i am sitting around an average of around -4db - 2db
Not a lot of head room to work with really. What should i be looking to have that master bus metering at before i want to start doing any kind of mastering or spit polishing of the final mix?
In the real world -6 to -4 would be fine if the mix doesn't need much fixing.
It also depends on how loud you're aiming etc.
I've found that Greg's system of stacked limiters is an excellent way to go as the stack can be raised or lowered depending on the content & need.
Ask the chap --... hang on [mention]Greg_L[/mention] chime in please.
Yeah I think you need to sneak up on it as opposed to squashing it all with one shot. Gently limit > EQ > limiter > EQ > Limiter...etc. Stack them and be very gentle. The EQ is only if necessary - hopefully not much. Leave some headroom from the raw mix.
My mixes are around -10db before any limiters or mastering on the main bus. I use the AdHd leveling tool to kick up the level, and Izotope Ozone 8 Elements to tweak the EQ and limit the signal to -2db. Like Greg said you don't want to squash it all at once or you will get artifacts and distortion. https://www.kvraudio.com/product/leveli ... udio-tools
Another toy that helped destroy the elder race of man..forget about your silly whim it doesn't fit the plan.
My target level is "not clipping". Anything under clip is good for me. When I start a mix, I'm shooting for peaks somewhere around -10 to -6. If i start with drums and shoot for -6, I run out of headroom. So I've started shooting for -10, and I still end up really close to clipping. But after I slap a comp and a limiter on the master bus, it doesn't really matter much as long as there weren't audible clips beforehand.
The track I'm working on at present has crept up to -3.
I have a nasty habit of adding thinsg when waiting for vocals or solos to arrive, (the BIAB solo in this is VERY MUCH a place holder only).
When I'm almost there I'll reduce all the buses by a few dB each I suppose - or next time I look at it.
At present it doesn't matter much, there's no clipping or silliness, as you can hear...
11OctAug19wbiabsolo.mp3
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Hmmm, I've never really considered this that much.
I just stick the Event Horizon Limiter (stock Reaper plugin) and ReaEQ on the master buss and I'm done!
I don't usually shoot for a specific level in the mix.
I switch back and forth between mixing where things sound good and turning down levels to keep it from clipping. (I do a lot of automating for the latter too)
Interesting. glad i asked. I was going to try and tweak everything so that my master bus meter ended up in the -10 / -8 range so i had a bit more headroom to wind it up with some hack job mastering. I'll digest all this and see what happens.
[mention]Greg_L[/mention] when you stack the limiters and eq are you doing it on the master buss, one plug in after another in succession. or do you do one limiter and eq in one project, render, then reopen in a fresh project, rinse lather repeat?
@Greg_L when you stack the limiters and eq are you doing it on the master buss, one plug in after another in succession. or do you do one limiter and eq in one project, render, then reopen in a fresh project, rinse lather repeat?
I make a raw mix, usually nothing on the master bus, maybe sometimes a little tiny taste of master bus EQ, and bounce it out as a stereo file. I don't know where it peaks and don't care. As long as it doesn't clip, I don't give a shit where that raw mix's RMS lands. If I had to guess it's probably usually somewhere around -4 to -6 db peak.
I take that stereo file and bring it into an empty project. I've made a FX preset that has about seven limiters and seven EQs all stacked up alternating. I put this on the master bus and get to work. I never need all seven limiters and EQs, but they're there. I only use what I think I need.
@Greg_L when you stack the limiters and eq are you doing it on the master buss, one plug in after another in succession. or do you do one limiter and eq in one project, render, then reopen in a fresh project, rinse lather repeat?
I make a raw mix, usually nothing on the master bus, maybe sometimes a little tiny taste of master bus EQ, and bounce it out as a stereo file. I don't know where it peaks and don't care. As long as it doesn't clip, I don't give a shit where that raw mix's RMS lands. If I had to guess it's probably usually somewhere around -4 to -6 db peak.
I take that stereo file and bring it into an empty project. I've made a FX preset that has about seven limiters and seven EQs all stacked up alternating. I put this on the master bus and get to work. I never need all seven limiters and EQs, but they're there. I only use what I think I need.
Also, and I don't think I'm the only one to do this, I mix with a mastering limiter on. Not really aggressively, but still there.
Then I adjust it where necessary after I'm happy with the mix.
JD01 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 15, 2019 5:17 am
Also, and I don't think I'm the only one to do this, I mix with a mastering limiter on. Not really aggressively, but still there.
Then I adjust it where necessary after I'm happy with the mix.
JD01 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 15, 2019 5:17 am
Also, and I don't think I'm the only one to do this, I mix with a mastering limiter on. Not really aggressively, but still there.
Then I adjust it where necessary after I'm happy with the mix.
Interesting. What got you into doing that?
At first to think I just forgot and didn't notice. I saved one of my best mixes as a template and it was on there. But I liked it being there so I kept it.
I think it encourages me to be more subtle with adjustments I make and my mix tends to be a little more careful. Also when I'm mixing it's a closer approximation of how it's actually going to sound when it's done.
All of my recent mixes have been done in the same way so it seems to be working for me.
I've actually had a look on the web about it since. Some people say it's a good idea some people don't.
Levels are lower these days than during the Loudness Wars - and you have to get the levels right for the platform you're putting it on or they'll do it for you and you probably won't like it.
I found this tool: Levels plug-in a great help when doing the Honey Hunters album - it enabled me to master at the correct level for the platform - hotter for CDs, cooler for streaming. So I had 3 different masters because there were 3 different requirements in terms of bit depth and level for the different platforms.
You get a month free trial and I didn't kick it off until final mastering and so I got the whole album done for nothing - probably a shame to blow it on a song. It's not a limiter, it's just a measuring tool. I did find a mastering limiter - free - that had a similar function on it. I'd have to be at home to check what it was. I'll dig it out tomorrow if you're interested.
I also subscribe to the multiple limiter approach. Bit by bit, so to speak...
