Solved Some basic mastering questions

  • Thread starter Thread starter danny.guitar
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danny.guitar

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Forgive me if this has been discussed before but searching through this forum pretty much brings up the same questions that aren't relevant.

So say you have about 10 songs, all recorded at very different times and each song varies a lot in quality, volume, etc. You want to put all these songs onto a single CD. You have the track order done, now what?

I don't want there to be a major difference in volume between the tracks on the CD. Should I first compress them to get somewhere close to the same RMS level (obviously listening to hear if the volume sounds even)? Or maybe normalize to the same peak level and attempt to use the same compression preset except tweaking it as necessary for each song?

They are all the same genre and same kind of songs, just recorded at different times and the quality/volume varies a lot. I don't want to have to turn up/down the volume every time it goes to the next song.

I don't care about loudness or how low of an RMS level I can get, just want some evenness across the CD. Curious what steps everyone else takes.
 
i hate using "normalize".......i like to use WAVES L3 or L2. Ill open all the tracks using my Wavelabs program, and create an audio CD montage.......and then on the master effects bin, ill throw in the L2 or L3.

i like the L2 or L3 cause it has ARC (auto release controls), as i adjust the threshold........ i just watch the "attenuation", and make sure its not killing any of the songs, but its also bringing up the volume of the others that need to be brought up in volume.

but as its bringing up the volume of the songs that it needs to, just be sure to check the "louder songs" so its not squishing them to hell........

you have to find a balance for them all.

but thats how i do it............im sure there are many other ways to do this......
 
bkkornaker said:
i hate using "normalize".......i like to use WAVES L3 or L2. Ill open all the tracks using my Wavelabs program, and create an audio CD montage.......and then on the master effects bin, ill throw in the L2 or L3.

i like the L2 or L3 cause it has ARC (auto release controls), as i adjust the threshold........ i just watch the "attenuation", and make sure its not killing any of the songs, but its also bringing up the volume of the others that need to be brought up in volume.

but as its bringing up the volume of the songs that it needs to, just be sure to check the "louder songs" so its not squishing them to hell........

you have to find a balance for them all.

but thats how i do it............im sure there are many other ways to do this......
Click to expand...

Thanks, bk. I use normalize a lot, good way to bring up the volume post-compression (in my opinion). Can't afford the Waves L2 or L3 and probably wouldn't be worth the money for my songs. :p

Just trying to get a consistent level going throughout the CD.

Also, going back and forth between songs is fatiguing and very time consuming. Right now I've got every song loaded on a separate track in Reaper and I'm soloing each one as I go to make sure levels are consistent. That's the only way I know how unless someone has other suggestions.
 
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