Quick mastering question

[Shaun Werle]

Currently messing with a few sessions i have, not done but i have been messing with some mastering and mixing and bouncing to compare with to a commercial volume. well atleast something close.
My problem is it is my mix is not loud enough
at this point.
What should i do to my mix before it hits the master.
Could someone run me through the setting up for mastering process.
It's not my strong point so please excuse me for asking
What RMS level should i be at before i send it through my master chain?
What RMS or Peak level is a good level.
I am trying to get stronger on my mastering.
Also feel free to throw in some tips!
I'll post a clip soon
Thanks guys!

 

[mburton21]

First off, I like to mix everything so that all the levels are where I want them before bouncing it down. Nothing on the master BUS.
After that I do all the mastering in a new Master session both to save CPU load and to try and maintain some more consistency.

A clip would indeed help, I usually try for -9dbs final level. Initial level before that does not make that much of a difference (correct me in the likely event that I am wrong).
I also enjoy Ozone in the master, some people do not. Matter of personal preference IMO.

Mastering can be a cruel bitch mistress.

 

[rfahey86]

Normally you want your tracks to peak around -10DB before mastering. But IMO mastering one song is kinda useless. Mastering is needed when it is part of a compilation. You would use mastering to adjust the track levels so that all of the levels on a cd are the same. Also you want to use a touch of EQ where needed so that one song is not is not too bottom heavy or top heavy. It also involves trimming the silence at the start or end of a track. Just my opinion.

 

[musickey]

Check it if you havent

Loudness

 

[Trevoire520]

Touch of eq, some compression and soft clipping and you should be good. A dedicated mastering engineer will do a much better job though.

 

[Shaun Werle]

check my lastest thread for a clip, i touch all your suggestion into consideration while mixing/mastering

 

[darthjujuu]

Normally you want your tracks to peak around -10DB before mastering. But IMO mastering one song is kinda useless. Mastering is needed when it is part of a compilation. You would use mastering to adjust the track levels so that all of the levels on a cd are the same. Also you want to use a touch of EQ where needed so that one song is not is not too bottom heavy or top heavy. It also involves trimming the silence at the start or end of a track. Just my opinion.

-10 RMS or -10 below unity?? i always end up mixing too loud and need to stop and bring all my faders down and start over. learning how to back off preamps and faders seems to be every self-taught beginners main problem. but i'll have a kick/snare peaking around -4 and the 2bus (with nothing on it) will be...not clipping, but just about. having a 2bus peaking at -10 in the DAW seems like an unnecesarily large amount of headroom, unless i misunderstood?

 

[nwright]

My peaks are usually anywhere from -10 to -5, but I shoot for around -8 in general.

My RMS levels for a fast/loud song without much dynamic shifts are usually -20 to -15, with -18 being what I shoot for.

 

[darthjujuu]

My peaks are usually anywhere from -10 to -5, but I shoot for around -8 in general.

My RMS levels for a fast/loud song without much dynamic shifts are usually -20 to -15, with -18 being what I shoot for.

o_0 really?? -9 RMS seems to be about commercial these days, I remember ermz saying similarly i'm pretty sure. what're you using for metering?

 

[guitarguru777]

I just turn the faders up till my ears bleed then I know its \\m// METAL \\m// enough !!!

LOL .... sorry had to

 

[xFkx]

With 24 bit audio you don't have to push everything up, so there's no problem with starting the mix with the kick drum peaking at -18 db, just to be safe at first.

 

[rfahey86]

With 24 bit audio you don't have to push everything up, so there's no problem with starting the mix with the kick drum peaking at -18 db, just to be safe at first.

+1
You can always turn the faders up later if everything is too low.

 

[Shaun Werle]

Gosh mastering goes a million different ways!

Should my mix be low in volume before it hits the master or should I have it on the louder side than start mastering.
This is a headache.

I guess i just have to go mess with it some more.

anyone have any good meters to read my RMS/Peak levels. I have been using Bombfactory noise meter.
I do not know how accurate that is

 

[nwright]

o_0 really?? -9 RMS seems to be about commercial these days, I remember ermz saying similarly i'm pretty sure. what're you using for metering?

