Hello guys to which meter Vu ( the one which is in compressor) or the peak level meter (my Daw level meter) should i refer when applying make up gain after compressing. Its strange for my for example i compress kick drum by 5 db Gain reduction my peak level meter shows that i need to apply 0,8 db of gain while my compressor plugin shows that i need to apply 5 db of gain because thats how much of compression im doing. So to which meter i need refer when applying make up gain after compression. Thx
Compressing, Vu, Peak level meter
- Thread starter Daumantas
- Start date
Massive Master
www.massivemastering.com
I think you should use your meters to calibrate your system and then do everything you can to ignore them. Except your final peak level I suppose... Do everything you can to stay away from -0.0dBFS.
The discrepancy is probably the peak vs. RMS of your kick. The compressor may be pulling the "meat" of the kick down 5dB but the peak is still sneaking through and you're only seeing a level change of .8dB on the strip or the DAW or wherever you're reading it.
Which goes right back to "screw the meters and use your ears" territory.
The discrepancy is probably the peak vs. RMS of your kick. The compressor may be pulling the "meat" of the kick down 5dB but the peak is still sneaking through and you're only seeing a level change of .8dB on the strip or the DAW or wherever you're reading it.
Which goes right back to "screw the meters and use your ears" territory.
Farview
Well-known member
John nailed it. The compressor is letting the initial attack sneak through, so the peak level is only .8 db down, while the decay is 5 db down.
I almost never bother with makeup gain, unless I am doing something drastic. Use the compressor to get the sound you want, then mix the song. Don't worry about the makeup gain.
I almost never bother with makeup gain, unless I am doing something drastic. Use the compressor to get the sound you want, then mix the song. Don't worry about the makeup gain.