question about mixing and mastering with Protools LE

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saikit_2003

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i am now using Protools LE 6.4 with Mbox to mix. however, i notice one thing when i compare my work with a professional recording CD.

when i record a every tracks, i will try to get the best level just right under the peak(red light on)....for example, now i got 24 tracks....and i add a master fader, then i can see how much the level is when i play all the track at the same time. then for sure it will be "red" at all on the master fader.
so i put the level down until i can't see red on the master fader.

after i did that...there are no any peak point. so i add a professional sound track as a stereo track on protools. and then i notice the volume level of that track has no "red" on the master fader, it's just right below the red line.
and the volume of it is much much higher than what i record.

why is that happen??? if i turn the volume level of my track up..and i will see the "red"

why????????!!!! :confused:
 
first off...do not turn down the master fader volume to cure peaks that you are getting. You need to turn down the tracks themselves. The peak meters on that track are post fader...and if you leave it at zero and are getting red lights, that means it's clipping before summing.

Comparing your mixes to professional mixes is dangerous. It's a good thing to do if you want to compare them sonically, but comparing them volume wise gets a lot of people in trouble. Professional mixes are done...professionally. There is a lot of stages that is done to those CDs that most people don't do at home. One of them is compression. If you want, look around this forum for topics about compressing your overall mix. This is why the retail CD track is louder. But there is a big debate going on about making loud mixes. Does the louder you make your song mean the better it's going to be?

If you want to do a visual test to see the difference between your song and the CD's track....bounce your track down as a stereo file and then re-import that file into Pro Tools. Bring up the CD track on the track below and you will see big differences in the wave form...amplitude wise.
 
Part of the art of mixing is creating a mix that's loud. It takes a while to learn how to do that. Your question is a good one but its too big to answer easily. I'll try, though:

1) The professional sound track was professionally mixed. They knew what they were doing and created a full, clean mix that used all the dynamic range it needed and used it well.

2) The professional sound track was also professionally mastered. This makes *sure* that the track is not clipping and uses the dynamic range that it needs to.

It takes a lot of practice and research to make a mix at home that can compete with a professionally mixed and mastered product.

Also, in the future please post in only one forum. It helps keep the conversation focused and productive.

Take care,
Chris
 
thank you very much

thanks guys, it helps me a lot, it clear my concept totally, thanks again
 
Make the recording level -12 dbfs and you'll actually have some headroom to compress/eq on each track, and your mixdown buss won't be so slammed. A technically "perfect" mix should come across your master buss at -6 dbfs for mixdown.

Peaks above -6 dbfs are for the most part unacceptable.

What you are doing is a common noobie mistake, and is largely responsible for that "cold, small" digital sound. Back things off to where I told you and you'll actually be able to get some good sounds happening.
 
bennychico11 said:
Comparing your mixes to professional mixes is dangerous. It's a good thing to do if you want to compare them sonically, but comparing them volume wise gets a lot of people in trouble. Professional mixes are done...professionally.
Click to expand...

Actually comparing your mixes is ESSENTIAL to improve. The important thing to remember is that "louder than balls" sound is accomplished during mastering using peak limiters, compression and other techniques.

When mixing pull the volume of the commercial mix down to around -6 dbfs and compare your song versus theirs at the SAME VOLUME LEVEL. Then you aren't being tricked by the 'louder sounds better' phenomenon.

Trust me, with something like the Oxford Inflator or L2 Limiter any monkey can get "loud" songs. It's so easy it's retarded. Loud doesn't matter at all... only the sound quality matters. So don't worry about being loud, just worry about being good. Once your mixes consistently sound good then worry about getting the right tools to get them loud.
 
Cloneboy Studio said:
Actually comparing your mixes is ESSENTIAL to improve. The important thing to remember is that "louder than balls" sound is accomplished during mastering using peak limiters, compression and other techniques.
Click to expand...

no, i agree...but there are so many home recording users that automatically throw up their mix next to one that was recorded at the Hit Factory and wonder why theirs doesn't sound like the professional one.
It's good to do if you know what you're listening for, but people like the original poster are just paying attention to volume. That's all i meant.
 
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