every time after mixing down and getting a mixdown track, i will start to do some pre mastering on it or perhaps just raise the overall levels. However, i realised that when i do mastering on the track, my mix will be thrown off again. Especially if i boost volume through compressing or limiting, or multi band, the instruments and vocals will each be boosted at different amounts and thus my mix will be off with the vocals too soft etc. I will have to go back to the mixing session file and re-edit the volume and import the edited mixdown into the mastering session again. Im using Izotope for the mastering. How do i curb this problem of backtracking? The mixdown always seems fine volume wise but the balance gets thrown off in mastering.
Volume levels thrown off during mastering
- Thread starter Reg3n
- Start date
D
danny.guitar
Guest
What recording software are you using?
Why not just add the effects to the master buss and then you can readjust whatever instruments you need to without having to export, and then import into a different program.
Why not just add the effects to the master buss and then you can readjust whatever instruments you need to without having to export, and then import into a different program.
Vaquero Verbal
Custom Title User
Sounds like you are overcompressing/limiting the mix so everything gets smashed together. YES you are overdoing it
If you like you could post a few seconds of the mix (before and after the premastering),so people could tell more about the things that had been done wrong !
Dirk
ecktronic
Mixing and Mastering.
R
RAMI
Guest
Then I think the next question to ask yourself is "Why master?"
giraffe
i love negative rep
Farview
Well-known member
You are either limiting it too much, or you are using the dynamic range to achieve separation in the mix.
If it's the former, stop limiting it so much.
If it's the latter, well, you will have to rethink the way you mix if you wish to have the super loud commercial level.
What you are doing isn't bad, there are a lot of mixes from the 50's through the 80's that can't stand being squashed to death like modern stuff is. Hell, Metallica's 'black' album is 6db quieter than anything that has come out in the last 5 years. (that album sits at about -15dbfs rms, most metal stuff now sits at about -9dbfs rms)
If you want a super loud CD, you will need to take that into consideration when you record and mix. There is a reason why everything kind of sounds the same, one of them is because those sounds can withstand a loud mastering without falling apart.
If it's the former, stop limiting it so much.
If it's the latter, well, you will have to rethink the way you mix if you wish to have the super loud commercial level.
What you are doing isn't bad, there are a lot of mixes from the 50's through the 80's that can't stand being squashed to death like modern stuff is. Hell, Metallica's 'black' album is 6db quieter than anything that has come out in the last 5 years. (that album sits at about -15dbfs rms, most metal stuff now sits at about -9dbfs rms)
If you want a super loud CD, you will need to take that into consideration when you record and mix. There is a reason why everything kind of sounds the same, one of them is because those sounds can withstand a loud mastering without falling apart.
Massive Master
www.massivemastering.com
Although you do have to take certain things under consideration to get an amazingly clean mix with tons of headroom (basically necessary for a "loud" production master), worrying about volume during mixdown (or before) is the surest way to make sure you'll never get it.
Not arguing with Farview - Agreeing with. And there's a time to worry about clean recordings and headroom, controlling distortion and noise, etc., etc. - and a time to worry about "loud."
If you make a clean, dynamic, well-arranged and open recording, it'll probably get "loud" without too much argument (assuming that reasonable tactics are used to attain said loudness - I'll save my comments about using MBC in the quest for volume for another thread).
Not arguing with Farview - Agreeing with. And there's a time to worry about clean recordings and headroom, controlling distortion and noise, etc., etc. - and a time to worry about "loud."
If you make a clean, dynamic, well-arranged and open recording, it'll probably get "loud" without too much argument (assuming that reasonable tactics are used to attain said loudness - I'll save my comments about using MBC in the quest for volume for another thread).
TerraMortim
New member
BINGO!
(random words to satisfy the arbitrary minimum of 10 charactors...isn's this fun... Let a fish gobble my knob for good luck and I'll be a rich man)
TerraMortim
New member
I'm always happy to bring that argument up. Mastering is sometimes needed, sometimes not.... I don't agree that you HAVE to have something mastered to get a good result... It all depends.
masteringhouse
www.masteringhouse.com
It sounds like your mixes are inconsistent if mastering is throwing off the balance this much. One tip that I would suggest is after mixing one of the songs, bring in the finished mix on a separate stereo track while mixing the next song and use this as a reference. While the two songs are going to demand different treatments, it helps to serve as a general guideline for the relative levels of the vocals and instruments.
Another suggestion is to make sure that you listen to your mixes at different levels while mixing. A mix should hold up at low as well as louder volumes, and bringing the mix down (due to how our ears percieve frequencies at different levels) really helps to hear how the midrange is working. At low levels you should still be able to hear the vocals clearly, with most midrange instruments in balance.
Thanks all of you guys Am so grateful that there were so many responses and so many useful advice~! I am using Cubase for mixing and mastering and come to think of it yeah i should have inserted the effects into the final buss instead. haha. I personally do not really know how to master so its mostly trying to raise the overall volume on the mix. Will take note of all the advice i got =)
I also may be limiting it too much =x haha. But its just cos everytime i place my work into media player along with all the other commercial songs, it just bums me out sometimes that my song is much softer than the rest.
Will also take note of 'you are either limiting it too much, or you are using the dynamic range to achieve separation in the mix.' and " to make sure that you listen to your mixes at different levels while mixing."
If there is a chance i will try posting some work for comment =)
thanks again~
Am so grateful that there were so many responses and so many useful advice~! I am using Cubase for mixing and mastering and come to think of it yeah i should have inserted the effects into the final buss instead. haha. I personally do not really know how to master so its mostly trying to raise the overall volume on the mix. Will take note of all the advice i got =)I also may be limiting it too much =x haha. But its just cos everytime i place my work into media player along with all the other commercial songs, it just bums me out sometimes that my song is much softer than the rest.
Will also take note of 'you are either limiting it too much, or you are using the dynamic range to achieve separation in the mix.' and " to make sure that you listen to your mixes at different levels while mixing."
If there is a chance i will try posting some work for comment =)
thanks again~