Mastering for first time

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BriamJH

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My first project. Facts are: Master track fader set at -1dB: master track peaks at -7.1dB: there is no clipping on any track; I normalized to LUFS-1 -14dB: I De-selected Brickwall Limit. When I Rendered this, I had >999 clips. Question 1: Is this normal i.e. I realize that the aim of Mastering is to increase the overall volume. Did this increase in volume (with the Brickwall Limit de-selected), simply cause the excessive clipping. Question 2: I then selected the Brickwall Limit and got zero clipping. Is it OK to accept this as a mastered project - it seems to sound fine. Many thanks, Brian
 
When you say you normalized to -1 -14dB, how did you do this? If I normalize, I do it after everything is done. I'll often render and look at the maximum peak. If it's -3dB, then I can boost the Master fader by 2dB safely.

I've never used ReaLimit. I'll use ReaComp, and select Limit Output. This is the setting that I used for a recent song. Light compression at -4dB, and if it was too hot, I just adjust the output slightly to keep it about -1. I usually don't push the LUFS that high, but if needed, I could adjust the threshold and ratio to boost overall level as long as it sounds good.

compsetting.webp
 
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I'm always surprised. by 'mastering' and then a recipe of numbers.
There's this crazy trend to see mastering as a method to increase volume as if this is a good thing? Spotify, itunes and all the streaming platforms take what you have done and then they apply their process to fit their preferences.
Fair enough, my music is not rock, EDM or even contemporary pop, but chasing a few dBs and squashing things within an inch of their life does not make a bad mix sound good.
My point is surely that you want to mix the thing to sound 'right' - so when you look at the waveform of a miece of other people's music in the same genre, it fits the same pattern?

Maybe in your recording you have compressed the vocal or the drums and spent ages getting it perfect - why would you then slap some crazy preset over your perfect mix?

People now sell you mastering plug-ins guaranteed to make your mix sound worse, and we think this is OK.

My question is a simple one. why when you record at home or in your own studio, do you separate mixing and mastering. Surely, doing it yourself means it's one controlled process?
 
rob aylestone said:
I'm always surprised. by 'mastering' and then a recipe of numbers.
There's this crazy trend to see mastering as a method to increase volume as if this is a good thing? Spotify, itunes and all the streaming platforms take what you have done and then they apply their process to fit their preferences.
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If a platform does apply its own processing, what it does will depend on how dynamic your mix is. If it's more dynamic than the platform's target, an algorithm decides how to limit it down to spec. If it's less dynamic, it just applies attenuation. If my mixes are going to get limited down, I want to be the one deciding how it gets done.
 
One other thing to understand is the reason for all those peaks. Is it from kick and snare hits? Those transient sounds don't work well if you try to set them with LUFS. There's a high peak, then relative quiet. Compare that to a distorted guitar where you're pretty much max about 70 to 80% of the time if you're playing chords. Looking at the waveform will tell you what's causing the problem.

Also, some people try to set individual tracks to a LUFS number. That's the WRONG way to do things in my opinion. LUFS only comes into play at the end with all the tracks playing. For individual tracks you should only be concerned with keeping peaks under control.
 
I find it useful to have a standardized listening level. That gives me the option of setting my volume by ear. I usually look at the limiter at the same time. If I see crazy amounts of reduction before it gets to a "normal" volume, I can take another look at the mix, accept a lot of limiting or just leave the volume low. And I generally check YouLean afterward. It's surprising how often I end up right around -14 dBLUFS.
 
@rob aylestone - I agree with you. To me it is one process and not like the "old days" when you really did need to master to get it on vinyl.

I am pretty sure, everyone is going to push up the average volume of a mix. Loudness? Well that really is a matter of finesse I push my mixes up on the Master but make sure that it just touches any peaks. About what @TalismanRich was stating.

@bouldersoundguy is correct, you have to know the volume in order to set the volume. I know that is a dumb statement, but it is using his post as a reference.

Now, for me, I don't record anyone else. I only record and mix for my stuff. I think that is important to others out there who read this board. The folks who are true recording engineers and mixers (not me), have a full understanding of the science/art and have to understand it regardless of what "genre" comes through the door. Me and others like me, I just need to know how to mix my stuff. But I gather a lot of information from the real masters to use on my mixes.

To summarize my babble, there are two major types on this board, those who mix and they are very good at it, and the rest of us who mix as a part of the composition. The recording studio is a media like sheet music was to Mozart, Bach, ... was before.
 
If you are trying to target a [mastered] LUFS for a specific target, e.g. YouTube, Spotify, CD, et al., it does help to know where you are starting from, understand what happens afterwards, and also realize there might be many ways to get from A to B.

If your mix has an integrated dB LUFS -20, getting it to -14 might be as simple as applying +6dB of gain and seeing where you land. The LUFS algorithm incorporates more than just an average of RMS, but it’s a start. You could simply slap a limiter on and see what happens, but you probably will want to start incorporating some compression, maybe serial or multi-band, to get there.

I always keep an eye on the dynamic range if I’m trying to increase loudness, but also, more importantly I suppose, listen to what’s happening. Having a tool that lets you do some loudness-compensated A/B monitoring might help in the choices made to keep the mix feeling close to the original mix, assuming that’s the intent, of course.
 
BriamJH said:
My first project. Facts are: Master track fader set at -1dB: master track peaks at -7.1dB: there is no clipping on any track; I normalized to LUFS-1 -14dB: I De-selected Brickwall Limit. When I Rendered this, I had >999 clips. Question 1: Is this normal i.e. I realize that the aim of Mastering is to increase the overall volume. Did this increase in volume (with the Brickwall Limit de-selected), simply cause the excessive clipping. Question 2: I then selected the Brickwall Limit and got zero clipping. Is it OK to accept this as a mastered project - it seems to sound fine. Many thanks, Brian
Click to expand...
That doesn’t work for me - if I do it that way most things sound bland and have very little dynamics.
 
Very many thanks to everyone who has responded to my query. I am most grateful. Based on your inputs (and looking at a few videos etc.) I have now successfully mastered my first project, with no clipping and to the correct volume. Please note that I was trying to get the volume level up to the commercially required level e.g. as per Spotify, Youtube etc. Brian
 
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