do I go with my ears, or my meters?

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Rock Star 87

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I have a bit of a problem. As you all know, I have posted a 17-second song numerous times on here, and it always sounded like shit. Well I got better speakers, and now I have a smaller problem. My last, I hope.
The song has a bass drum and a snare, among other things. When I play​
them back, they sound well mixed volume-wise, but they're clipping my main meters. If I turn them down, they don't match up with the ride cymbal, but if I leave them the way they are, they'll clip the meter. What should I do guys?
 
Simple - If the mix is right but certain things are clipping, turn EVERYTHING down.

Easiest question all day.
 
^^^ He's right. Don't worry, the mix will probably sound better the second time around.
 
that, and a combination of compression and limiting should do your trick! ha.
 
I tryed compression, but it sounded shitty. It didn't really sound natural. Limiting would have been a stretch though.
 
bring everything else down the same ammount
 
An attenuation of 6dbs. (either +6db or -6db) is like multiplying or dividing by two.

Dbs. aren't like your TV say, with volume from 1 to 10 persay..

Dbs. are a bunch of crazy algorythmatic formulas and shit...SO! :D

Yeah taking out 6dbs (-6dbs) basically makes the signal HALF as loud (ie. 50%)

Adding 6dbs. (+6dbs.) doubles the signals volume (200%)..

So if you need those cymbals that high, before anything,(as afore mentioned)

just turn everything else down. Better to Turn it up on a stereo than to mix

down with clips.

Try going through each track and turning it down -3dbs.. (like 1/4 get it?;))

THEN watch those meters and Trust your ears...
 
One thing I've learned

One thing I've learned is that it often works well to have the kick and snare (and toms, if you want them to punch through) out a bit louder than you might think. In mastering, the mix will be limited in such a way that those drum hits will be brought down into the mix, but when they hit, everything else will be "ducked" for the transient, which is imperceptible to the listener, but allows those driving elements to move everything.

So, either turn everything down 'til no clipping occurs, or run the entire mix through a very fast limiter (set to infinite compression, with the fastest possible attack and release times.) The mix will "sound" the same (especially to the listener who didn't see you do the limiting), but no nasty clipping will occur. This sounds a lot better than limiting the drums by themselves, because of the ducking effect.
 
i got it worked out finally. After some careful listening, and a lot of beer I finally got it. check the clinic for mixdown.
 
crispycutz said:
An attenuation of 6dbs. (either +6db or -6db) is like multiplying or dividing by two.
Click to expand...

Actually, 3 dB is multiplying or dividing by two. The formula is:

dB = 10*log(intensity ratio). "log" is log base 10.

So, lets make something twice as loud: 10*log(2) = 3.01 dB
Lets make something half as loud: 10*log(1/2) = -3.01 dB
 
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