mastering beginner, going into red ok?

M

musicify

New member
Hello im just starting to do my own mastering and im trying to get it done without a compressor or limiter on the master.


so i got it where i balance out the volumes so i can get as much gain as i can but occasionally my master channel will go into +.0 -+.5 so it will hit red but i dont hear distortion, im only hearing distortion when get a couple db above 0. So is it in a sense ok to hit red if not going over very much?
If yes how much into the red will one start get distortion?

Thanks
 
I'm not a mastering engineer so I can only come as mix down engineer.What is the mix down coming in at, most times you dont want that coming in to much,like at -3db to -6db. As with Mastering most times you will use Eq and comperssion to raise the level to be louder. How you work things is normally up to you and your liking.
 
You/re not hearing it because most DAWs work at higher resolution internally....but when you dump that out to MP3 and/or play it back on typical CD players at 44.1/16...those small overs can become audible clips.

You're not really gaining anything level-wise with those .5 or even 1-2 dB overs, so pull them back.

The trick is to lower your peaks so you can increase your overall level...and for that you need some form of comp/limiter...or you can do it manually, but it's a lot of work.
There use to be an app called Peak Slammer from Scrollworks that let you only shave off peaks, easily, without touching the rest...but I don't know if you can still download it.
 
miroslav said:
You/re not hearing it because most DAWs work at higher resolution internally....but when you dump that out to MP3 and/or play it back on typical CD players at 44.1/16...those small overs can become audible clips..
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Likely it is clipping on your playback D/A -unless the master fader is below nominal/zero, but then the meter wouldn't indicate 'overs.. They're just small and short enough not to sound bad.
But very true- lower it. Seems for Shure mp3 as example don't take well to content up on the edge.
 
I admit that it took me a long time to relearn how to mix levels digitally. I'm still struggling with the concept today as an old analog guy. But when they tell you to keep the meter below or at -3db on your final mix, there's good reason. I had to relearn how to place my levels during tracking and forget everything I learned about S/N ratios. So, through hundreds of hours of poorly tracked and mixed productions, I came to learn that the 'noise floor' is almost non-existent in the digital domain. And, I no longer need to obsess over signal to noise ratios. A little clipping here and a little clipping there is going to bite you in the ass when all the other digital after processing has gone down. [DON'T LET THAT LITTLE RED LIGHT BLINK!]
 
Massive Master said:
I'm just here to echo Miroslav.

I just worked those final 3 Grateful Dead shows and I'm too tired to throw in anything else anyway. :yawn:
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If I had known that I would have asked you to grab a couple of those Grace preamps they used on the front end. I'm sure they won't notice one or two missing.
 
mixsit said:
Please, take a nap, come back and do tell! :)
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Just had my first "normal" sleep in a week. Haven't had more than 4 hours (and usually more like 3) since last Tuesday.

It wasn't anything overly romantic -- I was tapped to be a broadcast engineer / case bitch for SiriusXM.

YES, it was an absolutely amazing experience (even as a NON Dead Head). Yes, I have boatloads of anecdotal stories and made a lot of new acquaintances. And yes - I had the power to screw the whole thing up. Not that I'd ever do anything like that (at least not on purpose). I might at some point soon make a blog post about the whole thing...
 
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