Sounds quieter but registering higher on master level.

F

fendertelemusik

Member
I am having a little trouble with my levels/balance.

I have two guitars panned far left and right in the chorus, I have both these guitars sounding right with the rest of my song and they both sit around -18-.

These guitar parts only play in the chorus and I have two other guitar parts that then take over in the verse.

I've then tried to match these guitar parts to -18- the same as the chorus guitars but they sound much quieter for some strange reason ?

Each of the 4 guitar parts are all evenly panned left and right, and all hit around -18- but there is a noticeable difference in the chorus guitars and the verse guitars.

I hope this makes sense and someone might be able to point out why a part can be registering at -18- but sound much quieter than another part hitting -18-.

Thanks
 
Thought i'd also add that the two guitars in the chorus which sound louder at -18- are slightly overdriven with no reverb.

The two guitars in the verse that also sit at -18 but sound much quieter in the overall mix are cleaner sounds with quite an airy reverb on both of them in case this might be the reason why they sound so quiet in the mix... and not coming through as well as the two chorus guitars.
 
The meters on you daw are measuring peaks. What we hear as volume is more like the average level.

The distorted guitars are going to have a higher sustain level compared to its peak level than the clean guitars, which will be very peaky but a much quieter sustain. This is normal.

You are going to have to rely on your ears to match the volumes of the two parts. The meters won't help much.
 
I agree with @Farview. Distorted or overdriven guitars have natural compression that causes the attack to be less and the sustain to be more. Plus the sound of a distorted signal generally cuts through a mix more than a cleaner one.
 
fendertelemusik said:
I am having a little trouble with my levels/balance.

I have two guitars panned far left and right in the chorus, I have both these guitars sounding right with the rest of my song and they both sit around -18-.

These guitar parts only play in the chorus and I have two other guitar parts that then take over in the verse.

I've then tried to match these guitar parts to -18- the same as the chorus guitars but they sound much quieter for some strange reason ?

Each of the 4 guitar parts are all evenly panned left and right, and all hit around -18- but there is a noticeable difference in the chorus guitars and the verse guitars.

I hope this makes sense and someone might be able to point out why a part can be registering at -18- but sound much quieter than another part hitting -18-.

Thanks
Click to expand...
They are quieter - don't look at the meters - listen with your ears.
 
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