What's a good volume?

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toka_ares

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I'm a bit intimidated when it comes to recording, because you're basically taking a blank canvas and filling it ..which leaves a lot of options. One thing that I have always wanted input on from other people is volume. What is a good rule of thumb for the volume that's coming out from both headphones & studio monitors? Naturally i'm not going to blow out the speakers, but i'm also scared of the music being too low.


Any help with helping me fill in my canvas is greatly appreciated!



-James
 
well it depends if you are talkinf about tracking, or mixing. I assume, based upon your post, you are talking about playback/mixing, in which case it is up to you. In my opinion the louder it is the more you hear the little details. It also depends on if your using monitors, and such. Don't blow your ears, but make it loud enough to hear everything clearly.
 
82dBSPL A-weighted slow response. Or whatever feels comfortable.
 
bstarstudios said:
well it depends if you are talkinf about tracking, or mixing. I assume, based upon your post, you are talking about playback/mixing, in which case it is up to you. In my opinion the louder it is the more you hear the little details. It also depends on if your using monitors, and such. Don't blow your ears, but make it loud enough to hear everything clearly.
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Well I'm trying to get a general idea about volume all together, from tracking to the very end. Though to be more specific, I'm looking to find how to get the final product just right, volume wise.

I feel like I may not be asking the right questions, or I am being too general,and for that I apologize.
 
I'm with Bouldersoundguy. I set my system to roughly 85dB A weighted when mixing. Get yourself a Rat Shack SPL meter. They're cheap and handy. When tracking I try to keep headphone levels as low as I can. I've already destroyed most of my ears over the years.
 
Not too loud not too quiet. Don't get too caught up I this for now. Basically loud enough to hear details not ok loud to hurt your ears. Plus vary the volume to hear it at a bunch of different levels like how your listeners will vary the volume.
 
toka_ares said:
I'm actually a little confused by this, could you articulate for me please!
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It's articulated about as well as can be. You asked what the volume "coming out from ... the monitors" should be. In order to do that, you'd need to measure that volume. 82dbSPS A-Weighted slow response is a measurement often sighted as an optimal level at which to monitor during mixing.

But I think the question you asked is probably not the question you wanted to ask. Just a guess though.
 
toka_ares said:
Well I'm trying to get a general idea about volume all together, from tracking to the very end. Though to be more specific, I'm looking to find how to get the final product just right, volume wise.

I feel like I may not be asking the right questions, or I am being too general,and for that I apologize.
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Generally the idea is to keep your recording dynamic. Keep the soft passage soft and the loud ones loud.
 
aaronmcoleman said:
Not too loud not too quiet. Don't get too caught up I this for now. Basically loud enough to hear details not ok loud to hurt your ears. Plus vary the volume to hear it at a bunch of different levels like how your listeners will vary the volume.
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I'm trying not to get too caught up in it, it's just I needed a direction to go in with it. With all the replies I've received on this topic, I believe I have a more clear idea on it, thank you :)
 
TripleM said:
It's articulated about as well as can be. You asked what the volume "coming out from ... the monitors" should be. In order to do that, you'd need to measure that volume. 82dbSPS A-Weighted slow response is a measurement often sighted as an optimal level at which to monitor during mixing.

But I think the question you asked is probably not the question you wanted to ask. Just a guess though.
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Close enough, I did a little more research on SPL meters (I really wouldn't have known they exist unless I posted here) and found it may be a good investment.
I'm really just starting my journey through learning audio, so the help is appreciated, thank you!
 
NYMorningstar said:
Generally the idea is to keep your recording dynamic. Keep the soft passage soft and the loud ones loud.
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I never really thought about it that way, I'm going to keep this idea close to me when i'm recording. thanks :)
 
toka_ares said:
I'm actually a little confused by this, could you articulate for me please!
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Translation: Keep it moderate. Sometimes you have to crank the headphone level to get a performance, but don't do it by default. Mixing too low or too high you can run afoul of Fletcher-Munson (Google it). Mixing too loud can fatigue and damage your hearing. Check mixes at various levels.
 
Close enough, I did a little more research on SPL meters (I really wouldn't have known they exist unless I posted here) and found it may be a good investment.
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You don't need an SPL meter. Save your money for something more useful at this stage. Start recording and mixing. You seem to be worrying too much. You'll figure out the monitoring levels pretty quickly once you start doing it. Go with the advice that was given in here about checking your mix at differing volumes, but most of all, monitor at a comfortable level that doesn't give you ear fatigue quickly and you feel you can hear all that's going on.

As for being intimidated about the "blank canvas," you don't owe anyone anything so don't worry about it and just create... You'll get better as time goes by.
 
ryguy76 said:
You don't need an SPL meter.
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I find using an SPL meter very useful for setting mixing levels, although before I got one I would rely on A/B-ing my mixes with my favorite commercial recordings to emulate their EQ and instrument levels. I still do this a lot.
 
Never do your mixing on headphones. Some sellers will claim that certain headphones can be used for mixing, that's total BS imo. You can use phones to just get a vague feel for where to start, but then dont use them again. When you get it right on 3 or 4 different stereo/speaker systems, then it is almost guaranteed to sound good on headphones after that.

Dont try to record and mix on the same day. I turn things up when I record, not so loud when I mix. Ear fatigue is the biggest singel cause of "deception" there is. Easy to prove it to yourself. Record for a day on headphones, turn it up so it's fun. Then mix it real quick before you stop for the day. Come back the next day or the day after and listen to your quick mix, you'll be surprised, you'll wonder why you mixed it that way.

Mixing should be about the same as a firm speaking voice. You should be able to play your mix and talk about it with the person standing next to you without having to raise your voice. Your talking voices should not prevent you from hearing anything in the mix, and the mix should not prevent you from hearing each other talk. The worse your room is acoustically, the closer you should be to the speakers. The closer you have to be to the speakers, the lower the volume should be. The room will lie to you just as much as anything else, if the room is not treated or not designed for mixing. (Try mixing in a square basement with cement walls!)

But when you think your mix is "finished" (hint: it's never finished!) then take it to someone else's house on their stereo and play it louder than usual, but don't sit still while listening. Walk around the room while it plays, and notice the effect the room nodes have on the way the mix sounds. Rooms can be just as deceiving as speakers and headphones. This will highlight a lot of the most obvious things to fix, so take notes. Remix, do it again on a different day. Burn a test cd, play it in the car, play it on the computer, play it on the stereo, take notes, remix, rinse and repeat....etc....etc....etc....until it sounds like a store-bought home made demo no matter which system you play it on.

Then burn a 1000 copies and give them away and start on your next album.
 
I like to keep it low enough that I can have a conversation with people in the room at the same time. :)
 
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