DM60
Well-known member
OK folks, doing some mixing looking at levels and I am noticing the peaks out of the master track. I am watching hits, and jabs from various instruments. No compression so we are clear on the master. Just stuff coming out of the channels.
I am not going to talk about dBs because I really don't understand half the stuff you guys are saying in that regard. So I will just talk, relative to clipping. Once again, numbers mean nothing in the digital world (I know enough about software and the value they show on the output is just some code dudes saying, "yea let's use this number for the output value for the visual and give it a value), but clipping is a pretty hard rule. Or at least most of us agree that when there is a clip in digital, it sounds like shit.
Now, had to qualify everything. Watching my meters because I want more cowbell. but it is getting lost, and I am already hitting red, so everything has to start coming down to get more cowbell. But if I don't start bring it down a lot, I will hit my ceiling for clipping probably as I continue to "tweak". Therefore I create a ceiling about 3/4 of the visual before I get red.
Now, I have mixed it and I like it. Ready to master (ok, for this discussion, for a collection of songs once known as LPs). If my final mix is too high, then it gives problems to mix it for a master/collection/what many of us know as an album (I never called them an LP) to get it all to gel and a unit? Therefore giving the final mix enough room between clipping and mastering so that it ca be worked into the final collection to make it all work together.
Now, here is my question. Do I understand the concept of headroom?
I am not going to talk about dBs because I really don't understand half the stuff you guys are saying in that regard. So I will just talk, relative to clipping. Once again, numbers mean nothing in the digital world (I know enough about software and the value they show on the output is just some code dudes saying, "yea let's use this number for the output value for the visual and give it a value), but clipping is a pretty hard rule. Or at least most of us agree that when there is a clip in digital, it sounds like shit.
Now, had to qualify everything. Watching my meters because I want more cowbell. but it is getting lost, and I am already hitting red, so everything has to start coming down to get more cowbell. But if I don't start bring it down a lot, I will hit my ceiling for clipping probably as I continue to "tweak". Therefore I create a ceiling about 3/4 of the visual before I get red.
Now, I have mixed it and I like it. Ready to master (ok, for this discussion, for a collection of songs once known as LPs). If my final mix is too high, then it gives problems to mix it for a master/collection/what many of us know as an album (I never called them an LP) to get it all to gel and a unit? Therefore giving the final mix enough room between clipping and mastering so that it ca be worked into the final collection to make it all work together.
Now, here is my question. Do I understand the concept of headroom?