peaking on a single track(snare) but not on the master track. how bad can it be ??

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papusnance

New member
hi guys

im recording/mixing an EP for a punkrock band

and there's this song in which the only way i could get the snare to sound good (with all the guitars, vocals and bass) was to push its volume up until it peaks.... and yeah, it sounds good when peaking! better than the snare sounds of most of the other songs, really punchy and balanced with the other tracks

I lowered the master fader until nothing peaks in there (the master track)

the only reason i know of why people always avoid peaking is because of the distortion of the sound, peaking sounds sound crappy most of the time

but in this case it sounds really cool
can there be a negative effect because of this ? perhaps in the mastering process ?
 
you can get this kind of effect without clipping and at a lower volume using an effect called parallel compression it will give a really punchy present sound without killing the dynamics. I would explain it but I feel you could probably find a tutorial that would make more sense than myself. I used it on a snare track with a KM184 pointing at the snare on roughly a 70 degree angle and the effect was a very punky, powerful sound with no clipping.
 
peaking on a single track(snare) but not on the master track. how bad can it be ??
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As long as you bring the master stereo fader down (I guess that's what you mean by "master track"..?)...it's not going to be a problem if your individual snare track is peaking. The DAW software can handle that without clipping...you just need to make sure the stereo mix isn't clipping.

But here's a question...
How loud are your other tracks?
I get the feeling that you pushed everything else up when you got your mix balance, and the snare had nowhere to go, but to make it peak for it to balance with the rest.
If you bring down all your tracks equally, you end up in the same spot as bringing down the stereo mix master fader.

Yeah, it sounds like it's the same, but you don't want to get into the bad habit of pushing your individual tracks up to their limits and then having to drop the master down. The more acceptable norm is the keep a handle on individual tracks so the master fader can stay at it's nominal point.

In the end, you can always bump up the master if you have more headroom left...though keep in mind that if you plan on mastering the final mixes, you want to leave some headroom for that.
 
papusnance said:
..but in this case it sounds really cool
can there be a negative effect because of this ? perhaps in the mastering process ?
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It reads like you're just liking the sound.
I actually like hard limiting on the snare (or the drum buss, whatever). Then you can place that level -re the rest of the mix, any where it fits (or save it for later in mastering is an option.

..'case I didn't say it complete- limiter in place of but at the level of your choice similar to the clipping you were getting. :)
 
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is it digital clipping or analogue? i can't imagine digital sounding that good, but lots of good analogue gear sounds good when it's pushed pretty hard.

Also some meters are more accurate than others. I could be metering red and look like it's clipping when it's really just a lot louder and close to clipping.
 
If you're working in 32 bit float (or better) then it doesn't matter what level your individual tracks "peak" at - they will never distort.

But as has been stated, your main outs are a different proposition. Clip them at your peril.

I always try and make sure my main out faders are set to precisely 0dB, and hopefully with the levels peaking at no higher than -6dB to -9dB

Any higher than that and I'll go back to the tracks and adjust all the levels by the same amount.

If
 
aaronmcoleman said:
really?
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Apparently so. There's been the "do the jack the mix levels way up, then pull it back down at a final bus and there's 'no difference/damage' tests mentioned around.
It says nothing about what trouble you might get into with plugs, other processes in the chain along the way though.
Easy enough to try. I see it as a needless exercise -or distraction, from simply maintaining good levels practices! :D
 No 'Oops, 'gotcha'.. maybe.. Maybe not..?'
 
yeah, i don't really get it. Keep your levels well below clipping on all channels and there won't be an issue.
If you like the sound of the snare distorting, there are a zillion plugins in the world labeled "distortion".
 
mixsit said:
Apparently so. There's been the "do the jack the mix levels way up, then pull it back down at a final bus and there's 'no difference/damage' tests mentioned around.
It says nothing about what trouble you might get into with plugs, other processes in the chain along the way though.
Easy enough to try. I see it as a needless exercise -or distraction, from simply maintaining good levels practices! :D
 No 'Oops, 'gotcha'.. maybe.. Maybe not..?'
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yeah i'm not buying this either. i don't know why you'd ever want to clip a digital signal. you can get great signal to noise ratios at volumes that won't come close to clipping.

plus if a single track is clipping on the DAW's meter, who knows at what point it's clipping (i.e. the preamp, the A/D convertors etc.) and that is bad clipping that will sound terrible.
 
aaronmcoleman said:
yeah i'm not buying this either. i don't know why you'd ever want to clip a digital signal. you can get great signal to noise ratios at volumes that won't come close to clipping.

plus if a single track is clipping on the DAW's meter, who knows at what point it's clipping (i.e. the preamp, the A/D convertors etc.) and that is bad clipping that will sound terrible.
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I really don't think this is what the OP was about though- 'clipping, more as in the sound of hard limiting as a sound option was working for the track, mix whatever. IMHO, maybe just do it with a controlled means..
 
--ok, looking back... He never once said clipping what exactally-? In a daw? A mixer?
Never mind..
 
It peaks from 20 to 40% of the hits. I applied parallel compression and it sounds really good, i lowered the un-compresed fader a little bit. it peaks much less now.


Mixsit: Thanks i'll try a limiter ! sounds good

Aroncoleman: Idk dude , it just sounds realy nice to me. punchy as fuck and its volume sits very well on the mix with everything


I tried lowering everything else down, and got a nice volume with the snare. but it doesn't sound punchy at all

but, well, it seems it's not much of a problem so i wont worry that much if it peaks sometimes
 
papusnance said:
it just clips in the DAW .. it didn't clip on the interface when we recorded it
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Clipped' = flat topped' can't go higher- or peak meter says red/max?
'Clips in the daw could mean any number of things. Out of headroom somewhere in the mixer', at a pluging or track eq, etc.
If you were to render or export this mix- but not peaking' or limiter on the master for example, would the snare's peaks be flat across the top?
 
papusnance said:
it hits the red bar on the fader
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Well, if you're still interested.. :D that's half way there- Again just guessing with half the info, that could mean it's not clipped at all- maybe just loud(er :)

..see Jonesey's post #9, first line for example.
 
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