how much is too loud?

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dontouch

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I apologize if this has been discussed here.

I am mixing a couple songs and they are not consistent in terms of master output. The loudest one(let's call it Mix A) reads "-2.1/-2.4", while the lowest reads(Mix B)"-3.8/-4.2". My question is: a.do I need to make them all peak at the same place? If so, does that mean I must go in and turn up each instrument tracks, and

b. how should I calculate the amount? i.e. if I am to make them all peak at -3.0, do I bring each instrument down 0.9 db on Mix A and up 0.8db on mix B?

And, does it matter if the L and R not peak at the same place? Do you call that an "imbalanced" mix?

AND lastly, is peaking at -2.1 too loud? I use Cubase LE and the -2.1 is read from VST output. (you know, the digit that changes once a while along with the green signal graphic...i don't know what the professional term is).


THANK YOU in advance!!!
 
dontouch said:
I am mixing a couple songs and they are not consistent in terms of master output.QUOTE]

Is there some reason they need to be? A good mix speaks for itself. Minor adjustments in level like that are usually left the the mastering engineer or are best addressed by use of limiters rather than mucking up a good mix.
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There's only one rule: no rules.

There's the volume on the meter and then there's the apparent volume. If you recorded an obnoxious buzzer at -20dB it will sound louder than a flute that goes to -5dB.

What I do is put the songs all the songs on a CD on one arrangement in Cubase and in solo mode compare the songs. They don't have to be exactly the same. If one's too loud, I pull down the fader and resave the file at that lower volume. There has to be a way to do that on any system.

As far as how loud they should be, I'd get the best CD of the top artist in your genre and try to match that.

Always listen to your mixes on different systems, in your car, on a crap system and on various speakers.
 
dontouch said:
My question is: a.do I need to make them all peak at the same place? If so, does that mean I must go in and turn up each instrument tracks, and

b. how should I calculate the amount? i.e. if I am to make them all peak at -3.0, do I bring each instrument down 0.9 db on Mix A and up 0.8db on mix B?

And, does it matter if the L and R not peak at the same place? Do you call that an "imbalanced" mix?
Click to expand...
Peak value is fairly irrelevant; it actually has very little to do with apparent listening volume. The only thing you want to do keep it from clipping. Other than that, don't worry about the numbers.

And no, it's not unusual for L and R channels to vary somewhat in peak value readings (yet more proof that the peak numbers don't much matter, as long as they do not clip). If there's a huge discrepancy of several dBs, you might have problems, but in such a case your ears should tell you that there's an imbalance long before the numbers do. If the two channels sound balanced - or imbalanced in a desirable way - then they are balanced. Don't worry about small differences in the numbers.

G.
 
Another thing to consider is the style of the songs, their intent and their apparent volume. For example it is possible that a nice ballad would want to be a bit more quiet than a full on speed metal thrashathon. However, even then you are more concerned about relative apparent volume between the songs than their peak levels, meaning: let your ears be the judge.
 
Everything should be louder than everything else.

Case in point: I owned a mixer many years ago...the brand is unimportant....while in the MIDDLE of mixing a seventeen song project, the meter bridge gave up the ghost. I fiddled with it, took apart some sections that I could reach, wiggled wires, removed the bridge assembly....basically I tried to get it to restart without having to take the studio down and delay the PAYING customer.

Finally, I went back to mixing and did it all with my ears. I had a master L/R meter I could use on the outputs and the meters on the mastering deck.

I ran across an old rotted out cassette of that session the other day and it still sounds good.

Dont mix with your eyes. Mix with you ears.
 
miroslav said:
What does that mean exactly?
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It means that everything must then be quieter than everything else...which means that everything must then be louder than everything else...which means...well, you get the point.

G.
 
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