My MIXES are usually at the levels I wrote, meaning PRE mastering.

After mastering my mixes usually sit in the -10 to -9 RMS area.

 

[waltz mastering]

Should my mix be low in volume before it hits the master or should I have it on the louder side than start mastering.
This is a headache.

There's no one correct answer. There are some well known mixers who are known to mix hot. That's how they like to do it. These types of mixes are not conducive to a lot of processing or correction at the mastering stage, sometimes they wouldn't need much... Leaving head room affords more freedom for further processing at the mastering stage.

The one thing that is a no go is audible clipping/crackling/distortion/saturation that is not intended to be part of the music. The best way to ensure that is to print conservative levels.... peaking below -.1 dBfs is a start...-3 dBFfs to -6 dBfs is great...there is no problem peaking as far down as -16 dBfs
Also good to make sure no plugs are clipping unless they're designed to.

 

[Shaun Werle]

There's no one correct answer. There are some well known mixers who are known to mix hot. That's how they like to do it. These types of mixes are not conducive to a lot of processing or correction at the mastering stage, sometimes they wouldn't need much... Leaving head room affords more freedom for further processing at the mastering stage.

The one thing that is a no go is audible clipping/crackling/distortion/saturation that is not intended to be part of the music. The best way to ensure that is to print conservative levels.... peaking below -.1 dBfs is a start...-3 dBFfs to -6 dBfs is great...there is no problem peaking as far down as -16 dBfs
Also good to make sure no plugs are clipping unless they're designed to.

thanks man for the tips, Should i master right in the session or should i bounce import to a new session and apply the plug ins from then on?
My method is, get the mix sound tight frequencies wise and level wise, add my master chain and tweak on the master bus. Comes out alright, but i think i lack some punch in the mix, I think they're loud enough and sound alright but, but it's lost it's vibe sometimes.

thanks for the tips though man

 

[chrisrivalry]

With 24 bit audio you don't have to push everything up, so there's no problem with starting the mix with the kick drum peaking at -18 db, just to be safe at first.

you can actually record a kick at -18? I know I can't haha, and by turning it down that much wouldn't that mess with the gain structure?

 

[waltz mastering]

Should i master right in the session or should i bounce import to a new session and apply the plug ins from then on?

I've never been a fan of throwing stuff on the 2 buss of the mixing session and calling that mastering. Maybe for a reference disc...

I think it's a good idea to keep the processes separate. That's how just about every commercial record you would buy or listen to has been and is made. Clean slate.

When mastering your own stuff try to retain an objective/analytical outlook in correcting any faults with the mixes tonal balance and then go for the obvious loudness factor while incurring the least damage possible. Check the master with the mix, level matched to unsure you've made sonic improvements.

 

[AboutBlank]

you can actually record a kick at -18? I know I can't haha, and by turning it down that much wouldn't that mess with the gain structure?

One thing to mention, the AD Converters work best around -17...

 

[Shaun Werle]

I've never been a fan of throwing stuff on the 2 buss of the mixing session and calling that mastering. Maybe for a reference disc...

I think it's a good idea to keep the processes separate. That's how just about every commercial record you would buy or listen to has been and is made. Clean slate.

When mastering your own stuff try to retain an objective/analytical outlook in correcting any faults with the mixes tonal balance and then go for the obvious loudness factor while incurring the least damage possible. Check the master with the mix, level matched to unsure you've made sonic improvements.

Thanks a lot man! I don't mean to b e "that guy" but is there any thing you could use to reference to how to set it up for mastering, if i am not correct.
alright get the mixes overall leveled and frequencied (if that's a real word) out and bounce , import to another session, make sure the frequencies are boost and lowered respectfully and than apply other things to enhance the volume with out loosing the good characteristics about the mix that may be lost with increase volume to much or wrong way. I know this is not rocket sciene, but it can get crazy confusing.

I hope i don't sound annoying.