Is this right?

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SwurVe

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Ok I was using WAVE's L2 plugins to sorta master my track the other night....But I didnt know how high on db I wanted the wav to be at the finish...so my question is....looking at the screenshot below is that right?? or do i need to boost it to the white line?

Also if you see anything else wrong please tell me....

Thank You
 

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It doesn't matter what it looks like, just what it sounds like. You don't look like you have completly screwed youself with it, I would leave it there.
 
You can't go over the white line, it won't let you. Set the output of the L2 to -.3db and set the other fader so that the reduction meter doesn't read any more than -4db. That is about the safest setting I can think of.

BTW The point of a limiter like this is to makes sure you don't go over, there is no way to set this so that it does.
 
I just ran it and yes it still boosts the track over the white line
 
What white line are you talking about? It will not let you get over 0db. Anyway, stop looking at the pretty picture. That will only give you an idea of your peak volume. Precieved volume is something you can't really see on the graphic. Are your meters telling you that you are clipping.
 
So that white line is just for looks? cause i was wondering why when i put a commercial instrumental in there alot of times the beat went over that white line just that it wasnt clipping though....

so as long as i look at this meter after i limited it and it dont hit 0 at all...i should be fine? heres a pic below...because the overall master of it that i did is at -3db and its hard to hear i have to turn it up louder then any other song that u would hear
 

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not -3, -.3 Three tenths of a db below zero.

There is no way to clip when you are running through that limiter. go ahead and turn it up until it starts to sound like crap, then back it off.
 
yea i did do -.3 but see at first i thought that white line represented 0 db and over that meant clipping...see i was wrong wasnt i? lol so when i listen to my track as long as it doesnt go over the 0 on that meter picture i showed then i should be fine right?
 
Limiting is such a small part of loudness... Don't expect to strap a limiter (espcially an "L" Series, but I digress) across the buss and have the volume of a disc that cost tens to hundreds of thousands to produce, mix and master.
 
I know that...my question that i asked was about clipping and that meter picture
 
Massive Master said:
Don't expect to strap a limiter (espcially an "L" Series, but I digress)...
Click to expand...

hahahahahahaha... God, John you crack me up!
 
To Massive Master

Hi, I visited your site and I was afraid I would see what I did. In the event you have some spare time could you visit my site posted in my sig and listen to just a piece of the 4 songs I have posted. I am very curious if you can make these songs sound like they were done at Criteria.
 
Visited - The MP3's (?) are quite squishy sounding, but it sounds like there might be some clairity under the squish (that's a good thing).

On the clipping - As mentioned, the "appearance" is relatively unimportant. By looking at it, it "looks" like it was limited hard. Whether it sounds like that or not may be another story. A limited sample, while not technically an over or clip, still represents dynamics that are gone. And digital limiters in general just don't do with the "style" as a good analog unit (IMHO, YMMV, etc.). Also true, analog limited tracks (IME, anyway) "look" (and sound) less smashed than their "skating rink flat" digital counterparts.

As far as making them sound like they were recorded at Criteria... That depends on the mix's potential. Sometimes a mix can change drastically for the better - More likely the change is substantial, but effective.

Other times it's a salvage operation... If you can keep away from that, you're probably in good shape. :)

By the way... What were you afraid of seeing? :confused:
 
Heard of (and tried) both.

No comment.

Actually, HarBal as least makes a decent learning tool... But as a serious "go to" plug...

I go back to my "no comment" comment.
 
Hi Massive Master
about what I was being afraid of is how much cash I may have to come up with to get my music "Mastered". I mean it is 16 songs of some of the best guitar I have ever played I feel. I really like all the songs. I did my best vocally and frankly for singing in an apartment I feel I did quite well. I mean I hear people singing God awful out of key live it seems all the time now. So yea its just about money. It took me over 6 months almost every day to record the 16 songs so its important to me. I looks like its going to cost me like at least 1 grand for someone to touch this from what I could gather from your site.
 
nonreversebird said:
Hi Massive Master
about what I was being afraid of is how much cash I may have to come up with to get my music "Mastered". I mean it is 16 songs of some of the best guitar I have ever played I feel. I really like all the songs. I did my best vocally and frankly for singing in an apartment I feel I did quite well. I mean I hear people singing God awful out of key live it seems all the time now. So yea its just about money. It took me over 6 months almost every day to record the 16 songs so its important to me. I looks like its going to cost me like at least 1 grand for someone to touch this from what I could gather from your site.
Click to expand...
How much music do you have? Massive Mastering is the most 'bang for the buck' places to get your music mastered.
 
Massive Master said:
And digital limiters in general just don't do with the "style" as a good analog unit (IMHO, YMMV, etc.). Also true, analog limited tracks (IME, anyway) "look" (and sound) less smashed than their "skating rink flat" digital counterparts.
Click to expand...

John and I disagree on this on. IMHO digital limiters can do a better job than analog thanks to look-ahead features and buffering techniques. That's one of the reasons why the Weiss DS-1 and L2 are probably the two most popular limiters among pro mastering engineers. As far as giving a "softer/warmer" character analog is the better choice. That's why I use a hybrid of the two.

If digital limiters sucked I don't think that these guys would be using them:

http://www.digido.com/portal/pmodule_id=11/pmdmode=fullscreen/pageadder_page_id=108/

http://www.gatewaymastering.com/masttech.asp
 
I suppose I should clarify... There's certainly a big difference between a Weiss unit and something more along the lines of an L2 plug-in (which is what we're dealing with most of the time when we're chatting about limiters on the forums...). I certainly take advantage of digital limiting - At least as a safety net to catch and nasty peaks that might have made it past the chain.

When I need to drive something into the limiter though, I just prefer the analog route most of the time... The limiter on the (Crane Song) STC-8M has an attack of around 40 microseconds - Plenty fast to protect from overs, but not a true brick-wall... I like the "organic give" it has with the signal (and the attack mod is the shite!). But I certainly don't have anything against nice digital units.

Although I might have a problem with some of the people making adjustments on them... :eek: :D
 
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