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djclueveli
New member
when recording, is it good too keep the levels at 0dbvu or should it be higher than that?
bennychico11
...
it all depends on what you're recording and what the final medium is....and what you want to work with.
Apparently you're recording to analog so 0VU is a good reference point for your levels. You'll be fine if the meter goes up a little higher than 0VU, just don't let it slam the needle all the way up the entire time. But your average levels will sound nice around 0VU (normal playing level...loud sections can be louder and quieter sections can be quieter.
Apparently you're recording to analog so 0VU is a good reference point for your levels. You'll be fine if the meter goes up a little higher than 0VU, just don't let it slam the needle all the way up the entire time. But your average levels will sound nice around 0VU (normal playing level...loud sections can be louder and quieter sections can be quieter.
Massive Master
www.massivemastering.com
tHE GEAR - wHOOPS - cAPSLOCK oN -
There. That's better.
The gear in the front of the chain wants to and is designed to run at 0dBVU as a "normal" level. The best sound, the best focus, the best S/N ratio, the lowest distortion, etc. Digitally, that will translate to the "meat" of the signal riding around -18dBFS (which is just fine) and transients hitting above that, perhaps peaking at around -12dBFS or so.
If you've always been one of those "get it as hot as possible" types, get ready for a ride... You're going to want to record everything you've ever done over again...
There. That's better.
The gear in the front of the chain wants to and is designed to run at 0dBVU as a "normal" level. The best sound, the best focus, the best S/N ratio, the lowest distortion, etc. Digitally, that will translate to the "meat" of the signal riding around -18dBFS (which is just fine) and transients hitting above that, perhaps peaking at around -12dBFS or so.
If you've always been one of those "get it as hot as possible" types, get ready for a ride... You're going to want to record everything you've ever done over again...
Farview
Well-known member
VU meters are slow and give you a reading of your average signal level. This is cool because it gives a more accurate indication of the relative volume of the track. The downside is that it doesn't let you know what your peak level is.
Digital meters are very fast and give you an accurate reading of the transients. The cool thing is, you know what your peak level is, so you can tell if you clip. The bad thing is, it doesn't give you any real idea of the volume of the track.
Like John said, 0dbVU is line level. -18dbFS is line level. That is two different types of meters displaying two different types of scales.
Digital meters are very fast and give you an accurate reading of the transients. The cool thing is, you know what your peak level is, so you can tell if you clip. The bad thing is, it doesn't give you any real idea of the volume of the track.
Like John said, 0dbVU is line level. -18dbFS is line level. That is two different types of meters displaying two different types of scales.
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djclueveli
New member
when i record in soundforge, i watch the vu scale and the peak scale and my peaks are getting to like -8 but the vu scale is not even reaching 0 it's only reaching like -7.
Massive Master
www.massivemastering.com
I'd say something is way out of whack in that case...
Output gain of (whatever the piece of gear is) cranked up too far would be my first guess...
Output gain of (whatever the piece of gear is) cranked up too far would be my first guess...
mshilarious
Banned
Massive Master said:
Actually that sounds normal to me. Peak-to-average of a single track could commonly be 16 to 20dB.
You also need to know what dBFS Soundforge is using as 0VU. -14? -18?
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djclueveli
New member
i' m not sure what it's using. it's just says traditional vu meter
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djclueveli
New member
i have 2 questions. Before mastering, is it best to get the mix around the 0dbvu level, is that how loud it's suppose to be before the mastering stage? also when setting the threshold of a compressor, do i just set it to whatever the highest peak is?
mshilarious
Banned
djclueveli said:
Probably, but that depends on what 0 VU is.
No, that wouldn't do anything. Where you set the threshold depends on what you are trying to do, but you can start at the highest peak (again, which does nothing) and turn it down until you get what you want.
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djclueveli
New member
thanks ms. when people master songs, is it common to set the threshold to -20 or that doesnt seem common?
mshilarious
Banned
djclueveli said:
You don't necessary need to compress in mastering, but if you did, -20 seems low to me. Generally you'd only be looking for 1 or 2dB of compression at 2 or 3:1 ratio, that would give you a threshold of -4 or so.
If you are trying to pick up 6dB of volume in mastering, you really need to go back to the mix and compress something there.
Farview
Well-known member
A threshold of -20 would be great if the level of the mix was low enough to warrant it. It would also be cool if the ratio was at 1.5 to 1.
There are no standard threshold settings, it all depends on the level of the signal going in to the compressor AND what you are using the compressor for.
There are no standard threshold settings, it all depends on the level of the signal going in to the compressor AND what you are using the compressor for.
Farview
Well-known member
A threshold of -20 would be great if the level of the mix was low enough to warrant it. It would also be cool if the ratio was at 1.5 to 1.
There are no standard threshold settings, it all depends on the level of the signal going in to the compressor AND what you are using the compressor for.
There are no standard threshold settings, it all depends on the level of the signal going in to the compressor AND what you are using the compressor for.
SouthSIDE Glen
independentrecording.net
It never ceases to amuse and amaze me that while we never see posts in these forums asking when mixing or mastering how much EQ they should apply, because everybody knows that totally depends upon the content of the song, the question of how much compression they should apply comes up constantly.
The answer is the same as it is with EQ; it totally depends upon the content of the song.
A compressor is no different than an equalizer in one important respect. There is no way to say before-hand how it should or should not be set, or whether it should even be used at all.
G.
The answer is the same as it is with EQ; it totally depends upon the content of the song.
A compressor is no different than an equalizer in one important respect. There is no way to say before-hand how it should or should not be set, or whether it should even be used at all.
G.