Maybe the dumbest questions ever...

[Monkey Allen]

Yeah that's making sense to me tojo....I think I skimmed the same thread as you a couple of days back maybe.

I want to try to find out if my project (which is peaking at about -24 with the loudest parts) is too quiet to turn into a song with decent volume. Maybe it is dependent on the type of music.

I have read that after mastering your song should be peaking somewhere around -6 or -3...or if you want it really loud, just under 0db.

...but at those db...not every song will sound the same volume....and this is where it gets tricky to think about because a thrash hard core song will sound louder than an acoustic pop song...or compression can see the song under 0db...but be completely louder than another song not as compressed but at the same db.

So I don't know if db is a measure of volume...or just of relative volume. I read that volume is a measurement in your speakers.

I'm going crazy!!!!!!!!!!

 

[tojo]

Yeah I think it is dependent on the type of music in a sense. Regardless i'm getting pretty confused and I know how you feel, as if your going a little bit crazy. But to tell you the truth I have one song I recorded (it has the most tracks I have ever put into one song) and all of them are really quiet according to the meters on my software... yet it still sounds fairly loud on speakers and I don't have to crank the volume. I think that if it's a bit quiet that's ok you can always add some gain or some normalizing after I guess..

I wouldn't get rid of a song because it seems too quiet though; I'm sure it'll still be good. I think generally what I do is get the out (or the master fader i guess) to be almost as loud as possible without clipping (hitting 0.0 or higher) so I usually get the mix i guess and then raise it up so it's like -3 or -6 like you said.

I still don't have any good experience with limiters or compressors (wish i did, guess I just gotta experiment. It seems like risky ground to me)

Good luck! keep working at it.

 

[Monkey Allen]

Yeah I was reading that most people when new to compressors can't hear the difference really between settings...especially the attack and release settings...it takes time. Anyway...the weekend is coming...I plan to spend a bit of time on this song I am doing...see how effectively I can boost it without wrecking it.

 

[tojo]

yeah me too, i'll try working with some compression to keep the songs more even and stable I guess.

 

[Monkey Allen]

I read all of that thread you linked earlier...very interested to hear about the -18 average level that you should aim for. I think if I can learn one thing from that thread...then that should be it.

 

[tojo]

yeah me too... once i clued in that -18 was the average level i thought it was the peak

 

[Monkey Allen]

I have a song I am working on now where on the master bus the peak levels are only -20 or around there...so the average is maybe 6 or 9 db lower than that even. It all comes down the the acoustic guitar track that I recorded as the base of the song. I have drums, bass and organ...all midi which I routinely (now that I think about it) turned down so as to be more in tune with the guitar track. I began this song as just a muck around but I liked how it turned out so kept on with it. Now I have everything but the volume how I want it. I plan to up the gain faders 2db on every track and then up the master fader 1 or 2db...then when I mixdown that to a wav file I will master the wav. file and add another 1 or 2db. It's going to get me only to maybe -10db average level. But I can live with that. Anyway...I think the lesson is...attention to detail in every stage of production...especially recording. If you don't get that bit right then you're in for trouble.

 

[tojo]

I see. I don't really a see a problem with just like raising every track the same amount of db right? So if you want it to be overall louder just raise every tracks the same interval (if you can raise them all 6db) i guess you should do it.

you could also try normalizing...?